By Angelina BarelaFebruary 6, 2010

Community ConnectionOverview of Communities“Puzzles of Practice”Background InformationTeaching Practices (Prior Experience)Teaching Practices (Evidential Artifacts) Data Affects Teaching and LearningResources

Community Connection

Larger Community Overview—Levels of Influence

Classroom Community Overview

Community Connection in the Field

“Puzzles of Practice”Where is a student’s culture coming from?

How does each layer/value/community affect a child?

To what degree? If a layer/value/community was taken away would

the student still make achievement gains?

Background InformationLarger Community:

Front Range, CODistrict:

Diverse Low SES

School:Taylor Elementary (Pre-K through 5th Grade)

Classroom1st Grade

Background Information

Background InformationDistrict InformationBegan in 187425 Schools in District

14 Elementary1 K-8 School3 Middle Schools2 High Schools1 Alternative School1 Adult and Family Education 3 Charter Schools

SAR 2007-2008Total District Revenue: $103,233,102

Background InformationSchool Community

Demographics:Zip Code .vs. CityMedian Household

Income: $45,628 .vs. $56,263

Single Mother Household: 14.1% .vs. 7.9%

Below Poverty Level: 16.8% .vs. 8.7%

Background InformationSchool InformationSAR 2007-208

Overall Academic Performance: LowAYP:

Math-Yes Reading-Yes

2009-2010 School Year: 81% Free/Reduced LunchTitle 1 School

RIF/Literacy Night SuccessMaker Lab A Triangle Process

Highest In 10 years Than district average

Background InformationJanuary 2009-2010 School Enrollment ReportPre-Kindergarten: 25Kindergarten: 571st: 682nd: 513rd: 494th: 485th: 34American Indian: 10Asian: 12Black: 91Hispanic: 135White: 84

Teaching Practices (Prior Experience)Personal Experience

What happened to me, was happening for these students

Home and School only no other influencesImportant to teach from culture

Student feels comfortableSee people like them in the lessonsConnectionEthnocentric .vs. Eurocentric

Transmitted KnowledgeWas there something I did not see

Teaching Practices (Prior Experience)Transmitted Knowledge (continued)

Why were so many people negativeValues

Teach from a culture everything would be okayI could teach from every culture

No such thing as one culture Every person, situation, and time are different

If I knew this, then why did I think the children were going through the same thing?

I knew culture was not ethnicity, but I was more influenced by ethnicity (marginalized .vs. privileged)

“Puzzles of Practice”Where is a student’s culture coming from?

How do each layer/value/community affect a child?

To what degree? If a layer/value/community was taken away would

the student still make achievement gains?

Teaching Practices(Evidential Artifacts)Work Sample (Religious and Federal Holidays)

Wanted to try and touch on one Religious Holiday from every religion

Discussed Veterans Day Military families Asked who had someone in the military

Talked about some Ethnic HolidaysMissed a lot of Holidays

Other ethnicities Grandparents Day Other religious Labor Day

Teaching Practices(Evidential Artifacts)Wanted to do something not already set-upSomething of my ownDid I do to please or inform?

A little of both in the beginning, but the “reflection-on-action” shows it was more to inform Who was I trying to please 1st Graders, the know the basic Holidays

(Christmas, Halloween, and maybe Valentine’s Day)

Where is a student’s culture coming from?

Is it:Larger

CommunityFamilyDistrictSchool Classroom

Data Affect Teaching and LearningWhen combined (home, school, and

community)Improve school programs and climateProvide family services and supportIncrease parents’ skills and leadershipConnect families in the school and communityCreates a partnership and a caring community

for the studentEveryone is involved

Responsibility of every layer/value/community

Data Affect Teaching and LearningMaybe more than a triangle maybe a square

or a venn diagramChildren instead of students

Extension of the familyFamily and Community involvedAllows for life long learning

See the Child as a StudentThere is a separation between school and home

Data Affect Teaching and Learning“School-Like Families”

Importance of schoolHomeworkLearning activities

“Family-Like Schools”AcceptingCaringWelcome all families

Data Affect Teaching and LearningHome and School can clash

Cannot teach from all culturesYou can be aware of different cultures and try

not to offendPersonal Experience, Transmitted

Knowledge, and Core ValuesNot necessarily the same experiences

Data Affect Teaching and Learning6 Types of Involvement

6 types of involvementCreates a better

partnership (school, family, and community)

Can have a positive impact on child, teacher, and parent

The “perfect” program will include all 6 Types (portions of) and be connected to the schools goalsCaution on the culture side

Some do not like childrearing involvement

Then .vs. Now

ResourcesDr. joyce eptstein’s model. Retrieved on February 3, 2010, from

http://www.naperville203.org/parents-students/EpsteinModelPS.asp

80916 zip code detailed profile. Retrieved on February 2, 2010, from http://www.citydata.com/zips/80916.html

Ford, D. Y., Moore, J. L., & Harmon, D. A. (2005, Spring). Integrating multicultural and gifted education: A curricular framework. Theory into Practice, 44(2), 125-137. Retrieved January 31, 2010, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=16805890&site=ehost-live

Moses-Snipes, P. R. (2005, July). The effect of african culture on african american students’ achievement on selected geometry topics in the elementary mathematics classroom. Negro Educational Review, 56(2/3), 147-166. Retrieved January 21, 2010, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=20195447&site=ehost-live

ResourcesOverlapping spheres of influence. Retrieved on February 3, 2010,

from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/famncomm/pa3lk3.htm

Peterson, P. J., & Montfort, L. (2004, Fall). Creating culturally dynamic materials for rural culturally and linguistically diverse exceptional students. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 23(4), 25-29. Retrieved January 31, 2010, from http://search.ebscohost.com.dml.regis.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=16110024&site=ehost-live

Trumbull, E., Rothstein-Fisch, C., Greenfield, P. M., & Quiroz, B. (2001). Bridging cultures between home and school: A guide for teachers. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Zeicherner, K. M., & Liston, D. P. (1996). Reflective teaching: An introduction. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.