MDED Multi-Dimensional Education Inc.

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MDEDMulti-Dimensional Education Inc.

• Data-Driven Educational Solutions
• By Philip F. Vincent

East Coast Office 366 Bella Vista Drive, Boone,
North Carolina 28607 West Coast Office 3001
Redhill Avenue, Suite 6-207, Costa Mesa,
California 92626 Toll Free 866.599.MDED (6333),
info_at_MDEDinc.com
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Character Education

• is any school-directed program designed to shape
  directly and systematically the behavior of young
  people by teaching explicitly the non-relativist
  values believed to bring about good behavior.
  Lockwood, 1997.
• Is this a good definition?

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The Definition of Character

• From the English word character is derived
  from the Greek Charakter, which originally
  referred to a marked impressed upon a coin.
  Later and more generally character came to mean
  a distinctive mark by which one thing was
  distinguished from others, and then primarily to
  mean the assemblage of qualities that distinguish
  one individual from another. Homiak 2007

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Seeing the Whole Picture

• Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP)
• There are three core principles
• They require more hours of class time than
  typical public schools.
• They treat instruction and lesson planning more
  like a science than an art and
• They make a conscious effort to guide behavior
  and even values of their students by teaching
  what they call character.
• 
  www. nytimes.com. (2006)

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To Consider

• If our classrooms are filled with a higher
  percentage of students and teachers who show
  respect for others, practice responsibility, show
  resilience, trust their teachers and fellow
  students, practice kindness, consider ideas of
  moral excellence and the struggle of humanity as
  they seek to serve others then we just might
  offer students a quality education.

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How we should see character education

• I believe we must see character education as a
  process not as a program. It must be infused
  within the ethos or life of the school from the
  time a a child gets on a bus through the athletic
  and artistic presentations in the evening.
  Simply put, it is what we do.

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Helping Guide Our Efforts

• Thomas Lickona and Matt Davidson note that a
  quest for character requires a quest for
  excellence as well as a quest for ethics.
• Report to the Nations Smart and Good High
  Schools (2005)

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Performance Character as a Mastery Orientation

• It consists of those qualities such as effort,
  diligence, perseverance, a strong work ethic, a
  positive attitude, ingenuity and self discipline.
• Lickona and Davidson (2005)

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Moral Character

• consist of relational qualities such as
  integrity, justice, caring and respect needed
  for successful interpersonal relationships and
  ethical behavior.
• Lickona and Davidson (2005)

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Curriculum Expectations

• Schools that are surpassing the norm approach
  teaching as a science. Studies reveal that they
  use theory and research based strategies to
  create, prepare, and deliver a rigorous
  challenging education. They use technology and
  enthusiasm to share such knowledge.

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To harness the power contained with a curriculum
requires

• Relationships with our students
• Enthusiasm and knowledge about the subject matter
  and
• Pedagogy that is engaging for all

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We consider the curriculum to

• consist of the arts, exercise sciences,
  humanities, sciences and vocational sciences.
  The curriculum represents the totality of the
  material to be learned and hopefully mastered
  within the educational life of the child.

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The curriculum should be delivered with

• 1) Educational rigor
• 2) Instructional creativity
• 3) Academic support
• 4) Differentiated effectiveness

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Educational Rigor

• The application of precise and exacting standards
  in the doing of something. In other words, rigor
  seems to imply a sense of excellence. In order
  to achieve rigor we must develop the steps that
  will hopefully become habits, that will, if
  practiced, offer a child a chance of achieving
  excellent in his/her pursuits.

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The development of rigor or excellence

• Requires the formation, practice and application
  of basic knowledge that leads to the development
  and application of more advanced thinking skills.

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Using the work of Grant Wiggins and Jay McTigue,
we must

• Look backwards!
• Define mastery. What would it look like if a
  student mastered a particular skill or concept
• Determine and define the skills one would need to
  reach mastery
• Teach and have students develop these skills

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Instructional creativity and differentiated
effectiveness

• There is nothing wrong with fun in schools
• Use multi-media as a teaching and learning tool
• Consider how students have different
  intelligences
• Present the material with the learning styles of
  students in mind.
• Use all mediums as a means of exhibiting mastery
• Recognize that not all students will master the
  curriculum at the same time or through the same
  medium

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Academic Support

• Tutorials before and after school
• Time allocated with individuals or small groups
  within the class period
• Assigned teachers/support teachers to assist
  students and other teachers
• Peer tutoring
• Grouping

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Ron Berger

• the project model in the school where I teach is
  predicated on every child succeeding. Not just
  finishing, but producing work that represents
  excellence for that child. Though some of the
  work is done as homework, the classroom is the
  hub of creation, the project workshop.If any
  student is failing to succeed or producing work
  without care, it is a concern for every
  student.Anything weak reflects on us all.
• Ron Berger. Building a Culture of Craftsmanship
  with Students (2003)

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To Develop Excellence in Ones Work

• Projects have assessment rubrics, checklists,
  which make it clear just what is expected of each
  student. These rubrics spell out exactly what
  components are required in the project, what the
  time-line for completion is and on what qualities
  and dimensions the project will be judged.

