Summary: Non English Learners

Higher education in America is facing many challenges, i.e., low retention, low graduation rates and less funding. Postsecondary institutions are scrambling to remain a competitive entity within society. In order to do so, students must remain in school (Talbert, 2012). The Office of the White House states (2014), educational attainment is critical to our county’s economic success. In essence, the work force is creating more jobs requiring more education and a higher level of skill than was previously achieved. Individuals with only a high school diploma will not make into the middle class sector because of

When I become a teacher I plan to have my students work in cooperative groups because this allows them a chance to share their knowledge and ideas with their peers. Due to the fact that most students are on different developmental levels, those students who are of higher developmental levels can provide the other students with their ideas and perception of their knowledge. I feel that teachers should not be scared to let their students participate in group work because I think it is a great method of learning.

Education serves as the greatest gateway to advancement and progress in our society. However, not all students are provided a fair opportunity to reach their full potential. To address this problem, I founded the Herndon STEM and ESOL Academy in 2014 with the hope of meeting the unaddressed needs of unaccompanied young immigrants from the 2014 American immigration crisis to the Washington DC metropolitan area. The program seeks to aid non-English speaking students in their quest to master English and to connect them to resources that can help them transition to life in the U.S. while still celebrating their culture. Our ultimate goal is for students to reach far beyond their original dreams, onto a greater future.

The teacher prepares the students to operate in a small group together. This practice can enhance the student’s cooperative learning skills.

In life there are many struggles that interfere with a students education. In the 1970s, the United States had the world’s highest high school graduation rate. Today, we are ranked number twenty-one which shows a decrease in students that graduate. Lowering the dropout rate can solve several economic and social problems. Dropping out of high school has become a controversial topic that will continue for ages to come. Students should be required to stay in school until the age of eighteen because those without a high school diploma have higher unemployment and lower job satisfaction, have lower earnings, and have a higher likelihood of ending up in jail or on public assistance

Since much of our time is spend in groups, it is helpful to work in groups because it will give an opportunity to improve their human functioning. Group work helps to develop individual skills in communication, relationship building and asserting oneself

Peer tutoring is supported by extensive research that points to it being an effective strategy in a wide range of learning environments. In a multitude of studies it has been proven to be effective at all levels of education, from elementary school classrooms to graduate level medical programs. As a strategy it has also been shown to be effective in special education classrooms, and is effective with students regardless of their disability type. Not only does peer tutoring promote academic learning, but it also fosters an environment where students can benefit

In Case Study 5.1, Mrs. James not only effectively started her class with sharing her own experiences and building relationship with her students but also emphasized the importance of group work, which is in helping and learning from each other. She illustrated the following strategies and routines that supported cooperative learning: room arrangement, talk and movement procedures and individual accountability by building students’ social, explanation and sharing skills.

According to Arne Duncan, 25% of U.S. high school students drop out or do not graduate on time, which is one out of every four people. In the article, “The Vision of Education Reform in the United States,” Duncan also informs that, “Almost one million students leave our schools for the streets each year.” (Duncan). The U.S. used to lead the world in college attainment but is tied for ninth now. The students themselves willingly choose to give up expanding their knowledge, which negatively affects their future. Consequently, they are unable to obtain a well-paying occupation for the price of inadequately acquiring their diploma.

The learning disabilities can prevent the students from comprehending the course information, cause them to experience intense frustrations with the inability to quickly grasp concepts, and the students often struggle to perform at reasonable levels during testing assessments. The difficult challenge and overwhelming frustration can in turn impel many overaged special education students to quit and drop out of school. However, tutoring programs can relieve this problem. The school can provide experienced tutors and exceptional mentors to assist and encourage the struggling students. For instance, the tutors can concentrate on certain subjects or concepts that are challenging the students, spend sufficient time addressing and clarifying those issues, and utilize advanced resources to help the students most effectively understand and apply the information in the given courses. The tutors can also provide assistance to prepare the special education students for impending examinations (Allensworth and Easton, 2007). Thus, tutoring programs can help reduce the dropout rates by instilling the students with confidence, motivating them to continually improve, and by providing direct assistance that can help them understand difficult concepts and succeed in their

    In the United States, there are a great amount of people who never got their high school diploma; a great percentage of these dropouts ended up living in poverty. According to Carmen DeNavas-Walt ,an employee in The United States Census Bureau, “In 2015, 26.3 percent (6.2 million) of people aged 25 and older without a high school diploma were in poverty” (DeNavas-Walt,2016). According to proffesor Rusell W. Rumberger, people who never completed their

Continuous assessments empower teachers to create differentiated lessons that address each student’s issues. Group Work: Students team up in pairs and small groups whose membership changes as required. Learning in groups enables students to participate in important discussions and to observe and gain from each other. Students are encourage to share expertise on subject matter and gain a positive overall sense of accomplishment when they are able to help a peer and learn from them.

Educational structures have existed in our country since the late seventeenth century. During the development of our ever-changing society, we began to find it acceptable for children to go to school, and now even obligatory. College was a luxury in the past, although recently, it’s almost imperative. The problem is that students are no longer sure if they are going to get the bang for their buck. More than half of students that graduate high school have been factually proven to not be ready for college. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has discovered that about 60% of graduates cannot pass a proficient Math, English, or Science test. Students should not be going to school for over a

“Group work is a form of voluntary association of members benefiting from cooperative learning that enhances the total output of the activity than when done individually”.

I used to believe that I did not perform very well in groups. I am an observer who likes to learn alone. I thought I learned best when I worked on my own. Even though I always knew group work had many positive values, I was more comfortable with the lecture-based approach and resisted group work merely because it involved change, not because it had a collaborative learning approach. However, during the learning community project, I came to realize that I learn more effectively when I work in groups. Working in a group was like an adventure for me; there were both exciting and challenging times while preparing for the learning community project.