ERIC Number: EJ1428980
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2327-3607
The Post-Pandemic Achievement Gap in Indigenous Students in a First-Semester Mixed-Level Language Course
Ana Maria Diaz-Collazos
Critical Questions in Education, v15 n2 p98-116 2024
This paper analyzes data from Native American students' attainment in a first-semester Spanish language course at an indigenous-serving institution before, during, and after the pandemic. The gap between Native American and non-Native American students increased during the first post-pandemic semester to the point that just one out of 11 Native Americans passed the course in the fall of 2021. After that, the gap between Native American and non-Native American students gradually narrowed until reaching the lowest failing grades of 23% in the spring 2023. In my teaching, Native American students benefit from a classic teaching style involving longer lecture time, monitored note-taking, consistent attendance requirements, in-person communication, and clearly communicated differentiation strategies for grading. This may align with the cycle of learning outlined by Benally (1994): Nitsáhákees (Thinking), Nahat'á (Planning), Iiná (Living) and Sihasin (Assuring).
Descriptors: American Indian Students, Spanish, Courses, College Students, Achievement Gap, Grades (Scholastic), Academic Failure, COVID-19, Pandemics, Data Analysis, Social Isolation, Sociolinguistics, Skill Development, Teaching Methods
Academy for Educational Studies. 2419 Berkeley Street, Springfield, MO 65804. Tel: 417-299-1560; e-mail: cqieeditors@gmail.com; Web site: http://academyforeducationalstudies.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Colorado
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A