Academic Youth Development Shaping the Culture of Ninth-Grade Classrooms 0 Today’s agenda 1. AYD Goals and Intent 2. Tour of the AYD Curriculum 3. Supporting Research 4. Program Components and Logistics 1 Why focus on the transition to Algebra I? • Algebra is a gatekeeper—50% of all ninth-grade students fail Algebra I. • Increased college and workforce expectations. • Increased high school graduation requirements. • Inadequate preparation and limited problemsolving skills. • Crucial transition between middle school math and Algebra I. 2 Two areas of focus • Underlying issues about controllable factors related to student learning and achievement. • Critical problem-solving skills. 3 What is Academic Youth Development? AYD helps students develop • academic identities as learners who recognize, value, and seek out high-quality education. • skills to enable them to help create and contribute to a learning community. 4 The Academic Youth Development Initiative . . . • Is • Is not • A set of experiences designed to influence student beliefs, attitudes and behaviors about learning. • Student remediation of grade 8 math • An academic development program for “regular students.” • Pre-teaching of Algebra I • Credit recovery • Just a summer math class • An intervention designed to create and support a classroom culture of respectful engagement. 5 Goals of the AYD Initiative Three primary goals: • Improve student performance in Algebra I and all high school mathematics courses. • Build a classroom culture focused on respectful engagement in academics. • Increase the capacity for teaching to rigorous mathematics standards. 6 Social psychology influences The program incorporates ideas from social psychology: • Effective effort: Improving and getting better at something requires the right kind of effort. • Attribution: Success is not due solely to luck. • Malleable intelligence: Intelligence is something that can be influenced and shaped through actions and beliefs. 7 Model of the program 8 AYD online content • Getting smarter: growing your brain through hard work and effort. • Learning to learn and what learning feels like. • Learning with peers: the importance of good communication. • Making attributions: what do you have control over in learning? • Applying “learning about learning” strategies in problem-solving situations. 9 Let’s take a look . . . 10 Program Themes Get Smarter Build a Learning Community Stay Motivated Make Connections 11 Mathematics Content The mathematics content is a vehicle for students and teachers to learn about and apply the principles that are embodied in the youth development content. 12 Why this mathematics content? The theme of the math content of this course is building expertise with problem solving… – Not 8th grade math remediation – Not pre-teaching of Algebra I Mathematics content builds students’ skills and confidence for Algebra I success. – – – – Ratio and proportional reasoning Multiple representations of relationships Problem solving Complex problem solving 13 Beliefs, attitudes, and behavior AYD focuses on the beliefs, attitudes, and behavior of a cadre of emerging student ‘allies’ algebra teachers can rely on to • model effective engagement and academic success. • help support and shape the Algebra I classroom culture for learning mathematics. • build a strong relationship between teachers and students. 14 AYD shapes and supports a culture in which . . . • Engagement, participation, positive motivation, and risk-taking are developed and embraced. • Students don’t have to choose between being smart or being cool. • Effort and persistence are recognized and valued. • Mutual accountability is fostered and expected. 15 Inspirations from research and practice Research Negative influences on performance, participation, and grades: • Stereotype threat • Belief that intelligence is a fixed trait • Sense of not belonging in math or in a math classroom Positive influences on performance, participation, and grades • Belief that intelligence is malleable • Belief that effective effort pays off • Sense of belonging in math or in a math classroom • Incremental environment can positively influence sense of belonging 16 Inspirations from research and practice Practice • Emerging Scholars Program (Treisman, 1992) • C-Cubed (Treisman & Shultz, 1984) • AVID (Mary Catherine Swanson) • Step-Up to High School (Treisman, Chicago Public Schools) • The Algebra Project (Bob Moses) • Teacher wisdom 17 Implicit Theories of Intelligence (Dweck, 1999) Entity Theorists • Intelligence is fixed – Trait largely determined by nature Incremental Theorists • Intelligence is malleable – Quality that can be increased through nurture Desire similar outcome • achieving good scores, doing “well” Different motivation for pursuing this outcome “The main thing I want when I do my school work is to show how good I am at it.” “In school I am always seeking opportunities to develop new skills and acquire new knowledge.” 18 Preliminary results At the end of summer bridge component. . . • increases in students’ confidence in their mathematics ability. • gains in student understanding of how to work hard to be successful. • students believed that they were in charge of their own learning and could be agents of change. • gains in students’ sense of belonging and acceptance. • decrease in anxiety about failing mathematics. • persistence, identification, and enjoyment in mathematics increased significantly. 19 Model of the program 20 District and Campus Logistics Recruitment, planning, and implementation (November 2007 to April 2008) • Site leaders and school administrators hold information sessions, select teachers, and recruit and select students. • Teachers participate in professional development. Summer program (June 2008 to August 2008) • 14-day summer program. • Precursor to year-long effort. AYD is one necessary but not sufficient component of improving the campus/district Algebra I program. 21 District and Campus Logistics Before the school year starts (July 2008 to August 2008) • Students scheduled in their AYD teacher’s Algebra classes, at least 5 per class. Academic year program (August 2008 to May 2009) • Academic year kickoff for all AYD teachers and students. • At least one “gathering” of AYD students and teachers per quarter to review and monitor AYD learning, application, and progress. AYD is one necessary but not sufficient component of improving the campus/district Algebra I program. 22 AYD Initiative resources • Full AYD curriculum in Agile Mind for the summer program, including exciting animations to illustrate youth development and mathematics concepts. • Detailed plans and lab sheets for offline as well as online activities (including off-computer games and activities to engage students—it is summer!) • Thoughtful and comprehensive support for teaching the curriculum in the Advice to Teachers section. • Student and teacher access to AYD resources throughout the school year. • Activities for teachers to use with students as they regularly meet during the school year. 23 Contact Information Lisa Brown, Program Coordinator lisabrown@mail.utexas.edu Susan Hull, Program Director shhull@mail.utexas.edu 24 AYD Selected References • Adelman, C. (2006). The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion from High School Through College. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved February 20, 2006. http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/toolboxrevisit/index.html • Aronson, J., Fried, C. & Good, C. (2002). Reducing the Effects of Stereotype Threat on African American College Students by shaping theories of intelligence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 38, 113-125. • Aronson, J. & Steele, C.M. (2005). Stereotypes and the fragility of human competence, motivation, and selfconcept. In C. Dweck & E. Elliot (Eds.), Handbook of Competence & Motivation. New York, Guilford. • Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset. New York: Random House. • Dweck, C. S. (2007). The Perils and Promises of Praise. Educational Leadership, 65, 34-39. • Good, C., Aronson, J. Inzlicht, M. (2003). Improving Adolescents’ Standardized Test Performance: An Intervention to Reduce the Effects of Stereotype Threat. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 24, 645662. • Marks, H.M. (2000). Student engagement in instructional activity: Patterns in the elementary, middle, and high school years. American Educational Research Journal. 37 (1), 153-184. • National Research Council (2000). How people learn. Brain, mind, experience, and school. National Academy Press. • Sedlak, M.W., Wheeler, C.W., Pullin, D.C., & Cusick, P.A. (1986). Selling students short: Classroom bargains and academic reform in the American high school. New York: Teacher’s College Press. • Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52(6), 613-629. • Steinberg, L., Brown, B., & Dornbusch, S. (1996). Beyond the classroom: Why school reform has failed and what parents need to do. New York: Simon and Schuster. • Vaughn, (2005). Tipping a middle school to excellence. Paper presented at theTechnology Information Conference for Administrative Leadership, Little Rock, AK. 25 Academic Youth Development Shaping the Culture of Ninth-Grade Classrooms 26