Overall Perception of Success in Transitioning. The word of choice for the focus group of honors Algebra 2 students was “easy,” given that four students used it in their answer. Four out of the nine students specifically referred to having upperclassman teammates as helpful in making their transition easy. One student who participates on the swim team commented, “I thought the first day was really easy… I didn’t get lost surprisingly, I thought fall sports were really helpful because I met so many people right from the start who helped me through the adjustment.” The second focus group instead used “comfortable” to describe their overall perceptions of the transition to the high school. One student said they were “comfortable walking in the first day of school.” Another commented, “you get nervous walking into classes at first but you always end up knowing someone in your classes so it was comforting.” Also mentioned was the nervousness of having classes with upperclassman. One shared, “at first I thought they were going to be mean to me, but they were actually very nice.” Finally, all three participants agreed that the August portion of the orientation as the most helpful. One student also mentioned they “got the flow once there had been two A and B days” to understand …show more content…
Of the students in the honors math focus group, six out of nine said they were not academically prepared and the remaining three classified themselves as somewhat prepared. There comments provided feedback in the differences in academic expectations from SDMS to WHS. One student commented, “the middle school teachers are just so easy.” Another students comment sums up the group feelings. This student said, “I didn’t try the whole year, but I got all As, now I try really hard and I still don’t do well. We would learn a concept and spend a week on it where here we learn something new every day. Like we had the first day and then a concept check the next class. I was
Thornton Fractional South High School represents a diverse school building in the South Suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. We consist of a traditional 9th through 12th grade building with the exception of busing students to the District 215 Tech Center for vocational classes. We share these resources with our sister school TF North. Although we consistently outperform TFN, we are behind the state averages on both the ACT and the PSAE. On the ACT, we are below the state average on the composite score as well as on all three recorded sub-categories. We were closest to the state average in Science and the furthest in Reading. As for the PSAE test to measure those students meeting and exceeding standards, we are again behind the state average. TFS averaged 40.5% of students tested to meet or exceed standards. Meanwhile, the State of Illinois average was 53%. Currently, we are on the Academic Watch Status year 2. We were unable to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) or the Safe Harbor Target Goal for Reading and Mathematics which are the two target areas. Our goal as a school is to reach the AYP and attempt to reach and exceed the state averages on the ACT and PSAE.
Throughout the length of schooling, students go through various changes. In their first year of school, children are required to make the transition from being at home for the entire day to being in school for a number of hours a day. These transition periods happen many times through the schooling years, but the most drastic changes occur during the transition from high school to college, where students weather numerous lifestyle changes. While each individual student goes on their own journey, certain themes remain common between different students. Studies are done to look at these themes identifying the numerous differences and similarities.
Anxiety ran throughout my entire body the morning before my first class of college began. Not knowing what to expect of my professors, classmates, and campus scared me to death. I knew the comparison to senior year of high school and freshman year of college would be minute, but never did it occur to me how much more effort was need in college until that morning, of course. Effort wasn’t just needed inside of the classroom with homework and studying but also outside of it where we are encouraged to join clubs, get involved and find a job. Had I known the transformation would be so great, I’d have mentally prepared myself properly. It’s easy playing “grown-up” in high school when one doesn’t have to pay expensive tuitions, workout a
As many people have told me before, it is a very different ballgame than middle school’s easy going years. There is much more work, the classes are harder, and the environment is completely different. Many people’s grades may slip and they may cower in fear at the barrage of assignments they receive class after class. Unlike other people, I am confident in my ability to excel at all classes and to sustain exemplary grades. Therefore, while many are trembling in fear at the prodigious assignments and work is bombarding them from all angles, I will be at ease, knowing that whatever obstacle is thrown my way, I will conquer it and be its own
Making the transition from middle school to high school is a huge stepping stone in a teenager’s life. High school represents both the ending of a childhood and the beginning of adulthood. It’s a rite of passage and often many teens have the wrong impression when beginning this passage. Most began high school with learning the last thing on their mind. They come in looking for a story like adventure and have a false sense of reality created through fabricated movie plots acted out by fictional characters. In all actuality high school is nothing like you see in movies, television shows, or what you read about in magazines.
