Classroom Innovations
K-12 Curriculum news
Personalizing history for more impactful student learning
Social studies teachers can help students personalize history by embracing individualized pathways and oral or local history projects
Twenty states involved in changing science instruction
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Study: California English proficiency test ‘almost guarantees’ English learner classification
Most four- and five-year-olds who take an English proficiency exam before kindergarten are bound to fail the test, according to a new study, the Huffington Post reports.
Students now required to take standardized sex ed, health test
According to the District of Columbia’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), D.C. public schools are planning to test students on their knowledge of human sexuality,…
Wash., Microsoft launch virtual tech academy
Washington state education officials and Microsoft Corp. are teaming up to launch a new virtual academy to teach high school students computer and web-development skills, the Associated Press…
Schools working to implement Common Core standards
More than half of school districts in states that have adopted the Common Core State Standards said they agree that the new math and English/language arts standards are…
Indiana schools to propose online course requirement
Indiana's superintendent of public instruction is suggesting one more high school graduation requirement, one that means kids won't be showing up in the classroom, the Huffington Post reports.
Panel: STEM education crisis stems from unsupported teachers
According to a panel of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education experts and industry leaders, the United States is still falling short of producing the number of…
Teaching 9/11: How educators are responding 10 years later
As Diana Hess learned that airplanes had slammed into the twin towers in lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, her first instinct was to cancel her classes for…
New curriculum products for schools
An all-digital science textbook, a multiplayer online “social learning” math game, and software for honing students’ math and reading skills that comes bundled on low-cost mobile devices are…
Are schools teaching the wrong lessons about 9-11?
What should teachers be discussing with their students to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks? Asks the Washington Post.
Kindergarten class uses realistic dolls to teach sexual education
Last week, Shanghaiist posted pictures of young children learning about the human body by playing with dolls that feature very lifelike parts, including genitalia with pubic hair, reports…
Calif gay history referendum faces uphill battle
At churches, shopping centers, schools, and local tea party meetings in California, fired-up volunteers have started gathering signatures for a ballot referendum that would repeal the nation's first…
Many U.S. schools adding iPads, trimming textbooks
While iPads have rocketed to popularity on many college campuses since Apple introduced the device in spring 2010, many public high schools this fall will move away from…
Internet Archive shows Sept. 11 TV coverage
The Internet Archive, a California-based organization that collects audio, moving images, and web pages for historical purposes, has put together an archive of the television news coverage of…
Social websites are latest sources for plagiarized material
Plagiarism is going social, according to Turnitin.com, which found that one-third of plagiarized material in student papers can be traced to social networking, content sharing, or question-and-answer websites.…
‘Unschooling’ gaining popularity, allows children alternative learning tools
School's never out for 14-year-old Zoe Bentley. Nor is it ever in, reports the Huffington Post.
Closing the math skills gap and boosting achievement
As with so many other schools around the country, it was apparent that too many of our students, at all grade levels, were struggling with math and were…
How to fix our math education
There is widespread alarm in the United States about the state of our math education, reports the New York Times.
Free curriculum resource helps educators teach to Common Core standards
A popular online education resource now provides interactive curriculum tools specially tailored to correspond with both state standards and the Common Core standards—and U.S. educators can use the…
7 innovative ways teachers are using tech in the classroom
Many schools across the country have rules about tech in the classroom, but they’re not the rules you might think. Teachers instruct students to take out their smartphones,…
Teachers prepare for 10th anniversary of Sept. 11
As the nation prepares to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, many teachers are struggling with how to teach…
Companies focus on student health, nutrition
As childhood obesity rates continue to rise, and as First Lady Michelle Obama promotes her “Let’s Move” campaign to encourage children and families to live active, healthy lifestyles,…
States start to require courses in financial literacy
Starting this fall, Virginia high school students will need more than reading, writing and arithmetic to snag a diploma, USA Today reports.
Hybrid online classes: What we’ve learned
Three years ago, in an attempt to reach students throughout the state more effectively, the Massachusetts Collaborative for Educational Services tried a hybrid model blending face-to-face instruction with…
Ten skills every student should learn
We recently asked our readers: “If you could choose only one, what's the skill you'd like every student to learn?” Here are the top responses.
New York Archdiocese criticizes sex-ed mandate
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York called a new city requirement that sex education be taught at all public middle and high schools “troubling” on Wednesday, and…
NYC to mandate sex education in public schools
Mandatory sex-education classes are returning to New York City public schools for the first time in nearly two decades.
Apollo Group to acquire Carnegie Learning for $75M
Apollo Group Inc., the nation's largest for-profit college chain and owner of the online University of Phoenix, said Aug. 2 that it has agreed to acquire Carnegie Learning…
Maryland becomes first state with environmental literacy requirement
Maryland has become the first state to mandate an environmental literacy requirement for all students: A new policy adopted by the state board of education requires public schools…
Opinion: Studying the Bible in public schools can help US students ‘win the future’
The 2011 Miss USA pageant contestants were asked this summer, “Should evolution be taught in schools?” The winner, Alyssa Campanella of California said, “Yes.” Perhaps a better question…
Texas approves all-digital science program for statewide use
The Texas State Board of Education has voted to make McGraw-Hill Education's CINCH Science program available statewide for use in grades 5-12, reports the Bradenton Herald.
Ending the ‘tyranny of the lecture’
Harvard professor Eric Mazur reveals how he uses peer instruction to make learning more dynamic—and how new software can facilitate this process.
Math research reveals early-learning needs
Numbers, counting, and low-level arithmetic are three basic competencies that are vital to later success in math, and students should have these key math skills in first grade…
Fight over teaching evolution in Texas fizzles
Unlike the fiery debate that erupted two years ago, an expected fight about teaching evolution in Texas schools has likely been avoided by state education officials, reports the…
New framework aims to shape K-12 science
A report released July 19 by the National Research Council proposes a new framework for K-12 science education that emphasizes deep understanding of key topics and practices, and…
Texas to revisit evolution education debate under new conservative chairwoman
The Texas State Board of Education meets this week for the first time under its conservative new chairwoman appointed by Gov. Rick Perry and is expected to rekindle…
Writing software teaches students how to correct their own mistakes
