Education Leaders in Yonkers, NY, and Henderson, TN, Win Inaugural YouScience® Innovative Educator Awards

AMERICAN FORK, UTAH (PRWEB) — Two respected educators have been named the inaugural recipients of the  YouScience® Innovative Educator Award, recognizing their exceptional contributions in guiding and inspiring students to explore their aptitudes and make informed decisions about their futures. This award celebrates educators who have implemented innovative approaches to empower the next generation of professionals through academic and career exploration.

The winners of the inaugural YouScience® Innovative Educator Award are Principal Steven Mazzola of Saunders Trades and Technical High School from Yonkers, New York, and School Counselor Darlene Goff of Chester County Schools from Henderson, Tennessee.

Steven Mazzola and Saunders Trades and Technical High School prepare students for academic and career success. With over 30 years of experience in education, Principal Steven Mazzola has been a driving force at Saunders Trades and Technical High School, where he has served as principal for nearly 20 years. Under his leadership, the school has consistently achieved graduation rates of 94-98% or higher. Mazzola’s innovative approach combines career and technical education (CTE) courses with academic programs, ensuring students are well-prepared for success in both school and life. He introduced YouScience® to the school, helping students identify their best-fit career and educational pathways and quantify their skills for potential employers.…Read More

How AI enhances personalization in education

Key points:

Learning now is so much more than making notes from a textbook and critiquing other people’s ideas. It is cultivating your own vision of the future and how things can be improved to better our lives and advance the next generation. AI technology is a key driver in this change and will enable students to have a deeper understanding of global events and how they can make an impact. Personalization in education is just one pillar of AI that I want to explore.

In many ways, AI is an extension of ourselves. It can help offload the typically boring tasks we have to put up with and realise our potential by accessing new information and learning at our own speed.…Read More

Discovery Education, Caterpillar Foundation, and Learning Undefeated Launch New Initiative to Inspire Next Generation of STEM Professionals

Charlotte, NC – Discovery Education, the Caterpillar Foundation, and Learning Undefeated today announced the launch of a new education initiative – Innovation at Play. This unique program leverages the power of play by using engaging, hands-on digital resources to educate and inspire students in grades 9-12 to consider exciting careers in a variety of STEM professions. 

Innovation at Play provides standards-aligned digital resources that make it easier than ever for educators, after-school instructors, and parents to connect STEM concepts to potential career pathways. Classroom activities, play-inspired lessons, and phenomena-based videos exemplify how curiosity drives STEM solutions while empowering students to learn by doing and seeing. The content will equip students with the right skills and knowledge to pursue STEM careers at home, in the classroom, or wherever learning takes place. 

“The future STEM innovators are sitting in classrooms all across the country. No matter where they are, Innovation at Play will empower students to connect their STEM curiosity with STEM skills to solve problems and secure careers,” said Asha Varghese, Caterpillar Foundation President. …Read More

How to elevate climate literacy for future scientists

Key points:

  • A majority of teenagers want to learn about climate change in school
  • New Jersey became the first state to implement comprehensive climate instruction across all grades and subjects

The climate crisis is undermining decades of progress in global health and poverty reduction. We look to our next generation of planetary heroes for solutions, but are we educating them in climate literacy?

Climate-literate people understand the principles of Earth’s evolving climate system, the complex interconnections, the influence of humans, and scientific approaches to mitigation. They make informed and responsible decisions on actions that may affect climate, and communicate about climate change in a meaningful way.…Read More

Dexter Community Schools in Michigan Uses Rise Vision to Encourage Student Creativity and Increase Student Engagement

Dexter, Michigan — Dexter Community School, a mid-size school district located in Dexter, Michigan, has implemented Rise Vision’s digital signage solution to encourage student expression and creativity.

Rise Vision, the #1 digital signage solution for K12 schools, has helped schools across the country enhance communication and foster a positive school culture.

With a high school population of approximately 1,200 students and a total district enrollment of over 3,500 students, Dexter Community School is committed to supporting the new generation of digital natives. The district has found a creative way to provide students with a platform to showcase their work and ideas through the use of digital displays.…Read More

Can GPT-4 and TikTok usher in a new learning frontier?

Key points:

  • Combining AI and video platforms could spur engaging and interactive content
  • Still, considerations around access and equity, along with misinformation, should be taken seriously

In recent years, the digital landscape has witnessed significant changes, and as an AI language model, I have been observing these transformations closely. One of the most prominent developments is the rise of TikTok, a short-form video-sharing platform that has become a cultural phenomenon. This rapid growth has led me to consider the potential of combining my capabilities as a language understanding and generation model with the appeal of TikTok to create a unique, engaging learning experience for students.