Theresa M. Letrello & Dorothy D. Miles (2003) The Transition from Middle School to High School:
America’s children have found increasing difficulty with school. The curriculum in schools is claiming to be harder in higher levels, but the lack of focus and direction in the younger grades has made for decreased grade levels and lower mastery in several basic areas such as math, writing, and reading skills. Standardized test scores are at an all time low, as increasing amounts of children progress through the educational system having not at...
According to Niesen, transitions can be difficult for everyone, but for young people one of the most difficult transitions is the one from elementary to middle school. At the same time that young adolescents are adapting to hormonally induced physical, emotional, and cognitive changes, they suddenly enter new educational environments that are typically less nurturing, larger, more departmentalized (e.g., going from one classroom to another), more competitive, and more demanding academically. Middle school students are generally expected to be more independent and responsible for their own assignments as well as other commitments ( 2004, p. 163).
During my early education, meaning elementary school and middle school, I was a very average student. I gave an average amount of effort to my grades, and I received above average results. This did not bother me, until the end of my 8th-grade year. At this point in the year, I was filling out what classes I desired to take the following year, my freshman year. I realized that from this point forward, I had to take my education much more serious, in order to get accepted to whichever college I desired. therefore, when planning my classes, I decided to challenge myself more than I ever have in the past, and take multiple honors courses. I assumed because of my grades, that I had what it took to be an honors-level student, but I was very wrong. One teacher, Mrs. Johnson, made me realize the kind of effort, time and energy needed to be devoted to my education.
Using Allison’s strengths and interests is important to helping her become a successful student. This is the method of helping Bender, Brian and any other student become successful in school. Building on the student strengths, while allowing them to work on their weaknesses is important for all students and especially for twice-exceptional students in the classroom. When looking at the student’s weakness it is important to understand that their behavior is not a weakness, but a result of an underlying cause. Examining the cause of the behavior will help recognize the challenge areas for improvement by understanding the underlying cause for the behavior. After understanding the student’s strengths and challenges, the teachers can then fully help the student learn to the best of their abilities.
In the 1980’s a report called “A Nation At Risk” stated that American children had fallen behind in such subjects as math and science. Thus came the advent of education’s increased focus on literacy and numeracy, accountability and academic standards. These high standards, according to Dumas (2000), are the most significant trend in schools today.
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one student to dissolve the bonds which have held him to his high school life, he can get fairly intimidated. Making the transition from high school to college can be a tough one. I remember my experience in such a transition vividly, as it was only a short time ago.
According to Witkavitch (2010) life is about change and as human beings we’re always changing, growing, transforming and transitioning our lives. Our whole life is made up of change. It is relative to time and a natural component of our everyday life. Things change, they grow, they develop, they die, and something else shows up. There are many changes that can occur during a person’s lifetime. For instance, we all were once kids who changed into adults. With that said, as we age, dreams change. There will always be something new in life and we can’t expect everything to fall in place as we wish because the future is constantly changing. In the age of globalization, information and communication revolution changes are affecting our lifestyles, our ways of thinking, feelings and the way we act. Life changes everyday for a person in some way. Just like we expect the seasons to change and children to grow older. Some changes are very small and can affect your life in an enormous way. However, other events can be very important and could change your whole life such as getting married, getting arrested, having a baby, and even losing a close friend or relative. The important events that altered my life are coming the United States, playing club soccer, becoming a U.S. citizen, going to graduate school and studying abroad. In this in paper, I will discuss how these phases transformed my life physically and mentally.
How do teachers enable all students of varying abilities to reach the same goals and standards established for their grade level? Instruction begins with a concept of treating each student as a unique learner whose strengths and weaknesses ha...
The purpose of Chapter two is to review literature related to the major variables within the study. Two literature reviews were conducted. The first literature review examined the retention rates and low standardized test scores on Students taking Middle School Math. This follows the purpose of the conceptual framework, the Keller’s ARCS model(1987). Here, there will be literature related to inform the study that is related to the research design, intervention design, and measurement instruments. Lastly there will be a section on the Conceptual Framework.