Inside Scoop
Math Wars

A new report tells how to keep your students from becoming casualties.

Should children memorize how to do "long division," or investigate what division is and when to use it? Is it better to assign a multiplication worksheet, or to have students figure out what home improvements they could afford on a limited budget?

Educators have debated such questions for decades. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has campaigned for teaching that helps children understand math and relate it to their daily lives. But NCTM has run into strong opposition from those who favor a more traditional approach.

Now the National Research Council (NRC), an arm of the National Academy of Science, has weighed in with a strongly worded report called Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics.

Why fight? Are American students bad at math?
In the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), American fourth grade children did better than the world average. Our eighth graders were average. Our twelfth graders scored low.

Just as important, many Americans are afraid of mathematics, and convinced they can't do it. The National Research Council report says students must be comfortable enough with math to size up real-world problems and figure out what calculations they need to do.

When they are adults, the report points out, they won't be handed worksheets.

To develop confidence, the NRC says, students must feel that math is something they can make sense of, not just a long list of rules to be memorized.

What are some battles going on today?
One is over "algorithms"--procedures used to come up with correct answers.

When you "borrow" from the tens column to do 73 minus 55, the borrowing is part of our traditional algorithm. There are other valid algorithms, some of which are taught in other countries.

Some "progressive" math educators believe students should work out their own algorithms in order to understand better what the math operations are all about. Traditionalists say that's a waste of time, and students should learn our established algorithms.

The NRC report recommends teaching algorithms, but in a way that helps children understand why they work.

The NRC says people often think an inevitable competition for classroom time exists between helping children understand mathematics and teaching them skill with algorithms, but the authors deny this.

"Understanding makes learning skills easier, less susceptible to common errors, and less prone to forgetting," the report says. With better understanding, there's less need for repetitive, time-consuming practice.

How about calculators?
According to a 1996 survey of teachers, more than half of eighth graders were using calculators in class almost every day.

They were not so common in lower grades--less than one-third of fourth graders were using calculators at least once a week.

The NRC report cites studies showing that calculators can be used to help children learn to understand math and do not hurt their ability to do paper-and-pencil calculations.

How does math teaching here compare with other countries?
TIMSS classroom observers found that American teachers focus heavily on memorizing.

Teaching in high-scoring Japan and Germany is aimed more at helping students understand math.

The mediocre American scores are sometimes used as an argument for more emphasis on multiplication tables and rules for procedures such as long division. However, the international classroom observation study suggests the opposite.

The TIMSS observers also found that many American teachers thought they were teaching for understanding, but actually were teaching the way they themselves were taught: Learn the rules and practice, practice, practice.

The NRC report presents classroom vignettes that show the differences in approach.

What math training do teachers need?
The report says you don't have to learn calculus to do a good job with third graders. What's critical is that teachers have a thorough understanding of the math they teach--for example, what it means to divide by a fraction.

Second, it says teachers should study how children think about math, because you can't help students learn if you don't understand their mistakes.

The report urges teachers colleges to beef up courses in these two areas, rather than simply piling on more math requirements.

It says classroom teachers need professional development programs in which they collaborate to examine their own lessons and how students respond.

Achieving math proficiency for all students, the NRC concludes, will take time and money. But in today's world, mathematics can no longer be restricted to a select few.

For more: The NRC report is at www.nap.edu/books/0309069955/html. The NCTM Web site is www.nctm.org. For an opposing view, see www.mathematicallycorrect.com.

News: Rights Watch
NEA Examines the Rights of Nontenured Teachers

Are probationary teachers who are let go before they gain tenure entitled to 'due process'? The answer might surprise you.

Almost every state has enacted a "tenure" law granting teachers, after a probationary period the right not to be disciplined or discharged except for "just cause"--that is, some legitimate reason related to serious misconduct or job performance.

The name for this job protection varies from state to state: tenure, continuing contract status, career status, nonprobationary status, and permanent status. The required probationary period also varies greatly, from two to five years.

In addition to "just cause" protection, tenured teachers also have the right to "due process." This means a formal hearing before an unbiased person or panel, where the school administration has the burden to prove the charges. The teacher has the right to testify and to call and cross-examine witnesses and to have the assistance of a lawyer.

But what about nontenured teachers? What are their rights after they're nonrenewed? Delegates to last summer's NEA Representative Assembly directed NEA staff to investigate nontenured teacher rights. The results of this study are summarized in the accompanying chart. A more detailed report and action plan will be sent to NEA state affiliates later this year.

In researching this issue, NEA staff considered three different ways in which nontenured teachers might enjoy some sort of job protection and minimal due process.

First, staff determined whether the law of each state gives probationary teachers the right to know the reasons for a nonrenewal decision and the right to meet with the school board or superintendent to argue to keep their job. A total of 19 states afford nontenured teachers these rights.

Second, NEA staff examined whether school districts are required to evaluate beginning teachers and to provide a plan of improvement to assist those whose teaching is deemed deficient. A total of 20 states provide new teachers with these protections.

Significantly, in 14 of these states, if a school district fails to comply with the requirements for an evaluation and plan of improvement, then the district cannot refuse to renew the teacher because of alleged teaching deficiencies.

Finally, staff also reviewed state bargaining laws. In some 21 states, collective bargaining representatives have the authority to negotiate "just cause" protections for beginning teachers that can include more formal due process procedures. In ten states, that issue is a prohibited subject of bargaining, and in seven states the question is unclear. Thirteen states have no bargaining law for public school employees.

The results of this survey reveal that a number of states have substantial job protections for beginning teachers that minimize the risk that they will suffer arbitrary nonrenewals. These states include: Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia.

