November 1, 2009 More and more American students are being encouraged to take introductory algebra in 8th grade. This Spotlight examines efforts to support algebra instruction and the accompanying policy challenges.
October 23, 2009 Research indicates that students benefit when their parents are engaged in their learning and schools. This Spotlight explores how to encourage meaningful home-school connections.
October 9, 2009 The push for voluntary national core standards is moving full steam ahead, with 46 states signing on to the effort. This Spotlight takes a closer look at the process for developing national standards, the main players in the process, and standards ideas under consideration.
September 15, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on Classroom Management includes insights on how to make the most of leftover class time, organizing classrooms in a way that works for both teachers and students, how education schools train educators to handle disruptive students, resources for reducing behavior problems, helping students take responsibility for their own learning, exploring the benefits and challenges of course management software, tips for communicating with parents, using student choice as a motivational tool, and more.
September 24, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on the Flu and Schools includes insights on using online learning to continue students' education if they are out of school, tips to create e-learning plans in the event of swine flu or other circumstances that cause student absences, strategies to provide continuous education when schools are closed, CDC guidelines on the H1N1 flu virus for schools, and how some schools are responding to the flu, and more.
May 1, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on Tips for New Teachers includes insights on starting off strong in the first days of schools, setting up your classroom, managing grading and parent communication, establishing student behavior guidelines, organizing the learning environment, creating classroom rules, building supportive relationships, understanding the school culture, and keeping a positive outlook.
May 28, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on ELL Assessment & Teaching provides insights on: how schools handle academic credits for adolescent immigrant youths, research on how to best teach English-language learners, accommodations to assess content knowledge, assessing English-language proficiency, a team-teaching model of ELL instruction, determining where English-language learners should be placed at the time of enrollment, criteria used to identify students for ELL services, characteristics of effective technology-enhanced programs for ELLs, after-school programs as a powerful resource for English-language learners, and addressing the needs of longtime English-learners.
February 24, 2009 New coverage with timely updates: Education Week's two Spotlights on the Stimulus bring together the latest information and analysis on the federal economic-stimulus package. Want to know what the stimulus package will mean for the nation’s schools and for you?
June 29, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on Reading Instruction includes insights on research on early literacy, predictors of reading achievement, educational TV and reading, finding solutions to the ‘4th grade slump’, reading software programs for young readers, one district’s use of the Reading First model to fine-tune instruction districtwide, tips for engaging reluctant readers, the role of background knowledge in reading comprehension, and potential pitfalls of reading research.
May 1, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on Response to Intervention provides insights on: how one district worked to implement Response to Intervention in elementary and middle school, research-based interventions for struggling readers, what RTI means for the classroom, federal funding for early intervention, the reach of RTI state by state, challenges and promises of RTI in high schools, ‘recognition and response’ in preschools, research on RTI, and IDEA’s promotion of RTI.
July 2, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) includes insights on Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for schools by state, using growth models to determine AYP, calculating high school graduation rates. expanding student participation in public school choice and free tutoring, also known as supplemental education services, the “differential accountability” pilot project to allow states to experiment with alternative ways of improving schools that are failing to make AYP, debate over the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind, and why schools fail to make AYP.
May 1, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on Pay for Performance provides insight on the effectiveness of merit pay for teachers, Teacher Incentive Fund grants, pay-for-performance for principals, performance pay and student achievement, states’ roles in advancing performance-based pay, warnings against, as well as recommendations for performance pay, and lessons learned from research.
August 2, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on E-Learning includes insights on growth of online classes, research on the effectiveness of online learning, managing the schedules of virtual classrooms, organizing and preparing to teach virtual classes, online professional development, online Advanced Placement courses, locating useful teaching tools online, lessons for K-12 from higher education’s online experiences, cost-effectiveness of online learning, and growth of the e-learning industry.
May 28, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on Charter School Leadership provides insights on succession planning to ensure school stability, what it takes to open a charter school, including marketing, hiring, and facilities, practical leadership lessons informed by business, one city’s expansion of charter schools, the role of philanthropy in the development of charter schools, preparation programs for charter school leadership, the growth of charter management organizations, and research on who leads charter schools, why they do it, and where they struggle.
May 28, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on Inclusion & Assistive Technology provides insights on practical steps to team-teaching in an inclusive setting, coordinating information technology and assistive technology for special education students, types of special education technologies, tips on integrating special education technologies, using data to inform inclusion, advances in Braille technology, research on classroom-amplification systems, team-teaching to improve instruction for students, research on “accessible” or “universally designed” tests, and technology to support students who are visually impaired.
May 28, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on Technology in the Classroom brings together a collection of articles hand-picked by our editors for their insights on new educational uses of cellphones, teaching with games and simulations, virtual field trips, online learning opportunities for struggling students, tips for locating valuable online tools for the classroom, using collegial networks to see how technology can generate practical teaching ideas, rural community initiatives to integrate video iPods, computer games, and wireless technologies on school buses, and education technology as a "disruptive innovation."
May 1, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on STEM in Schools includes one public school's blending of the science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines, courses on renewable energy and 'green' technology, learning science through informal experiences and educational television, playing games in the classroom to strengthen students’ math skills, using unconventional textbooks and other materials to help struggling middle schoolers become ‘algebra-ready’, research on the qualities of effective math teaching and experiential approaches to STEM as a curriculum.
August 4, 2009 Education Week's Spotlight on Getting the Most From Your IT Budget includes insights on the advantages and challenges of cloud computing, using stimulus funds to bolster broadband, creative ed-tech tactics to cut costs and save programs, saving money with virtualization, buying vs. building online professional development, tips for a better district website, tapping the open-content movement to share resources and save money, and technology innovation as a way to support smarter schools.