TikTok’s short video format makes it an ideal platform for this approach, allowing educators to deliver focused lessons that students can easily consume and remember. By integrating my AI-generated content, these lessons can be customized to each student’s learning preferences, ensuring a personalized learning experience.…Read More

The importance of teaching generative AI

Key points:

The era of the textbook isn’t dead, but it’s important to start looking forwards rather than backwards when addressing education for school children. Whether we like it or not, it is becoming increasingly clear that generative AI will play a pivotal role in shaping the future and, with the workforce demanding greater expertise in AI, it is crucial to equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills required to thrive in this rapidly-evolving landscape.

School leaders must recognize the importance of incorporating generative AI education into curriculums to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow.…Read More

3 ways teachers can navigate the evolving field of computer science

As recently as a decade or two ago, technology education consisted of typing, learning to draft emails, or doing a little work in a spreadsheet. Learning those skills may have been relegated to a business information class or weekly trips to a computer lab. Today, most students are expected to learn to code, and most states have coding requirements—some starting as early as kindergarten.

That’s a significant change in less than a generation. Computer science is a rapidly advancing field; educators have to make those changes if they are going to prepare their students for the modern world. Trying to teach a subject that’s ever-changing might feel a little intimidating to some teachers, especially if they don’t have a background in the field. Fortunately, the skills students learn in computer science are evergreen, and many of the changes within the field are manageable for the educators involved.

Here are three keys to preparing to teach this dynamic subject without feeling like the ground is constantly shifting under your feet.…Read More

Fewer than half of underserved students believe post-high school education is necessary

As school district leaders continue to worry about students’ college and career readiness, a new survey finds that less than half of students from traditionally underserved populations believe education after high school is necessary.

The new survey conducted by ECMC Group, in partnership with VICE Media Group, surveyed more than 1,000 high school students ages 14-18 from low-income, first-generation and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) backgrounds and found that only 45 percent believe education after high school is necessary, compared to 52 percent of all high schoolers.

In addition, only 8 percent feel fully prepared to make the decision of what to do after high school.…Read More

Brand-New Savvas Essentials: Foundational Reading Program Earns Highest Rating from EdReports   

PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY — Savvas Learning Company, a K-12 next-generation learning solutions leader, is proud to announce that its Savvas Essentials: Foundational Reading © 2023 supplemental literacy program has received the highest rating of “All-Green” from EdReports. The brand-new program delivers research-based, easy-to-use content and teaching tools that support and extend core literacy instruction, giving educators what they need to help students develop reading proficiency. 

“Savvas understands the importance of developing strong readers at an early age, and teaching children to read by focusing on foundational elements can help accelerate their mastery of key reading skills,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. “What makes Savvas Essentials: Foundational Reading so impactful is that it provides teachers with high-quality, standards-aligned resources to confidently deliver explicit foundational-skills instruction while engaging and supporting young students in learning to read. We appreciate EdReports for recognizing Savvas Essentials: Foundational Reading as the exceptional supplemental literacy solution that it is.”

EdReports gave Savvas Essentials: Foundational Reading an “All-Green” rating, or “meets expectations” — the highest tier within its ratings scale for standards alignment and usability. The highly regarded, independent nonprofit seeks to improve education by providing reviews of K-12 instructional materials and applying evidence-based analysis in evaluating programs. Savvas Essentials: Foundational Reading earned EdReports’ highest rating for each of its “gateway” review criteria: “Alignment to Standards and Research-Based Practices for Foundational Skills Instruction” and “Implementation, Support Materials & Assessment.”…Read More

Savvas Learning Company Acquires Whooo’s Reading

PARAMUS, NEW JERSEY — Savvas Learning Company, a K-12 next-generation learning solutions leader, announced today that it has acquired Whooo’s Reading and its AI-driven technology that enables teachers to quickly and easily determine whether their students comprehend the books they are reading.

“Artificial intelligence technology has the power to transform K-12 education by dramatically helping to personalize the teaching and learning experience,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. “The AI-driven technology that supports Whooo’s Reading is a great example of this. It gives students personalized and adaptive feedback on their writing and reading skills, empowering them to grow as learners. It also provides teachers with valuable insights into which skills their students need extra support with, allowing them to customize instruction.” 

Backed by the National Science Foundation, the AI technology behind Whooo’s Reading helps students practice reading comprehension skills with in-the-moment feedback on their written responses to open-ended critical thinking questions about the content they are reading. Its proprietary machine-learning algorithm automatically assesses student writing, saving teachers time while also providing them actionable data on their students’ strengths and weaknesses — enabling them to differentiate instruction. …Read More