Course Syllabus

Making Connections: Keeping Kids in School
Summer Term 2008
Jun 23 — Sep 13, 2008

Departments of Counseling; and Educational Policy, Foundations, and Administrative Studies
Portland State University

Instructor: Tobi Kibel Piatek
Phone: 503.443.1921
Email: tobi@synergenii.com

Course Title: Making Connections: Keeping Kids in School
Course #: COUN 410/810, EPFA 410/810
CRN#:
   COUN 410; 82729
   COUN 810; 82730
   EPFA 410; 82727
   EPFA 810; 82728

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Students needing an accommodation pursuant to federal, state or institutional education regulations should immediately inform the course instructor. Students with conditions affecting their abilities will be referred to The Disability Resource Center (503-725-4150, TTY or Relay 503-725-4178) to document their disability. That office will provide appropriate support and services.

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Vision Statement: Preparing professionals to meet our diverse community’s lifelong educational needs.

GSE Goals and Purposes:

Diversity and Inclusiveness
• to work effectively with diverse populations
• to promote inclusive and therapeutic environments

Research-Based Practices and Professional Standards
• to critically analyze and implement research-based practices
• to demonstrate appropriate professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions

Impact on Learning and Development
• to ensure all learners and clients succeed
• to use technology to enhance learning
• to influence policy and provide leadership for organizations

Evidence-Informed Decision Making
• to use evidence to solve problems of practice and make educational and therapeutic decisions
  • Provide leadership and resources within their own community to help mentees and mentors succeed in forming strong, positive relationships that keep kids in school.
    
  • Use online learning to enhance and deepen participants learning.

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Learn how to improve relationship building skills for work with kids at-risk of dropping out. Participants will use the online mentoring tool, "Making Connections", to gain skills in mentoring and cultural competency. Through a process of self reflection, collaborative inquiry, and critical discourse this course will provide mentors, educators, and counselors with information, strategies and resources to build strong, positive, lasting relationships with kids at-risk of dropping out. Using self-paced online learning, participants will work at their own pace, and in a variety of learning modes. Online reflection and discussion will allow participants to learn about and share best practices, explore challenges, consider solutions and ideas with others, and become part of a dynamic online learning community that values and supports kids.

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Required:

http://makingconnections.ceed.pdx.edu/wordpress/home

Dropout Prevention Program Recognition Initiative
A website summarizing key points about who drops out, why they drop out and what can be done to help prevent it.
http://www.ed.gov/print/programs/dropout/dropoutprogram.html

Reducing the Dropout Rate
A report from the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory offering ideas on strategies to reduce dropout rates.
http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/9/c017.html

Defusing Tension in American Schools
This article is from a website entitled "Making Schools Work," from the Public Broadcast System and Hedrick Smith Productions. This is a companion site for a documentary TV series and features some innovative strategies from around the country on defusing tension in schools.
http://www.pbs.org/makingschoolswork/sbs/csp/tension.html

Listening: An Overlooked Teaching Skill?
From the website "Science Junction," this article offers a concise set of things mentors and teachers can do to improve their listening skills when dealing with students.
http://www.ncsu.edu/sciencejunction/route/professional/listen.html

C.A.R.E. – Strategies for Closing the Achievement Gap
This guide from the National Education Association provides a multi-themed approach to closing the achievement gaps between different groups of students, focusing on Culture, Abilities, Resilience, and Effort (C.A.R.E.). Several chapters were used as resources for this lesson, but the web address listed here will take you to chapter one.
http://www.nea.org/teachexperience/images/care1.pdf

Closing the Culture Gap: QandA With Steffen Saifer
One of the most powerful–but least used–ways to strengthen family and community partnerships is to make instructional and curricular practices more culturally responsive.
http://www.nwrel.org/nwedu/12-03/gap/

Using Cross Cultural Communications to Improve Relationships
This website addresses why cross cultural communications can be such an important part of effective education.
http://www.maec.org/cross/5.html