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Building Climate

• A positive climate creates a sense of
  connectedness with others throughout the school
  environment.

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Building a positive school climate

• Climate is a term used to describe how people
  feel about their school. It is a combination of
  beliefs, values, and attitudes shared by
  students, teachers, administrators, parents, bus
  drivers, office personnel, custodians, cafeteria
  workers, and other who play an important role in
  the life of the school.
• Jim Sweeney, Tips for Improving School Climate
  (1988)

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Building a Supportive School Climate

• will not happen by accident. It must be
  intentional and reflect a clear focus as an
  essential mission of the school.
• Ernest Boyer. The Basic School (1995)

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Research on School Climate has found

• That if a child attended a high school with good
  order and discipline, there was only a 9 chance
  of becoming a juvenile delinquent whereas if the
  child went to a school with poor discipline, the
  probability of becoming a juvenile delinquent
  increased to 48.
• Rutter and colleagues

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A Civil School Climate has

• a focus on the development of courtesy and
  manners in our treatment of all within the
  building. This is modeled, taught and practiced
  by the adults and students within the total
  school environment.

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Questions to consider in building a good climate

• 1. What do the adults model and subsequently
  stand for in your building?
• 2. What do the students see and hear from the
  adults in the building?
• 3. Is bullying tolerated in the presence of the
  adult?
• 4. Do the adults practice what they preach and
  preach what they practice?
• 5. Are the adults the moral compass in the
  classroom and in the school?

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A Good Climate is forged by

• Determining the habits we wish people to develop
  and practice.
• Establishing rules as guidelines and practices
  that if practiced over and over will develop
  habits of civility
• Developing consistency of expectations throughout
  the school
• Insisting that all stakeholders work hard to
  develop habits of excellence that promote a
  positive school climate for all in the school

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Community and Student Success

• Studies looking at the relationship between the
  participation of families in their childrens
  education typically divide types of family
  involvement activities into the following four
  components
• Parental academic aspirations and expectations
  for children
• Participation in school activities and programs
• Home structure that supports learning
• Communication with children about school
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  (Singh, et al., 1995)

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Importance of Families on Student Learning

• there are strong indications that the most
  effective forms of parent involvement are those
  which engage parents in working directly with
  their children on learning activities in the
  home. Programs that involve parents in reading
  with their children, supporting their work on
  homework assignments, or tutoring them using
  materials and instructions provided by teachers,
  show particularly impressive results.
• Cotton and
  Wikelund (1989, p. 3)

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What Does the Search Institute Teach Us?

• 1. Family supportFamily life provides high
  levels of love and support.
• 2. Positive family communicationYoung person and
  her or his parent(s) communicate positively, and
  young
• person is willing to seek advice and counsel from
  parents.
• 3. Other adult relationshipsYoung person
  receives support from three or more non-parent
  adults.
• 4. Caring neighborhoodYoung person experiences
  caring neighbors.
• 5. Caring school climateSchool provides a
  caring, encouraging environment.
• 6. Parent involvement in schoolingParent(s) are
  actively involved in helping young person succeed
  in school.

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Search Institute Continued

• 7. Community values youthYoung person perceives
  that adults in the community value youth.
• 8. Youth as resourcesYoung people are given
  useful roles in the community.
• 9. Service to othersYoung person serves in the
  community one hour or more per week.
• 10. SafetyYoung person feels safe at home,
  school, and in the neighborhood.
• 11. Family boundariesFamily has clear rules and
  consequences and monitors the young persons
  whereabouts.
• 12. School BoundariesSchool provides clear rules
  and consequences.
• 13. Neighborhood boundariesNeighbors take
  responsibility for monitoring young peoples
  behavior.
• 14. Adult role modelsParent(s) and other adults
  model positive, responsible behavior.
• 15. Positive peer influenceYoung persons best
  friends model responsible behavior.

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Search Institute Continued

• 16. High expectationsBoth parent(s) and teachers
  encourage the young person to do well.
• 17. Creative activitiesYoung person spends three
  or more hours per week in lessons or practice in
  music,
• theater, or other arts.
• 18. Youth programsYoung person spends three or
  more hours per week in sports, clubs, or
  organizations
• at school and/or in the community.
• 19. Religious communityYoung person spends one
  or more hours per week in activities in a
  religious institution.
• 20. Time at homeYoung person is out with friends
  with nothing special to do two or fewer nights
  per week.

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It does take a village to raise the child

• of course what matters is how seriously all
  members of the village take their
  responsibilities in modeling and teaching the
  child, using each of their gifts, to help
  children know, love and do the good. It really
  is not about the children. It is about the
  adults and the path we choose.

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Thank You!

• Have fun the rest of the conference and above
  all, be the person your dog thinks you are!