eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Homes have remarkable possibilities to act as science learning environments for young children (3 – 6 years old). This qualitative case study investigated what kind of support parents need to do online science activities with their children at home. Data consisted of parent’s theme interviews (n=7). As a main result, a model of parents’ need for support was produced. The model contains three dimensions: 1) the affective dimension, 2) the knowledge and skills dimension and 3) the organizational dimension. Parents’ own affective experiences, organization of the experiments and finding time to do experiments are important factors to consider, when looking at parents’ willingness to engage in science activities with their children. The parents might not necessarily be content with only the child’s interest in experimenting as a… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: A growing body of research, both nationally and internationally, indicates that children in the early childhood years (birth to age 8) learn primarily through their senses and from direct experience. They develop an understanding about the world through play, exploration, and creative activities as well as by watching and imitating adults and other children. “Growing Up WILD” (2010) is a large format book that promotes teacher efficacy with 27 developmentally appropriate activities, yet gives educators the flexibility to modify activities to meet the needs of children at different age levels and learning stages. The authors describe the contents of the resource as it presents a wide range of options for a variety of classroom strategies: small group, whole group, centers, pair and individual work, plus teachable moments… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) education has received growing attention over the past decade, primarily within the middle and high school levels. This article focuses on the need for STEAM education at the early childhood level. Preschool children have a natural disposition toward science with their sense of curiosity and creativity. This ethnographic research involved professional development for 50 in-service preschool teachers in an urban high-needs area of the northeastern United States. The researcher explored how providing hands-on professional development, consistent support, and rich resources for STEAM lesson implementation into the early childhood curriculum would impact the dispositions, self-efficacy, and rate of implementation for teachers. The study also involved observation of the reception of STEAM instruction by preschool children. Data was collected through pre and… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Rigorous evidence from around the world has shown that significant improvements in learning can be obtained at comparatively low cost by spending more, focused time ensuring that the bottom half of the class in the early grades does not get left behind. The authors present results from the Teacher Community Assistant Initiative (TCAI) that tests the provision of remedial education as one possible solution to low learning levels in school. The theory of change of this program is simple: primary schools across the developing world fail to equip pupils with basic literacy and numeracy skills, often because schools are not able to target teaching to the actual learning levels of pupils. TCAI data collection included a baseline, 6 rolling midlines and 2 endline surveys. Preliminary results from… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Understanding disparities in school readiness among America’s children when they begin kindergarten is critically important, now more than ever. In today’s 21st century global economy, it is expected that the great majority of children will complete high school ready to enter college or begin a career, and assume their civic responsibilities. This requires strong math, reading, science, and other cognitive skills, as well as the abilities to work well and communicate eeffectively with others, solve problems creatively, and see tasks to completion. Unfortunately, the weak early starts that many children are getting make it hard to attain these societal goals. Knowing which groups of children tend to start school behind, how far behind they are, and what factors contribute to their lag, can help in developing policies… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Summaries of talks from this 3-day conference emphasize the potential of all students from any background to succeed in their education. One keynote speaker urges restructuring of educators’ beliefs that many children cannot achieve at the level of a high school graduate. Speakers describe successful programs to encourage female school administrators, recruit minority teachers, and encourage local students to return as teachers to their hometown schools. Two administrators discuss site-based school management and participatory decision making. Other speakers describe public relations programs that foster two-way communications between citizens and schools, one including a computerized telephone message system. Cooperative learning systems that reward all students for their peers’ success spread learning throughout a classroom. Other programs described include: (1) training physically handicapped students for physical fitness; (2) using… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Between 2002 and 2014, the Institute of Education Sciences (Institute) supported over 400 projects focused on education technology through the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER). The majority of this work has been funded through Education Technology research topics of NCER and NCSER and the Institute’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program run by NCER. Both centers also support projects focusing on education technology through other research topic areas, including programs such as Cognition and Student Learning, Early Learning Programs and Policies, Math and Science, Reading and Writing, Social and Behavioral Context, Improving Education Systems, and Effective Teachers and Teaching. Together, researchers funded by NCER and NCSER have developed or studied more than 270 web-based tools, 85 virtual… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Private and public investments in early childhood education have expanded significantly in recent years. Despite this heightened investment, we have little empirical evidence on whether children today enter school with different skills than they did in the late nineties. Using two large, nationally representative datasets, this paper documents how students entering kindergarten in 2010 compare to those who entered in 1998 in terms of their teacher-reported math, literacy and behavioral skills. Our results indicate that students in the more recent cohort entered kindergarten with stronger math and literacy skills. Results for behavioral outcomes were mixed. Increases in academic skills over this period were particularly pronounced among black children. Implications for policy are discussed. [This paper was published in “Educational Researcher” v46 n1 p7-20 2017 (EJ1132546).] Link til… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) serves the Governor and is charged with ensuring that all of New York’s young children are healthy, learning, and thriving in families that are supported by a full complement of services and resources essential for successful development. The council’s Workforce Work Group is dedicated to the development of those adults who work in a range of programs to realize this vision. Teacher preparation, the Birth to Grade 2 Certification, and leadership development are strong components of the Workforce Work Group’s charge. To gain a clearer picture of early childhood-related offerings throughout the state’s higher education system, and to explore some specific issues related to the state’s teacher preparation system, the ECAC with its partner members, New York Early… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The education system is complex, but at its core, it is a learning partnership between the student, the family and teachers. This partnership — supported by the Ministry — is ultimately responsible for ensuring every learner receives a high quality education. A high quality education enables learners to realize their full potential and contribute to the well being of society. It supports students as they develop the foundational skills of reading, writing, and math, as well as other essentials necessary in the 21st century, such as self-reliance, communication, critical thinking, inquiry, creativity, problem solving, innovation, teamwork and collaboration, cross-cultural understanding, and digital information literacy. This annual service plan report provides data and discusses the results related to the measures in the Ministry of Education 2012/13-2014/15 Service Plan.… Continue Reading →
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