Building Relationships for Student Success
This report offers strategies for building stronger school-family-community partnerships.
http://www.nwrel.org/partnerships/cloak/booklet2.pdf

Partnerships By Design: Cultivating Effective and Meaningful School-Family-Community Partnerships
This report is a handy guide that can help schools and programs assess current strategies and create new strategies for involving families and community members in the school.
http://nwrel.org/partnerships/pubs/bydesign.html

"Friendships, Peer Influence and Peer Pressure During the Teen Years"
This online article from the University of Nebraska offers a concise look at some key elements of peer pressure during teen years.
http://elkhorn.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1751/build/#target3

John M. Bridgeland, John Dilulio, Jr. and Karen Burke Morison. "The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts," Civic Enterprises, March 2006,

Wendy Schwartz. "School Dropouts: New Information About An Old Problem," ERIC Digests, (no copyright date), (accessed July 23, 2007).

Orlando L. Taylor, Ph.D. "Using Cross Cultural Communication to Improve Relationships," Mid-Atlantic Center, 1990,

Michael Rutter, Fifteen Thousand Hours: Secondary Schools and Their Effects on Children, (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1982)

Angela Stephens McIntosh, Ph.D. and Tonika Duren Green, Ph.D. "50 Years Down the Road: Have We Lost Our Way?," 2004, Scarecrow Education

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. "School-Family-Community Partnerships Team: Cultivating an Ecology of Youth Success," Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, September 2, 2003,

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. "Building Trusting Relationships for School Improvement," Northwest Regional Laboratory, September 23, 2003,

Jerry V. Diller and Jean Moule. "Cultural Competence: A Primer for Educators" Belmont, CA, Thomson/Wadsworth, ©2005.

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. "Building Trusting Relationships for School Improvement," Northwest Regional Laboratory, September 23, 2003,

S.L. Christianson and S.M. Sheridan. School and Families: Creating Essential Connections for Learning, (New York, N.Y., Guilford Press, 2001).

Maria R.T. de Guzman. "Friendships, Peer Influence and Peer Pressure During the Teen Years," NebGuide website, University of Nebraska, August 2007

Michael Webb. "Peer Helping Relationships in Urban Schools," ERIC Digest, ED289949, Dec. 1987

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Class participants will:

• increase awareness of the diverse group of students at-risk of dropping out of school and the reasons why they are at risk
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Research-Based Practices and Professional Standards
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• learn that relationships play an essential role in helping a student stay in school
  (Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• recognize the characteristics of a positive classroom and school climate
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Research-Based Practices and Professional Standards
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• learn key qualities and characteristics of effective relationships that keep kids in school
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• consider strategies to enhance the classroom and the mentor relationship and overcome barriers to relationships
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• consider how a culturally competent environment can make kids of all backgrounds languages, learning styles, and socioeconomic levels feel respected, heard, welcome, comfortable and able to learn
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Research-Based Practices and Professional Standards
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• develop strategies to create and strengthen school-family-community relationships to support students at-risk
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Research-Based Practices and Professional Standards
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• create a Community Resource File to enrich your classroom or program
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• discover that socioeconomic status is not a barrier to student success or parent involvement
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Research-Based Practices and Professional Standards
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• consider how improving communication and collaboration with parents helps to engage them in their kids’ learning, and strengthens relationships in the classroom, the community and at home
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• consider the importance and impact of peer relationships to kids
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• learn strategies to help kids cope with peer pressure and foster positive peer relationships and friendships
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)
  
  
• consider the ways that community members can work together to enrich their schools, mentoring programs and community
  (Diversity and Inclusiveness
  Impact on Learning and Development
  Evidence-Informed Decision Making)

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ONLINE LESSONS: Topics Addressed
(10 hours of online work; @ 1-1.5 hours per lesson)

1. Who Is At-Risk?

2. Get to Know Your Students

3. Characteristics of Effective Relationships

4. How to Build Relationships

5. Cultural Competence Builds Relationships

6. It Takes a Village: School-Family-Community

7. Families and School–Creating Ties that Bind

8. Peers–Another Type of Relationship

9. Community Relationships–Thinking Outside the Building

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Students will be graded on participation in and frequency of online discussions, completion of online assignments, at- risk student observation/description, and the Plan of Action.

