Best Practices

Running head: BEST PRACTICES IN EDUCATION 1

Week 7 Assignment-EDL 822: Best Practices in Education

Student Name

Grand Canyon University

Date

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Best Practices

The field of education has been researched extensively in an effort to determine the most

effective practices for improved instruction, heightened student outcomes, and organizational

success. Current best practices that have been studied for their efficacy include year-round

education, Response to Intervention (RTI), and cooperative learning. These practices have shown

mixed results ranging from having the potential to elevate organizational outcomes and student

achievement to creating staffing concerns. Due to the mixed results of these practices, many are

still not adopted by school leaders and teachers. Future trends in education have indicated a need

to embrace effective and timeless evidence-based practices in order to improve student

achievement, elevate instruction, and achieve organizational goals as opposed to adopting

current trends which will likely be abandoned within a few years.

Year-Round Education

Year-round education has been studied to determine the program’s effects on the

students’ academic outcomes and the effects on the community. According to Von Hippel (2015)

millions of students are now attending the year-round school model, which does not increase the

number of days the student attends school, but rather disperses the days off throughout the year

in shorter increments. By adopting a year-round educational platform, areas that are

overpopulated are able to meet the needs of all students by having multiple groups rotating with

different schedules so that when one group is on a break, another group is in session. Areas that

find a sudden increase in student enrollment and population growth can utilize this system to

ensure all students have access to a classroom with reasonable numbers. This model is also

beneficial for areas with an increase in teachers due to adjustments such as classroom size.

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Furthermore, upon its introduction, parents and students reported positive perspectives on this

model (Von Hippel, 2015).

The year-round education model was intended to improve student academic outcomes

due to the momentum of learning being minimally interrupted; however, because the number of

days that instruction occurred had not changed, there had been no evidence of increased

academic outcomes (McMullen & Rouse, 2012). Von Hippel (2015) agreed noting that test

scores did not reveal improvements and disadvantaged students actually displayed negative

effects. Furthermore, year-round education contributed to a reduction in the mothers’

employment, reduced property values, and many parents and teachers more recently reporting

negative perspectives of utilizing this model. An additional concern is that schools that employ

this model struggle maintaining qualified staff with areas of low socioeconomic status unable to

hire sufficient quality instructors (Graves, McMullen, & Rouse, 2015). Although this model

seemed to be a logical solution to maintaining the momentum of instruction, it has not improved

academic outcomes and has created additional issues that were unexpected such as a decrease in

property value. For these reasons, most schools have chosen not to adopt this practice.

Response to Intervention

The Response to Intervention (RTI) framework was developed in an effort to quickly

identify struggling students and provide them with small group support to improve their

academic outcomes. The results of Tier 2 instruction for struggling readers indicated statistically

significant improvements when the program was implemented with fidelity (Balu et al., 2015).

Surprisingly, students who were closer to performing on grade level had significant negative

outcomes from the program. Gersten, Jayanthi, and Diminio (2017) agreed adding that Tier 2

and Tier 3 interventions had a negative outcome for first grade comprehension scores while

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decoding and fluency for second and third graders who tested near grade level did not indicate

significant growth.

The opportunity to have students work in an intensive group of study to improve their

reading scores requires that the student sacrifices in-classroom instruction while they are out of

the classroom in their group. The results of this intervention vary from statistically significant

growth to negative effects. As a result, many teachers and schools refrain from adopting this

practice that has been proven successful in some settings and counter effective in others.

Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning is an educational model that supports all students by having

students work together in groups and learn from one another. Slavin (2014) explains that

cooperative learning benefits students by teaching necessary life skills in addition to problem

solving strategies, effective communication, and respect for diversity. Gillies (2016) agreed

noting that cooperative learning promotes social skills and have the potential to improve

academics in all subjects. In addition, math and reading outcomes were improved for students

who used cooperative learning as their platform compared with advanced text books and the use

of technology.

While cooperative learning has many benefits, often few motivated students complete a

significant amount of work for the group. Merely placing students in groups is not sufficient to

achieve success, but rather five key components need to be accepted by all group members for

improved outcomes. These components include structure, positive interactions, accountability,

interpersonal skills, and processing (Gillies, 2016). Although many instructors feel they are using

cooperative learning by placing students in groups, this is not the model. Teachers need to be

trained to use this model to ensure they implement the required procedures and teach the

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necessary skills for this model to be effective. Many teachers and schools have not adopted this

model due to apprehension of its success compared with other platforms and inadequate training.

