Improving At-Risk Middle School Students by Implying Different Teaching Methods

Improving At-Risk Middle School Students by Implying Different Teaching Methods

When teachers prepare their lesson plans they need to take into account the diverse learning capabilities of their students. An at-risk student cannot grasp a concept as easily as an average student can. There are many factors that put a student in the at-risk category. The home life of the syudent and the parent modeling plays a major role in the student's development. This raises awareness to many, and is still a problem occurring today. At-risk students have been evident for decades now but it is being recognized more frequently, and teachers are trying to find different teaching methods to help them improve socially and academically. Self-mentoring and many other new teaching methods are proven to help at-risk students by improving their behaviors, and GPA's.

Every state has different requirements for becoming a middle school teacher. All public school teachers must have a bachelor's degree at least. Although other states require teachers to have a second major or minor in education. If a teacher decided to go above and beyond to get their master's degree which is two years beyond the bachelor's degree, then they would most likely have a greater chance for an increase in salary and promotions. A master's degree is not always a requirement. Many different subjects are taught in middle school including math, science, art, P.E, language arts, computers, music, foreign language, and many more depending on what school you are attending. Teachers get their summers off, weekends off, and also they get out every day at around 2 or 3 o'clock. A teacher is recommended to stay after the bell rings for students to come in and ask questions. Teachers typically like to spend time grading, organizing and sometimes meetings at this time. A teacher works for 35 to 46 hours a week. Although teachers do not have a strict dress code like many other jobs they still have one but, there is not a specific uniform they have to wear. Teachers just must look presentable and professional. A teacher's superior is the principal of the school. The principal will usually set a date where he or she comes into the teacher's room and observes how they are teaching then writes a report of how he thought the observation went, if he has any problems he will most likely talk to the teacher one on one. A teachers biggest responsibility is making sure all students are understanding the exact concept that is being taught, and that correct classroom procedures are taking place.

There are at-risk students at every school. Many other students don't even know they are in a class with a these student many of the times. At- risk students have a higher chance of failing academically. An at-risk student is named differently depending on what state you are in so it is different when comparing the varying state policies on the subject. There are many different ways to identity an at-risk student. Many of them will express a low socioeconomic status. Changing schools at nontraditional times can also increase risk. Family members or older siblings who have left high school before graduating can also be a factor. (FRAC, 2012). The dropout rates of students in the United States is 70000 million every school day. (Slack&Thomasville Middle School, 2013). The largest federal at -risk program is Title I. this program in 2008 was funded more than $26.4 billion. They now send money to different school districts constructed around the census counts of students coming from low income families. Many school use this money given to them to but new supplies, recruit new teachers, and pay for intervention programs to assist at- risk students. The Title I program is being used as a reading invention for at-risk students by many schools. (EDgov, 2011) It is possible for an at risk student to improve and achieve goals due to different teaching methods.

Today many new teaching methods are being tested to see which method is most effective to at-risk middle school students. Mentoring at-risk students seems to be one of the most effective methods. A typical mentor meeting can last anywhere from five to twenty-nine minutes. There has been seven effective mentor strategies "these include encouraging mentee, setting goals, building mentee self-esteem, spending extra-curriculum time with mentees, providing positive mentee role model, helping mentees make positive choices, and improve their grades." (slack&Thomasville middle school, 2013). A mentoring group titled LISTEN gathered data from academic years to study effects of the LISTEN mentoring program. They examined at risk student's attendance records, GPA's, and discipline referrals. It was established when an at- risk student met with an adult mentor it positively impacted academic accomplishment and also it was just good to have a positive adult that influenced them because, it is shown that an at-risk student most likely comes from parents who are not always a positive influence to their children.(Johnson&Lampley, 2010.) An effective teaching method done to help at-risk math students is explicit instruction and double dosing. These are two different teaching methods but both very effective. Explicit instruction is a more detailed way of explaining the instructions given. The teacher breaks down the assignment into smaller steps, and also the teacher models the skills taught then lets the students work on the assignment independently. Double-dosing is additional teaching time for students to grasp the mathematical concepts that were not understood when the teacher taught the first time. (Piper, Marchone-Martell, & Martella, 2001)

Many test have been done today to at-risk students. They've been tested in almost every subject. The tests show improvement after different methods have been done. It is proven that when an at-risk student demonstrates high-quality well implemented work it can improve their social development, achievements, and mental health. (Felner,