Curriculum Collection

Focus on: Curriculum & Teachers

Education Week’s 2010 series on the issues, trends, and research into curriculum and teaching.

  • Kenji Hakuta, a member of the common-standards validation committee, says the final version of the standards will help teachers stress academic-language development with English-learners. The new document addresses some, though not all, of the concerns of advocates for ELLs.
    Kenji Hakuta, a member of the common-standards validation committee, says the final version of the standards will help teachers stress academic-language development with English-learners. The new document addresses some, though not all, of the concerns of advocates for ELLs.
    Erin Lubin for Education Week
    Federal Standards Organizers Leave English Proficiency to States
    The two national groups leading the effort plan to leave it up to states to craft their own English-proficiency standards.
    Mary Ann Zehr, June 7, 2010
    6 min read
    Kenji Hakuta, a member of the common-standards validation committee, says the final version of the standards will help teachers stress academic-language development with English-learners. The new document addresses some, though not all, of the concerns of advocates for ELLs.
    Kenji Hakuta, a member of the common-standards validation committee, says the final version of the standards will help teachers stress academic-language development with English-learners. The new document addresses some, though not all, of the concerns of advocates for ELLs.
    Erin Lubin for Education Week
    Federal Common-Standards Draft Excludes ELL Proficiency
    The two national groups leading the effort plan to leave it up to states to craft their own English-proficiency standards.
    Mary Ann Zehr, May 20, 2010
    6 min read
    Teaching Profession Union Plan for Revising ESEA Differs From Obama Blueprint
    The teachers' union says its blueprint for renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act offers a fresh approach to the law.
    Stephen Sawchuk, April 20, 2010
    5 min read
    Teaching N.Y.C. School Built Around Unorthodox Use of Time
    A small public high school structures educators’ roles and schedules so that students—and teachers—have more time to learn.
    Stephen Sawchuk, March 9, 2010
    10 min read
    Standards Core Knowledge to Link Curriculum to Core Standards
    Satisfied with the standards crafted by the multistate initiative, the foundation will make free its content-focused K-8 sequence.
    Catherine Gewertz, February 1, 2010
    6 min read
    Science Web Connects K-12 Students With Scientists
    Universities and science organizations have launched initiatives to make advanced scientific work seem less intimidating and more appealing.
    Sean Cavanagh, November 9, 2009
    8 min read
    Federal 'Striving Readers' Tough to Measure
    Striving Readers, which the Obama administration wants to expand, has not shown impressive student-achievement results so far.
    Mary Ann Zehr, October 9, 2009
    7 min read
    Budget & Finance California Faces a Curriculum Crisis
    Extensive changes to the state’s curriculum policies have raised concerns that educators will not have the guidance to pick the best texts.
    Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, September 9, 2009
    7 min read
    Teaching Profession Unions Set Sights on High-Profile Charter-Network Schools
    Teachers have formed collective bargaining units in schools run by some of the best-known charter school management organizations.
    Stephen Sawchuk, June 9, 2009
    11 min read
    Teacher Leslie Boyadjian coaches a soccer game at Washington Middle School in Albuquerque, N.M. Her take-home pay would drop under a plan by lawmakers to raise employees’ pension contributions.
    Teacher Leslie Boyadjian coaches a soccer game at Washington Middle School in Albuquerque, N.M. Her take-home pay would drop under a plan by lawmakers to raise employees’ pension contributions.
    Sergio Salvador/AP
    Teaching Profession Pensions Blamed for Costing Schools New Talent
    As baby-boomers inch closer to retirement and the economy continues to sputter, there are renewed worries about pension-fund liabilities cropping up across the nation.
    Stephen Sawchuk, April 21, 2009
    8 min read
    Federal Great Depression a Timely Class Topic
    Because of the parallels teachers are able to draw between the current economic crisis and the Depression, students can see history is relevant.
    Mary Ann Zehr, March 9, 2009
    6 min read
    Federal Professionals Enrich Classroom Lessons With Expertise
    Some schools have long tapped into a corps of professionals in the arts, math, science, and history as a way of enriching the curriculum and engaging students in activities that bring the content to life.
    Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, February 3, 2009
    6 min read
    Calli Rusche-Nicholson works with a few of her students at Miles Avenue Elementary School in Billings, Mont., where Native American studies are part of the curriculum. Fourth graders, from left, are Britton Hartford, Toby Turcotte, and Alex Chavis.
    Calli Rusche-Nicholson works with a few of her students at Miles Avenue Elementary School in Billings, Mont., where Native American studies are part of the curriculum. Fourth graders, from left, are Britton Hartford, Toby Turcotte, and Alex Chavis.
