- Viewpoint: In this discussion, students viewed how well the United States performed on an international survey. The Program for International Student Assessment conducts this survey every three years to students age 15. There is a comparison on how boys and girls score relatively and how nations can better improve their students’ performance
- In one well-written paragraph, describe the highest performing nation, the lowest performing nation, and how the United States compares. Use the 2012 report for this information. Do NOT just "list" the answers!
- In another well-written paragraph, describe what nation performs the highest in Math and who performs higher in reading skills, boys or girls (2012 report)?
- Describe the performance of single-parent students (2012 report).
In 2012, the numbers of 15 year old students in single –parent households were 20.7%. Many single parent households have financial challenges due to one income in the family. The struggles of poverty may limit the single parents’ ability to provide mental stimulating materials for their children. These children may not have access to books or other creative supplies that would stimulate their desire to learn. Students that live in this type of environment scored lower than those from a two-parent home. The United States having high achievement in both low scoring and single-parent homes, may cause major concern in the near future.
- Concerning performance levels, how important are parents? In other words, can parents make a difference? Describe.
- Describe some of the in the 2009 and 2012 reports. Are we making progress?
- Describe what makes a school successful according the 2012 PISA report?
- As a future classroom teacher, how can you use the information on this web site?
- Do you think the information on this web site is accurate? Why or why not?
- Based on your analysis of the web site information, do you believe that certain political mandates designed to increase reading and math performance levels (such as the No Child Left Behind law) ARE working or ARE NOT working? Explain.
- Summary
- Research Question
- Research Results
Effective learning has different ways for students to comprehend any given subjects and use the information. A few techniques teachers can use are as follows: summarization, highlighting, the keyword mnemonic, imagery use for text learning, and rereading (Dunlosky 2013). Many of these tools have had a positive effect on students. When given these tools to learn, students have been known to understand better than students who do not act on the information given. Students should also take practice tests to have a visual representation of what will be on a future test or exam.
Teachers’ motivation is a major part of growth for students going through education. A quality teacher is one who has a positive effect on student learning and development through a combination of content master (Hightower 2013). Every student in their lives will need to be motivated whether it’s in education, sports games, or physical and emotional stress. As a student myself, I have always needed to be motivated in a difficult subject. Whenever a teacher would express interests in students and my own struggles, there was an immediate drive to not give up.
Research Summary
PISA can encourage teachers to improve students’ grades by improving effective learning and motivation. Teachers using different techniques like summarization and highlighting can help many students understand subjects easier. Students that have these options can comprehend better than those who do not. Motivation from teachers also helps students perform better in schools. Having someone that cares enough about them to perform better, increases a students’ moral to do better.
Dunlosky, John. "Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques." Http://psi.sagepub.com/content/14/1/4.abstract. N.p., Jan. 2013. Web. 26 June 2015.
Hightower, Amy T., Racheal C. Delgado, Sterling C. Lloyd, Rebecca Wittensteins, Kacy Sellers, and Christopher B. Swanson. "Improving Student Learning By Supporting Quality Teaching." (2007): n. pag. Http://www.edweek.org/media/eperc_qualityteaching_12.11.pdf. Editorial Projects in Education, Inc., 11 Dec. 2013. Web. 25 June 2015.