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Eric.ed.gov – Environmental Systems Simulations for Carbon, Energy, Nitrogen, Water, and Watersheds: Design Principles and Pilot Testing

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Guided by the Next Generation Science Standards and elements of problem-based learning, four human-environment systems simulations are described in brief–carbon, energy, water, and watershed–and a fifth simulation on nitrogen is described in more depth. These science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education simulations illustrate design principles that make them engaging to students, such as dynamic visual environments that are controlled by the user and immediate visual feedback to user actions taken. The simulations are contextualized in real-world natural resources management challenges involving biogeochemical cycles, such as Gulf of Mexico hypoxia, which provide an opportunity to “win the game,” while the introduction of complexity in steps provides scaffolding. Pretest versus posttest results indicate a substantial and statistically significant improvement in learning outcomes resulting from using the nitrogen simulation,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Promoting Educator Effectiveness: The Effects of Two Key Strategies. NCEE 2018-4009

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Having a more effective teacher or principal can substantially improve students’ academic outcomes. The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) program, established in 2006, provided competitive grants to help states and districts implement a multi-strategy approach to enhancing educator effectiveness. TIF grantees were required to measure educator performance and use this information to make decisions about the support and compensation they provide for educators. The 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act replaced TIF with the Teacher and School Leaders (TSL) Incentive Grants program. This program, like the TIF program, provides grants to eligible entities to develop, implement, improve, or expand performance-based compensation systems and human capital management systems in schools. This brief brings together the findings of two studies from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Bringing Language to Life: Quest’s TheatreBridge Enhances Learning in Class

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In math, students and teachers toss tennis balls. In science, students become rain, hail, sleet, and snow. In language arts, students maneuver their bodies into related positions and hold into a frieze they call “tableau.” The students and teachers are part of TheatreBridge, a four-year model demonstration and dissemination program lead by Quest Visual Theatre, a nonprofit company based in Lanham, Maryland. Activities from TheatreBridge feel like play, but whether the students are in math, science, or language arts, the learning from TheatreBridge is deeply serious. TheatreBridge applies the principles and strategies of visual theatre to classroom instruction. By applying visual theatre modalities and strategies, TheatreBridge supports visually- and kinesthetically-based instruction that is culturally appropriate for deaf and hard of hearing students. It creates a learning environment… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Learner Response System: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This Learner Response System (LRS) intervention involves the use of electronic handheld devices that allow teachers and pupils to provide immediate feedback during lessons. For example, pupils can respond to a question using the device and responses are immediately visible to the teacher, or they can work through problems on the device at their own pace with answers provided as they go. The aim is to improve outcomes by increasing the speed and quality of classroom feedback. A team from Edge Hill University developed the intervention and trained teachers to deliver it to pupils in Years 5 and 6 in primary schools with higher than average proportions of children ever eligible for free school meals. The devices were to be used in at least three lessons a… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Research Report: Impacts of the Use of Study Island Practice and Benchmarks — Reading School District, Pennsylvania

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Study Island is a practice and assessment tool that provides state-standards-aligned opportunities for students to practice their skills. It features a system of continual assessments with immediate feedback to adjust instruction and learning. When educators integrate Study Island into their instructional practices, it acts as a formative, ongoing assessment tool that provides students with a platform to practice or demonstrate their knowledge of taught standards. This approach reflects the elements of formative assessments as a process for monitoring progress and adjusting instruction. Research on formative assessment and progress-monitoring practices has demonstrated positive outcomes for student achievement (Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, & Kulik, 1991; Black & Wiliam, 1998; Fuchs & Fuchs, 1986; January et al., 2018; Stecker, Lembke, & Foegen, 2008; Stiggins, 1999; Van Norman, Nelson, & Parker, 2016; Wolf,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – An Evaluation of the Usefulness of Prosodic and Lexical Cues for Understanding Synthesized Speech of Mathematics. Research Report No. RR-16-33

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The work described in this report is the second phase of a project to provide easy-to-use tools for authoring and rendering secondaryschool algebra-levelmath expressions insynthesized speech that is useful for studentswithblindnessor lowvision.This report describes the development and results of the second feedback study performed for our project, Expanding Audio Access toMathematics Expressions by StudentsWith Visual Impairments viaMathML. That study focused on the use of certain prosodic and lexical elements in the ClearSpeak speech style and served as a basis for further refinements in that style’s definition and implementation in the MathPlayer software. The primary parameters evaluated are students’ success in drawing conclusions about the content and structure of certain math expressions and their perceptions regarding the helpfulness of the pace and wording of different text-to-speech renditions of… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The New NGSS Classroom: A Curriculum Framework for Project-Based Science Learning

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: As schools work to implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a team at Stanford University found that project-based learning is an effective framework for engaging students. The team used project-based learning, group activities, and performance-based assessments to design an effective, engaging curriculum. Over a three-year period, the team conducted research which showed that the curriculum led to gains in both student engagement and learning outcomes (as measured by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium’s math and English language arts tests, the California English Language Development Test, and a science pre- and post-assessment). The team contends that these gains were supported by a curriculum and professional development package that led to changes in teachers’ instructional practices. It highlights five things to look for when evaluating NGSS instructional materials… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Ready to Teach Program: A Federal Initiative in Support of Online Courses for Teachers

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The report, “The Ready to Teach Program: A Federal Initiative in Support of Online Courses for Teachers”, describes the history of the Ready to Teach Program and its role as one of the solutions to the national need to increase the performance of teachers through professional development. The report describes selected findings from the Eisenhower Professional Development Program and through it, the evolution of findings on effective professional development for teachers. These major efforts to improve teacher professional development by the U.S. Department of Education were supplemented by smaller efforts like the optional use of up to 10% of Title I monies for professional development, as determined by the principal of a Title I school or by the District, depending on the State Plan at that time.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Powerful Learning Conversations: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Powerful Learning Conversations (PLC) sought to improve the feedback that teachers give to pupils in Year 9, by training them to apply techniques used in sports coaching. It is based on the idea that feedback in sports coaching is often provided immediately after a task is performed, and delivered in a way that children are more likely to respond positively to. The training programme adopted a ‘cascade’ model: expert teachers were trained in the approach and then expected to disseminate their training to English and Maths teachers in their school. PLC was developed in the UK secondary school context by the Youth Sport Trust (YST) in collaboration with the University of Exeter. This feasibility pilot study was conducted in 20 schools between January 2014 and November 2014.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Alternative Student Growth Measures for Teacher Evaluation: Profiles of Early-Adopting Districts. REL 2014-016

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: States and districts are beginning to use student achievement growth–as measured by state assessments (often using statistical techniques known as value-added models or student growth models)–as part of their teacher evaluation systems. But this approach has limited application in most states, because their assessments are typically administered only in grades 3-8 and only in math and reading. In response, some districts have turned to alternative measures of student growth. These alternative measures include alternative assessment-based value-added models (VAMs) that use the results of end-of-course assessments or commercially available tests in statistical models, and student learning objectives (SLOs), which are determined by individual teachers, approved by principals, and used in evaluations that do not involve sophisticated statistical modeling. For this report, administrators in eight districts that were early… Continue Reading