Curriculum & Instruction

Transforming school libraries into communal learning “playgrounds” offers students technology support, remote access to research resources and expanded opportunities for creative exploration. Librarians can collaborate with teachers to develop lesson plans that incorporate a multifunctional library’s media programs, books and other online resources. For instance, students in a history class at New Canaan High School […]

English language learners (ELLs) perform better academically and achieve greater language proficiency when they have high-quality English language instruction, according to a 2014 study in the American Educational Research Journal. These extra programs require additional funding above the average per-student amount. The federal government provides grant funding to states through Title III to help ELLs […]

Principals shifting their roles from building manager to instructional leader need more extensive PD to ensure top performance from teachers and students, according to a new policy brief from ASCD. Race to the Top’s requirements linking teacher evaluations to student test scores is largely responsible for the change in the principal’s responsibilities, says Susan Race, […]

Millions of students took Common Core tests this springÁ‘and while it was business as usual in many districts, the spreading opt-out movement left some administrators caught between concerned parents and state requirements. The largest opt-out numbers are from New York, where by mid-April over 177,000 students had refused to take Common Core math and ELA […]

Close reading is a popular term today in elementary literacy classrooms and a requirement in the Common Core ELA standards in order to ensure students are college- and career- ready. It enables students to independently comprehend increasingly challenging texts. Students need to develop the habits of mind and the skills necessary to unpack the deep, […]

STEM and the City: A Report on STEM Education in the Great American Urban Public School System Information Age Publishing Author Clair T. Berube says the future of American STEM education is here and students would benefit from science education–if only they had the pertinent resources, support systems and psychological ownership. The country’s security, reputation […]