Future Trends

The increased pressures felt by educational leaders to improve school grades and perform

well on high stakes exams have led to many schools adopting new practices with mixed results.

Also, the need to improve student and organizational outcomes to stay successful in a

competitive market leads many schools to try current educational trends. It is risky, time

consuming, and costly to invest in these practices without evidence-based, consistent and

statistically significant results. Consequently, many schools have invested in these practices only

to find they yielded adverse results. Nevertheless, the pressure to demonstrate that the

organization is taking necessary steps towards improvement drives the adoption of practices that

are abandoned within a few years until the next trend surfaces.

Although there are many trends that have generated mixed results, some trends have been

proven successful and beneficial for many years. For example, encouraging students with praise

and promoting student success in the classroom has greater benefits for classroom management

than employing punishment for being off task ( Flores, Beschta, Meyer, & Reinke, 2017). Also,

investing in effective training during PLCs for teachers to apply effective practices in the

classroom and have time to collaborate contributes to school and student improvements (Harris

& Jones, 2017). These trends will continue to be effective and drive improvement.

Future trends in education require effective communication and collaboration to ensure

that students are able to contribute effectively in their communities. Identifying the needs within

the community will also help ensure students are adequately trained academically and socially to

make these contributions. Teachers and educational leaders need to integrate social skills and life

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skills into the curriculum to ensure that students are prepared for their futures regardless of the

new trends that may appear.

In an effort to prepare for future trends, I collaborate with stakeholders to ensure my

students are prepared for their futures and that I am meeting their needs. I regularly analyze data

to ensure the practices I use in the classroom are effective. I attend PLCs regularly and as a

member of the Building Leadership Team, I contributed to the content of the PLCs. Furthermore,

I attend as many professional development classes that I can to gain knowledge of effective

practices. I create lessons where I tour the world with my students in an effort to promote a love

for diversity among my students. Lastly, I teach social and life skills to my students so they can

effectively work with others and build positive relationships.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the field of education continues to evolve with new trends and practices as

schools continue to feel the pressure of high stakes exams and the need to show they are actively

applying new strategies for improvement. Subsequently, many schools are adopting promising

new trends and best practices. Three of the current best practices are year-long education,

Response to Intervention, and cooperative learning. Although each of these practices have

merits, they also have had adverse results in some settings. As a result, many educators and

leaders have been hesitant to adopt these practices. The future of education requires that schools

continue to implement effective evidence-based practices, such as PLCs, and develop a

curriculum that will contribute to the success of all students as opposed to adopting new trends

that will likely be replaced within a few years.

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References

Balu, R., Zhu, P., Doolittle, F., Schiller, E., Jenkins, J., & Gersten, R. (2015). Evaluation of

Response to Intervention Practices for Elementary School Reading. NCEE 2016-

4000. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.

Floress, M. T., Beschta, S. L., Meyer, K. L., & Reinke, W. M. (2017). Praise research trends and

future directions: Characteristics and teacher training. Behavioral Disorders, 43(1), 227-

243.

Gersten, R., Jayanthi, M., & Dimino, J. (2017). Too much, too soon? Unanswered questions

from national response to intervention evaluation. Exceptional Children, 83(3), 244-254.

Gillies, R. M. (2016). Cooperative learning: Review of research and practice. Australian Journal

of Teacher Education, 41(3), 3.

Graves, J. (2015). The impact of year-round schooling on teacher turnover and quality. In XXII

Encuentro de Economía Pública: Reformas y nuevos retos de los Estados de Bienestar:

eficiencia y equidad (p. 7). Universidade de Vigo.

Harris, A., & Jones, M. S. (2017). Professional learning communities: a strategy for school and

system improvement?. Wales Journal of Education, 19(1), 16-38.

McMullen, S. C., & Rouse, K. E. (2012). The impact of year-round schooling on academic

achievement: Evidence from mandatory school calendar conversions. American

Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 4(4), 230-52.

Slavin, R. E. (2015). Cooperative learning in elementary schools. Education 3-13, 43(1), 5-14.

Von Hippel, P. (2015). Year-round school calendars: Effects on summer learning, achievement,

parents, teachers, and property values. New York: Teachers College Press.