Webinars and Workshop: Noyce Program
Posted on February 1st, 2012 by Jaimie Schock
Two online webinars and a workshop that will provide information about the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, including how to prepare Letters of Intent and proposals for the upcoming deadlines, will be held Feb. 15, 16, and 21, respectively. The deadline for registration is Monday, Feb. 13, 2012. The program seeks to encourage talented STEM majors and professionals to become K-12 mathematics and science teachers.
Filed under: For Teachers, K-12 Outreach Programs, Web Resources | Comments Off on Webinars and Workshop: Noyce Program
Tags: Higher Education, Math teachers, National Science Foundation, Programs for Teachers, Science Teachers, Teacher Resources, Teacher Training, Webinar
The Common Core State Standards just took a big step toward becoming classroom practice. Some 44 states and the District of Columbia adopted these new standards in English language arts and mathematics over the past year. Now, STEM teachers are getting the first details of the key content students must master when common assessments roll out in 2014.
Why do U.S. students fare so poorly in mathematics compared with peers in other nations? A new study suggests a major factor may be the easier math curriculum American kids typically encounter. “The consequences are clear-less opportunity to learn challenging mathematics corresponds to lower achievement,” the researchers conclude. 
San Diego teacher Jonathan Winn has done what some would say is impossible: He’s inspired high school students to get excited about math. His AP calculus class is the most popular course in a school with a large number of low-income students for whom English is not their native language. 
Forget graphing calculators. The hottest tool for learning math in this high-tech powerhouse is a relic from Japan’s preindustrial past: the venerable abacus. At a time when ubiquitous digital devices are blamed for making people “dumber,” the world’s original calculating device, known as the soroban, is more essential than ever, advocates contend.
Teach for America is the latest player in the nation’s effort to improve STEM education. The alternative teacher-preparation program is getting a $500,000 financial boost from the ExxonMobil Foundation to recruit and train recent college graduates for math and science teaching positions in high-needs communities.
A bill pending in the Kentucky legislature would pay extra sums to math and science teachers, including bonuses of up to $7,500 a year to those whose students score well on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests. But some teachers have mixed feelings about the proposal.
Once a week, 11-year-olds at Ashmount Primary School in North London settle in front of computers and put on headsets. A few minutes later, they’re connected online to math teachers thousands of miles away in the Indian state of Punjab. Ashmount is one of three British state schools that outsource part of their teaching to India through BrightSpark Education.
Is there an algebra overkill? John W. Myres, a retired California school teacher and superintendent, thinks so. Myres notes that most school districts require all students to take one to two years of algebra to graduate and suggests this may be too much of a good thing.
