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Eric.ed.gov – Partnerships, Policy, and Educational Change: The Role of Mathematics and Science in K-16 Reform

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Concerns about American competitiveness and innovation have led to increasing scrutiny of science, technical, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Leaders in the higher education, business, and legislative communities have all issued calls for expanded opportunities and training in STEM fields to improve the skills of the U.S. workforce. Older arguments for change, including stronger alignment of K-12 and higher education curriculum and the overall reform of teacher preparation, are incorporated within these recent calls, and share similar policy and implementation challenges. This analysis identifies the National Science Foundation Math Science Partnerships program as an emblem of the challenges of engaging K-12 and higher education in major reform efforts within a dynamic policy environment. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Effective Educational Programs: Meta-Findings from the Best Evidence Encyclopedia

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: One of the major series of reviews in elementary and secondary education is the Best Evidence Encyclopedia, or the BEE. Up to now, findings for systematic reviews have largely been restricted to the reviews themselves, with few cases in which lessons learned across many reviews using similar methods can be synthesized. The completion of the Best Evidence Encyclopedia reading and math reviews permits a first opportunity to describe both substantive and methodological patterns across a broad set of studies involving all elementary and secondary grades, reviewed using a common set of review procedures. The purpose of the proposed paper is to synthesize both substantive and methodological findings across the five main Best Evidence Encyclopedia reviews of reading and math programs in grades K-12. The paper considers the… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Clues from Research: Effective Instructional Strategies Leading to Positive Outcomes for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In 1999, the National Reading Panel investigated arguments regarding how best to teach reading. The members of the panel examined thousands of articles on literacy development and identified six key factors in teaching reading. Further, the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001 obligated teachers to use scientifically proven practices, or evidence-based practices, supported by research that is both valid and compelling. In 1999, the Association of College Educators-Deaf & Hard of Hearing initiated a review of the literature surrounding practices in the areas of literacy, mathematics, and science. The associations’ researchers identified 20 strategies regarded by the profession to be best practices in literacy, in mathematics, and in science instruction for deaf and hard of hearing students prior to and surrounding the beginning of the… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Aftermath of Accelerating Algebra: Evidence from a District Policy Initiative. Working Paper 69

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In 2002/03, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools initiated a broad program of accelerating entry into algebra coursework. The proportion of moderately-performing students taking 8th grade algebra increased from less than half to nearly 90%, then reverted to baseline levels, in the span of just six age cohorts. We use this policy-induced variation to infer the impact of accelerated entry into algebra on student performance in math courses as students progress through high school. Students affected by the acceleration initiative scored significantly lower on end-of-course tests in Algebra I, and were either no more likely or significantly less likely to pass standard follow-up courses, Geometry and Algebra II, on a college-preparatory timetable. We also find that the district assigned teachers with weaker qualifications to Algebra I classes in the first… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Unconscious Bias in the Classroom: Evidence and Opportunities, 2017

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The underrepresentation of women and racial and ethnic minorities in computer science (CS) and other fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is a serious impediment to technological innovation as well as an affront to fundamental notions of fairness and equity. These gaps emerge in the early grades and tend to persist, if not widen, throughout the secondary and postsecondary years. The unconscious biases (UB) of teachers, school administrators, and fellow students may contribute meaningfully to the persistence of these gaps. Fortunately, a nascent literature on targeted interventions that directly address UB suggests there may be compelling opportunities to promote broader engagement in CS and STEM education and employment. The fields of neuroscience, social psychology, economics, and sociology articulate the many possible origins of UB and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Project-Based Learning: A Literature Review. Working Paper

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The concept of project-based learning (PBL) has garnered wide support among a number of K-12 education policy advocates and funders. This working paper builds on and updates a seminal literature review of PBL published in 2000. Focused primarily on articles and studies that have emerged in the 17 years since then, the working paper discusses the principles that underlie PBL, how PBL has been used in K-12 settings, the challenges teachers have confronted in implementing it, how school and district factors influence its adoption, and what is known about its effectiveness in improving students’ learning outcomes. PBL is grounded in cross-cutting “design principles” often related to what is taught, how it is taught, and how students should be evaluated in a PBL classroom. PBL design principles emphasize… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Do Poor Kids Deserve Lower-Quality Education than Rich Kids? Evaluating School Privatization Proposals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. EPI Briefing Paper #375

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: During the past year, Wisconsin state legislators debated a series of bills aimed at closing low-performing public schools and replacing them with privately run charter schools. These proposals were particularly targeted at Milwaukee, the state’s largest and poorest school district. Ultimately, the only legislation enacted was a bill that modestly increases school reporting requirements, without stipulating consequences for low performance. Nevertheless, the more ambitious proposals will likely remain at the core of Wisconsin’s debates over education policy, and legislative leaders have made clear their desire to revisit them in next year’s session. To help inform these deliberations, this report addresses the most comprehensive set of reforms put forward in the 2013-2014 legislative session. Backers of these reforms are particularly enamored of a new type of charter school… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Effects of Teacher Professional Development on Gains in Student Achievement: How Meta Analysis Provides Scientific Evidence Useful to Education Leaders

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to conduct a meta analysis study with the goal of providing state and local education leaders with scientifically-based evidence regarding the effects of teacher professional development on improving student learning. The analysis focused on completed studies of effects of professional development for K-12 teachers of science and mathematics. The meta analysis results show important cross-study evidence that teacher professional development in mathematics does have significant positive effects on student achievement. The analysis results also confirm the positive relationship to student outcomes of key characteristics of design of professional development programs. The following are appended: (1) Meta Analysis Coding Form Excerpt: Scaffolded Guide for Determining Inclusion of a Document; (2) Effects… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: “Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies” is a peer-tutoring program for grades K-6 that aims to improve student proficiency in math and other disciplines. This report focuses on “Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies” for math. The math program supplements students’ existing math curriculum and is based on peer-mediated instruction, a process whereby students work in pairs or small groups to tutor each other. During tutoring sessions, students work together on worksheets that target specific math skills, with one student designated to correct his or her partner’s errors, award points for correct responses, and provide consistent encouragement and feedback. The program uses videos and teacher-provided scripted instruction to train students to engage in peer tutoring. Developers recommend that students participate in peer-tutoring sessions two to three times a week for approximately 30 minutes… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Review of “Cross-Country Evidence on Teacher Performance Pay”

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The primary claim of this Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance report and the abridged Education Next version is that nations “that pay teachers on their performance score higher on PISA tests.” After statistically controlling for several variables, the author concludes that nations with some form of merit pay system have, on average, higher reading and math scores on this international test of 15-year-old students. Although the author lists numerous caveats, his broad conclusions do not heed these cautions. The fundamental differences among countries in the types of performance pay system are not properly considered. Nations are simply lumped together as having or not having a performance pay plan. Also, the length of time the program had been in place in each country is not addressed… Continue Reading