It Doesnt Add Up: AfricanAmerican Students and Math

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It Doesnt Add Up African-American Students and
Math
Algebra is the new civil right . Bob Moses

• Terri Walker
• Region 10 ESC
• terri.walker_at_region10.org
• [phone]

Janice Mauldin Region 10 ESC janice.mauldin_at_region
10.org [phone]
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• It is the policy of Region 10 Education Service
  Center not to discriminate on the basis of race,
  color, national origin, gender or handicap in its
  vocational programs, services or activities as
  required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
  1964, as amended Title IX of the Educational
  Amendments of 1972 and Section 503 and 504 of
  the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
  Region 10 Education Service Center will take
  steps to ensure that lack of English language
  skills will not be a barrier to admission and
  participation in all educational programs and
  services.

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Todays Goals

• Begin an open dialogue concerning the
  relationship between cultural differences and
  achievement disparities
• Highlight critical research providing insight
  into the phenomenon of African-American math
  underperformance
• Provide research based strategies for enhancing
  African-American math performance

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Twenty Years of Research onAfrican-Americans
Math

• Differences between African-American students
  home language and the language of math
• (Orr, 1987)
• Gaps between the standard math curriculum and
  African-American students experiences with math
  (Tate, 1994)
• Emphasis on rote memorization and drill when
  instructing African-American students
• (Ladson-Billings, 1997)

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Current ResearchAfrican-Americans Math

• Teachers perceptions of African-American
  students abilities and academic needs (Walker
  2003)
• Student performance anxiety brought about through
  the threat of stereotype (Aronson 2004)
• Differences in students beliefs and attitudes
  toward math (Lubienski, S.T., Cambum and Shelley
  2004)
• African-American students limited access to
  rigorous math instruction (Darling-Hammond 2004)

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Keeping It RealChange Begins with You

• Do staff members know their students as well as
  they know math?
• Do staff members truly believe all students are
  capable of learning math?
• Are staff members willing to risk a degree of
  personal failure if it ultimately leads to
  student success?

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Application to Lesson Planning

• Students take a surface approach to learning
  when there is too much material in the curriculum
  as a whole and/or course in particular.
• When Students Learn, 1996

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All About Alignment

• Alignment of TEKS to Curriculum
• Alignment of Curriculum to Instruction
• Alignment of Instruction to Assessment

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Fenwick English Deep Curriculum Alignment
Deep alignment is a comprehensive approach to
teaching and learning that goes beyond any single
measure of the curriculum taught or learned is
based on what we call the doctrine of no
surprises DNS, that is, children will not be
taken by surprise with any form of assessment
because alignment is an integral part of the
instructional program, not an add on.
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Benefits of Alignment

• Low SES students benefit from alignment because
  it
• expands their level of familiarity and increases
  accuracy
• erodes the impact of cultural capital being
  inequitably acquired in our society
• Without alignment high SES student have a
  distinct advantage because of their access to
  cultural familiarity with tested content.

Downey English, 2005
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Higher Order Thinking

• Blooms Taxonomy
• Thinking Level of the TEKS

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Original Terms New Terms

• Evaluation
• Synthesis
• Analysis
• Application
• Comprehension
• Knowledge

• Creating
• Evaluating
• Analyzing
• Applying
• Understanding
• Remembering

(Based on Pohl, 2000, Learning to Think, Thinking
to Learn, p. 8)
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All About Alignment

• Concept
• Context
• Cognitive level

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Percents

• (6.3)  Patterns, relationships, and algebraic
  thinking. The student solves problems involving
  direct proportional relationships.
• The student is expected to
• (B)  represent ratios and percents with concrete
  models, fractions, and decimals

solves
direct proportional
problems
relationships
ratios
percents
represent
fractions
concrete models
decimals
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6.3B
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Percents

• (7.3)  Patterns, relationships, and algebraic
  thinking. The student solves problems involving
  direct proportional relationships.
• The student is expected to
• (A)  estimate and find solutions to application
  problems involving percent

solves
direct proportional
problems
relationships
estimate
find solutions
percent
application problems
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7.3A
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Percents

• (8.3)  Patterns, relationships, and algebraic
  thinking. The student identifies proportional or
  non-proportional linear relationships in problem
  situations and solves problems.
• The student is expected to
• (B)  estimate and find solutions to application
  problems involving percents and other
  proportional relationships such as similarity and
  rates.

identifies
proportional
non-proportional linear relationships
estimate
find solutions
application
percents and other
problems
proportional relationships
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All About Alignment

• Alignment of TEKS to Curriculum
• Alignment of Curriculum to Instruction
• Alignment of Instruction to Assessment

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Algebra I

• Algebra I subject TEKS (A.D1, A.C2, )
• 9th Grade tested TEKS

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Geometry

• 10th grade AYP year
• Geometry subject TEKS (G.E1, G.D2)
• 10th grade tested TEKS

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Algebra II

• 11th grade Exit Level year
• Algebra II subject TEKS (2A.4B, 2A.7A)
• 11th grade tested TEKS

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Questioning Techniques

• Informal questioning
• Formal questioning in assessments
• Spiraled content

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Barry starts at his tent in camp and walks 30
yards north and then 40 yards east.
Find, x, the distance in yards Barry is from his
tent.
8.9A
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All About Alignment

• Identify TEKS in unit or lesson
• Analyze 3Cs in the TEKS
• Look at TAKS testing history
• Find instructional resources that will support
  TEKS and TAKS

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Glasser and Weinstein

• Motivation is internal.
• The teacher as the Sage on the Stage is likely
  to be unfulfilling.
• The real goal is to create conditions that foster
  leadership development in others.
• Teachers should develop their role as
  facilitators.
• Help students realize their
• right and responsibility to think
• independently and
• self-actualize.

