How to take the SAT Tutorial Video

The Educational Connections Team is proud to present our newly released tutorial video on how to take the SATs. Our very own Laura Rheinauer, an M.Ed. in Secondary Education from Lehigh University, takes viewers through the ins and outs of taking the SATS. TO start the video, please hit play. Enjoy!

A New Case for Single Sex Education?

Every so often the argument resurfaces, yet it seems as though nothing is ever proven, nothing is ever dismissed, and everything is subject to great grains of salt.

The issue of single-sex education has recently been brought to the forefront of educational theory once again in the New York Times Magazine. The intential separation of students based on gender revolves around two philosophies:

1. Boys and girls are fundamentally different (meaning they also learn differently)

-and/or-

2. Boys and girls have different social needs and experiences

While there is little evidence to support either side in the single-vs-coeducational debate, it is important to ponder sensitive questions realistically:

1. Does the separation of students based on learning styles/abilites short change students and teachers in the long run? Are we able to effectively prepare students for the interactions they will have as adults?

2. What is the responsibility of the teacher in differentiating lessons for his/her students? What are we not doing to meet the needs of ALL of our students? What expectations does society have and are they realistic?

While the nation is still waiting for definitive information on this topic, there are still strong arguments and opinions for each side. If we can separate girls from boys to empower them in life long success, shouldn't we? But if we need to separate girls to empower them, what message does that send to both the boys and the girls? Are single-sex classrooms the way to negate the hidden sexist curriculum of "regular" schools?

The arguments are obviously cyclical and based largely on the experiences of students, parents, and teachers in single-sex vs. co-educational settings and herald the single sex movement as either progressive or regressive. There doesn't seem to be a clear answer, regardles if you look in the article, to research, or to peers. The argument also hinges on the very fundamental and somewhat personal belief about the purpose of schools: academics, social mobility, citizenship education, and/or educating workers to fill their role in society.

Richard Kahlenberg writes:

Given the myriad ways in which our schools are failing, it may be hard to remember that public schools were intended not only to instruct children in reading and math but also to teach them commonality, tolerance and what it means to be American. “When you segregate, by any means, you lose some of that,” says Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation. “Even if one could prove that sending a kid off to his or her own school based on religion or race or ethnicity or gender did a little bit better job of raising the academic skills for workers in the economy, there’s also the issue of trying to create tolerant citizens in a democracy.”

What is this thing we call "motivation?" from ERIC

According to Jere Brophy (1987), motivation to learn is a competence acquired "through general experience but stimulated most directly through modeling, communication of expectations, and direct instruction or socialization by significant others (especially parents and teachers)."

That leaves us with an interesting question...

How do we motivate unmotivated students?

Over time students who disengage from academics do so to protect themselves from feeling inadequate. Past experiences have taught them that they will fail, discouraging them from taking academic risks. It is important to realize that this is not a natural state of being. Self esteem and confidence must be grown and cultivated from a young age in order to withstand the tests of adolescence. If mistakes are viewed as a mechanism of growth and independent of a student's innate ability (or disability), he or she will have the perseverance to continue and work through their misunderstandings. This is where we (adults, teachers, and professionals) come in.

In order to help students alter their current self-beliefs, we must "retrain" them to see the other side. A process called ATTRIBUTION RETRAINING is sometimes used quite effectively with discouraged students. Ultimately, the goals for students are to:

1. Concentrate on the current activity instead of being afraid to complete the work
2. Manage frustration by re-approaching the issue at hand through an alternate avenue
3. Attribute "failure" to lack of information, effort, or ineffective strategies instead of innate
intelligence or abilities

Relevent adults and authorities can assist students in meeting these goals by modeling, providing supportive feedback, socializing students in this manner, and of course, practice.

Whether good or bad, there is a great deal of emphasis on testing and score reports. While inadvertent, we must contemplate the effect that these measurements have on our students. With a little more thought, we can certainly dismiss any negative connotations that might arrive from "poor" student performance.

Please see the full article from ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management for more information and resources relating to student motivation and achievement. As the article says,

"Because the potential payoff--having students who value learning for its own sake--is priceless, it is crucial for parents, teachers, and school leaders to devote themselves fully to engendering, maintaining, and rekindling students' motivation to learn."

We're Podcasting!

Educational Connections is now podasting! Check out our very first installment!

It's About that Time Again...

To announce our Tutor of the Month! For April, it was a unanimous decision to elect Phil Smith to the post. While he doesn't receive a special hat (Sorry, Phil!), he does get the prestigious Educational Connections Tutor of the Month certificate. If that isn't priceless, I don't know what it!!!

All jokes aside, Phil has been a key factor in providing much needed help to some of our science students. Phil, however, took it to the next level. This is some of the feedback that we received from one of his famililes lately:

Phil Smith is by far the best tutor we have ever had for Meredith. He is outstanding in his work ethic, his demeanor and his dedication. Before Phil, Meredith was failing Biology; after Phil, she recently received an 100 on a Biology quiz. Not to sound dramatic, but he saved our daughter. The confidence that she is gaining from her improvement in Biology has carried over to her other classes as well. At Parent/Teacher Conferences last week, every teacher remarked on her improvement in their class. Meredith is still floating about 9 ft. in the air. Thank you so much for saving our girl. She has gone from an F and a slim chance of being able to return to this school next year to a B+. “Thank you” will never convey how much we appreciate your help and what you’ve done for Meredith. She never could have achieved this without your help and your ability to help her understand.

We couldn't have said it better ourselves. Thanks, Phil! You are one in a million!

For our Teachers!

While we tend to focus on students and families, we thought we'd throw our tutors and teachers a bone as the school year comes to a close. As students' attentions wear thin and drift more than ever, we thought we'd direct you to some resources for spicing up lessons in the final months.

The Department of Education hosts a great online community for teachers (and for families) that includes materials free to download, view, and utilize at any time. It's especially important to keep things fresh as classes (and their teachers) begin to feel the wear and tear of the school year and yearn to be outside in the warm weather. It's also not a bad way to stay up-to-date with the latest research-based techniques for the classroom.

You can find it all in an online library that covers everything from research to action called Doing What Works. Take a look and let us know what you think!!!