Archive for the ‘Education Policy’ Category

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Filming Lessons for Certification

| posted by bchilds

The standards for teachers are being raised again! The federal education acts No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, privately funded education initiatives like the Bill and Melinda Gates’ College Ready Promise, and countless other education reforms have impacted the way which teacher quality is assessed and valued in this country.

What used to be a process of one or two classroom visits by a school administrator has now turned into something exceptionally more rigorous — and this evaluation process is beginning earlier than ever! No longer are teacher evaluations reserved for in-service teachers (i.e. those already employed as educators), but the pressures to plan and execute great lessons have now trickled into pre-service education programs for those who haven’t even set foot in a classroom yet!

The requirements to become credentialed as a teacher have become more rigorous over the years. Now, states around the country are requiring that aspiring teachers videotape themselves teaching a lesson and submit it for evaluation.

California, the state with the second largest school district in the nation (the Los Angeles Unified School District), has been an early adopter of this new video recording requirement. The California Teacher Performance Assessment (CalTPA) is “a set of standards that clearly outline what beginning teachers should know and be able to do before receiving a preliminary credential.”

There are four parts to the CalTPA: 1. Subject Specific Pedagogy Task; 2. Designing Instruction Task; 3. Assessing Learning Task; and 4. Culminating Teaching Activity Task. The fourth task is the one that requires aspiring teachers to design a lesson and video tape themselves implementing that lesson. With this new CalTPA requirement, no person in the state of California can be credentialed as a teacher without first videotaping themselves teaching a lesson and receiving a passing score of a 3 or 4 (grading scale is out of 4).

California isn’t alone in their quest to improve teacher quality as a way to increase student performance. It was just announced that New York, the state with the largest school district in the nation (New York City), will also be implementing a new teacher credentialing process that requires aspiring teachers to submit a lesson plan and video recording of them teaching that lesson, along with the other teaching requirements.

When commenting about the importance of adding this new video recording element to the teacher credentialing process, Jon Snyder, dean of Bank Street College of Education in Manhattan, says, “You have to be able to drive a car to get a driver’s license. You can’t just pass the paper-and-pencil test — so it’s a pretty obvious need in the field.”

Given all the changes to the teacher credentialing process, it will only be a matter of time before the bar is raised for all aspiring and current teachers to videorecord their lessons and demonstrate their talents in a classroom setting.

Video Lessons for Teacher Certification

Mandela Schumacher-Hodge is a former middle school teacher and doctoral student at UCLA. She is currently the co-founder & chief operation officer of DemoLesson, an innovative online hiring platform for teachers. In her spare time, Mandela loves to exercise, spend quality time with family and friends, and search for new adventures and experiences.

The Rise of the AP [INFOGRAPHIC]

| posted by jroe

As the 2012 school year begins to wind down, many students across the country are diligently preparing for Advanced Placement exams in 34 different subject areas. AP courses are designed to help high school students acquire the skills and study habits essential for success in college. With test dates running from May 7 through May 25, AP students are poised to hit the ground running when beginning their post-secondary careers, should they earn a score high enough to gain them college credit.

In keeping with the testing season, we are very excited to launch an infographic that highlights the progress made within AP curricula over the past decade. Our graphic, “The Rise of the AP,” shares information and statistics from the College Board’s 8th Annual “AP Report to the Nation.”

We encourage you to share the graphic below with teachers, classmates and friends who might be prepping for an AP exam. And if you have any ideas on which direction AP courses should head over the next 10 years, tell us in the comments section!

The Rise of the AP

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Education News Round-Up

| posted by smaldonado

Mikhail S. Gorbachev

 

This week’s Education News Round-Up discusses important changes in the New York City Public school system, the current state of STEM education and a very special opportunity given to Chicago public school students.

A Special Lecture for Chicago High School Students
This Monday, the students of Chicago’s Frederick Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center attended a guest lecture by Mikhail S. Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union. With the help of an interpreter, he recounted the climate of the Cold War and spoke about the current state of international relations. “Today we often see a failure of responsibility — moral responsibility, political responsibly. We need to learn to live in this global world, to manage the events of the global world.”

