In a continuation of last week’s post regarding giving cash incentives to students for high grades and attendance records. This week, I’d like to bring up the issue of merit pay, or cash incentives for teachers based on class performance. A few weeks ago, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Raymond Simon announced $13.6 million in Teacher Incentive Fund grants for four Florida school districts. The Florida grant is only one of 18 Teacher Incentive Fund grants, totaling approximately $38.2 million, to be awarded nationwide in this round of funding.
Launched in 2006 by President Bush as part of the American Competitiveness Initiative, the Teacher Incentive Fund enables states and districts to provide financial incentives to its educators for increasing student achievement and closing the achievement gap. The fund also provides incentives to educators who serve in challenging or underserved schools.
Merit pay has drawn criticism by some which fear incentives could be awarded based on favoritism rather than performance or that incentive pay could prove to be a divisive issue between teachers, schools, and districts that receive them, and those that don’t. Others however, might see it as encouragement for hardworking teachers, and as an incentive to attract talented teachers to underserved areas.
Are cash incentives a good idea? Does your opinion change when you consider it in the context of No Child Left Behind? Do you see any issues that might arise as a result of this?
Leave your reply in the comments section.
Posted By:
Som Carman
Advanced Academics
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Paying for performance?
When I was in school, we often had many “motivators” for behaving well and doing our homework. In elementary school we got gold stars on our assignments, pizza parties for meeting our reading goals and field trips if we met attendance goals. In one middle school class, we actually got play money for class participation and good grades which we could use to buy things at an end of term auction. These days, play money has given way to real money.
This article on The New York Times website outlines a new program set to begin this fall in schools throughout New York City. Essentially, the program, which is part of a larger anti-poverty initiative, will use privately raised funds to give cash incentives to students and their families who meet established guidelines such as high attendance records, and performance on national standardized tests. One incentive under the plan offers $25 -$50 for a perfect score on each of 10 standardized tests in the school year, translating to up to $500 a school year. Students can also earn $5-$10 for simply taking the tests. The article also notes similar programs in Massachusetts and Texas.
No doubt that money is a motivator, but is it an appropriate way to increase student performance? What do you think, should gold stars and pizza parties be replaced by cold, hard cash?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Posted By:
Som Carman
Advanced Academics Inc.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Assuring quality, assuring success
Quality Assurance Engineer. That is my official title here at Advanced Academics. When I tell friends and family what I do, the first response usually is “I didn’t know you were an engineer!” Well, I’m not. I actually graduated from college with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Information Systems, no engineering involved. However, after I explain WHAT I do, the reason for my title becomes much clearer.
As a QA Engineer my job is to test all applications within our proprietary online learning management system, ROADS. I test to make sure everything is working as it should, when it should. While I test the system from the perspective of all our users I feel the most important perspective is that of the student. As a student, I’ll access our platform at work and also from home using my practically extinct HP computer and Cox DSL. Many times I log in late at night and on weekends, like many of our students might do. I read the course content, complete homework assignments, take the tests and view the videos. I chat with our teachers and support staff using Instant Help. I’ll ask them to diagram things for me using the whiteboard, and talk with me using audio chat. I also send teachers ClassMail messages and post discussions threads in their classes. I do everything a typical student might do. Consider me the mystery shopper of online learning.
Of course, all of this is done to assure quality for all users: administrators, teachers, school proctors and of course students. After all, what good is a system if it doesn’t work or if it doesn’t make sense? Online learning at its core should be about enabling and enhancing the learning experience for all students, not the albatross that holds them back. Putting me in the shoes of our students is the best way to ensure that it is indeed "Online learning simplified."
Posted By:
Som Carman
Quality Assurance Engineer
Advanced Academics, Inc.
As a QA Engineer my job is to test all applications within our proprietary online learning management system, ROADS. I test to make sure everything is working as it should, when it should. While I test the system from the perspective of all our users I feel the most important perspective is that of the student. As a student, I’ll access our platform at work and also from home using my practically extinct HP computer and Cox DSL. Many times I log in late at night and on weekends, like many of our students might do. I read the course content, complete homework assignments, take the tests and view the videos. I chat with our teachers and support staff using Instant Help. I’ll ask them to diagram things for me using the whiteboard, and talk with me using audio chat. I also send teachers ClassMail messages and post discussions threads in their classes. I do everything a typical student might do. Consider me the mystery shopper of online learning.
Of course, all of this is done to assure quality for all users: administrators, teachers, school proctors and of course students. After all, what good is a system if it doesn’t work or if it doesn’t make sense? Online learning at its core should be about enabling and enhancing the learning experience for all students, not the albatross that holds them back. Putting me in the shoes of our students is the best way to ensure that it is indeed "Online learning simplified."
