Looking to learn more about what’s trending in education?!? Here’s a recap of this week’s news. Let us know what you think about this week’s news in the comments below.
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How NGSS Transforms Science Class With Hands-On Learning (eSchool News)
By Pat Dickerson
One classroom learns how NGSS can take students farther than they’ve ever been
Imagine 30 sixth-graders racing to your classroom every day, so excited about learning that they are willing to think critically and problem-solve for the next 49 minutes. This is my world every day. I’ve been teaching for more than 30 years, and this is the most excited I’ve ever seen students. What’s changed? Simply put: We integrated the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) into our curriculum.
How Teachers And Entrepreneurs Should Think About Education Technology (Forbes)
By Jordan Shapiro
Most arguments for innovations in edtech focus on the ways in which new digital tools will help students. While learners will certainly benefit, the science fiction fear of robot teachers is exacerbated when we forget that edtech is fundamentally a tool for teachers. Great learning tools help teachers do their jobs more effectively by providing more data.
Help for Homework Help: Teaching Parents Common Core Math (ABC News)
By Michelle R. Smith
Any adult who has tried to help a second-grader with homework has noticed math is not what it used to be. Now schools are unlocking the secrets of Common Core math for mystified parents.
They’re holding special classes or giving out materials designed for adults so they can help children with their math homework. After parents learn the strategies, educators say, they’re more willing to get on board with Common Core math amid criticism from some politicians, from fellow parents, on social media and from celebrities like Louis C.K., who complained Common Core math made his daughters cry.
Teachers Need More Time, Money And Prestige, Report Says (Los Angeles Times)
By Joy Resmovits
Jane Fung, a veteran, award-winning kindergarten teacher at Belvedere Elementary in East L.A., would change something else. “I would make sure that elementary and middle school teachers have a period off where they could either prep or collaborate,” she said. “It should be embedded into our profession.”
Changing the teaching profession by making it more prestigious and giving teachers more planning time are just two proposals that are part of a new report from the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington. The report, which was provided to The Times and is being released Tuesday, calls for a comprehensive overhaul of the pipeline for becoming a teacher and staying in the classroom.
‘Madden NFL’ Makes A Play For The Classroom (USA Today)
By Brett Molina
Math and science students may soon huddle up with a name familiar to many video game fans: Madden NFL.
Electronic Arts announced Wednesday it is teaming up with the NFL Players Association and Discovery Education on a program called EA Sports Madden NFL: Football By The Numbers, aimed at teaching math and science to students between fifth and ninth grades.
The Digital Disparities Facing Lower-Income Teenagers (New York Times)
By Natasha Singer
Teenagers in lower-income households have fewer desktop, laptop and tablet computers to use at home than their higher-income peers, according to a new study. And those disparities may influence more than how teenagers socialize, entertain themselves and apply for college or jobs.
Education Systems Around The World Are Failing To Prepare Students For The Workforce: Survey (Real Clear Education)
By Emmeline Zhao
Globally, education is failing to keep pace with rapidly changing economies, and is not preparing students for the workforce, according to members of the education community around the world.
Report: Leadership, Transparent Procurement, Flexible Budgeting Key To Digital Materials Acquisition (THE Journal)
By Leila Meyer
As states and districts increasingly adopt digital instructional materials, educators, administrators, policy makers and providers need a strategy to support the successful acquisition and implementation of those materials, according to a new report from the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA).
U.S. To Spend Millions On Educating Pakistani Girls (Los Angeles Times)
October 22, 2015
The White House announced a new partnership with Pakistan on Thursday to promote education for girls there by doubling spending on schools and boosting female enrollment.
Pakistan plans to increase the number of female teachers and build boundary walls and make other accommodations to allow women and girls to teach and learn alongside men and boys.