Mr. Gorbachev spoke as part of a series of panel discussions that opened the 12th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, which was held for the first time in the United States from April 23 to 25. “We’re not starting with some large opening ceremony at some large hall,” said last year’s interim head of Chicago Public Schools, Terry Mazany, “we’re starting at the public schools with serious dialogue between the peace laureates and students. We’re bringing a student voice to the conversation.” Former South African President F.W. de Klerk (who shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela) spoke in another Chicago school.

Brooklyn High School Faces Closing
Bushwick Community High School in Brooklyn is a safe haven for at-risk teenagers in one of the most high-needs areas in New York City. The school accepts students who have dropped out, been in trouble with the law, are homeless or have fewer than 10 of the 44 required credits to graduate. For many, it is a last resort, and it becomes their home. “Where would I be without this school family? I would be in jail. I would be dead,” one of the school’s current teachers and former students, Iran Rosario said. “Friends tell you what you want to hear; family tells you what you need to hear. They did that for me, and saved my life.”

But this Thursday, Bushwick Community High School faces a vote by the Panel for Education Policy that could potentially see its principal and half its staff laid off. This school has come under scrutiny by the Bloomberg administration for its failure to meet the standards of achievement determined by standardized tests. Supporters of the school argue that the faculty looks at the whole student, as opposed to their grades, and that voting to close will remove a powerfully positive force from the Bushwick community.

Automated Essay Grading as Efficient as Human Graders
A recent study determined certain computer programs are as effective at grading essays on standardized tests as humans. While many of these programs are still a long time away from becoming the norm, educators are realizing the potential. A human essay grader can grade 30 essays in one hour; a computerized essay grader can grade 16,000 in two seconds. They check essays for word count, sentence length, sentence fragments and the sophistication of the vocabulary.

Nonetheless, the director of writing at MIT, Les Perlman, says there is a lot these programs do not consider. After writing two essays, a nonsensical one that totaled 716 words and received a score of 6, and a well-argued 567-word essay that received a 5, Mr. Perlman concluded two things: 1. The program cannot score the quality of an argument, simply its mechanics; and 2. it cannot tell the truth. “[The programs] don’t care if you say the War of 1812 started in 1945,” he said.

This Year’s Report on the Condition of STEM Education
Interactive Educational Systems Design, Inc. and STEM Market Impact, LLC released their third annual report on the current state of the STEM market. STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, is an area of education receiving special attention as educators try preparing students to enter a workforce dominated by companies in these industries. The report details more than 700 unmet needs identified by a thousand administrators, educators and STEM leaders. It discusses how these unmet needs present opportunities for companies that wish to work with educators to strengthen their programs. The survey also follows the progress of classrooms across the country that have integrated technology into their learning, as well as the status of the Bring your Own Device (BOYD) efforts that encourage students to bring their own computers to class.

Mayor Bloomberg Opening 54 New Schools in NYC

Despite criticism of his administration’s aggressive closing of underperforming schools, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has just announced that 54 new schools will be opening across New York City in the fall of 2012. Twenty-four of these will be charter schools, and 30 of them will be regular public schools. New schools often occupy the spaces of old schools, and since he took office in 2002, Mayor Bloomberg has closed 140 schools while opening 589 new ones. Nevertheless, opponents of this policy say that 140 is too many, and point to the fact that almost 40 percent of closed schools were created by the mayor. They say that closing schools endangers special-needs students, English Language Learners and students who qualify for free or reduced price lunch.

Education News Round-Up

| posted by smaldonado

teacher helps student

April has been a busy month for education reform, and this week’s news round-up covers recent legislation aiming to make important changes.

The 2012 Race to the Top Fund Invests in Early Education Reform

The Race to the Top Fund is an initiative by the Obama Administration that allocated over $4 billion in grants to education reform and invites states to apply for funding to create their own education improvement plans. On April 9, the U.S. Department of Education announced that $133 million would be released this year specifically for early education reform efforts. This money is from the Race to the Top Fund’s budget of $550 million for 2012.

“What happens in early childhood sets the stage for everything that follows in life,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “These new Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grants will help some of our youngest citizens thrive in school, be successful through adolescence and grow into healthy, successful adults.” Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon and Wisconsin will all be applying for the fund.