Posted By:
Som Carman
Quality Assurance Engineer
Advanced Academics, Inc.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Advanced Academics on YouTube
Learn more about Advanced Academics by viewing our own Advanced Academics channel on YouTube!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Encouraging students directly elicits success
At Advanced Academics we offer our students the opportunity to learn new material without the pressure of a high school classroom. As a Spanish instructor I like being able to provide one on one interaction with my students through our Instant Help chat and ClassMail systems. Many students are less intimidated to talk directly to the teacher when they know others aren’t listening.
In our Spanish courses, students learn language skills through the four areas of communication: reading, speaking, listening and writing.
Our courses are rich with cultural exposure, including photos, maps, history and interactive and fun games. While sticking to the standards, our Spanish courses offer the students background knowledge on Aztec, Incan and Mayan cultures, as well as origins of many English words. I always enjoy reading some of the surprise my students show in their essays about what they’ve learned from these units.
When students call me to take their oral vocabulary quiz, it’s a great opportunity for me to give them feedback on what they’ve been learning. Our Spanish courses have many graphical and audio activities from which the students gain a valuable and practical Spanish vocabulary.
Students are introduced immediately to the grammar composition of the language, and realize quickly the importance of punctuation. Since our program grades some assignments automatically, students are encouraged to take time in their writing assignments. It’s amazing to see the progress of my students’ language skills when I read their Spanish compositions near the end of their course. More than anything, I feel rewarded when a student’s attitude is lifted by a few words of encouragement.
Teachers how are you able to encourage your students? If you are currently a student, how have your teachers encouraged you?
Posted By:
Justin Moore
Spanish/Arts Instructor
Advanced Academics, Inc.
In our Spanish courses, students learn language skills through the four areas of communication: reading, speaking, listening and writing.
Our courses are rich with cultural exposure, including photos, maps, history and interactive and fun games. While sticking to the standards, our Spanish courses offer the students background knowledge on Aztec, Incan and Mayan cultures, as well as origins of many English words. I always enjoy reading some of the surprise my students show in their essays about what they’ve learned from these units.
When students call me to take their oral vocabulary quiz, it’s a great opportunity for me to give them feedback on what they’ve been learning. Our Spanish courses have many graphical and audio activities from which the students gain a valuable and practical Spanish vocabulary.
Students are introduced immediately to the grammar composition of the language, and realize quickly the importance of punctuation. Since our program grades some assignments automatically, students are encouraged to take time in their writing assignments. It’s amazing to see the progress of my students’ language skills when I read their Spanish compositions near the end of their course. More than anything, I feel rewarded when a student’s attitude is lifted by a few words of encouragement.
Teachers how are you able to encourage your students? If you are currently a student, how have your teachers encouraged you?
Posted By:
Justin Moore
Spanish/Arts Instructor
Advanced Academics, Inc.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Implementation for success
Awhile back I was your typical college student - that is I thought I knew everything about anything. I decided to take my first “online” course which was a psychology course. Looking back now, what was I thinking?! I didn’t know anything about this new concept (at the time) of the “World Wide Web”, much less how to manage the reading and writing assignments and then submit them over the Internet. Nonetheless, I managed to pass the course, but never really understood “online” learning.
It was almost two years ago when I came onboard with Advanced Academics and was immediately amazed that K12 districts were using online learning. Since I had trouble with online learning, I was even more flabbergasted to learn the success of these students. It became quickly apparent that the online teachers, the students’ efforts, as well as, the proctors and administrators are the key ingredients to this success. The question I am frequently asked by potential customers is “How do your partners know how to make the program successful?” My answer is that our partners’ program success comes largely from our implementation, training, and student orientations.
Currently, a portion of my responsibilities with Advanced Academics include training our district partners and holding student orientations. Our training sessions are held either onsite or via web meetings. During training we explain our partners’ program goals and the proctor responsibilities and provide hands-on training in the utilization of our ROADS 2.0 platform. The program goals differ with each partner and range from drop out recovery to Advanced Placement. The beauty is that our ROADS 2.0 program works wherever needed and is easy to manage for the students and administrators. Our proctors are responsible for managing the program at their site with enrollment and reporting tools just clicks away. It is an enjoyable and captivating experience to learn how our different partners manage their programs to meet the needs of their students.
Although I would say the best part of my job is being onsite with the students for our student orientations. Throughout orientations the students are educated as to the program goals and their responsibilities along with hands-on training on using the Classroom in the ROADS 2.0 platform. Also, students are equipped with best practices to be successful, which include taking advantage of the flexibility of the web-based course anywhere anytime, the tools in the platform available to help understand the concepts of the curriculum, and the access to a teacher via Instant Help or ClassMail whenever they have questions. For me, my favorite moment is when the students realize the benefits and choose to use the program to magnify their full potential.
Posted By:
Amber Dunn
Operations Coordinator
Advanced Academics, Inc.
