Curriculum Matters
This blog covered news on the common core, literacy, math, STEM, social studies, the arts, and other curriculum and instruction topics. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: common core, reading & literacy, mathematics, STEM, social studies, and curriculum.
Science
Duncan to Speak at Science Teachers' Conference
This just in: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is expected to address the National Science Teachers Association at its annual meeting on March 20. The event is being held in New Orleans.
Science
Offering Girls an Online Science Resources
Many organizations have taken a strong interest in increasing young girls' engagement in math and science, as a hook to leading them into "STEM"-oriented fields and careers. The congressionally chartered National Academy of Sciences is trying to do its part through a web site, "I Was Wondering," which seeks to introduce female students to the possibility of science careers, and to the curiosities of the scientific world.
Education
Moving from High School to College Science
When a college freshman doesn't do well in a first-year science course, whose fault is it?
Science
Re-Examinining a Math Skirmish
I've had a lot of people tell me there's been a reduction, however slight or gradual, in the level of bluster and acrimony emanating from various combatants in the so-called "math wars" in recent years.
Science
All Hail Pi (π)
Apparently bowing to intense pressure from the all-powerful mathematicians' lobby, Capitol Hill lawmakers have approved House Resolution No. 224, calling for March 14 to be recognized as "National Pi Day."
Reading & Literacy
'Hamlet' Adapted to Facebook
I got my chuckle for the day over a blog post by Timothy McSweeney that's being passed around. It reduces William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" to a Facebook news feed. Even Robert Pondiscio over at the Core Knowledge Blog acknowledges that the Facebook rendition of "Hamlet" is a good example of world-class skills and world-class content working together hand in hand.
Science
Testing for Depth in Science
A recent study, which I wrote about last week, makes the case for building students' depth of knowledge in science—as opposed to focusing on "breadth," a long list of topics across the subject.
Curriculum
What Works? "I Can Learn" Math, Says Clearinghouse
The federal What Works Clearinghouse, which offers reviews of education programs according to rigorous standards, has released three new reports. But only one of the programs reviewed, the I Can Learn focused on helping students with prealgebra and algebra, was found to have been studied enough to qualify for a rating—it was found to have positive effects on student achievement.
Science
Finding (and Keeping) Math and Science Teachers
At an event in Washington yesterday, President Barack Obama spelled out some of his priorities for rewarding effective teaching through extra pay. "[W]e know it can make a difference in the classroom."
Education
Is the Nation Making Progress in Meeting Its Foreign-Language Needs?
I reported some bad news recently about the status of foreign-language programs in the United States in Education Week. Fewer elementary schools are providing foreign-language programs now than a decade ago. This decade of decline follows a decade in which elementary schools had increasingly launched foreign-language programs.
Science
Classroom Discussion: Independent Science?
Barack Obama is expected today to announce a new policy lifting restrictions on funding for human embryonic stem cell research. He will also issue a presidential memorandum meant to protect federal scientists and scientific research from political influence, according to reports.
Science
Primer on "Lesson Study"
Originally created in Japan, the practice known as "lesson study" grew more popular in the United States in the 1990s. Basically, it's a research and instructional-improvement method in which a teacher conducts a class under the observation of other educators and interested observers. The idea with these lab-type environments is that teachers discuss the teaching methods on display and how to refine them to improve student learning, engagement, and behavior.
Assessment
Testing Tech Literacy
There's a lot of debate these days about how to define "technology literacy," but in a couple years, the National Assessment of Educational Progress will take the unusual step of testing students in those skills.
Assessment
Testing the "Mega" States on NAEP
The test referred to as "the nation's report card," is perhaps best known for producing results that allow for state-by-state comparisons of student achievement, as well as national trends across grades and subject areas.