Examining the Treatment of African American Female Students in Urban Schools

This research project examined whether African American female students are being targeted with unfair treatment, disciplinary actions, and cultural misunderstandings. We explored the social, cultural, and emotional factors associated with being from an African American background and how it impacts their feelings and thoughts about school. The study involved African American female students in grades 9-12 in an urban Early College high school and a Traditional high school. The results indicated that African American female students believed they were treated as older and sexually more mature than Caucasian female students. The suspension and disciplinary rates of the African American female students were abnormally higher than the Caucasian female students in the Traditional High School as compared to students in the Early College.

A wider vision of learning

The Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative gives students who have demonstrated outsized competence in a trade – but who may be struggling in a traditional high school or career and technical education (CTE) program –opportunities to learn a trade with a mentor in a workplace. The author describes how this program requires educators to deepen their understanding of their students and to widen their understanding of what learning looks like.

Calculation of vector components: A tutorial worksheet to help students develop a conceptual framework

When we administered our Test of Understanding of Vectors (TUV) to students who were finishing a physics university remedial course (that covers subjects of a traditional high school physics course), we observed that they have considerable difficulties in calculating the x-component of a vector when the angle given is measured from the y-axis to the vector. As a result of this finding, we decided to design a tutorial worksheet that guides students through the development of a conceptual framework in this subject. The worksheet was implemented with 264 students of the same course in another semester. Upon using the TUV to evaluate the students’ understanding, we confirmed that the tutorial worksheet had facilitated their learning. This tutorial worksheet is presented in the appendix and might be used by other physics instructors who teach this material in high schools, colleges or universities.

Soundoff: Teach Geometry before Second-Year Algebra

For years we have debated whether geometry should come before or after second-year algebra in the traditional high school program. Teachers and students at my high school, with the support of the Mathematics Education Trust, have completed a threeyear study of this issue. I have good reason to claim that the traditional first-year algebra, geometry, second-year algebra sequence is better than the first-year algebra, secondyear algebra, geometry sequence.

A New Angle For Constructing Pentagons

The traditional high school geometry class can be enhanced by the addition of appropriate problem-solving activities. One such problem, the construction of a pentagon, can be divided into three worth-while tasks.