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Lorraine Monroe BBC

• http//www.lorrainemonroe.com/htm/bbc.html
• Aids students in assuming responsibility for
  learning
• Teacher facilitates students moving through
  learning tasks written in the student lesson plan
• Increases student control in learning process

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Lorraine Monroe BBC

• Student lesson plan may include
• Homework
• Do-Now
• Aim
• Lesson Steps
• Purpose, Process, and Payoff

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Cooperative Learning

• It is important to understand how a students
  background can affect their relationships with
  both teachers and their classmates.
• Many students respond highly to cooperative
  learning. Cooperative learning builds
  relationship while simultaneously building
  skills.
• Cooperative learning activities give students an
  opportunity to take advantage of the cognitive
  benefits of movement.
• May students bring a rich oral history to the
  classroom. Be sensitive to the linguistic styles
  and conversation patterns of all students.

Notes activity
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Cooperative Learning

• Promotes student learning and academic
  achievement
• Increases student retention
• Enhances student satisfaction with
• his/her learning experience
• Helps students develop
• skills in oral communication
• Develops students social skills
• Promotes student self-esteem
• Helps to promote positive race relations

Notes activity
Kagan, S. (1994). Cooperative Learning
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Cooperative Learning Activity
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5 Elements of Cooperative Learning
Promote Each Others Successes
Social Skills Must Be Taught
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Organizing Information

• You may use any style of note-taking you wish
• outline format,
• narrative format,
• symbols,
• short hand, etc.

Bullock Maben, Cornell Notes
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Organizing Information

• Compare notes with your team.
• Talk about what you wrote and why. Look for gaps
  missed info.
• Team members should feel free to
• add to their notes.

Bullock Maben, Cornell Notes
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Organizing Information

• With a partner, create questions.
• Your questions should reflect
• Info you dont understand or want to discuss
  with your teacher/tutor.
• Write questions you think would be good test
  questions.
• Fill in any gaps in your notes with your partner.

Bullock Maben, Cornell Notes
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Organizing Information

• On your own, at the bottom of the page, complete
  a 3 or 4 sentence summary of what you wrote in
  your notes.

Bullock Maben, Cornell Notes
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Name_____________________________ Period______
Date_________________ A little green Turtle
and a teeny tiny Snail both start at the same
time at the oak tree and head toward the elm
tree. The oak and the elm are 30 feet apart as
in the diagram below.
Turtle and Snail Activity Part 1
The little green Turtle walks 5 feet per
minute the teeny tiny Snail crawls 3 feet per
minute.
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Marcia Cross - Richardson ISD
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• Aronson, J. (2004). The Threat of Stereotype,
  Educational Leadrship, 62 (3) 14-19.
• Darling-Hammond (2004). The color line in
  American education Race, resources, and student
  achievement. DuBois Review, 1(2), 213-246.
• English, Fenwick and Steffey, Betty (2001). Deep
  Curriculum Alignment. Lanham, MD Scarecrow
  Education.
• Ladson-Billings, G. (1997). It doesnt add up
  African American students mathematics
  achievement. Journal for Research in Mathematics
  Education, 28(6), 697-708.
• Lubienski, S.T., Camburn, E., Shelley, M. (2004).
  Reform-Oriented Mathematics Instruction,
  Achievement, and Equity Examinations of Race and
  SES in 2000 Main NAEP Data. University of
  Illinois College of Education http//www.ed.uiuc.e
  du/naep/naeptechnicalreport2004.html

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• Orr, E. (1987). Twice as Less. Markham,
  Ontario, Canada Penguin Books.
• Peters, Steven (2006). Do You Know Enough About
  Me to Teach Me? A Students Perspective.
  Orangeburg, SC The Peters Group Foundation.
• Southern Education Foundation. (2005). Igniting
  potential Historically black colleges and
  universities and science, technology, engineering
  and mathematics., 31, 424-448.
• Tate, W.F. (1995). School mathematics and
  African-American students Thinking seriously
  about opportunity-to-learn standards.
  Educational Administration Quarterly
• Walker, E.N. (2003). Who can do mathematics? In
  B. Vogeli and A. Karp (Eds.), Activating
  mathematical talent (pp.15-27). Boston
  Houghton Mifflin and National Council of
  Supervisors of Mathematics.
• Walker, E. N. (2007). Why Arent More Minorities
  Taking Advanced Math. Educational Leadership, 65
  (3), 48-53.