2015 July

Decreasing the Achievement Gap through Increasing Parents’ Knowledge and Skills: A Focus on Parent Engagement

In order to ultimately decrease the Achievement Gap, this study focuses on increasing, specifically Latino parent engagement. Throughout the study I investigated parents’ institutional belief of education, their growth in knowledge and skills, participation in their scholar’s education, and their relationship with the school, teachers, and most importantly their scholars. The intervention consisted of multipleread more

Addressing Math Anxiety Using Alternative Assessment

Math anxiety impacts student achievement. Having taught for nine years, I have observed its effect on students in my class every year. While studies show that a number of factors contribute to a student’s math anxiety, the use of traditional assessment is a leading cause. The purpose of this action research, in turn, was toread more

Collaborative Inquiry Groups to Improve Teacher Practice and Increase Student Engagement

Academic engagement is one of the key predictors for success in school. Disengaged students have a much higher likelihood of dropping out, becoming incarcerated or becoming dependent on social services in their future. Teacher behavior has a significant impact on the levels of student engagement in the classroom. Self-determination Theory (SDT) suggests that when studentsread more

Choice and Voice: Student-­‐led Literature Circles for Deeper Understanding of Text

Lighthouse Community Charter School (Lighthouse) is a K-12 charter school in Oakland, California that serves over 700 students. Our mission is to prepare all students for the college or career of their choice, with an emphasis on supporting students through college. We began our shift to Common Core standards two years ago, and participated inread more