Healthy educators are more productive, less likely to be absent, and better equipped to support student development when they themselves are mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally well. By creating opportunities and infrastructure for employee wellness programs, state boards of education and other policymakers can foster the physical and emotional well-being Read more
OpenSciEd has launched to address the need among teachers and school districts for high-quality, open-source, full-course science instructional materials. Science literacy and successful completion of high school science courses is critical for students’ success in a growing STEM economy. The first OpenSciEd units for grades 6-8 are available now, after Read more
If state leaders want more student-driven learning in classrooms, creating policies that support teachers is critical. That’s according to a new report from iNACOL, a nonprofit that supports competency-based education. The report outlines five recommendations for state policy leaders on how to help develop teachers so they’re prepared for competency-based Read more
FutureEd has published a piece about how changes to curriculum and instruction in DC have made a difference: During five and a half years as chief of teaching and learning at the District of Columbia Public Schools, Brian Pick led one of the nation’s most comprehensive—and successful—overhauls of a school Read more
The Path to Instructional Excellence and Equitable Outcomes explores District of Columbia Public Schools’ innovative approach to supporting teaching instruction, called Learning Together to Advance our Practice, or LEAP. LEAP is based on research that has found the most effective professional learning is school-based and content-specific, grounded in the instructional Read more
In a new issue brief, iNACOL outlines five key opportunities for state policymakers to transform the teaching profession to enable it to support the shift toward student-centered learning models in K-12 education. Modernizing the Teaching Workforce for Learner-Centered, Competency-Based, Equity-Oriented Education: State Policy Recommendations makes five recommendations to leverage the Read more
Transforming Education has released a new resource, SEL Integration Approach for Classroom Educators. In A National at Hope, the Aspen SEAD Commission highlighted the importance of “integrat[ing] social, emotional, and cognitive development into academic curricula and throughout the day.” By integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) into the fabric of the school Read more
Research increasingly points to the importance of social and emotional learning to student success. Teachers play a central role in these dimensions of learning, particularly in helping students feel connected to school and have a positive sense of themselves as learners. Through the messages they send and the experiences they Read more
Writing for the Annenberg Institute at Brown University’s working paper series, researchers Matthew Ronfeldt, Emanuele Bardelli, Stacey Brockman and Hannah Mullman explore the effects of hosting a student teacher on cooperating teachers’ evaluation scores. Growing evidence suggests that preservice candidates receive better coaching and are more instructionally effective when they Read more
When teachers visit families at home and ask, “What are your hopes and dreams for your child,” chronic absenteeism goes down, test scores go up, and teachers change their own mindsets. Studies from Johns Hopkins University and RTI International evaluated Parent Teacher Home Visits model in use in 700 communities Read more
John Fensterwald, writing for California’s EdSource, recently reviewed a study of 156 California districts that ‘beat the odds’ in student achievement for underserved students and distilled the characteristics of those districts that had the most impact on results. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Research released this week identified 156 Read more
Every year, schools must hire new teachers to replace the nearly 15 percent who leave annually. But what if schools are doing it wrong? In Core Education’s May issue brief, we explore the data science behind teacher hiring, look at the teacher characteristics that have the most impact on teacher Read more
Recently in the Fordham Flypaper, Michael Petrilli wrote about the practice and promise of instructional coaches. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Whether initiated from the bottom-up or the top-down, any effort to help educators align their practice with the best evidence is going to succeed or fail on the Read more
Recently in Education Week, Madeline Will reviewed new teacher hiring practices designed to predict the longevity and effectiveness of teachers before they begin teaching. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Sojourner and other researchers partnered with the Minneapolis school district to determine whether teachers’ resumes can predict how effective they’ll Read more
Over five decades as a teacher, central office administrator, principal, leadership coach, and research reader, Kim Marshall has honed a system for supervising, coaching, and evaluating teachers. Here are the key elements: Short, frequent, unannounced classroom visits—at least ten a year for each teacher—replacing traditional formal observations; A humble, curious, Read more
In the February 2019 issue of Language Magazine, Pam Allyn, Senior Vice President, Innovation & Development, Scholastic Education, and Dr. Carol Chanter, Senior Vice President, Professional Learning Services, Scholastic Education, outlined four ways to cultivate learning experiences for educators that are both effective and enjoyable. 1. Blend it A mix Read more