Graduate students will also be graded on the resources added to the online course, as well as their Case Study.

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• Late paper policy
  
  Students must use the discussion board to present their written plan of action (and case study) to the group in the week of the final class.
  
  
• Attendance and tardiness
  
  Attendance online is required and easily tracked
  
  
• Classroom demeanor and courtesy
  
  "Because students may not share the same opinions on different topics in this class, it is important that we remember to respect the opinions and ideas of others. We expect all students to show respect and courtesy for all members of this class at all times."
  
  Student Conduct Code: http://www.pdx.edu/media/g/s/gse_handbook_student_conduct.pdf.
  
  Appropriate language, comments and courtesy online as well as in person.
  
  
• Academic integrity
  
  In the PSU Student Conduct Code # 577-031-0136
  
  Proscribed Conduct by Portland State University
  
  The following constitutes conduct as proscribed by Portland State University for which a student or student organization or group is subject to disciplinary action:
  
  
  
  1. Obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures or other University activities, including the University’s public service functions or other authorized activities on University-owned or -controlled property, or any other location where teaching, research, administration, disciplinary procedures or other University activities take place.
     
     
  2. All forms of academic dishonesty, cheating, and fraud, including but not limited to: (a) plagiarism, (b) the buying and selling of course assignments and research papers, (c) performing academic assignments (including tests and examinations) for other persons, (d) unauthorized disclosure and receipt of academic information and (e) falsification of research data.

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All credit students will:

• Use the online tool’s built-in self-reflection component and discussion board to demonstrate their comprehension of the content and competency in using online Resources.
  
  
  • Reflect on their understanding of the risks that may cause a child to drop out of school.
    
    
  • Demonstrate knowledge of different types of relationships that help keep kids in school.
    
    
  • Explore strategies to create a positive climate in their classroom, school or organization,
    
    
  • Understand that each of us comes from and is shaped by our culture.
  
  
• Use the online tool’s discussion board and blog function to demonstrate their ability to create and maintain interactivity, participate in and generate discussion of topics, and offer qualitative feedback related to creating positive relationships with kids at risk of dropping out of school.
  
  
• Locate resources to educate themselves on subjects of interest and concern,
  
  
• Create a personal portfolio of the reflections and assignments produced as they work in the Making Connections online tool. They will need to draw information from these to complete the final assignment.
  
  
• Create a 3-page plan of action detailing how they will personally use the learning from this course to identify and create a relationship with a kid at risk of dropping out. They will refer to their online journals to:
  
  
  • Review observations about their population, community and individual kids
    
    
  • Use their understanding of warning signs of kids at risk to identify a kid and use appropriate strategies to build a relationship.
    
    
  • Review available resources.
    
    
    • Include background information of an at-risk student/mentee, a brief description of this person (include cultural information), interactions you have had with this person, as well as interactions and other information that you have observed. What are the needs you have determined?
    
    
  • Identify appropriate levels of relationships and describe how you might interact with this student/mentee at each level. What is your short term goal? Your long term goal?
    
    
  • Identify appropriate resources that can support this relationship and your goals (information that you can use to support your thinking, and resources that can support the kid at risk).
    
    
  • Consider ways that to follow up on their student/mentee and assess the effects of the relationship.
  
  
• Present this plan to the group. Include your thoughts about how what you have learned in this course has changed your attitudes about kids at risk of dropping out.

• Create and present a brief case study describing a relationship that they have put into place with a student or mentee.
  
  
• Include observations of the student or mentee, information about culture as well as risk factors, level of relationship, specific actions and interactions, resources used, and the responses that occurred as a result of the interaction. In addition, this case study will include a plan to follow up with the student/mentee.
  
  
• Find at least 5 new resources to recommend for the online tool

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