Virginia Makes the Move to Online Education

States are beginning to integrate online education into their schools’ curricula, and Virginia has just become the latest. On April 5, Governor Robert McDonnell approved a bill that requires all Virginia students to take at least one online class in order to graduate, beginning with students entering high school in 2013. “Expanding virtual education has been a key part of McDonnell’s education agenda since taking office in 2010,” says the governor’s spokesperson, Jeff Caldwell. “The online-course requirement will better prepare students for the job market of the 21st century.”

Tennessee Law Allows Educators to Challenge Scientific Theories

Tennessee has just passed a law that protects teachers who express their religious beliefs and argue against evolution, climate change, “the chemical origins of life” and other controversial subjects. This makes Tennessee the second state after Louisiana to legally protect the teaching of alternatives to scientific theory.

Republican Senator Bo Watson says the bill was meant to foster healthy debate and allow teachers more freedom in the classroom. “I am glad that the governor recognized that this bill does not do all of the things that its critics have alleged,” Watson told the Los Angeles Times. “It does not change the state’s science curriculum, and it does not change how science is taught. Both of those assertions are red herrings.”

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, however, does not agree: “The bill received strong bipartisan support, passing the House and Senate by a 3-to-1 margin. But good legislation should bring clarity and not confusion. My concern is that this bill has not met this objective.” He allowed the bill to pass without his signature.

Eighth Grade New York City Student Searches for a High School

There are over 69,000 eighth graders in New York City, and of the 127 attending East Side Middle School, only five were not chosen by schools in the annual high school draft. One of those students is Omri Shefet, an incredibly bright student who is now searching for a high school. He told the New York Times, “I was speechless. Everyone else was saying, ‘I got in, I got in,’ and I just felt dumb and stupid. I had anger in me I never really felt before. I didn’t know how to react.”

Omri began middle school as a special needs student, needing physical and speech therapy before being mainstreamed with other students. He has struggled but is incredibly gifted in other areas. His teachers have recognized his love of sports and knowledge of sports information, and use that to engage him in class. Mr. Cesa, his math teacher and basketball coach, teaches him by using sports-related math questions and made him the basketball team’s statistician. The next round of high school acceptances begins this month, and his teachers are determined to help him however they can.

Three Lottery Winning Teachers Continue Teaching

The three winners of Maryland’s record-breaking Mega Millions Jackpot will be receiving $35 million dollars each within the next two weeks — enough money to retire on and live a life of luxury, but none of the “Three Amigos,” as they call themselves, intend to quit their jobs. They just so happen to be teachers at three separate schools and have no other desire than to continue teaching. Out of respect for their students and colleagues, and to avoid media attention, all three have elected to remain anonymous, though it is known that they are a man and two women. One is a special education teacher, another is an elementary school teacher and the third is a school administrator. This is proof that great teachers are not in it for the money; they teach to make a difference.

How are States Handling Teachers on Facebook?

| posted by smaldonado

How are States Handling Teachers on Facebook?

In today’s social media-driven culture, there is ongoing debate as to what is considered appropriate online behavior, particularly on Facebook. While it’s true that everyone has a right to privacy and self expression, there is no denying the that there is no privacy on Facebook. Limitations can be placed on who can see your profile, but there are no restrictions on your friends sharing what you post with their network. This in a way makes Facebook a public forum, and users should have the understanding that everything posted can easily be shared with someone it may not have been meant for.

Appropriate Facebook conduct is necessary for all users — from job seekers whose information may be viewed by potential employers to those working with sensitive information regarding others (counselors, doctors, nurses, etc.), and especially for teachers on Facebook.

As an educator, you should always maintain a professional relationship with your students, but there is nothing wrong with forming connections with the lives you impact. Teachers care about their students, and many who connect with their students on Facebook do so with the best intentions. Still, being a teacher means you have an obligation to behave responsibly on Facebook — even if you do not have students in your network. It is easy for a school administrator, fellow teacher or parent to stumble across what you post. Teachers are role models, and if something raises questions about your ability to be a positive influence, parents will not be comfortable entrusting you with their children.

Many teachers have already felt the repercussions of their Facebook activity. Here are several examples of inappropriate Facebook activity by teachers and the consequences:

Christine Rubino
Just last spring, Christine Rubino, a 38-year-old math teacher who worked at P.S. 203 in Brooklyn for 15 years, posted a Facebook status that read: “After today, I’m thinking the beach is a good trip for my class. I hate their guts!” One of her friends commented on the status, “Wouldn’t you throw a life jacket to little Kwami?”, to which Rubino replied, “No, I wouldn’t for a million dollars.” The twist? Just the previous day, a 12-year-old girl from Harlem drowned during a class trip to the beach. Outraged, one of Rubino’s coworkers showed the post to the assistant principal, who notified the principal at once.