At the other end of the spectrum are several states where nontenured teachers enjoy few or no rights in connection with nonrenewal decisions. These include: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

Finally, beginning teachers should be warned that three states--Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas--have no state tenure law, even for veteran teachers.

--Michael D. Simpson
NEA Office of General Counsel ]]>http://www.nea.org/neatoday/0105/resource.htmlhttp://www.nea.org/neatoday/0105/resource.htmlTue, 07 Dec 2004 05:00:00 GMT

Reader Services Archives NEA Today Table of Contents: May 2001 Cover Story s An Open Secret s Debate News s From Low Performing to High Priority s Heroes & Zeroes s Stick Together, Stay on Message, Tell Your Story s "It's About Treating Everyone the Same" s Do-er's Profile s Rights Watch s Interview Learning s Innovators s Problems & Solutions s Reading s Inside Scoop s ESP on the Team s Tips for the Wired Classroom Departments s Letters s President's Viewpoint s My Turn s Health and Fitness s Money s People s Resources s In the Light Lane s Masthead

New From the Professional Library
Books by NEA Members
TV Tips | Web Winners

Departments: Resources
The Next Great Generation

College freshmen and their younger siblings have values, direction, and purpose.

MillenNials rising: The Next Great Generation
By Neil Howe and William Strauss
Vintage Books: $14

Move over Boomers and Gen Xers, here come the Millennials. And according to Neil Howe and William Strauss, they could just save the world.

Using a wealth of marketing reports, statistics, graphs, and testimonials from an in-depth opinion poll of the new generation and their teachers and parents, the authors contend that Millennials--born 1982 through 2002--are poised to become the next great generation, one that will provide a more positive, group-oriented, can-do ethos for America.

Throughout the book--which explores the roots of this turnaround generation, who they are now, and where they are headed--the authors convincingly argue that while teens today may be heavily tattooed and inclined to body piercing, appearances are as misleading as ever. Millennials are returning to conservative family values, emphasizing cooperation rather than creativity, and showing a new respect for rules.

More numerous and culturally diverse than their forebearers, their views reflect the duty-minded, civic-oriented ideals of World War II fighters, not the cynicism of their me-first baby boomer and Gen-X-age parents.

"The Millennials will correct what they will perceive to be the mistakes...of boomers, by placing positivism over negativism, trust over cynicism, science over spiritualism, team over self, duties over rights, honor over feeling, action over words," write the authors.

Can children reared on Barney, Britney, 'N Sync, and the rest of the bubble gum youth culture really be "the next great generation"? Consider the evidence:

According to national surveys cited by the authors, homicide, violent crime, abortion, and pregnancy among teens have all plummeted at the fastest rates ever recorded. Teen suicide rates are falling for the first time in decades. And today's young people have stricter attitudes about sex than their elders, withvirginity being a cool new trend.

There are also the testimonials on every page--from children, teachers, parents, politicians, researchers, and more--that speak of new hopes and big dreams.

Unlike the latchkey kids of Gen X, Millennials can't remember a time when parents and politicians weren't focused on them and their needs. They lie under a gathering of adult protection--from bicycle helmet laws to school uniforms.

Politicians campaign on their behalf, and as a nation we've donated more concern and attention their way than to any other generation in generations.

Though the book does over-generalize, it's an entertaining read, with an intriguing analysis of popular culture that could prompt engaging discussions among old and young.

It's also hard to resist the book's hopeful vision for our children and future. Many of the theories they wrote about in their two previous books--Generations and 13^th Gen--have indeed come to pass.

--Dina S. G�mez

Excerpt:
"The experiences that Millennials have not personally known also define them.... They've never known what it was like to grow up without miracle vaccines, eat foods without vitamin additives, entertain themselves without electronic games of immense complexity, write a term paper without Internet and word processor, be barred from schools because of race or from sports because of gender, or duck and cover in nuclear war drills at school. They've never known recessions, student riots, political assassinations, red scares or foreign crisis that directly threaten the lives of their families. So, too, have they never known pro athletes who didn't regularly shop their skill and celebrity to the highest bidder, or a sexual landscape that wasn't dotted with lawyers and deadly diseases, or a school curriculum that wasn't an ideological battleground."

New from the NEA Professional Library

Bullyproof: A Teacher's Guide on Teasing and Bullying for Use with Fourth and Fifth Grade Students
Published by NEA and the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women
Nan Stein and Lisa Sjostrom 60 pp. $15.95 members; $19.95, nonmembers, 1873-7-00-FN

Quit It! A Teacher's Guide on Teasing and Bullying for Use with Students in Grades K-3
Published by Educational EquityConcepts, Inc., Wellesley College
Merle Froschi, Barbara Sprung, and Nancy Mullin-Rindler 122 pp. $15.95 members; $19.95 nonmembers, 1881-8-00-FN

Order both books and save!
Bullyproof set: $25.95 members; $27.95 nonmembers #1873-7-0S-FN

What's the difference between playful teasing and hurtful bullying? How should you deal with a bully in your own classroom? Get the answers to these important questions and the tools you'll need to deal with this harmful behavior in Bullyproof and Quit It! Written for K-3 teachers, Quit It! gives you problem-solving activities along with games and exercises designed to capture your students' attention. In Bullyproof, fourth and fifth grade teachers use role playing and other activities to deal with targets, perpetrators, and bystanders. Both books offer activities you can use right away. Now for a limited time, save 15% when you order both Bullyproof and Quit It!

To order, call 800/229-4200, or check the Web at www.nea.org/books.

