March 4, 2008
Minigrants help innovative student teachers
Since Thomas Bishop has been teaching at Ballou Senior High School in Washington, D.C., seven students have been arrested on campus, four have been shot, and six have had babies. But Bishop, CAS/MA ’08, has an idea to help improve the rough atmosphere, and create a classroom atmosphere where students who want to learn can concentrate and feel secure.
Meanwhile at a D.C. public charter school, Alison Clark is working to help seventh graders who are below grade level in math prepare for eighth-grade pre-algebra. They’ve already got a repertoire of songs to help them remember how to add fractions, multiply decimals, and calculate mean, medium, and mode. Coming soon: a CD of their mathematical music, complete with a study guide.
Bishop and Clark, CAS/BA ’08, are two of the four AU student teachers who recently won minigrants through the Ganek Family Student-Teacher Mini-Grants for Innovation in Education.
The grants help the AU students at the School of Education, Teaching and Health introduce their creative ideas into area classrooms. The grants are less than $500, but with an innovative and committed young teacher, they can go a long way.
Each classroom has its own challenges and needs. Ariella Brodecki’s third graders at Burning Tree Elementary School are learning about the seven continents. Her idea: an international bazaar, where the students “sell” products from the continents, in booths they’ve decorated themselves.
It’s not just a one-day or even a one-week project. As explained by Brodecki, CAS/BA ’08, has to research the continents, “advertise” the products beforehand with posters, videos, and pitches during visits to second grade classrooms, and ultimately serve as cashiers and salespeople.
A fun project, and challenging, too—particularly for the students who land Antarctica.
Hilarie Shanley plans for students at Key Elementary School in Washington, D.C., to run a student newspaper. Young poets, photographers, cartoonists, storytellers, and technology buffs will be part of the effort, along with would-be ace reporters. She sees it as a chance to spotlight creative efforts, build community, and perhaps most important, give children “a higher sense of independence and self-esteem by seeing their work in print.”
After her time as a student teacher is over, Shanley, CAS/MAT ’08, hopes her students will have more than good memories and some newspaper clips for their scrapbooks. The school will also keep the scanner, digital camera, and publishing software, so they can continue the project into the future.
Clark’s seventh graders aren’t in special education, and aren’t second language speakers, but they’re behind grade level in math. They’re in the Bridge Program at Paul Public Charter School, where they’re working double periods a day to master the skills they’ll need for eighth grade pre-algebra.
“One of the more effective ways for students to remember the methods for solving different types of math problems is to sing a song about it,” Clark wrote in her grant application.
The grant will allow her students to record a CD of their songs, which they’ll decorate with a graphics program and take home with a study guide.
Over at Ballou, Bishop has the oldest students, and the severest challenges. It has taken him much of the year to win the students’ trust, all the while dealing with large numbers of students who show up late or not at all, curse in the classroom, don’t hand in work even if the answers are provided, and sometimes insult their peers so badly it leads to tears.
Students who want to learn are quickly discouraged in such an environment. So Bishop’s grant proposal focuses on what research has shown works best in such situations: reinforcement and punishment.
Specifically, he’s devised a system he calls “Bishop Bucks.” It’s a “token economy,” with fake money that students earn for meeting classroom expectations, like arriving on time ($2 reward) and being prepared with pencils and books ($3 reward). Negative behavior earns fines, from failing to bring a pencil ($2) to being disrespectful or taking someone’s property without permission ($10).
The money isn’t real, but it can buy actual rewards: granola bars, soda, even a pizza party for those who earn a collective $100.
“A token economy is a positive tool, an educational tool, and provides a way to build confidence and a positive environment,” he wrote in his grant proposal. “With this environment, I can teach my students and my students can learn. Without this system, I am not sure I can be as effective in my classroom.”
For Bishop and the other AU students, the minigrants are a way to put their ideas into practice, and see if they can make a difference. If it works, it could inspire other teachers to do the same. And if it works, it could make a difference in many young lives, from Bethesda to Southeast Washington, D.C.
