3 Ways to Build Engagement in STEM Classrooms

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Here are three ways to create authentic learning experiences that help build students’ interest in STEM fields and keep them engaged throughout the year and beyond, listed in a post by Steve Millam, physics and astrophysics teacher at Chaparral High School and appearing in eSchool News. 1) Focus on hands-on learning “Students often learn best…

Tips for Tightening up Grow-Your-Own Teacher Initiatives

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Grow Your Own” (GYO) programs have emerged as a promising approach to expand teacher supply, address localized teacher shortages, and diversify the profession, according to K-12 Dive. But little is known about the scale and design of GYO programs, which recruit and support individuals from the local community to become teachers. Brown University’s Anneberg Institute…

Leaning into AI: Engage with Experts to Understand the Technology

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Coordinated professional development plans will be needed as districts develop AI guidelines at the teacher and administration levels, according to Joshua Wilson, a professor at University of Delaware’s School of Education, as quoted in a K-12 Dive article. “What we will see in 2024 is that more and more individual teachers will start to use…

Strategies for Rethinking Seat Time Equals Learning

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Tim Knowles, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, was interviewed by The 74 on rethinking the age-old time-in-the-seat equals learning. “At the heart of accelerating learning is ensuring young people are leaning in, are engaged, are inspired and are working on problems that they think are actually useful — whether it’s useful for their…

6 Innovations to Help Students Succeed Post-Pandemic

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A study looking at how six New England high schools figured out the best ways to help students succeed post-pandemic identified moving away from “college for all” and grappling with whether to maintain COVID-era leniency as key themes, according to an article in The 74. Chosen because they had a track record of innovation, the…

Novel Approach to STEM Education through Music in Florida

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The Florida Senate is currently scrutinizing a legislative bill known as SB 590. This innovative legislation seeks to incorporate music into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education through a pilot program dubbed mSCALES, according to a report in Education Slice. The program is specifically designed for middle school students in Miami-Dade, Alachua, and Marion…

California Alternative High Schools Enroll 11-15% of All Grade 10-12 Students

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Data shows that alternative schools successfully re-engage youth, according to a new data brief from the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities at Stanford University, as reported by Education Slice. “On average, the positive transition rate for students in these schools mirrors the four-year cohort graduation rates of the average traditional high…

How 5 Educators Approach SEL

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Social-emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of today’s schools, teaching students how to manage and regulate their emotions, identify and work through tough feelings, and support personal and academic achievements, according to an article in eSchool News. Here’s how five educators approach SEL integration in their districts, schools, and classrooms: In the past two…

What’s Needed to Build Rapport with Students

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Building rapport — a sense of connection, friendliness and trust — is important, but it must pay dividends beyond the teacher-student relationship. Students must like or least care for each other says Heather Schwartz, practice specialist at the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, writing in K-12 Dive. Establishing rapport is foundational. Schwartz says…

Strategies to Foster Innovation and a Culture of Continuous Improvement

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These six principles can empower school leaders to drive innovation and achieve more meaningful outcomes in the field of education, according to an article in Education Executive. 1 Embrace disruption Challenge the status quo. Just because “it’s always been done like this” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the most effective approach. Ask yourself: Why has it…