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Eric.ed.gov – Task Force on the Education of Maryland’s African-American Males

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: On June 9, 2003, the Task Force on the Education of Maryland’s African-American Males was convened by the Maryland K-16 Leadership Council (chaired by the University System of Maryland Chancellor William E. Kirwan, former Maryland Acting Secretary of Higher Education John A. Sabatini, Jr., and Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick) to evaluate Maryland’s progress in addressing persistent academic achievement problems imperiling African-American boys and men. This Task Force was co-chaired by Vice President Dunbar Brooks, Maryland State Board of Education and Treasurer Orlan M. Johnson, Board of Regents, University System of Maryland. The task force evaluated the successes and failures of Maryland’s public schools with regard to African-American males’ school readiness; reading, math, and science achievement; attendance, graduation, suspension, and expulsion rates; participation in… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – ESEA Briefing Book

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: President Obama and congressional leaders have vowed to take action this year on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), most recently reauthorized and rebranded as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. While most observers remain skeptical that everyone will actually see a signing ceremony in 2011, it does appear likely that at least one house of Congress will produce a bill. In this “briefing book,” the authors identify the ten key issues that policymakers must resolve in order to get reauthorization across the finish line, and explore the major options under consideration for each one. The ten issues–which fall under the areas of standards and assessments, accountability, teacher quality, and flexibility and innovation–are these: (1) College and career readiness–Should states be required to adopt… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Academic Competitions Serve the U.S. National Interests

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Competitions are used by many teachers at the grass roots level to develop the talents of their gifted students. Each year the top Math, Chemistry, and Physics Olympiad students are identified and assembled into national teams that compete against teams from around the world. This article summarizes findings from the American Olympiad study. Our investigators analyzed data from 345 adult Olympians and found that 52% earned doctorates, and these individuals pursued careers in technical areas that benefit the nation. So far these Olympians have published 8,629 publications, and many of the Olympians have assumed positions in universities or research institutions that contribute to the productivity of the United States. Their success supports competitions as a viable alternative for developing the talents of the gifted. (Contains 1 figure… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Perspectives on Education from a Person on the Autism Spectrum

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The author is an associate professor of animal studies at Colorado State University, but experienced learning difficulties in high school due to her place on the autism-Asperger’s spectrum. She had uneven skills, and while algebra was impossible, she did well in courses in which she could use her visual-thinking and associative-thinking skills. Her visual thinking skills enabled her to excel at her chosen career of designing livestock equipment. The author describes how visual thinkers like her are good at hands-on work. While she finds mathematical word problems to be difficult, she can conceptualize research experiments only if she has a concrete example such as a weight gain and different breeds of cattle. She cannot think about experimental designs in the abstract. Her success in her career ensued… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Voices from the Field: Collaborative Innovations in Early Childhood Educator Preparation

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: “Voices from the Field: Collaborative Innovations in Early Childhood Educator Preparation” is jointly published by the Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) and the Illinois Board of Education (IBHE), and highlights the accomplished work of many of the state’s two- and four-year faculty to redesign early childhood educator preparation programs to meet regional and state workforce needs. This edited book has chapters authored by EC faculty from both the 2-year and 4-year sectors and provides clear, tangible examples of how universities across Illinois worked together, often with regional employers, to design pathways for early childhood educators to earn the state’s industry-recognized Gateways credentials while taking college coursework leading to degrees. Each chapter has a unique focus and together, their “Voices” provide significant insight into the innovative partnerships that… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Gender Differences in Interest, Perceived Personal Capacity, and Participation in STEM-Related Activities

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Today, more women than in the past obtain degrees in science and engineering. However, women still remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study identifies whether the Engagement, Capacity, and Continuity (ECC) Trilogy could be utilized by teachers in technology and engineering program setting to examine their students’ interest (engagement), perceived personal capacity (capacity), and participation (continuity) in technology- and engineering-related activities. The ECC Trilogy provides a practical framework that can potentially assist teachers in identifying what factors create barriers to students wanting to become an engineer or pursuing a career in a technology- or engineering-related field. In order to identify where a lack of interest may occur, this study compares male and female middle school and high school students’ responses to STEM-related survey… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Academic Standards in Career and Technical Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: All public schools are required to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in order to avoid stiff penalties, per the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. This presents a unique challenge for comprehensive career and technical (CTE) schools. While there is an emphasis on the CTE path that students are interested in pursuing, academic areas must be mastered with proficiency in order for a school to be successful (in this case, as defined by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or (PSSA)). In addition, graduation in select districts is dependent upon proficiency. For a comprehensive CTE school to survive, it must have a sustainable teaching model that aligns and integrates career and technical skills with math and reading anchors. Central Tech, a comprehensive career and technical school in… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Power of Expectations: Two Stories

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This article describes the power of the word “CAN”. The author, Laurene E. Simms reports that as a poor, black, deaf youngster her teacher’s facial expressions conveyed their feelings that she was of low IQ and mentally retarded, however two persons had a positive impact on her, her father and 7th grade math teacher. They challenged her with high expectations and firm belief in her potential and she reports this had a “transforming power” over her. Belief in her own ability made her study hard and earn good grades. She graduated valedictorian. Whatever challenge life presented her father was there with encouraging words, “to always work to the best of her ability whether with good or bad situations.” It was up to her to decide to overcome… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Developing the STEM Education Pipeline

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: For almost 50 years, ACT has played a pivotal role in promoting student access into and success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Through academic and career assessments, career development tools, and extensive research, they have helped inform students, parents, teachers, career counselors, employers, and policymakers about the skills that are needed to perform effectively in STEM fields. ACT’s EPAS[TM] (Educational Planning and Assessment System) is the only longitudinal assessment system that begins measuring students’ college readiness in middle school and follows students into high school and college to evaluate their persistence and success. What ACT’s research shows is clear: The students most likely to major in STEM fields in college and persist to earn their degrees are those who develop interests in STEM careers… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Using Competency-Based Evaluation to Drive Teacher Excellence: Lessons from Singapore. Building an Opportunity Culture for America’s Teachers

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The United States’ education system needs to take its critical next step: fairly and accurately measuring teacher performance. Successful reforms to teacher pay, career advancement, professional development, retention, and other human capital systems that lead to better student outcomes depend on it. Where can the U.S. find the best-practice know-how for this? To start, it should look to nations that have revamped teacher performance measurement to sustain teaching excellence, and Singapore offers a remarkable example. In the early 2000s, the small but racially and economically diverse nation of Singapore designed and implemented a new, performance-linked method of measuring teacher effectiveness that enables measurement of teachers in all subjects and grades. Singapore had already developed a high-performing education system. But as global economic opportunities for its citizens increased,… Continue Reading