10. Schools

Question 1

What are some controversies about education?

Answer 1

1) what are the best ways to teach students?

2) what is the best way to hold schools and teachers accountable for students’ learning?

Question 2

What are the 2 contemporary approaches to teaching?

Answer 2

1) constructivist approach

2) direct instruction approach

Question 3

Describe the Constructivist approach to teaching.

Answer 3

• learner centred.
• emphasizes importance of individuals actively constructing their knowledge and understanding with guidance from the teacher. Encouraged to explore, reflect, and think critically.
• emphasis on collaboration with others

Question 4

Describe the Direct Instruction Approach to teaching.

Answer 4

• structured and teacher centered
• teacher direction and control, high teacher expectations
• students spend a lot of time on academic tasks. goal is to maximise student learning time.

Question 5

What do the advocates of the constructivist approach argue?

Answer 5

Argue that direct instruction approach turns students into passive learners and don’t adequately challenge them to think in critical and creative ways.

Question 6

What do advocates of direct instruction approach argue?

Answer 6

Argue that constructivist approaches do not give enough attention to the content of a discipline, and that they are too vague.

Question 7

Which teaching method do effective teachers use?

Answer 7

they use BOTH constructionist and direct instruction. depending on circumstances.

Question 8

How did the US impose accountability of learning standards from schools?

Answer 8

Statewide standardized testing with identified learning objectives.

Question 9

What are some benefits of statewide standardized testing? (5)

Answer 9

1) improved student performance
2) more time teaching tested subjects
3) high expectations for all students
4) identify poor performing schools, teachers, and administrators
5) improved confidence in schools as test scores rise

Question 10

What are the criticisms of standardized testing? (4)

Answer 10

1) using a single test as the sole indicator of student’s progress and competence presents a very narrow view of students’ skills
2) Doesn’t measure soft skills – creativity, motivation, persistence, flexible thinking, social skills
3) teachers end up “teaching to the test” which doesn’t focus on teaching skills
4) “one-size-fits-all” approach that pays little attention to individual variations in students

Question 11

When transitioning from primary to secondary school, what kind of changes does the adolescent have to deal with? (3)

Answer 11

1) individual changes (puberty, cognition, executive function advances)
2) changes in the family (less dependency on parents, more responsibility)
3) school (larger and more impersonal school structure, many teachers, heterogeneous set of peers, increased focus on academic achievement)

Question 12

What is the top-dog phenomenon?

Answer 12

Moving from being oldest, most powerful students in primary school to being the youngest, smallest, and least powerful students in secondary school. Self-esteem drops.

Question 13

What protective factors can make the transition from primary to secondary school less stressful?

Answer 13

• positive relationships with friends

- team oriented schools in which 20-30 students take the same classes together

Question 14

What are some positive aspects of the transition from primary to secondary school? (5)

Answer 14

1) feel more grown up
2) more subjects to choose from
3) more opportunities to spend time with peers and locate compatible friends
4) increased independence from parental monitoring
5) more challenged intellectually by academic work

Question 15

How to improve secondary schools to make it less stressful for adolescents?

Answer 15

1) develop smaller “communities” to lessen impersonal nature of large schools
2) involve parents
3) have teachers team-teach in more flexibly designed curriculum blocks that integrate several disciplines, instead of presenting students rigidly separated periods
4) rigorous academic standards and encourage students to become lifelong learners.

Question 16

How to get high school students to be more engaged in learning?

Answer 16

1) focus on psychological factors that affects motivation
2) promote sense of belonging by “personalizing instruction, showing an interest in students’ lives, and creating a supportive, caring, social environment”

Question 17

What are the reasons why students drop out of high school?

Answer 17

1) school related reasons (don’t like school, expelled)
2) economic reasons (support families)
3) family related reasons (poor parent-child relationship)
4) peer related reasons (friends also drop out)
5) personal reasons (pregnancy, no motivation)

Question 18

How to reduce the dropout rates? (2)

Answer 18

1) early detection of children’s school-related difficulties –> tutoring, counseling, mentoring
2) create caring environments, building relationships (keep at-risk students with same teachers throughout high school years)

Question 19

In what ways do the transition from high school to college parallel the previous transition from pri to sec school? (3)

Answer 19

1) top-dog phenomenon
2) move to a larger, more impersonal school structure
3) increased focus on achievement and performance

Question 20

Why are college students more stressed and depressed than students in the past?