It was almost two years ago when I came onboard with Advanced Academics and was immediately amazed that K12 districts were using online learning. Since I had trouble with online learning, I was even more flabbergasted to learn the success of these students. It became quickly apparent that the online teachers, the students’ efforts, as well as, the proctors and administrators are the key ingredients to this success. The question I am frequently asked by potential customers is “How do your partners know how to make the program successful?” My answer is that our partners’ program success comes largely from our implementation, training, and student orientations.
Currently, a portion of my responsibilities with Advanced Academics include training our district partners and holding student orientations. Our training sessions are held either onsite or via web meetings. During training we explain our partners’ program goals and the proctor responsibilities and provide hands-on training in the utilization of our ROADS 2.0 platform. The program goals differ with each partner and range from drop out recovery to Advanced Placement. The beauty is that our ROADS 2.0 program works wherever needed and is easy to manage for the students and administrators. Our proctors are responsible for managing the program at their site with enrollment and reporting tools just clicks away. It is an enjoyable and captivating experience to learn how our different partners manage their programs to meet the needs of their students.
Although I would say the best part of my job is being onsite with the students for our student orientations. Throughout orientations the students are educated as to the program goals and their responsibilities along with hands-on training on using the Classroom in the ROADS 2.0 platform. Also, students are equipped with best practices to be successful, which include taking advantage of the flexibility of the web-based course anywhere anytime, the tools in the platform available to help understand the concepts of the curriculum, and the access to a teacher via Instant Help or ClassMail whenever they have questions. For me, my favorite moment is when the students realize the benefits and choose to use the program to magnify their full potential.
Posted By:
Amber Dunn
Operations Coordinator
Advanced Academics, Inc.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Information Deliverer vs. Student Success Coach
No more pep rallies in the gym. No more fire drills. No more cafeteria lunches. When people learn that I teach online courses, their first question is “How is teaching online different from being in the classroom?” The biggest difference is in my role as a teacher. In the traditional classroom, my role was more of Information Deliverer. As a teacher of online courses, I now think of myself as Student Success Coach.
In the traditional classroom, my role was mainly that of Information Deliverer. In a typical school day, I spent ¼ of the day creating lessons and ¾ of the day delivering them. If I was lucky enough to have a few minutes left over at the end of each class, I was able to work with students individually, but even then, I was never able to reach them all. I never felt completely successful at balancing the responsibilities of creating engaging lessons and spending my time working individually with students.
At Advanced Academics, engaging lessons and activities are already created and available to students. As a Student Success Coach, instead of Information Deliverer, I’m able to spend my time focusing on individual students and monitoring their progress. Since I don’t have to keep thirty students on the same chapter in a textbook, I’m able to stop students when they have trouble. If an assignment is not completed satisfactorily, I have the opportunity to re-teach the concepts, and the student has the opportunity to rework the assignment.
Also, as Student Success Coach, I’m able to provide personalized communication with students about their educational progress. I communicate daily with students about specific concepts and issues through e-mail. I work continuously with individuals in our instructional chat room as they need help. And with the reporting capabilities of our platform, I have a myriad of ways to help me identify those who need intervention. I’m able to spend hours each day personally calling students to help them stay motivated or to help them get back on track.
So, besides being able to take a bathroom break when I want, the main difference that I’ve experienced in teaching online courses is the shift in my role. Teaching online courses allows me to focus completely on what I’m trained for and what I love—to experience that “light bulb” moment with students, one at a time.
Posted By:
Julie McDonald
English Instructor
Advanced Academics, Inc.
In the traditional classroom, my role was mainly that of Information Deliverer. In a typical school day, I spent ¼ of the day creating lessons and ¾ of the day delivering them. If I was lucky enough to have a few minutes left over at the end of each class, I was able to work with students individually, but even then, I was never able to reach them all. I never felt completely successful at balancing the responsibilities of creating engaging lessons and spending my time working individually with students.
At Advanced Academics, engaging lessons and activities are already created and available to students. As a Student Success Coach, instead of Information Deliverer, I’m able to spend my time focusing on individual students and monitoring their progress. Since I don’t have to keep thirty students on the same chapter in a textbook, I’m able to stop students when they have trouble. If an assignment is not completed satisfactorily, I have the opportunity to re-teach the concepts, and the student has the opportunity to rework the assignment.
Also, as Student Success Coach, I’m able to provide personalized communication with students about their educational progress. I communicate daily with students about specific concepts and issues through e-mail. I work continuously with individuals in our instructional chat room as they need help. And with the reporting capabilities of our platform, I have a myriad of ways to help me identify those who need intervention. I’m able to spend hours each day personally calling students to help them stay motivated or to help them get back on track.
So, besides being able to take a bathroom break when I want, the main difference that I’ve experienced in teaching online courses is the shift in my role. Teaching online courses allows me to focus completely on what I’m trained for and what I love—to experience that “light bulb” moment with students, one at a time.
Posted By:
Julie McDonald
English Instructor
Advanced Academics, Inc.
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