Posted on April 12th, 2013 by Mary Lord
Three years, two drafts, and many comments later, the much-anticipated final set of Next Generation Science Standards was released on April 9. They emphasize cross-cutting concepts and “storylines” such as energy or Earth’s systems over specific content, and include engineering design and practices. If adopted by states, many of which helped develop the common standards, the NGSS could mark a sea change in the way science is taught across disciplines and grades.
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Filed under: K-12 Education News | Comment »
Tags: Next Generation Science Standards, Public Policy, STEM education
Posted on March 21st, 2013 by Mary Lord
Biofuels and computer algorithms that help robots avoid obstacles are among the research projects that netted 10 high school seniors top honors in the 2013 Intel Science Talent Search. They were among 40 finalists from 20 states who vied for $630,000 in awards in the nation’s most prestigious science-research competition for high school seniors.
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Tags: biofuels, Intel Science Talent Search, Sara Volz, Science Contest, White House
Posted on January 7th, 2013 by Mary Lord
The second – and final – draft of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) was released for public comment on January 8 for a three-week review period. Developed from the National Research Council’s Framework for K–12 Science Education, these cross-disciplinary new standards set “performance expectations” for students, and integrate engineering and design into the traditional core science subjects. The goal: Have students learn by doing science, not just observing or reading about it.
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Tags: Education Policy, engineering standards, National Research Council, new science standards, Next Generation Science Standards, NGSS, Public Policy, STEM
Posted on July 18th, 2012 by Mary Lord
Uncle Sam wants you – if you’re the best and brightest – for a new STEM Master Teacher Corps. The Obama administration’s ambitious $1 billion plan to boost student achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics seeks to create an elite cadre of exceptional STEM educators who can serve as curriculum innovators, classroom mentors, and instructional leaders in their schools and communities.
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Tags: Arne Duncan, Education Policy, Public Policy, science teachers; STEM Master Teacher Corps; White House, STEM education, Teacher Incentive Funds, Teachers
Posted on May 11th, 2012 by Mary Lord
The much-anticipated first draft of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) was released for public comment May 11, a day after a federal report showed slim gains in science proficiency among the nation’s 8th graders. The standards, which include engineering and design, represent a profound shift in what students will be expected to know and be able to do. Want to weigh in? You have until June 1.
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Filed under: For Teachers, K-12 Education News, Special Features | Comment »
Tags: 8th grade science results, Achieve, comment, Design, Engineering, learning standards, NAEP science, nation's report card, new science standards, Next Generation Science Standards, NGSS
Posted on December 19th, 2011 by Mary Lord
Nearly half the nation’s public schools failed to meet federal benchmarks this year, up from 39 percent in 2010 and marking the largest washout rate since the No Child Left Behind Law took effect a decade ago, a new national report calculates. That’s still well below the 82 percent failure rate that U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan predicted earlier this year, but the nonpartisan Center for Education Policy’s findings still indicate an alarming trend.
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Tags: Education Policy, NCLB, New York City public schools, Principals, protest, Public Policy, standardized testing
Posted on December 11th, 2011 by Mary Lord
How do top-scoring science students in New England stack up against their counterparts in the mid-Atlantic or South? Not very well, according to a new analysis of state science assessments by Change the Equation. That’s because states set the bar for proficiency at widely varying levels.
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Tags: Change the Equation, NAEP, nation's report card, national assessment of educational progress, proficiency, report, science proficiency, science scores, state science assessments
Posted on December 11th, 2011 by Mary Lord
Want to boost the nation’s supply of engineers? A new survey of 1,000 U.S. teenagers conducted by the Intel Corporation found that two-thirds wouldn’t consider a career in engineering but may point to a relatively simple solution: expose more middle and high school students to the profession.
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Tags: Change the Equation, Education Policy, engineering careers, Intel, Public Policy, survey, teens
Posted on December 11th, 2011 by Mary Lord
The National Park Service, steward of mountain ranges and monuments, plans to ramp up its STEM education programs with the aim of reaching a quarter of America’s students through real and virtual field trips.
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Tags: environmental literacy, Environmental science, Internet Resources, National Park Service, STEM education, Web Resources