Answer 20

• pressure to succeed in college, get a great job, make lots of money.
• previously, not everyone goes to college, so to be in college kinda guarantees you a bright future already.

Question 21

Why is the transition from college to work particularly stressful?

Answer 21

1) general skills learnt in college cannot apply to jobs that require vocationally specific skills. Coupled by fluid and rapidly shifting job market.
2) many graduates have difficulty finding their desired type of job, or any job at all! Can be stressful because they need to pay off their college debts.

Question 22

What can be done to combat the problem of skills mismatch between colleges and rapidly changing job market?

Answer 22

important for colleges and employers to become better connected with each other, to provide improved training for changing job opportunities

Question 23

Describe how school or class social atmosphere changes with developmental level.

Answer 23

Preschool setting - protected environment, boundary is the classroom.
Pri sch - largely classroom, but as a social unit
Sec sch/JC/poly - school environment increases in scope and complexity. Social field is the whole school rather than the classroom. School as a social system and motivated to conform and adapt to the system or challenge it. Interact with different teachers and peers from diversified backgrounds. Social behavior is heavily weighted towards peers, CCAs, clubs, and the community.

Question 24

What are the 3 kinds of classroom management strategies? (think attachment)

Answer 24

1) authoritative strategy
2) authoritarian strategy
3) permissive strategy

Question 25

Describe the authoritarive strategy of classroom management.

Answer 25

• Encourage students to be independent thinkers and doers. But still involves effective monitoring.
• Encourage verbal give-and-take
• Clear limits and rules. Democratically establish these standards with students’ input

Question 26

Evaluate the authoritative strategy of classroom management.

Answer 26

Student outcomes: self-reliant, delay gratification, get along well with peers, high self-esteem, more engaged with learning. Active, self-regulated learners.
most effective approach

Question 27

Describe the authoritarian strategy of classroom management. (3)

Answer 27

• Restrictive and punitive.
• Focus is more on keeping order in the classroom than on instruction and learning.
• Firm limits and control, little verbal exchange

Question 28

Evaluate the authoritarian strategy of classroom management.

Answer 28

Student outcomes: passive learners, fail to initiate activities, express anxiety about social comparison, poor communication skills

Question 29

Describe the permissive strategy of classroom management.

Answer 29

Offers students considerable autonomy but little support for developing learning skills or managing their behavior.

Question 30

Evaluate the permissive strategy of classroom management

Answer 30

Student outcomes: inadequate academic skills and low self-control

Question 31

What are some characteristics of well-managed classrooms?

Answer 31

• fosters meaningful learning. prevent development of academic and emotional problems
• keep students busy with appropriately challenging tasks.
• have activities that encourage students to become absorbed and motivated, and learn rules and regulations

Question 32

Why is it more difficult to discipline secondary school classrooms than primary school ones? (2)

Answer 32

• students’ problems can be long-standing since primary school, discipline problems more serious.
• sec sch students have more advanced reasoning skills, so they might demand more elaborate and logical explanations of rules and discipline.

Question 33

What does the person-environment fit approach argue is the reason behind the stress of secondary school?

Answer 33

Lack of fit between secondary school environment and the needs of young adolescents. This produces negative self-evaluations and attitudes toward school.

Question 34

In what ways is there a lack of fit between the secondary school environment and adolescents’ needs? (3)

Answer 34

• teachers become more controlling at a time when adolescents seek greater autonomy
• teacher-student relationship becomes more impersonal at a time when students are seeking more independence from parents and need support from other adults
• increase emphasis on grades and competitive comparisons at a time when they are becoming more self-conscious

Question 35

What are some teacher traits that are associated with positive student outcomes?

Answer 35

• enthusiasm & warmth
• ability to plan
• poise
• adaptability and flexibility
• awareness of individual differences

Question 36

What are some good teaching practices and strategies?