Books by NEA Members

Peter and His Magic Bedtime Cap
By Paul Nichols
Author/illustrator Paul Nichols lost his battle with cancer two years ago, but his family, including his mother Carole Nichols, also an NEA member, made sure his book was published. This book is for kids going through tough times. Many copies of the book have gone to charitable groups, libraries, and schools. Order through Amazon.com or through Misty Mountain Publishing. P.O. Box 111185, Anchorage, AK 99511; call 907/258-9800.

Bodywork and Other Adventures of Skippy Redcap
By Don C. Princeler
NEA Retired member Princeler has put together a series of short stories recalling the events of the 1950s. The stories are all about Skippy, his brother Robb, and a group of eccentric friends. If you don't know the '50s, those were the years without shopping malls, fast food, or video games. In short, kids invented their own entertainment, and this is what the book is about. $12, plus $3 s&h for the first book, $1.50 for each additional book. Order from Don Princeler Publishing, P.O. Box 87, Connoquenessing, PA 16027.

I Teach Kindergarten
By Peggy Rush-Campbell
Rush-Campbell has taught primary grade for more than 20 years in several states. This book covers all aspects of kindergarten teaching. Topics include assessment themes, substitute teachers, parent-school connection, and more. The book also includes plenty of student work samples, helpful questions and answers, sample letters, and reproducibles. $19.95 from Crystal Springs Books, 75 Jaffrey Road, P.O. Box 500, Peterborough, NH 03458 or go to www.crystalsprings.com.

The Inclusive Classroom: A Practical Guide for Educators
By SiriNam Khalsa
This is a book with proven strategies and practical guidance for building a successful inclusion program from a teacher with 15 years of experience working with a diverse group of children with special needs. The author, a middle school educator and mentor teacher, includes in the book such how-to sections as determining learning systems, setting up learning centers, changing negative learning styles, and managing behavior effectively.

$16.95 plus $1.70 s&h. Order from Pearson Learning at 800/321-3106 or from the Web at www.inclusion.bizland.com.

Africa Is Not a Country
By Margy Burns Knight and Mark Melnicove; Illustrated by Anne Sibley O'Brien
The title gives the contents of this book away. Many students probably think of Africa as one country, not the huge continent that it is. As the book points out, you could put together the United States, China, Japan, and Europe and still not have a land mass as large as Africa, which is made up of 53 nations. In colorful illustrations and briskly written text, this 40-page book gives young readers a good overview. $24.90 from Millbrook Press, 2 Old New Milford Rd., Dept. LS, Brookfield, CT 06804. 800/462-4703. On the Web at www.millbrookpress.com.

TV Tips

My Louisiana Sky
Showtime
May 13, 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

Based on the novel by Kimberly Willis Holt, My Louisiana Sky tells the story of a 1950s summer in the life of 12-year-old Tiger Ann. Not only is she facing the inevitably difficult transition from child to teen, but after the death of her grandmother, Tiger Ann must also decide whether to stay in a small Louisiana town with her developmentally delayed parents, or move to Baton Rouge to live with her sophisticated Aunt Dorie Kay.

The Ultimate Guide: Pyramids
Discovery Channel
May 7, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

Looking back 5,000 years, this program traces the origin of pyramids and considers their construction on three continents. Using computer graphics, animation, and original footage, "Ultimate Guide" reconstructs pyramids in Mexico, Peru, and China and illustrates how the cities around them may have looked at the peak of their civilizations.

The Planets/Foot Soldiers
A&E
May 7-16, 7:00-8:00 a.m. ET, check local listings.

A&E Classroom presents an eight-part series that explores the advanced technology that enables scientists to study space environments and features interviews with leading astronomers, astronauts, and cosmonauts. Also airing May 28-31, "Foot Soldier" looks at the lives of Roman, medieval, Viking, and modern soldiers. Individual program descriptions and study guides for middle school and high school students can be found at www.aande.com/class.

Islam: Empire of Faith
PBS
May 8, 8:00-11:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

This three-part program chronicles the first 1,000 years of Islam's history, beginning with the life of the prophet Muhammad, the writing of the Koran, and the building of the first mosque. The series continues with the flowering of Islam, the story of the Crusades, and the recapture of Jerusalem by Saladin the Great, and concludes with the rise of the Ottoman Empire and the influence of Suleyman the Magni-ficent. Scholars of Islamic culture and historical re-enactments filmed in Iran with more than 300 period costumes are featured.

Conquistadors
PBS
May 9 and 16, 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

Michael Wood retraces the steps of the Spanish conquistadors in this four-part series. Beginning in Mexico, he explores the conquest of the Aztecs by Cortés, then travels to Macchu Picchu in Peru and retraces the steps of Francisco Pizarro to the lost rainforest city of Vilcabamba. In Ecuador, Wood follows the exploration of the Amazon and the search for El Dorado, a ruler said to hold vast fortunes in gold. In the final episode, Wood chronicles Cabeza de Vaca's life with Native Americans in Florida and his 16th-century trek across the continent to the Pacific coast. The interactive Web site at www.pbs.org conquistadors provides an online learning adventure for students and interdisciplinary teaching units for educators.

Conspiracy
HBO
May 19, 9:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

On January 20, 1942, 15 men gathered in a mansion at Wannsee, Germany, for a secret meeting to discuss Hitler's Final Solution. Reinhard Heydrich, director of the main office of Reich security and head of the Protectorate, led the discussion of the "storage problem" of Jews and presented the plan to "evacuate" them from Europe. Only one copy of the minutes of the meeting survived. Known as the Wannsee Protocol, the document provided the inspiration for this two-hour presentation featuring Kenneth Branagh and Stanley Tucci.

Anne Frank
ABC
May 20 and 21, 8:00-11:00 ET, check local listings.

