eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper presents a site and project description and the conceptual framework of the Curriculum Articulation Project (CAP) and its relation to current math and science education reform initiatives. CAP is based on the notion that the teacher is the best individual to ascertain the learning needs of the urban, and often economically disadvantaged, youth. The project addresses the concerns of reform proposals in math and science by striving to articulate the current curriculum, by ranking the skills and knowledge necessary to provide science and math literacy to urban youngsters, and by integrating math and science in units that address the unique needs of city youth. An appendix includes a unit from the program entitled “The Clean Water Problem,” which is a CAP project designed for grades… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Certain aspects of the implementation of language immersion programs in Delaware are unique given the state’s size, demographics, and role in national education initiatives including Race to the Top, Common Core, and Smarter Balance. The Delaware experience typifies what every state, district, or even school goes through as they try to provide students with more intensive, longer sequences of language learning that lead to high levels of proficiency. The state exports products to more than 160 different countries each year, cities across the state participate in 6 Sister City Partnerships, and Delaware regularly sponsors Trade Missions to locations including China, Germany, Italy, and even Pakistan. Residents in the state speak more than 80 languages combined. The Department of Education has Memoranda of Understanding in place with 9… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Given the restructuring of curriculum and instruction and the changing state of assessment in Virginia and nationally, a study group of 22 Virginia teachers from elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools throughout the state chose to examine and revise their assessment practices. They wanted to reflect changes in thinking and practice in teaching that include active learning, cooperative learning, and critical thinking strategies. After 6 months of developing and implementing alternative assessments in their classrooms, study group members concluded that implementation strategies should include: (1) planning assessment as instruction is planned; (2) having a partner with whom to share ideas; (3) developing generic rubrics; (4) expecting to learn by trial and error; (5) attempting student peer assessment; and (6) using cooperative grouping for completing assessment tasks.… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Idaho Rural Education Task Force was formed in July 2007 with the goal of proposing and examining solutions to challenges facing rural schools. The task force’s work this year has focused on three areas: recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers, funding shortages related to insurance costs and staff allowances, and the technology gap between rural and urban schools. Rural districts are challenged to find enough teachers to meet their needs, and often the qualified applicant pool for open positions is very small or non-existent. The situation is becoming more critical due to the increased math and science graduation standards recently adopted by the State of Idaho, elevating need for teachers. To assist districts in retaining teachers and to maximize the use of the current teacher… Continue Reading →
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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 har udgivet: Today’s educators serve the United States public-school system at a time of considerable curricular, technological, and demographic change. In 2010, the Common Core State Standards in Math and English Language Arts significantly altered the curricular landscape of K-12 classrooms. On the heels of this reform came the adoptions of English Development/Proficiency Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. These new standards are not only more academically rigorous, but they also call for teachers to prepare students for successful learning with 21st century tools. Increased expectations for technology integration have resulted in school districts seeking ways to improve their Internet infrastructure and provide 1:1 computing devices for all students. Such standards reform and technology demands have also come at a time of significant demographic change in the U.S., particularly… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The years between pre-K and third grade are vital for creating the foundation for later school success. The skills students develop at one age level or grade must be built upon and reinforced in later grades. Furthermore, for students to sustain gains made in one grade, they must continue to receive high-quality teaching in subsequent grades. Despite the growing efforts to expand quality pre-Kindergarten opportunities for 4-year olds and to close early achievement gaps, many young children in Louisiana still lack access to a high-quality continuum of learning that could make a difference in positive, long term achievement outcomes. Gaps and disparities in learning exist even as children enter pre-Kindergarten and these persist and grow larger throughout early elementary school. Though both early childhood community networks and… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Middle-Grades Leadership Development (MLD) Project was designed to develop principal leaders and leadership teams who create high-performing middle-grades schools. Designed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, the four-year project was funded from 2013 to 2017 by a U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) development grant. The project was implemented in 12 middle-grades schools in rural and small town areas of Kentucky and Michigan. Schools received an extensive set of school improvement supports, including: creating a vision using the Forum’s Schools to Watch (STW) criteria; engaging in an assessment and planning process for improvement; STW leadership coach; principal mentor; STW mentor schools; leadership team; networking opportunities; and focused professional development. The evaluation of the MLD Project used a quasi-experimental design (QED) with matched… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Science education reform standards have shifted focus from exploration and experimentation to evidence-based explanation and argumentation to prepare students with knowledge for a changing workforce and critical thinking skills to evaluate issues requiring increasing scientific literacy. However, in urban schools serving poor, diverse populations, where the priority is on students’ assessment results in reading and math, students may not receive reform-based science. The rationale for this qualitative study was to examine how two elementary teachers from high-poverty urban schools planned for reform-based science in response to a quality state science assessment in conjunction with their training and resources. Their state assessment included an inquiry task requiring students to construct responses to questions based on their investigation data. From evaluating evidence using Zembal-Saul’s continuum for teaching science as… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: When Rocketship Education, a pioneering, rapidly expanding charter school network, looked at its results, it could have rested on its laurels. With seven schools in California together ranking as the top public school system for low-income elementary students, Rocketship had proof that its blended-learning model–combining online learning with face-to-face instruction–works. But next year, Rocketship leaders will fix a disconnect they see between what happens in the online learning lab and the classroom, to give teachers more control over the students’ digital learning and further individualize the teaching. Instead of reporting to a separate computer lab, fourth- and fifth-graders will move within an open, flexible classroom between digital learning and in-person instruction, with those moves based on their individual needs and the roles that specific teachers are best… Continue Reading →
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