The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Reconsidered: Institutional Integration and Impact

Posted on September 7, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

A new book by researchers at the Carenegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching examines the movement towards the changing face of teaching from an “occupation” to one based on scientific scholarship. The movement’s impact on teacher education programs is examined with particular attention. Authors Pat Hutchings, Mary Taylor Huber, and Tony Ciccone imagine a Read more about The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Reconsidered: Institutional Integration and Impact[…]

A Teacher Finds Good in Testing

Posted on September 5, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

n the August 31, 2011 issue of Education Week, former educator Ama Nyamekye reflects on the controversy surrounding high-stakes testing. In college, she was active in protesting these types of tests and thought that “good teachers should be left to their own devices.” She writes, “ I was certain that I was a good teacher. Read more about A Teacher Finds Good in Testing[…]

SIG Schools Get Extra Time for Teacher Evaluation Systems

Posted on September 1, 2011April 27, 2012 by coreeducation

The Department of Education has invited states and schools who were awarded a School Improvement Grant (SIG) to take some extra time to figure out the most crucial component: teacher evaluation. All of the schools and states eligible for the waiver are using the most popular, and arguably least rigorous, “transformational model” of school turnaround Read more about SIG Schools Get Extra Time for Teacher Evaluation Systems[…]

Already Ahead: Top Contenders in the RTT-ELC

Posted on August 31, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

The Early Education Initiative (EEI), part of the New America Foundation, has compiled a wealth of data in an attempt to identify front-runners and possible contenders for the Department of Education’s Race to the Top—Early Learning Challenge grant competition. The data analyzed for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia included the presence of Read more about Already Ahead: Top Contenders in the RTT-ELC[…]

Keep the Teacher Data Private

Posted on August 30, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

In an op-ed piece that appeared in the August 28 issue of the New York Daily News, well-known education scholar and author (and self-identified union critic) Frederick M. Hess blasted the recent decision by the New York state appellate court that will allow New York City to release student achievement data disaggregated on a teacher-by-teacher Read more about Keep the Teacher Data Private[…]

How Better Teacher & Student Assessment Can Power Up Learning

Posted on August 29, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

The Teachers of the Washington New Millennium Initiative, an institute part of the Center for Teaching Quality, released a report this week focusing on how to create a results-oriented teaching profession. The group’s recommendations are: 1. A two-tiered assessment system with improved national- and state-level standardized tests. Student assessments must be changed to evaluate their Read more about How Better Teacher & Student Assessment Can Power Up Learning[…]

Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge

Posted on August 28, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

The Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant applications became available August 23, causing a flurry of activity across the country. The purpose of RTT-ELC is to increase the quality of early childhood education in order to help close the achievement gap for low-income and disadvantaged children. The program has several priorities Read more about Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge[…]

K-12 in America Since 1981

Posted on August 25, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

Thirty years ago Education Week printed its first issue. Over the years, the periodical has seen many of the ups, downs, stagnations, steps forward and leaps back that the public education system has experienced. To commemorate this anniversary and remind us all of where we have been and where we are now, Education Week has Read more about K-12 in America Since 1981[…]

When Everyone Makes the Grade

Posted on August 24, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

In this month’s Education Outlook, Cory Koedel examines the standards by which prospective teachers are evaluated during university training. Koedel looks back at an article published in 1960 that showed evidence of low grading standards in university education departments: undergraduate students taking education classes were twice as likely to receive an A compared to students Read more about When Everyone Makes the Grade[…]

Principals Hone Their “People Skills” with New Simulations

Posted on August 23, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

Syracuse University has launched a new simulation training program for school administrators. The project uses live-action simulations that present more contemporary situations faced by administrators: non-traditional family structures, abusive home situations, substance-abuse issues, morally-charged issues such as sex education, depression, and confrontations with teachers who have more experience than the administrator. The program is supported Read more about Principals Hone Their “People Skills” with New Simulations[…]

Learning Forward: Standards for Professional Learning

Posted on August 22, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

Last month Learning Forward released the third edition of its Standards for Professional Learning. These standards outline “the characteristics of professional learning that lead to effective teaching practices, supportive leadership, and improved student results.” The standards are not simply platitudes, however. It is stated clearly that the standards are not a prescription for how teachers, Read more about Learning Forward: Standards for Professional Learning[…]

NCLB Waiver Watch

Posted on August 21, 2011June 3, 2012 by coreeducation

The Center on Education Policy (CEP) has launched a new website called NCLB Waiver Watch. This website tracks current developments related to the new waivers that would relieve states from some of the provisions of NCLB. Given the very public and fast-paced nature of the issue, CEP has created an interactive map that illustrates which Read more about NCLB Waiver Watch[…]

Teacher Swap Quashed in New Jersey

Posted on August 18, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

Last year the Newark, NJ school system accepted a $5 million grant from the federal government to turn around the failing Malcom X. Shabazz High School. As part of the deal, the district agreed to replace at least half of the school’s teachers, believing that principals could then hire better ones. What happened instead was Read more about Teacher Swap Quashed in New Jersey[…]

Teachers Matter Most in Early Grades

Posted on August 17, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

In the most recent edition of Teachers College Record, Spyros Konstantopoulos examines the long-term benefits of teacher effects on student achievement in early elementary grades. Konstantopoulos uses experimental data from Tennessee’s Student Teacher Achievement Ratio Study (Project STAR) for his study, and focused on two specific areas: 1) Determining the persistence of teacher effects in Read more about Teachers Matter Most in Early Grades[…]

“Insurgents” Take on Teachers’ Union

Posted on August 16, 2011April 26, 2012 by coreeducation

Last week, Time’s Andrew Rotherham addressed a growing movement led by young teachers: taking action against traditional teachers’ unions. “These renegade groups…are trying to accomplish what a generation of education reformers, activists and think tanks have not: forcing the unions to genuinely mend their ways.” Rotherham nicknames the three most-talked about “insurgent groups” as “The Read more about “Insurgents” Take on Teachers’ Union[…]