Based on Melissa Muller's biography, this four-hour mini-series chronicles the experience of Anne Frank and those hidden with her in the secret annex and shows the challenges and risks faced by Miep Gies and others who aided them in hiding from the Nazis. The Frank family's subsequent experiences in the Westerbork Transit Camp, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen are also portrayed.

Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack
National Geographic Channel and NBC
May 27, 8:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

Sixty years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, National Geographic follows Dr. Robert Ballard in his underwater mission to locate the sunken Japanese midget submarine that played a role in the attack. The program also explores the ecological risk posed by the wreck of the U.S.S. Arizona, which is leaking a half million gallons of oil into the waters surrounding it. Interviews with survivors are featured, and Stephen Ambrose offers a historical perspective to their accounts. Nationalgeographic.com provides first-person audio and print accounts of the battle along with a virtual experience of the attack.

Coming Home: The Veteran Experience in the 20th Century
The History Channel
May 28 and 29, 6:00-7:00 a.m. ET, check local listings.

This two-part presentation considers the fate of American soldiers returning from war, examining how they were changed by combat and how they in turn changed America. Support materials are available at www.historychannel.com/classroom.

Careers of the Future
CNN
May, check local listings.

This CNN Newsroom presentation considers the hot jobs of the next decade and explores what teens should look for and expect from the job market. Also in May, "New E-Conomy" airs, a special three-part series that explores the success of online companies, new crimes made possible by the online economy, and legal, financial, and ethical challenges created by the Internet. On May 31, "Citizens of the World," presented by CNNfyi.com in conjunction with the annual World Report Conference, features interviews with world leaders about issues facing the world in the 21st century.

Weather and Geography
The Weather Channel
Mondays and Thursdays in May, 4:00-4:30 a.m. ET, check local listings.

This presentation of The Weather Class-room looks at how climates throughout the world have been affected over time and how geography affects erosion, winds, wildfires, and different types of storms. The Weather Classroom is presented commercial-free, with taping rights for educators.

The Prince and the Pauper
Odyssey
June 22, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET, check local listings.

The tale of a prince and a poor boy who switch identities is presented in this original adaptation of Mark Twain's classic novel.

KIDSNET, a national resource for children's media in Washington, D. C., provides these listings. For more information, go to www.kidsnet.org.

Web Winners

Quite a Site
Art and art history, science and nature, history, and geography are all explored at Eduweb: Adventures. Teachers and students alike will be amazed at all the resources the site offers. There's an E-mail list also for notices about upcoming adventures.

Youth Culture
Here's something for the kids, and maybe young-at-hearts, too. Openup 2images puts all kinds of pictures about music and youth culture right at your fingertips. Thousands of new images uploaded monthly.

Medical Advice
Got health questions? The answers are probably online and available to you, but there's so much information, where can you start? The Medical Library Association might be a good jumping off place with all their links to whatever you might be researching.

All About Law
If you want to open a Swiss bank account, report fraud and earn money, or adopt a child abroad, WorldLawDirect can help. Is your employer monitoring your Internet use? This site will attract lawyers and nonlawyers for sure.

A World of Data
ERIC, the Educational Resources Information Center, is often an educator's or educational researcher's go-to site. You can search a huge database, take a customer survey, or read digests and publications. It's really one of the must-sees for educators.

Big Blue
Education and the workplace, health, environment, and energy--if it has to do with government you can find it on the U.S. Blue Pages. Of course, if you're filing late taxes, or getting a jump on next year's, you can find all kinds of that stuff also.

Reading
Project Read Plus

Using multiple intervention strategies, a complete reading program in Riverside, California, proposes to leave no child behind.

Judy Lloyd's kindergarteners practice Word Work, part of Ben Franklin Elementary's complete reading program.

In Judy Lloyd's kindergarten class, three students gather at the front of the room, each wearing a neck card painted with one letter. "I'm a hissing sound," says the first about the "S" around his neck.

"I'm a glue letter," says the child with an "A."

"I'm a popping sound," adds the child with the "T."

Classmates grill them for more clues: "Do your vocal chords vibrate when you say your letter?" "How much air comes out of your mouth?" "What are your teeth and tongue doing?"

Lloyd and her students are practicing "Word Work," one successful component of Project Read Plus--a district-wide, complete reading program being implemented at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Riverside, Califor-nia. But the real plus in Read Plus is teachers trained to use a variety of research-based strategies to build success for all beginning readers, especially those at risk.

"Not every tool works with every child," says Lloyd. "You use every tool you can to reach at-risk kids. If you don't, they're the ones who will fade into the woodwork."

Designed by Robert Calfee, dean of the Graduate School of Education at University of California at Riverside, Read Plus began in 1999 as a six-week reading intervention program for at-risk kindergarteners. Twenty teachers from five schools were trained in a full complement of reading strategies--including Word Work, an integrated decoding-spelling program that combines whole language and phonemic awareness.

"They love it," says Lloyd. "Once it's ingrained in their thinking, they can transfer it into their writing, spelling, and eventually their reading."

For 30 minutes twice a week, teachers help children articulate letters and words, helping kids recognize, for example, how much air comes out when they say the letter and where their tongues are in their mouths.

"I meet with small groups of students every day, especially the ones who aren't quite cognitively addressing how to say each sound," says Lloyd.

Yet, when 20 kids in district schools still struggled after the project's first year, researchers set up a tutoring program for the now second graders. After just ten weeks of "lost sheep intervention," all but two are reading at or above grade level. Small-group instruction and tutoring have been incorporated into the curriculum of all nine K-1 teachers participating in year three of the university study.