Answer 36

1) develop caring classroom communities (democratic classroom)
2) enhance students’ motivation to learn (informative feedback, focus on effort and improvement, high expectations, fostering interest and engagement)
3) plan lessons based on individualised assessment data
4) model thinking processes, appropriate challenge level, encourage self-regulation

Question 37

What kind of family management practices are beneficial for the child’s academic development? (2)

Answer 37

1) structured and organised family environment (routines)
2) high expectations for achievement
3) parental involvement (East Asian parents most involved as children’s learning is considered to be responsibility of parents ‘My Child is my Report Card’. Chinese mothers’ self-worth more contingent on young adolescents’ achievements)

Question 38

Why does parental involvement lead to positive outcomes in school?

Answer 38

Motivates the young adolscents to achieve in school for parent-oriented reasons. Linked to self-regulated learning and higher grades.

Question 39

What are some recommendations for parents when they support their child academically?

Answer 39

1) ability is not fixed and can change (growth mindset)
2) be involved (talk with them about what they are learning)
3) support autonomy and self-initiative (children made to feel responsible for their learning, self motivated)
4) be positive
5) each child is different (adapt to their uniqueness and idiosyncrasies)

Question 40

How does the structure of secondary schools encourage greater peer interaction? (2)

Answer 40

1) class and cca and other activities encourage students to interact with large numbers of peers daily.
2) uncertainty and ambiguity of multiple classroom environments and more complex class schedules may result in students turning to each other for information, social support, and strategies for coping.

Question 41

Which students are more likely to be bullied?

Answer 41

1) younger middle school students

2) anxious, socially withdrawn, and aggressive children

Question 42

Which 2 protective factors are associated with lower level of bullying and victimization?

Answer 42

1) having supportive friends

2) positive parenting behavior (warm relationship, good communication)

Question 43

Why do bullies bully?

Answer 43

to gain higher status in peer group (perceived popularity in peer group), so bullies need others to witness their power displays. Also increases their perceived personal competence.

Question 44

What are some negative outcomes for the victim of bulling?

Answer 44

1) reduced physical and mental health (depression, suicide attempts)
2) internalizing and externalizing problems
3) long-term effects: difficulty in forming lasting relationships and problems at work

Question 45

Which kind of bullying is more strongly associated with suicidal ideation – cyberbullying or traditional bullying?

Answer 45

cyberbullying (more socio and emotional difficulties)

Question 46

What are some strategies to reduce bullying in schools?

Answer 46

1) get older peers to serve as monitors for bullying and intervene when they witness it
2) develop school-wide rules and sanctions against bullying
3) form friendship groups for adolscents who are regularly bullied by peers
4) identify bullies and victims early and use social skills training to improve behavior
5) encourage parents to contact professionals for help with their child’s bullying or victimisation concerns

Question 47

How does having friends link to academic grades in adolescents?

Answer 47

Having academically oriented friends who earn good grades is related to higher grades in adolescents

Question 48

What are some benefits of participating in CCAs?

Answer 48

Linked to:
- higher grades
- increased school engagement
- reduced likelihood of dropping out
- fewer internalizing and externalizing problems
- higher self-esteem
The more years adolescents spend in CCAs and more intensive participation, the stronger the likelihood of positive developmental outcomes. Better educational and occupational outcomes.

Question 49

What are some characteristics of high quality CCAs? (4)

Answer 49

1) competent, supportive adult mentors
2) opportunities for increasing school connectedness
3) challenging and meaningful activities
4) opportunities for improving skills

Question 50

Low SES parents might have parents who … (3)

Answer 50

1) don’t set high educational standards for them
2) are incapable of reading to them
3) don’t have enough money to purchase resources for them (eg. educational materials and experiences such as excursions)

Question 51

What are the kind of schools typically found in poor neighbourhoods?

Answer 51

• non qualified teachers and many substitute relief teachers
• encourages route learning
• less likely to provide support for English language learners
• poor facilities

Question 52

What are some strategies for improving relationships amongst ethnically diverse students? (5)

Answer 52

1) jigsaw classroom (cooperative group with common goal. one person in charge of one part of the project)
2) encourage positive personal contact (share one’s worries, successes, failures, coping strategies, interests, and other personal information. Help people to view others as unique individuals rather than a homogeneous group)
3) encourage perspective taking
4) help students think critically and be emotionally intelligent about cultural issues
5) reduce teacher bias (teacher must be a competent cultural mediator and be sensitive to racist content and students’ ethnic attitudes)

Question 53

What does a multicultural education entail?

Answer 53

• values diversity and includes the perspectives of a variety of cultural groups
• belief that minority youths should be empowered