National Urban Alliance (NUA) facilitated a collaborative Session with Harding High School teachers participating in the NUA Professional Development Initiative and Harding High School students participating in the NUA Student Engagement Project. Updates, including multiple video clips, will occur during the week of 17 May 2009.

 

This page includes:

1 - Video Clips

2 - Session Overview

3 - Student Reflections

4 - Teacher Reflections

5 - Session Still Images

6 - Text for Text Based Discussion:  Competence and Confidence

 

VIDEO CLIPS

updated 23 May 2009

 

Student Engagement Students collaborate with teachers participating in the National Urban Alliance Initiative.

The video clip includes video and stills capturing the teacher and student collaborative session on the 14 May 2009.

 

SESSION OVERVIEW 

Cultural Crossover - Community Builder

Thinking Maps - Understanding deeper through a sorting exercise

My Frame of Reference - Building a Personal Frame and developing understanding using Frame of Reference with Thinking Maps.

Wiki exploration with small groups of teachers and students working collaboratively

Text Based Discussion 

From Our Perspective 1 - each small group chooses a Thinking Map to organize their thinking in response to the text.

From Our Perspective 2 - each small group  uses a frame on their Thinking Map to share the Frames of Reference

Next Steps - Where do we go from here?

 

Affirmations (Ereka)

• Participants  write an affirmation for someone with whom they worked during this session using this frame:
• “__________, as we worked together today, I felt _____________.  I appreciate _________________.”  

 

STUDENT REFLECTIONS 

Today I learned that the teachers are just like us. They are still trying to learn our strengths and weaknesses to help us. I also learned that there are a lot of people with the same input.

Johanna Salgado

 

Today’s activities gave me a better outlook on what we’re supposed to do, and actual goal as far as the teachers go. I feel we need to have meetings with the teachers more often.

Brianna Schemahorn 

 

As we worked together today, I felt confidence in having young people as future leaders in our community. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experiences.

Jamon Cheatem

 

That it was good to hear how hard it is for teachers to teach and make it fun at the same time.

Johanna Salgado

 

What I learned from this [student voice] engagement is that our voice matters and communication is the key for the process of student and teacher relationships and reaching a common ground.

Jessica Collins

 

Today I learned that the teachers are willing to learn with us as well as learn independently. I also learned that some teachers are confused on what we are doing. I feel strongly for this project. It actually brings a feel to the students for a higher education. It makes us fell like we are needed in our school community.

Rian North

 

I got a sense of involvement out of student voice. It was a lot of teamwork and it was fun. I hope to do it next year.

Mary Fitch

 

I learned that if we just communicate and be willing to work together a lot can be accomplished. The process at first was slow but as we kept uniting the process developed.

RaShonda Jones

 

Today I learned that it is good for students and teachers to have a common ground. And that a culture affects the way you learn.

Shyarra Sanders

 

What I learned from this engagement was that if you really stick to what you put your mind to you can actually succeed in whatever you put your mind to.

Preonna Morgan

 

I got out of this that change is possible over time. And I hope to continue it. But we need to find students to take over when we are all gone.

Shyarra Sanders

 

I got out of this there is a sense of accomplishment. I also go to know that teachers really care about our education and are willing to hear us out.

Christina Jimenez

 

Today was a good day because we got to talk one on one with another student and teacher. We got to understand things from their point of view. We need to do a lot more meeting such as this one because we could get a log more things done. In the future I would like to still be involved.

Quinn Price

 

I got that teachers and students can work together to make learning easier and fun.

Evan Culpepper

 

I found out that many of us have the same outlook and input on things.

Nick

 

What I got out of this [Student Engagement Project] was being consistent and showing hard work and being dedicated.

Patrick Hopson

 

I got to collaborate with teachers and other students to express better teaching methods.

Dominique McElvene

 

I really valued this experience. I also enjoyed hearing people’s ideas and sharing my views. I think the student voice has helped and will continue to help the student-teacher relationship. The student voice project has go a lot people interested to help students learn better.

Jordan Fawcett 

 

I got to engage myself in a mature group of students in a project that made an and will make a bigger difference. I’m trying to make a difference so people can learn better. I’m changing perspectives like that to cold weather. With the NUA helping have better understanding this helped the teachers to better understand me.

Jerome Jacobs

 

 

 

TEACHER REFLECTIONS

 

It always amazes me the power that discussion brings.  As a Spanish teacher my focus in the classroom is making sure the students have the ability to communicate verbally and that includes having the confidence to speak out.  I have/had many of these students in class and I truly enjoyed working with them and watching them become leaders in the school.  I look forward to working with them in the future and hope that they continue to encourage their classmates to join them in their endeavors and work in a positive manner to better their educational experience here at Paul Harding High School!

 

Lu Neri

Spanish Teacher

 

SESSION STILL IMAGES

Dr. Neal Brown - Principal

 

Teacher and Students

 

Teacher and Students

 

Teachers and Students

 

Teacher, Student, NUA Mentor

 

 

Text for Text Based Discussion: 

Competence and Confidence

Dr. Yvette Jackson 

Source:  Unlocking the Potential of African American Students:  Keys to Reversing Underachievement, Jackson, 2005, p. 205.

 

Significant factors in stimulating motivation are competence and confidence.  At this time in education, competence and confidence for all students are contingent on the academic proficiencies identified in state standards and their correlated assessments.  The many standards and assessments that have to be addressed can be categorized or compacted to three areas of expected competence.  These are:  (a) fluency in the language (including language of specific disciplines or areas of learning in the secondary levels); (b) the ability to construct meaning from text; and (c) the ability to communicate the meaning constructed from the text.

 

These three areas of competence are all language dependent.  Culture molds language, and language is a way of thinking.  Disconnects with content by students who are culturally different from their teachers, and misjudgments their teachers make about their potential, are often affected by language differences.  Many African American students use the language of their culture.  Some people refer to their language as a dialect.  Regardless of the label, their language is different from the language of instruction, and this difference is a barrier to constructing meaning.

 

Beyond the language barriers there are psychological factors related to race and culture that impair the competence and confidence of African American students.  Research studies on race illustrate that attitudes regarding the relationship between race and social status develop at a very early age (Clark & Clark, 1939; Comer & Poussaint, 1992; Hilliard, 1996).  The struggle for racial identify and status, coupled with the effects of misperceptions about their ability, perpetuate a lack of confidence that afflicts many African American students.

 

The way the brain makes learning happen does not differ from one culture to another.  The brain, unlike the mind, is a biological entity, not a social, cultural product (Eisner, 1994).  When teachers understand intelligence and learning—and the powerful effect of culture, language, and cognition on these processes—they can make better choices of effective learning strategies that do not depend on race or ethnicity but rather build on the cultural frame of references of their students (Feuerstein, 1982; Mahiri, 1998).  This recognition diminishes teachers’ fears, and enables them to appreciate the positive impact of recognizing and building on the cultural experiences of students.