Learners explore the barriers to academic success that exist in their communities, practicing playing with data and data-storytelling. By making their voice heard and interviewing others in their communities, learners cultivate their courage and curiosity in using data in their own lives.
Contributors:
Barriers to Academic Success
Activity Goals
Learners explore the barriers to academic success that exist in their communities, practicing playing with data and data-storytelling. By making their voice heard and interviewing others in their communities, learners cultivate their courage and curiosity in using data in their own lives.
Key Objectives
UD.3 Explain the connections between power and data
SD.4 Identify strategies for adapting language
SD.9 Use language for asking questions
PD.3 Gather information
PD.4 Summarize information
DS.4 Use strategies to encourage community conversation
CC.7 Ask difficult questions
Steps
In class, discuss some of the barriers to academic success in the Latino community(or adapt depending on your learners’ community/communities). Some possible barriers include: language, knowledge of the country/culture, nancial status, lack of information about available resources, etc. Do you have any personal experiences with barriers to academic success? What do you see in your larger community? If you are a parent, what barriers do you experience/see in your children’s schools?
Choose one barrier from our discussion. How would you explain this to others? For example, if this is related to your children’s education, how would you explain this to your child’s teacher? Practice what to say and present it to the class as a role play.
In groups, learners will interview 10 people in their communities, asking: What barriers to academic success do you think exist in your community?
Learners decide on who they will interview (neighbors, friends, other parents, coworkers, etc.).
Learners may conduct the interview in multiple languages and via whatever mode is preferred or most
accessible (email, text, WhatsApp, phone call, etc.).
During the interviews, learners will: take notes, listen without giving an opinion, and ask for clarification for
an example if the answer isn’t clear.
After completing the interviews, students will reconvene with their groups and share their notes. Together,
they will find similarities and differences in their results. Learners will prepare to present their findings to the class, practicing in their groups.
Each member of each group will speak during presentations made to the class. Wrap up with a closing discussion.