For this Discussion, you will evaluate programs within your specialization to determine target areas of improvement for educational and social change in Grand City. To prepare
points possible
due Dec 7 at 1pm
Module 1: Discussion 2
2
TARGET AREAS FOR CHANGE
As you have observed, each member of Mayor Keller’s task force views the need for change from his or her role in the community and specialization perspective. Whether their issues stem from a lack of teaching staff and resources to training for employees, task force members are committed to addressing the learning and development needs of Grand City’s children, students, and citizens. With such myriad needs, how should the mayor’s task force prioritize these issues to enact both educational and community change?
For this Discussion, you will evaluate programs within your specialization to determine target areas of improvement for educational and social change in Grand City.
To prepare:
· Review all Learning Resources for this module. Think about the meaning of educational change, the impact of data collection on change initiatives, and the impact of positive social and educational change on all individuals in a community.
· Review the Grand City data and media for this module as well as your analysis of the data from the Module 1 Discussion 1. Consider what programs are most critical in supporting Grand City’s children and students, including both those in early childhood programs and K–12 schools. Think about how data supports the need for change initiatives. How might a successful change in those programs impact the community as a whole?
· Hargreaves and Fullan (2013) note the difference between business capital and professional capital. Reflect on the concept of capital, your investment in your own education, and the benefits you anticipate in your career and in the lives of the children you reach.
· Review Walden University’s mission and vision for social change. Imagine you are on the Grand City task force representing your specialization, and consider the areas needing improvement or change. How might you propose the task force address those areas? What impact might such changes have on social change in the Grand City community?
Assignment Task Part 1
Write a 1 ½ page response that explains the following:
· At least three target areas that are in need of improvement or change in your specialization
· A rationale for each area supported with specific data from Grand City
· How and why targeting these areas would be most effective in supporting positive change within both your specialization and the Grand City community
For this Discussion, and all scholarly writing in this course and throughout your program, you will be required to use APA style and provide reference citations.
Assignment Task Part 2
Read a selection of your colleagues’ posts.
Respond to at least two or more of your colleagues in any of the following ways in a 150 word response each:
· Explain an additional target area that would apply to both your and a colleague’s program or specialization.
· Offer additional support or a reference to the data to support your colleague’s target area(s).
· Support or refute a colleague’s claim regarding how his or her target area(s) would support positive change in the Grand City community.
· For this Discussion, and all scholarly writing in this course and throughout your program, you will be required to use APA style and provide reference citations.
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ReplyReply to Module 1: Discussion 2
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Collapse Subdiscussion Katheryn Gonzales
Katheryn Gonzales
YesterdayDec 3 at 5:15pm
Data collection can have a significant impact on making educational and social changes for a community. According to Gonzalez-Sancho & Vincent-Lancrin (2016), longitudinal data systems incorporating administrative records, learning management platforms, and analysis and reporting tools provide significant feedback to stakeholders and diagnostic tools to help create system change. The need for longitudinal data comes from the fragmented approach of data collection that makes it difficult for policymakers, school districts, and all stakeholders to analyze and utilize data that regularly comes from educational institutions.
Grand City has collected data over time and from many different platforms, including demographics, graduation rates, test results, family information, occupational information, educational information, and early childhood educational data. Using this data, the Grand City Task Force can look for trends, compare data, and aggregate data from many sources to address different areas of concern and questions presented to the task force (Gonzalez-Sancho & Vincent-Lancrin, 2016).
Based on my specialization, Early Childhood Education, I find that three areas that need improvement include: increasing the amount of children ages three to five years old who attend preschool, increasing the amount of subsidized preschool and daycare, and working with the community outreach center to advance early literacy to improve overall K-12 English Language Arts test scores.
The first area that needs improvement is increasing the number of incoming kindergarten students attending preschool. The current data from Grand City shows that only 43% of incoming kindergarten students have participated in preschool (Walden University, 2016b). Research suggests that phonological awareness at the preschool level is a predictor of early learning success (Callaghan & Medelaine, 2012). Students who lack quality literacy instruction are at risk for future academic struggles.
Grand City data indicates a low level of students who meet the academic benchmark in English Language Arts test scores. 3rd – 5th-grade students scored as meeting or exceeding the benchmark at 25.7%. The percentage of students who scored as meeting or exceeding the standard in grades 6th – 8th dropped to 19.7%, and the rate of 11th-grade students scoring as meeting or exceeding the benchmark dropped even further to 13.5% (Walden University, 2016b). To begin to make a positive change, the Early Childhood Center and the Early Childhood Program Association will need to work with Grand City’s Community Outreach Center to support families to help provide early childhood programs, literacy opportunities, and support to families in the community. Quality preschool education can strongly influence the development of young children. Early childhood learning experiences allow children to develop social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills and concepts that will lead to lifelong academic success.
Lastly, Grand City will need to find a way to subsidize preschool and daycare for families. Grand City data indicates that 48% of families need funded preschool and 72% need subsidized daycare (Walden University, 2016b). These numbers demonstrate the importance of providing state-funded prekindergarten and financial assistance through HeadStart and Early HeadStart to provide childcare for children birth to five years old.
Targeting these areas will be most effective in supporting positive change within my specialization of Early Childhood Education, as well as Grand City community because providing a solid foundation for our youngest community members will reap benefits that can be seen throughout K-12 to graduation and into the workforce.
