Posts Tagged approaches
Quality Public Education
In 2004 Forbes magazine ranked Raleigh, North Carolina’s Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), third in the nation for “Best Education in the Biggest Cities”. It’s no wonder, as Greater Raleigh is able to provide superior education opportunities in both public and private settings. WCPSS is a national leader on the education front. The school system boasts a solid high school graduation rate, great access to educational resources, and affordability in housing. All these factors, combined with it’s amazing programming make for an undeniably strong school system.
If you are moving to the Greater Raleigh area and want to know about specific WCPSS programming, read on:
K-12: The Formative Years
Committed to excellence, The Board of Education has adopted an ambitious goal. They aim to have 95 percent of WCPSS students in grades three through 12, at or above grade level by the end of this year! Such ambitious goals are indicative of a forward thinking and committed board, who are dedicated to providing the best education and ensuring that positive growth continues.
Parents in this area have a wide variety of educational options. There are many traditional public schools and also numerous private and special-needs schools. WCPSS offers over 20 programs in the district with 51 magnet schools. The award winning magnet school program provides creative approaches for teachers to reach students and to meet different student’s individual learning styles and needs. Magnet schools in the area, have been especially recognized with awards such as the United States Magnet School of Excellence of award and the Magnet School of Distinction award.
Recently the district received a portion of a 2.3 million dollar grant to open a health and life science themed high school aimed at developing students for both higher education and jobs in biotechnology and health care. Students at these schools will have the opportunity to participate in internship programs and will have access to community college and university level courses. There’s other grant funding in place which comes from the New Schools Project, an 11 million dollar grant that will create more than 100 new and redesigned high schools across the state.
Post- Secondary: Superior Education at Your Doorstep!
North Carolina State University, as one of the nation’s top research universities, is a great example of one the best post secondary options in Raleigh. Home to BTEC, The Golden LEAF Biomanfacturing Training and Education Center, this University is committed to providing a highly trained, industry-focused workforce. Dedicated to pursue “innovation in action”, NCSU partner’s with business’s, industry and government with a focus to collectively create innovative products and research.
The region’s community colleges also offer solid programs for those wishing to pursue technical, or specialized training in particular sectors of the workforce.
North Carolina community college is focused on biotechnology training to provide a highly trained workforce for the estimated 125,000 residents of NC who will be employed in this sector by 2025.
Wake Technical Community College is a leader in biological and chemical technology programs. They also offer North Carolina’s only community college lab facility for industrial pharmaceutical technology. As a state leader providing over 20% of all industry training offered by community colleges in the state, Wake Tech serves as a catalyst for economic growth and development. This exceptional community college assists thousands of businesses with its superior Small Business Center and New and Expanding Industry Program.
It is easy to see why Raleigh, North Carolina boasts one of America’s most educated workforces. If education is important to you and your family, consider Raleigh, North Carolina as a smart option for a solid future.
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A Case for Multiple Intelligences Based Classroom Instruction
Although many high school age students tend to think and learn in nontraditional ways, American schools still base their instruction primarily on the verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences. As a result, many students who are not strong in these traditional intelligences develop poor attitudes toward school and their academic achievement suffers.
According to psychologist Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, intelligences change with age and with experience. Since our culture places so much importance on the traditional intelligences and since so many high school students have strengths in the nontraditional intelligences, it makes sense to incorporate the multiple intelligences into classroom instruction in order to provide experiences that will change students’ intelligences for the better.
This is not to say that the development of linguistic and analytical skills should be abandoned in favor of nontraditional approaches to education. Rather, traditional and nontraditional approaches should be combined to formulate a method of education that is best suited to the students who populate our classrooms. The multiple intelligences offer a balance which teaches students what they need to know in order to be successful in our society in a way that compliments the unique abilities that each individual possesses.
All students should have the opportunity to not only further develop their dominant intelligences, but should also have the opportunity to develop their weaker intelligences. Students who are weak in the verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences will certainly be at a disadvantage in a culture that places so much emphasis on the traditional intelligences. Despite their weaknesses, however, students who are given the opportunity to succeed using an intelligence in which they can excel demonstrate that they are capable of developing their verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences.
Because MI based instruction is designed to reach a combination of intelligences, the multiple intelligences classroom is perceived by students as a place where everyone can do something well, instead of as a place where some students are “smart” and others are not. MI focuses on students’ strengths and uses those strengths to build up weaker areas. According to Jie-Qi Chen & Gardner the multiple intelligences can bridge the gap from an area of success to an area of difficulty because “the sense of success in one area may make the student more likely to engage in areas where they feel less comfortable.” Since students are not made to feel as though they are stupid because they do not know something, a change in attitude takes place which effectively removes the “block” which once prevented learning.
Multiple intelligences based instruction is effective because it provides a comfort zone by allowing students to think in ways that are comfortable for them. It also helps them develop thought processes that they do not normally use by providing them with a positive environment in which they can experiment without feeling that they are not “intelligent.” Students who are strong in nontraditional intelligences often are made to feel that they don’t measure up to the rest of their classmates. Multiple intelligences based instruction provides all students with the opportunities they need to succeed, and students who have been successful are better equipped to attempt more challenging work.
In short, multiple intelligences based instruction has the potential to eliminate (or at least reduce) the number of American students who are currently stumbling blindly through our systems of education. These students can be provided with the opportunities that they need in order to succeed in school while they are improving the verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences that they will require in order to be successful in our society.
Tags: American School, approaches, education, high school, instruction, learning, school, schools, Student, TeachRelated posts