An investigation began, and six months later, Rubino was summoned to termination hearings for “behavior unbecoming of a teacher.” A Manhattan Supreme Court Judge recently overturned the move to fire Rubino, though the Department of Education is considering appealing the decision to push for her removal.

Jennifer O’Brien
One teacher who was fired for her Facebook activity is Jennifer O’Brien, a first-grade teacher at School 21 in Patterson, New Jersey. Having been placed on administrative leave last March, O’Brien was terminated after a judge ruled that she “demonstrated a complete lack of sensitivity for the world in which her students live.” School 21 is a high-needs elementary school, and, in March, O’Brien posted a Facebook status that read: “I’m not a teacher — I’m a warden for future criminals!”

This status was shared with her network, but must have been forwarded to others because the backlash was immediate. Within days, parents were complaining to the principal and demanding that their children be removed from O’Brien’s class. She was suspended and, shortly thereafter, placed in termination hearings.
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But the intersection of teachers and social media isn’t all horror stories. Consider a string of articles in The New York Times that demonstrate the educational and emotional power of social media. In one, you’ll read the story of Erin Olson, an English teacher in Iowa, who used technology like Twitter to increase participation in classroom discussions by more than 25 percent. Another article recounts how 64-year-old educator Mr. Chemerka never realized his impact on students until he discovered a Facebook fan page called the “Mr. Chemerka Fan Club,” which had attracted more than 450 members. And Alye Pollack’s YouTube video is yet another great example of how social media can sometimes be an outlet for students, allowing, in this case, one to speak up about bullying.

Considering all of these stories, it’s obvious that the combination of teachers and social media isn’t inherently good or bad. It’s up to each educator to what he or she will of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the rest. After all, these are just tools at your disposal. You ultimately decide how to wield each one.

STEM Initiatives in Georgia

| posted by smaldonado

STEM Georgia

Despite its impact on various aspects of society, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education have seen an overall decline in the United States during the last two decades. STEM is a pivotal part of the American economy, but student interest and performance in these key subjects is falling. In an effort to ensure that today’s children become tomorrow’s STEM leaders, each state has devised its own initiatives to promote STEM education.
To this end, the state of Georgia has enacted several programs that aim to improve STEM instruction, increase student engagement and inspire the next generation of STEM professionals.

CARL D. PERKINS GRANT
The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Improvement Act of 2006 was instituted to help schools develop the academic, technical and professional skills of secondary and postsecondary students. Through the Carl D. Perkins Grant and the Reserve Fund Grant, local education agencies in Georgia were able to apply for money to support STEM education in Georgia public schools. These grants fund the statewide implementation of Georgia’s Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) STEM Initiatives.

STEM GEORGIA
STEM Georgia is an effort by the Georgia Department of Education to prepare students for careers in the competitive workforce of the 21st century by providing them with high quality STEM education. The initiative encourages “a curriculum that is driven by problem solving, discovery, exploratory learning, and student-centered development of ideas and solutions.” STEM Georgia seeks to ensure that all students have access to technological resources, and possess the adequate skills and literacy to use those technologies. The initiative’s website has information on online STEM resources, STEM competitions and the various STEM academies in Georgia. One of STEM Georgia’s newest initiatives is the annual Georgia STEM Festival, which invites students, educators and businesses to reach out to the public and raise STEM awareness.

Georgia Science Teachers Association
The Georgia Science Teachers Association is the local chapter of the National Science Teachers Association and serves as a resource for science educators throughout the state. The GSTA hosts an annual conference each February for all those involved in science education to discuss the condition and future of STEM learning in Georgia. GSTA also offers online resources to students and educators, professional development for science teachers, awards and recognitions for students and teachers, and representation in state legislature. A subgroup of the association is the GSSA (Georgia Science Supervisors Association), which is comprised of science educators at the administrative, supervisory and coordinating levels.