"There isn't a day that goes by where I'm not addressing students' individual needs," says Lloyd. "I'm seeing firsthand how that attention is paying off."

Training is ongoing, with project teachers meeting once a month to share successes and challenges; they connect regularly via a project chat room.

"Every child can learn," says Lloyd. "You can't leave any child behind. The more tools you can give a child, the greater the success."

--Dina S. Gómez

For More: Visit www.education.ucr.edu/research/calfee.

How To ...
Choose Great Books for the Classroom

Who better to talk about great books than Katherine Paterson, Newbery award-winning author of Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved and recipient of the 1998 Hans Christian Andersen Award?

• Some of the worthiest books have never won an award, and some have come in second. It's only the test of time that books like Tuck Everlasting or Charlotte's Web will become a classic instead of the books that beat them out.

• In general, look for plots that grip and satisfy, characters to deeply care about, a world you can believe in, a book worth all the trees that will sacrifice their lives to make it.

• Select a book for the joy of it, not for how you can "use" it. That's just a by-product. The first thing children should learn is the joy of books and what they can do for you.

• There's a good reason to choose "hard books," because they give adults and children a place to talk, but only if the adult has carefully read them too. Never stop children from reading difficult books, but always be around when they finish.

• Never take anyone else's recommendation about a book you're going to use with students, because you know your kids better than anybody. You shouldn't be using a book you don't like or aren't comfortable discussing.

• Harry Potter disproves the notion that children will not read fat books or that children will not read, period. It's taught a whole generation of children that there are things books can do that nothing else can.

For more, visit www.terabithia.com and www.harpercollins.com. Just out are The Field of the Dogs, for "readers who need three pages and a cliffhanger," and Marvin One Too Many, about the last one in class to learn to read.

Learning:
Taking the Future In Their Hands

Maryland students get real-time experience with mobile education.

Wireless handhelds at River High School will help measure the link between mobile computing and student adchievement.

Students at River Hill High School, equipped with pocket PCs, are helping to determine what the future holds for mobile education. "We're pioneers of a new educational philosophy--the next movement in education," says Rick Robb. In October, Robb's 15 honors English students became the first subjects of a longitudinal study of wireless handheld computers and their impact on student learning. River Hill High School in Clarksville, Maryland, is a national demonstration site for MindSurf Networks, a mobile computing company.

"We're tearing down the walls of the classroom," says Robb, a former computer analyst who turned teacher eight years ago. "With handheld devices, schools that are behind the curve in technology can almost jump through the first and second generation of computing and get directly into what's happening now--constant access to electronic resources."

The pocket PCs use standard software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They offer E-mail, Internet access, and communications tools. Each comes with a color screen and detachable keyboard.

These devices also provide students with electronic books, school-specific content, select Internet research and reference sites, and tools such as a graphing calculator, dictionary, and thesaurus. Students can find homework help, a reference desk, and college planner through MindSurf student pages, and teachers can link to school tools, standards information, and professional development resources.

"It's been phenomenal," says Robb, who uses the unit's communications features to "beam" homework assignments, course schedules, and other information to students daily.

Robb says the key to the devices' success is that his students--and the 130 other ninth graders who joined the pilot program in February 2001--have direct input into the features being developed. For example, student suggestions resulted in the adding of French and Spanish dictionaries.

Nationwide, MindSurf has partnered with 100 K-12 sites as "Schools of Intervention," and it has contracted with the Center for Children and Technology to study the impact of wireless technology on student learning. Phase II testing at River Hill has expanded to include one ninth grade class in each of the school's major curriculum areas--English, social studies, math, and science.

"Teachers are using the devices in a variety of ways," says Robb. "They schedule class assignments, manage research projects, and link to Web resources, and we just instituted E-mail distribution lists."

Students zap each other assignments, says Robb. Teachers can turn off instant messaging features during teacher-generated electronic quizzes.

Although the research will continue into the 2001-02 school year, Robb says he can already see positive results.

"Our kids are writing more, and the units help kids stay on task," he says. Parents can help track their assignments, which can be downloaded to home PCs.

Security of information and theft are still concerns, but only one incident of theft has occurred since the project's inception. And, says Robb, "There's no better opportunity to teach computer ethics to our kids."

Access to the Internet is disabled when students take them home. If a unit is lost or damaged, the student pays a $40 replacement cost, and then is only allowed classroom use.

By the end of this school year, all 450 ninth graders will have the devices.

How do teachers feel about the change? "You've got the whole mix of reactions," says Robb. "But those of us who've been through it tell them, 'Sure, there's a learning curve. But even if you only use it for word processing or a calendar function, you're going to find this device an incredible resource.'"

Teachers and students receive two days of training on the devices. Most applications can be learned in a day. Teachers get weekly training sessions.

Linda Storey, instructional leader for River Hill's English department and Maryland's Teacher of the Year for 2001, is helping to integrate the devices with the school's curriculum.

"The teachers are picking it up and running with it," says Robb."They're collaborating to create new tools and new ways of using the technology."

What about the bottom line? Industry estimates put the cost of comparable units at $300 each, with some claiming as little as $217 per student for four years. River Hill had to install a wireless local area network throughout the school with service contracted with a local cable company. Yet compared with the price of student laptops or conventional computer labs, says Robb, handhelds are an attractive alternative.

"They're a way of bridging the technology gap and of keeping teachers in the profession because they're more motivated," Robb adds. "It's an exciting way to go."

--Michelle Y. Green

For more: E-mail Rick Robb at teachrobb@home.com. Contact MindSurf at info@mindsurfnetworks.com or visit www.mindsurf.net.