References
Callaghan, G., & Madelaine, A. (2012). Levelling the playing field for kindergarten entry: Research implications for preschool
early literacy instruction. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 37(1), 13-23.
https://doi.org/10.1177/183693911203700103
Gonzalez-Sancho, C., & Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2016). Transforming education by using a new generation of information systems.
Policy Futures in Education, 14(6), 1-18. Doi:10.1177/1478210316649287
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2017a). Grand City opening task force meeting [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2016b). Grand City education and demographic data files [PDF]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
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Collapse Subdiscussion Amanda Puryear
Amanda Puryear
YesterdayDec 3 at 7:26pm
Module 1 Discussion 2: TARGET AREAS FOR CHANGE
After reviewing the Grand City Education and Demographic data files (2016b), I identified three target areas that require improvement in my field of curriculum and instruction. These areas are (1) curriculum and training, (2) discipline, and (3) special education.
According to reports, there is a growing racial imbalance between teachers and students. The present data shows that 83 % of the teacher population is white, while the population of students is 75.5 % minority. The data also shows that 88 % of students are on free or reduced lunch, and 24.8% live in poverty (Walden University, 2016b). This imbalance calls for teachers to be trained in interacting with students from diverse backgrounds. A possible solution to this area of need is the integration of culturally relevant teaching strategies. In these strategies, teachers are trained to understand and relate to culturally diverse students. Teachers and curriculum specialists will also need to review the curriculum to ensure that students can see themselves in the curriculum and become more invested in the educational process and enabling them to build a sense of belonging in the classroom. (Quinonez & Olivas, 2020). Integrating more culturally diverse learning materials will aid in this investment.
Over the past five years, the rate of office referrals and suspensions has increased (Walden University, 2016b). The largest increase has been seen in the minority groups of African American, Hispanic, and Riza refugees. As students are referred to the office and/or suspended, they are out of the classroom and losing instructional time. When this cycle is allowed to continue, the student falls further behind, and motivation decrease. A possible solution is the use of restorative justice practices. Restorative justice practices have been proven in several studies to positively impact student outcomes by decreasing office referrals and suspensions ( Katic et al., 2020). Restorative justice accomplishes this by validating the views of each student and allows for students to discuss problems in a structured setting and heal any wrongs that could have happened.
The number of students receiving special education services has grown from 15% to 18 % (Walden University, 2016b). This increase could lead to a deficit in sound accommodation practices due to a lack of training or support for the general education teacher. For the student, this can lead them to become frustrated and disengaged in the lesson. The Co-teaching model can address the issues that arise with the increase in special education students. This model pairs a special education teacher and a general education teacher to plan and execute lessons. This model can help general education teachers properly serve their special education students and help them feel included (Jortveit & Kovač, 2022), therefore increasing their engagement and positive student outcomes.
References
Jortveit, M., & Kovač, V. B. (2022). Co-teaching that works: special and general educators’ perspectives on collaboration. Teaching
Education, 33(3), 286–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2021.1895105Links to an external site.
Katic, B., Alba, L. A., & Johnson, A. H. (2020). A systematic evaluation of restorative justice practices: School violence prevention and
response. Journal of School Violence, 19(4), 579–593. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2020.1783670Links to an external site.
Quiñonez, T. L., & Olivas, A. P. (2020). Validation theory and culturally relevant curriculum in the information literacy classroom. Urban
Library Journal, 26(1), 2.
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2016b). Grand City education and demographic data files [PDF]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
,
Learning Resources
Required Readings:
Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
· Chapter 1, “A Brief History of Educational Change” (pp. 3–17)
· Chapter 2, “The Meaning of Educational Change” (pp. 18–38)
· Gonzalez-Sancho, C., & Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2016). Transforming education by using a new generation of information systems. Links to an external site. Policy Futures in Education, 14(6), 1-18. doi: 10.1177/1478210316649287
· Mandinach, E. B., Parton, B., Gummer, E.S., & Anderson, R. (2015). Ethical and appropriate data use requires data literacy. Links to an external site. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(5), 25-27. doi: 10.1177/0031721715569465
· Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2013). The power of professional capital. Links to an external site. Learning Forward, 34(3), 36–39. Retrieved from http://www.michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/JSD-Power-of-Professional-Capital.pdf
· Walden University. (2017b). About: Our history Links to an external site. . Retrieved from https://www.waldenu.edu/about/who-we-are
Review this site for information on Walden University’s mission and vision and its focus on social change.
· Walden University (n.d.). APA course paper template (APA 7th ed.) Links to an external site. . Retrieved February 2, 2016, from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general
Required Media:
· Grand City Community
Walden University has created a simulated community known as Grand City. This community is being used in various other courses, as well as this one. The community consists of several locations that will be useful in completing some of the assignments in this course. When you use a resource within the Grand City community in this course, instructions will be provided pertaining to which location and resource you are to view. The community may be viewed at the link provided in the citation.
Go to the Grand City Community Links to an external site. and click into City Hall to view the following for this module:
· Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2017a). Grand City opening task force meeting [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
· Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2016b). Grand City education and demographic data files [PDF]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Optional Resources
· Meyer-Looze, C. L. (2015). Creating a cycle of continuous improvement through instructional rounds. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 10(1), 29–45.
· Roberts-Holmes, G., & Bradbury, A. (2016). The datafication of early years education and its impact upon pedagogy. Improving Schools, 1–10. doi:10.1177/1365480216651519
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