    David Grubbs for Education Week
    Equity & Diversity Native American History, Culture Gaining Traction in State Curricula
    A growing number of states make American Indian history and culture a formal part of what all students should learn.
    Mary Ann Zehr, November 4, 2008
    7 min read
    Teaching Historic Election and New Tech Tools Yield Promising Vistas for Learning
    Just as the candidates have learned to use novel technology tools to reach young people during this year’s presidential campaign, teachers are turning to electronic resources to capture students’ interest in the election.
    Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, October 7, 2008
    8 min read
    Cheryl Woolwine, a special education coordinator for the Putnam County district in Florida, shows her adaptive-technology program to other workshop participants.
    Cheryl Woolwine, a special education coordinator for the Putnam County district in Florida, shows her adaptive-technology program to other workshop participants.
    Photo by Christopher Powers/Education Week
    Federal Networking Teachers Coaxing Colleagues to Use Technology
    The Discovery Educator Network offers hundreds of webinars, blogs, meetings, and workshops to help explain and show how various devices and applications work and ways to adapt them to the curriculum.
    Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, September 5, 2008
    7 min read
    "My Heart Throb" by Liliana Estrada. The arts program for the Chicago public schools includes opportunities for students to show their work in citywide competitions each year.
    "My Heart Throb" by Liliana Estrada.<br> The arts program for the Chicago public schools includes opportunities for students to show their work in citywide competitions each year.
    Student art courtesy of the All-City Art Exhibition and Chicago Public Schools
    Curriculum Districts and Partners Coordinate on Arts Education
    Chicago relies on partnerships with local organizations and support from private funders to keep arts education going in the face of budgetary and curricular constraints.
    Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, June 18, 2008
    6 min read
    Federal National-Board Teachers Found to Be Effective
    National Research Council, however, turns up little evidence, to suggest credential has transformed field.
    Debra Viadero & Vaishali Honawar, June 11, 2008
    5 min read
    School Climate & Safety Districts Take Action to Stem Violence Aimed at Teachers
    Experts caution that reliable and up-to-date statistics on student violence against teachers can be hard to acquire. National and district data show a drop in such violence over the past decade.
    Vaishali Honawar, May 6, 2008
    7 min read
    Curriculum Letter to the Editor Clearing Up Possible Confusion About Urban Debate Leagues
    The author contends that a recent Education Week article mischaracterizes urban debate leagues' work.
    April 29, 2008
    1 min read
    Judge Shorge Sato, left, listens to John Holland of Atlanta’s Grady High School.
    Judge Shorge Sato, left, listens to John Holland of Atlanta’s Grady High School.
    John Zich for Education Week
    Federal Leagues Revive Debate in City Schools
    The urban demise of debate leagues closed off a training ground for careers in law, business, and public service and a distinctive outlet for mouthy and some mousy kids who didn't necessarily take well to classroom society.
    Bess Keller, April 15, 2008
    8 min read
    Federal Flagging Economy Propels Financial Education
    Concerns about the foundering economy are helping to highlight the need to improve students’ understanding of money matters.
    Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, February 19, 2008
    7 min read
    Teaching Profession Districts Discharge Unwanted Faculty Through ‘Buyouts’
    Some teachers, under a professional cloud, are paid to leave their jobs. It's a fact little examined in schools or policy circles, and mostly unknown to the public.
    Bess Keller, January 22, 2008
    8 min read
    School Climate & Safety Ed. Schools Beef Up Classroom-Management Training
    Some colleges of education have in recent years increased their focus on training aspiring educators to handle disruptive students.
    Vaishali Honawar, December 11, 2007
    7 min read
    Curriculum Foreign-Languages Acquisition a Vital Part of District’s Mission
    The 8,000-student Glastonbury school district outside Hartford, Conn., is now viewed as a model for meeting the demand for graduates with language skills and an understanding of other countries and cultures.
    Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, November 6, 2007
    7 min read
    Federal Federal Rule Yields Hope for Science
    Proponents of science education expect that the law mandating science tests could compel schools to carve out more time for the subject.
    Sean Cavanagh, October 5, 2007
    8 min read
    Teaching Profession Policies Allow Districts to Cut Corners With Substitutes
    The majority of states don’t require substitutes to have more than a high school diploma.
    Vaishali Honawar, September 10, 2007
    6 min read