Dilemma
How do you raise morale among colleagues at work?

Each month, we have a staff cleanup crew that makes our staff room a pleasant place to gather. We wash dishes, clean tables, and enjoy each other's company. We've had a Cancer Run Team for six years.

The weekend of the event, we all volunteer at the local track, give donations to our annual rummage sale, or bake goodies for the bake sale. We all do community service together and reap great benefits from our efforts.

Alice Boerner
Third grade teacher
Hoquiam, Washington

Have regular association meetings at your building where people can hear about the latest local issues and have a chance to discuss concerns. As building rep last year, I made the mistake of communicating by E-mail. Face-to-face meetings build a feeling of support and solidarity.

Also, have a monthly TGIF party at a pub, or monthly theme luncheons at school, where everyone brings a dish to share. Examples of themes: Harvest, Salad, Soul Food, Soup, and Opening Day.

Elizabeth Rexford
Sixth grade music teacher
Oak Park, Illinois

We've decided to start staff meetings with some fun. We call it "toot your own horn."

Staff come with noisemakers, birthday horns, or rhythm instruments. Teachers take turns telling others about something that's gone well in class, a creative idea they tried, or other success. After each story, the rest of us toot our horns. This starts meetings on a real upbeat note.

Debbie Boyer
Elementary school counselor
West Fargo, North Dakota

Look for opportunities outside the school environment to have fun. Go snow-tubing on a Sunday in winter, or get the faculty together for a picnic in the summer. During the long conference weeks, go out to dinner with colleagues. Throughout the year, seize the moment to make colleagues feel appreciated. Surprise birthday luncheons, cards, and notes of encouragement and support can all be meaningful. Praise and words of kindness can go a long way.

Carol Corso
Elementary learning support teacher
Allentown, Pennsylvania

There will be higher morale among teachers and support staff when employees feel heard by superiors. If a hierarchical chain of command stonewalls staff members, they will feel frustrated and demoralized. Staff members need to become involved with decisionmaking. When teachers and administrators work together as more of a team, employee morale will surely rise.

Dana Reisboard
High school reading teacher
Narberth, Pennsylvania

A co-worker and I began selling Mylar balloons after school to raise funds for school activities. We used some of the profits for gifts for staff on the many days set aside for recognition, such as School Nurse Day and Counselor Recognition Week.

Balloons generate smiles no matter what the age of the recipient. Also, when staff earn grants or awards, the information is shared with the staff at meetings and with students on morning announcements.

Every staff meeting should start with some of the positive contributions of staff and students. We all need to know our efforts are recognized and encouraged.

Pamela Galus
Earth science educator
Omaha, Nebraska

Got an Answer?
How do you improve the return rate of papers you send home to parents?

E-mail your answer to dilemma2@neatoday.nea.org. Or send by regular mail, or fax to 202/822-7206. Please include your name, city, state, and job title. Published respondents will receive an NEA Today mug!

Idea Exchange

My School Burned!
My colleagues and I just went through a traumatic event--our school burned down. From this experience, I feel I have an important tip. Keep copies of your important records and an updated inventory list in two places--one at home, one at school.

For elementary teachers, think of all the books you purchase for your classroom library. We're in the process of "reinventing" our inventory for insurance purposes, and all our records were at school. If you have taught for any length of time, you know how difficult this can be.

Harry Beggerly
Miami, Oklahoma

Smart Math
I recently purchased a major appliance and started thinking about how we use math every day. Now, a part of our daily math lesson is called "Real Life Math." I tell my children how I used math during the past 24 hours. They tell me how they've used math, and we chart the results. Once, they caught a mistake on my shopping receipt. It's important for children to see a practical use of what they learn in school, and this activity has been a winner!

Stella Bock
Cranford, New Jersey

'Expert' students
During a recent sub shortage, I was drafted to teach fifth grade for a day. Students signed up to be experts to help me understand the routine and to call on classmates to provide instruction.

Students wrote knowledge they'd acquired on the board as we progressed, so at the end of the day we had a nice record of our learning. For ten minutes of reward time, the students wrote one thing they had learned or taught someone on a card. This encouraged everyone to be reflective, alert, and eager to contribute. There were absolutely no behavior problems, and it was the best day of teaching I've had since I stopped teaching first grade.

Judy Schwall
Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Teachers Drive Large-Scale Reform

Grant gives California teachers freedom to work together and improve learning.

Jennifer Rivera, above left, and Amy Walczak lead faculty discussion at Sedgwick Elementary.

What would your school do with $400,000 or more? More than 100 San Francisco-area schools in six counties got to answer that question in 1995, thanks to a major grant from the Annenberg Foundation.

Their answer: Use the money to buy time for teachers to work together, analyze problems school-by-school, and implement solutions.

At one school, educators found that students needed more help with literacy. At other schools, after looking critically at student data, teachers shifted focus to mathematics and other subjects.

What they had in common is that changes were driven by frontline educators, not from above. Teams of teachers devised solutions, tested them out, and continually revised the details.

And a study shows that today, the children are learning better.

"It takes a new way of thinking to look seriously at where students are falling behind and do something drastic about it," says Lynn Gurnee, literacy coordinator at Kennedy Elementary School in Newark.

"Teachers are leading the way on this," she adds.

Through the "Annenberg Challenge"--the school improvement initiative launched by retired publisher and ambassador Walter H. Annenberg, who committed $500 million to public schools around the country--these California schools formed the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC).

BASRC got $25 million each from the Challenge and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The total swelled to $112 million last year due to matching grants from private donors.

"Educators are all badly starved for time to become better teachers," says Jerry Brooks, a government teacher at Pinole Valley High School. "BASRC has given us many professional development opportunities we wouldn't have had otherwise."

