At-Risk Secondary School Students

Reform in education in the United States is a hot-button issue. Reform, unfortunately, means many different things to the various interest groups advocating change (Hamilton & Pinnegar, 2000). To some people, educational reform means a switch to outcomes-based education, while others advocate variants on the standards approach, and still others push for a return to the basic education model followed in the first half of the twentieth century. Countering these perceptions of educational reform are the advocates of such discredited concepts as whole-language instruction, or sound but difficult to implement concepts such as critical thinking. Still other interest groups promote parental choice through a variety of initiatives that include school vouchers, other approaches of public support for private education, open enrollment, charter schools, and home schooling. Then, of course, there are those people who simply oppose standardized testing because some segments of the population perform poorly on such tests. The preferred approach to reform of the opponents of standardized testing is a system that assures equality in outcome measurement and reward regardless of what students actually learn. The outcome that the American public demands, however, is a quality product from the nation's public schools (Hamilton & Pinnegar, 2000).

Regardless of the position one takes on the app

. . .
hanges in organization and structure of knowledge and primarily occur in the context of problem solving. The expediting of learning occurs with the use of challenging problem-solving situations in which mental models are tested, extended, and refined until they are effective and reliable in solving that problem (Neches, 1993). Collaborative learning involves interpersonal processes by which a small group of students work together to complete an academic problem-solving task designed to promote learning. In the collaborative learning approach, "collaborative activities lead to emergent knowledge, which is the result (not summation) of interaction of the understandings of those who contribute to its formation" (Whipple, 1987, p. 5). Collaborative activities enhance learning by allowing individuals to exercise, verify, solidify, and improve their mental models through discussions and information sharing during the problem-solving process. Collaborative learning in higher education increases student involvement with the course material and with one another as they work together in small groups in performing an academic task. Technology facilitates the collaborative learning process in distance education scenarios. McKeachie
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Standards Assessment, Hill Kratwohl, Europe Taylor, Miller Stayton, Weaknesses TAAS, Definitions Terms, Research Methods, Strategy Instructional, Christians Towers, Thompson Kahng, proposed study, academic performance, at-risk secondary, at-risk secondary students, secondary students, outcome-based education, kolb 1994, learning style, kids 1997, student performance, research question, academic outcomes at-risk, outcomes at-risk secondary, students classes taught, classes taught teachers,
Approximate Word count = 9464
Approximate Pages = 38 (250 words per page)

More Essays on At-Risk Secondary School Students