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Eric.ed.gov – Improving Nutrition Education in U.S. Elementary Schools: Challenges and Opportunities

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Poor food choices in childhood are core contributors to obesity and chronic diseases during adolescence and adulthood. Food choices and dietary behaviors develop in childhood and are difficult to change in adulthood. Nutrition education in elementary schools can provide children with the information and skills to develop healthy food choices and dietary behaviors. Current approaches for teaching nutrition and dietary behavior are largely ineffective to change elementary school students’ food choices. Using a cross-sectional, anonymous mail survey, we asked classroom teachers how to improve nutrition education in 17 Oregon elementary schools. Among 106 teachers who responded, most perceived that nutrition education in elementary school is very to somewhat important (97%) and can improve students’ food choices long-term (53%) or at least short-term (16%). Teachers noted multiple barriers… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – “Of Being and Not Being:” Colombian Public Elementary School Teachers’ Oscillating Identities

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This article presents the partial results of a larger study conducted in Bogotá (Colombia) with public elementary school teachers. Given their nature, and since they are equally affected not only by one, but by every policy of the Colombian educational system, the primary school teachers cannot be treated here as if they taught English only. They are responsible for teaching all subjects (math, social studies, physical education, English, Spanish, etc.). Data were collected through focus groups. Partial results show that the teachers’ identities range from feeling powerful to feeling powerless, depending on where they stand, that is, the field of knowledge, in the classroom, and in their relationship with the policies makers. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Synchronous Online Collaborative Professional Development for Elementary Mathematics Teachers

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Math is often taught poorly emphasizing rote, procedural methods rather than creativity and problem solving. Alberta Education developed a new mathematics curriculum to transform mathematics teaching to inquiry driven methods. This revised curriculum provides a new vision for mathematics and creates opportunities and requirements for professional learning by teachers. Conventional offsite, after school, or weekend professional development is typically “sit and listen, maybe try on Monday”. Professional development that is embedded, responsive, and personalized is known to be more effective at changing teaching practice. Alberta teachers are geographically dispersed making online professional learning a desirable alternative to on-site workshops. As access to and use of the Internet gains momentum in schools across the country, opportunities for collaborative, online professional development become more viable. The online professional development… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings for First and Second Graders. Executive Summary. NCEE 2011-4002

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: National achievement data show that elementary school students in the United States, particularly those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, have weak math skills (National Center for Education Statistics 2009). In fact, data show that, even before they enter elementary school, children from disadvantaged backgrounds are behind their more advantaged peers in basic competencies such as number-line ordering and magnitude comparison (Rathburn and West 2004). Furthermore, after a year of kindergarten, disadvantaged students still have less extensive knowledge of mathematics than their more affluent peers (Denton and West 2002). This study examines whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement in disadvantaged schools. A small number of curricula, which are based on different approaches for developing student math skills, dominate… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Propose of an Instructional Model Based on STEM Education Approach for Enhancing the Information and Communication Technology Skills for Elementary Students in Thailand

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this research is to propose an instructional model based on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Education approach for enhancing the information and communication technology skills for elementary students in Thailand. The study was conducted by research and development design and divided into two phases: Phase I is to create a tentative model that was synthesized using the relevant documents and researches concerning the elements and steps of the model. The data was collected through interviewing eight teachers who are experts in STEM education and twenty-four students who were instructed by STEM approach. Phase II consists of proposing a tentative model to eleven experts, evaluating the model, and acquiring an approval of the model by five professionals. The findings of the research are as… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Relative Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula. NCEE Evaluation Brief. NCEE 2009-4075

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Many U.S. children start school with weak math skills, and children from poor households lag behind those from affluent ones. These differences grow over time, resulting in substantial differences in math achievement by the time students reach grade 4. The federal Title I program provides financial assistance to schools with a high number or percentage of students from low-income households, to help all students meet state academic standards. Under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, these schools must make adequate yearly progress in meeting state-specific targets for proficiency in math and reading, with the goal of ensuring that all students are proficient in math and reading by 2014. To provide educators with information that may contribute to making adequate yearly progress, this large-scale national… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Assessment of Training Programs for Elementary Mathematics Teachers on Developed Curricula and Attitudes towards Teaching in Najran-Saudi Arabia

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study aimed at assessing the training programs for Mathematics teachers at elementary stage on developed Curricula and attitudes toward teaching at Najran educational administration in Saudi Arabia. To achieve this objective, two instruments were developed, one of them measures the opinions of Mathematics teachers about the training programs and the other one measures their attitudes toward teaching the developed Curricula, which were distributed to (72) male and female Mathematics teachers at elementary stage. The results showed that training programs for Mathematics teachers are highly efficient in covering the theoretical background of the project of Mathematics development, content, methods of teaching, activities and educational aids, evaluation, and quality of training. The results also showed Math teachers have positive attitudes towards teaching the developed Curricula, and further concluded… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Not So Elementary: Primary School Teacher Quality in Top-Performing Systems

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Concerns about inadequate development of subject expertise for American elementary school teachers have been well documented. There are many exceptions to this narrative, and there are many exemplary U.S. teacher preparation programs. However, it is clear that, overall, the preparation of elementary teachers in the United States in key subject areas has been inadequate. So, what are systems that have high-performing learning outcomes in key subjects doing to ensure quality teaching in math, science and literacy? This report analyses whether and how high-performing systems (specifically those in jurisdictions of Japan, Finland, Hong Kong, and Shanghai) have supported the subject expertise of their elementary school teachers. The findings highlight how different parts of these systems constantly reinforce the development of deep subject expertise in their elementary teachers. For… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Achievement Effects of Four Early Elementary School Math Curricula: Findings from First Graders in 39 Schools. NCEE 2009-4052

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this large-scale, national study is to determine whether some early elementary school math curricula are more effective than others at improving student math achievement, thereby providing educators with information that may be useful for making adequate yearly progress (AYP). This report presents results from the first cohort of first grade in 39 schools participating in the evaluation during the 2006-2007 school year, with the goal of determining the relative effects of different early elementary math curricula on student math achievement in disadvantaged schools. The report also examines whether curriculum effects differ for student subgroups in different instructional settings. A competitive process was used to select four curricula Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; Math Expressions; Saxon Math; and Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics) that represent… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Anthropological Analysis of Content Knowledge of Preservice Elementary Mathematics Teachers’ on Graphs

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this study is to analyse the content knowledge on graphs of pre-service elementary mathematics teachers from an anthropological perspective. 112 pre-service elementary mathematics teachers participated in the study. Concentric mixed pattern research method has been used in the study. The data was collected through Graphic Content Knowledge Scale and interview method in order to examine the content knowledge of primary school math teacher candidates related to graphics anthropologically. This scale which was developed within the frame of determined institutional recognitions includes graphic concept and its usage conditions, graphic types and different display forms, making proper transformations between graphics related to a given context, graphic reading, graphic interpreting and graphic drawing skills. In addition, for the purpose of having a more detailed review of the… Continue Reading