The Annenberg Foundation has been so pleased with what's happening in the BASRC schools that it has awarded them $40 million in new grants for five more years. The Hewlett Foundation added $60 million.

This means Lynn Gurnee will continue as her school's literacy coordinator, a position funded by BASRC. She plans staff development, demonstrates reading strategies, and helps colleagues in-terpret students' scores.

Jennifer Rivera and Amy Walczak do similar work at Sedgwick Elementary in Cupertino. Their positions, too, were created by the teachers with BASRC funds.

"Before BASRC, our professional development trainings were random, and most teachers didn't know how to apply what they learned," says Rivera. "Today, everyone is focused on reading comprehension. Everyone is becoming an expert. Everyone is united."

This is especially important, says Walczak, because Sedgwick is a school that faces many obstacles.

"We've had four principals in four years, and our students are typically below benchmark," she says. "But there is a real team atmosphere now, and the teachers are learning together."

"Our teachers used to shut the doors to their classrooms and do their own thing," echoes Lynn Gurnee. "Today, teams of teachers plan together constantly to improve student performance."

According to Stanford University researchers, this collaboration is working. They reported last spring that students at BASRC schools made greater gains on the Stanford Achievement Test than their peers at schools of similar socio-economic makeup.

What's more, the biggest gains were in high-poverty schools.

Improvements were driven, the researchers said, by the way the schools trained teachers, shared leadership, involved parents, and used data to evaluate teaching methods.

The researchers noted, "For many years, teachers have volunteered hours outside of classroom time to develop curriculum, standards, and assessment tools, but typically grants have not paid for this teacher time." BASRC, they said, helped schools make the improvement of teaching a normal part of their program by paying for it.

Says Rivera, "We're a better school and much better teachers. When teachers get time and resources to become better teachers, look what happens."

Gurnee and her colleagues have big plans for the new money their school will be getting over the next few years. "There's just so much more we want to do," says Gurnee. "We're constantly pushing ourselves beyond being comfortable and complacent."

--Dina S. Gómez

For More: Visit http://basrc.wested.org/basrc and www.aisr.brown.edu/challenge.

How do you successfully share your classroom with other staff?

I've been certified for 14 years and have never had my own room. My greatest advice to anyone sharing a room is to be specific in your wants and needs, such as not erasing the day's homework assignment.

Taking a "my room" attitude leads to friction. It's probably natural to feel invaded at first, but consider the plight of the teacher who is moving every single period. That might put things in perspective. The "host" can offer space to the "traveler" and not make unreasonable demands.

Travelers should be good guests in the other teacher's room and take their own stash of supplies instead of drawing from the other's stores.

LaVonne Davis-Schenck
Middle school foreign language teacher
Cumberland, Rhode Island

In my increasingly crowded middle school, most of us share rooms. Communication is the most important component in surviving. Before the year begins, talk honestly with your roommates about comfort levels for desk arrangement, equipment usage, etc.

Discuss what you feel to be negotiable and non-negotiable, including whether you feel comfortable if your roommate remains in the room to work or breezes in to grab forgotten material.

The bottom line is, if you don't have a choice, make the best of it, and remember to be sensitive to the needs of everyone.

Ellen Levy
Middle school teacher
Buffalo Grove, Illinois

I've had to share rooms with many different people. I try to be a gracious hostess and make sure the other teacher has her own space in my room, and I try to overlook differences in organizational styles. I can be more tolerant when I remind myself that I could be the one traveling from room to room.

Deb Henry
Science teacher
Des Moines, Iowa

To be prepared for three sections of health in two locations, I bought a three-shelf "tea-cart." I also bought a baby's changing table diaper "caddie" that hangs on one side of the cart to hold markers, pens, and videos.

The handles of the cart hold my briefcase so some materials can be less exposed. The system works to keep all my materials handy and not have things piled in someone else's space.

Susan Carr
Health educator
Amherst, New Hampshire

I teach in a medium-sized Iowa school. I "share" my room with another teacher three periods per day.

During his class time, I have my prep period and other supervision duties in other parts of our building. I spend my prep time in another teacher's room (who also has prep) and use the computer in her room to work on grades, handouts, etc.

It was difficult at first not to be in "my" room during my prep time, but the experience has helped me become more organized.

I've also developed a strong bond with the chemistry teacher as a result of spending our prep time together.

Nancy Pinkston
Spanish and geography teacher
Alleman, Iowa

This year I'm sharing a small room with another LD teacher.

I went from having one large room of my own to having a smaller room that I share.

We're getting along great!

What are the keys to our success? Flexibility, communication, and few key boundaries, as well as a sense of humor.

At the outset, we decided on what we each needed as "our own" in the room.

We kept it simple: We each have a desk, filing cabinet, one section of the chalkboard, and a shelf in a closet.

Other than these items, we share everything.

Each of us teams with other teachers and has different planning times. When one of us is teaching in our shared room, the other is teaming elsewhere or planning.

I think the personalities of the teachers involved can make or break this teaching challenge.

We've been able to make the best of it, which has been a great lesson for our middle school students.

They observe cooperation, communication, sharing, and working together.

Gladys Robinson
Eighth grade LD teacher
Manassas, Virginia

Got an Answer?
How do you respond when students tell you about family problems?

E-mail your advice to dilemma2@neatoday.nea.org and we'll share it with our readers. Or send by regular mail or fax at 202/822-7206. Please include your name, city, state, job title, and grade level, if applicable.

NEA members published in this column will receive a bright NEA Today mug.