Georgia Science Olympiad
The Georgia Science Olympiad is the state division of the Science Olympiad, a national program for enhancing science education and student interest through competition. The Science Olympiad is a science-geared tournament in which teams of up to 15 students compete in 23 science events throughout the day. The tournaments are designed to foster friendly competition, as well as to encourage students to pursue their interest in science learning outside of the classroom. More than 300 schools in Georgia have Science Olympiad programs, making the state’s program the 8th largest Science Olympiad in the country.

UGA Office of STEM Education
The University of Georgia in partnership with the University System of Georgia Board of Regents has created the Office of STEM Education. The department arose in response to the state’s growing concern for increasing the quality of STEM education throughout the state. There are three fundamental goals: to increase the number of students who succeed in STEM courses, to increase the number of students who pursue bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields, and to produce qualified math and science teachers to meet the demands for STEM educators in Georgia. By fostering excellence in STEM education at the University, the department hopes to prepare its students to contribute to the quality of STEM education throughout the state.

STEM Initiatives in Florida

| posted by smaldonado

STEM in Florida

American STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education has seen an overall decline in student interest during the last two decades. STEM is a pivotal sector of our economy, and it is important that today’s students become tomorrow’s STEM leaders.

Each state has responded to the growing disinterest in STEM education in their own way. The state of Florida has enacted several initiatives to improve the quality of STEM education, further engage students and inspire future generations of STEM professionals.

STEMflorida
In 2009, the Florida STEM Council, STEMflorida, was formed to work with educators, students and industries in addressing numerous concerns regarding STEM careers and education. The council aims to clearly and succinctly define STEM in order to provide Florida with a working definition that will help educators and employers raise awareness of STEM issues. It works with industries to help generate greater interest in these fields through outreach, publicity and professional development. For educators, STEMflorida offers resources and professional development that can help schools strengthen STEM education and inspire students. And for parents and students, there are resources to raise interest in STEM fields, learn more about career opportunities and even find STEM internships that target students at a young age to cultivate their desire to pursue a career in STEM.

STEM Education Bill
Florida Governor Rick Scott has pushed for statewide education reform that will improve the foundations of STEM education and inspire students to pursue STEM careers. Recently, Florida Senator Don Gaetz introduced a bill to the Senate that makes increasing STEM awareness a priority for educators. The bill is what he calls a “minor first step” in a statewide initiative that offers incentives to both students and educators. Under the bill, various STEM industries will be required to make available financial data that would be compiled into an “Economic Security Report.” Schools across Florida will be encouraged to share this report with students and parents so that students can see the financial rewards of pursuing a STEM career. Public schools with comprehensive programs that offer STEM industry certification classes will also receive extra funding for every middle and high school student enrolled in the classes.

Florida Technology & Engineering Educator’s Association
The FTEEA is a professional education association that serves as a network for STEM educators across the state of Florida. The organization is dedicated to professional development by connecting educators with resources, seminars and programs that strengthen the foundation of their knowledge in STEM subjects, particularly technology and engineering. Another important goal is to help educators discover innovative new strategies of teaching to engage students and to ensure that lessons learned in the classroom are transferable to skills in the job market. The organization also seeks to strengthen the relationships between educators, government and STEM industries.

Florida Technology Students Association
Florida TSA is the state chapter of Technology Students Association, a nationwide student organization that consists of over 150,000 middle and high school students across 48 states. TSA is a network of students, parents, educators, and businesses that enhance and expand upon STEM education in the classroom through a wide variety of extracurricular events, competitions and programs. In Florida, TSA is actively encouraged by the Department of Education to impart upon students the knowledge, confidenc and skills needed to excel in technology-related subjects, and to foster an interest in pursuing a STEM career. Florida TSA also offers several scholarships and recognition awards for students who demonstrate exemplary STEM performance.

Florida Association of Science Teachers
FAST is the local embodiment of the National Science Teachers Association and is the state’s largest non-profit association for the professional development of STEM educators. Science teachers, school administrators, scientists and business make up this network dedicated to the future of STEM industries and STEM education. According to their website, the goal of FAST is to “produce a society that understands the technology of its day and can make meaningful decisions as scientifically literate citizens.” FAST offers awards and grants to science teachers, and through its conferences, resources and leadership development tools, helps educators continue innovating STEM education throughout Florida.

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