How I Did It

Joan Millspaw
Perry High School
Library/Media specialist
Perry, Ohio

Four years ago, while I was serving on a block schedule task force, teachers of incoming freshman cited some transition issues, such as study skill habits, homework expectations, understanding of school rules and regulations, familiarity with co-curricular programs, and a review of our school traditions and social events.

The task force recommended establishing a Freshman Mentor Advisor Program. The program has now been in place for four years. We have both junior and senior student mentors assisting freshman in moving from middle to high school as smoothly as possible.

The program helps kids know how much people care about them.

Mentors help new students in many ways. Some students have problems adjusting to a new building or curriculum.

Also, in block scheduling, there are no study halls. Mentoring time, during part of their lunch, gives students time to kick back, make new friends, and connect with a teacher. Many former freshmen have gone on to become some of my best mentors.

The program grows and evolves each year. With the inception of our "Student Resource Officer" program, I thought it would be the perfect time to involve our school's resource officer, Brandy Hanusosky. My goal was for students to get to know police in a positive way and see them as good guys, not just someone who pulls over speeders.

When my mentor advisors met with their assigned groups to generate questions for Officer Hanusosky, they came up with everything from "Do you eat doughnuts?" to the most serious issues in students' and parents' minds, including school safety.

In her final meeting with students, Officer Hanusosky talked about safety during the summer months. Students feel safe having an officer in the building, and she's become an important component of our mentoring program.

Mentoring works! Our program has been successful because of dedicated students, administrators, teachers, and support personnel who are willing to give a little extra time and effort.

President's Viewpoint
Teacher Care and Nurturing

To meet the growing demand for teachers, first we must do more to keep the good teachers we already have.

When Jennifer Gartell began her teaching career, the last thing in the world she thought she'd become was a statistic. And yet it happened. Hired just a week before school was to start, Jennifer discovered there were almost no supplies available for her third grade classroom in Loma Linda Elementary School, Phoenix, Arizona. So she trooped out to Target and bought everything she needed, including chalk.

But while the experience puzzled Jennifer--"How could the school system not provide their teachers with chalk?"--it did not dampen her enthusiasm for teaching.

Jennifer had wanted to be a teacher ever since the fourth grade where she had a wonderful teacher--"Mr. Spencer." Like a number of David Spencer's former students, Jennifer had stayed in touch with him. And on her desk, in her first classroom, she placed a picture of Mr. Spencer. For he was the teacher she aspired to become one day.

Then her burning idealism collided with the reality of 27 students, many of whom qualified for free and subsidized lunches. Jennifer tried to be their "teacher, friend, mother, and social worker," and was "overwhelmed." The children came to her "with problems my middle class background never prepared me for." At the end of her first year in the classroom, she wasn't sure she was "cut out for teaching." Yes, she had made a difference in some of the children's lives, but it had been so draining.

Jennifer Gartell joined the growing ranks of new teachers who leave their jobs in urban school districts--many such districts in fact have a new teacher turnover rate of 50 percent. Fortunately, she decided to give teaching another year.

She moved on to a more prosperous district and has taught gifted students for two years, finding it rewarding. She still thinks about the children she left behind, however.

It's vitally important that we attract more bright young people to the teaching profession. But my message to school districts is that you should pay more attention to keeping the teachers you have--both the beginners like Jennifer Gartell of three years ago and the more seasoned teachers--Jennifer Gartell today.

In a time of a growing teacher shortage, it is a false economy to pinch pennies on teacher professional development, working conditions, and salaries, and then scramble madly in the weeks before school to fill the empty teaching slots vacated by teachers who have either left the profession or moved to another district.

And I am convinced that all teacher retention efforts must begin with the recognition of how difficult teaching really is.

After 30 years in elementary school classrooms, Jennifer's inspiration David Spencer put it best: "I've done a lot of things in my life, but teaching is the hardest thing I've ever done besides parenting my own kids."

My point is, why make teaching even harder than it already is? Give teachers the time they need to plan and confer with their colleagues. Provide them with the mentors and professional development they need. Reduce class size. And, for heaven's sake, pay them a professional salary.

Comments? You can E-mail Bob Chase at BobChase@nea.org. If you would like a response, please be sure to include your name and NEA local affiliate.

People
National Teacher of the Year

Vermont's Michele Forman doesn't take knowledge lightly.

When one of her world history students at Middlebury Union High School in rural Vermont asked why they didn't learn more about the Arabs in school, Michele Forman saw an opportunity. She participated in a summer institute in Arabic history, literature, culture, and language.

She also spent nine weeks in a strict immersion program at the Middlebury College Language School of Arabic, where she lived in the dorms. For seven days a week, 16 hours a day, Forman plunged into the language, bound by a pledge to speak only Arabic.

Four years ago, she brought her new language--and understanding of the Arab culture--back to her students. That's when she started teaching a noncredit course in Arabic language and culture three mornings per week. More than 20 students now participate each day--not because they have to, but because they want to.

"Vermont is small, rural, and ethnically homogeneous when compared with the rest of the nation," says the National Board Certified teacher. "Since I can't regularly bring my students into the larger world on a regular basis, I bring diverse experiences and cultures to them."

Forman, who helped write the National Standards for World History, also speaks regularly to her students about teaching in Nepal asa Peace Corps volunteer in the late 1960s, as well as her recent travels to West Africa, India, Korea, Greece, and Turkey.

In addition, the 21-year veteran advises the Student Coalition on Human Rights group, which organized the first Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration march in Vermont several years ago. Their motto: "Dignity and respect for everyone in the school."

She works hard to bring trust and excitement to her classroom and school.

"Without mutual trust, students are wary of accepting the risk and vulnerability of learning," she says.