Whether educators are encouraging students to think about their future by exposing them to various career options, teaching students career skills that will prepare them for success after high school, or simply showing students how core content applies within the real world, project-based learning (PBL) helps students learn about careers more deeply than they can by simply reading about various jobs or watching a video. Here’s how.
Podcast Series: Innovations in Education
Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.
MIND Research Institute Debuts InsightMath, a Neuroscience-Based Elementary Curriculum
IRVINE, Calif. — MIND Research Institute, a neuroscience and education social impact organization dedicated to ensuring that all students are mathematically equipped to solve the world’s most challenging problems, today announced InsightMath, a core elementary curriculum that transforms student learning by teaching math the way the brain learns will launch in Spring 2024.
Building on 25 years of math learning research and proven results with the PreK-8 visual instructional program ST Math, InsightMath was co-designed in collaboration with neuroscientists, researchers, educators, students, and families to give meaning to math for all students. These collaborators helped MIND’s team design a culturally relevant math curriculum that connects with all students.
“For 25 years, ST Math has brought visual models, spatial reasoning, and the perception-action cycle into the learning process,” said Nigel Nisbet, vice president of content creation at MIND Research Institute. “InsightMath expands this time-tested approach into a full-classroom curriculum experience that helps students—and teachers—become math-loving problem-solvers.”…Read More
Arizona Department of Education Names 95 Percent Group an Approved K-3 Reading Improvement Program
Lincolnshire, Ill. – 95 Percent Group LLC, a leading provider of literacy solutions and instructional strategies for K-12 schools nationwide, announced today that the Arizona Department of Education approved its 95 Phonics Core Program™ as a supplemental literacy curriculum and its Phonological Awareness Lessons, Phonics Lesson Library™ and Phonics Chip Kit as early literacy intervention resources. Schools in Arizona can now find 95 Percent Group’s evidence-based products on their state list of reading improvement programs and begin using them immediately.
The approval was based upon new, state-reviewed efficacy research confirming that 95 Percent Group’s foundational reading products meet Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Level 1-3 evidence requirement for reading instruction. The criteria were established by the Arizona Department of Education as part of its Move On When Reading initiative, an effort to provide all readers with specific, targeted instruction and interventions so that they are reading at or above grade level by the end of the 3rd grade.
“95 Percent Group believes that evidence-based reading instruction is essential in schools. We have long invested in research that demonstrates the efficacy of our offerings,” said Brad Lindaas, Chief Executive Officer. “The Arizona Department of Education has been a key partner for us for many years, and today’s news will only strengthen our ability to support educators state-wide in promoting the development of early reading skills for all students. With this development, we expect it will be easier for more districts in Arizona to learn about and benefit from our evidence-based products,” he added. …Read More
Carnegie Learning Middle School Math Solution Receives Perfect Scores from EdReports.org
PITTSBURGH, PA – Carnegie Learning, a leader in artificial intelligence for K-12 education and formative assessment, today announced that its blended core Middle School Math Solution received perfect scores in a new report published by EdReports.org. The High School Math Solution also received all-green scores, with just one point shy of perfect.
EdReports.org is an independent nonprofit that evaluates instructional materials for quality and standards alignment. It is a gold-standard leader in helping teachers and administrators identify the highest-quality instructional materials. The Carnegie Learning Middle and High School Math Solutions met EdReports’ expectations in all three gateways:
- Focus & Coherence—Are the instructional materials focused on the right content at each grade level, and is it presented in a coherent way?
- Rigor & Mathematical Practices—Do the materials have the right mix of conceptual understanding, procedural skills, and applications to address the standards to their full depth? Do they help teachers build productive habits of mind in their students?
- Usability—Do the materials have the right support in place for teachers to use them effectively?
The EdReports.org review process is rigorous, and many other curriculum solutions do not pass the first and second gateways and are therefore not evaluated for the third. Schools and districts can therefore choose the Carnegie Learning Math Solution with confidence, knowing it has met the highest quality standards in addition to proving effective through third-party efficacy research. (Learn more at http://www.carnegielearning.com/research.) …Read More
HMH Unveils Major Platform Enhancements to Empower Educators and Engage Students Heading Back-to-School Nationwide
BOSTON, /PRNewswire/ – As students and teachers nationwide head back to school, learning technology company HMH today announced major enhancements to Ed, HMH’s connected teaching and learning platform, that will offer an even more streamlined experience to empower educators and engage students. Seamless integrations with Google Classroom and Clever, as well as refinements and new features to many of HMH’s core, supplemental and intervention solutions and professional learning services, provide powerful connected teaching and learning experiences that drive positive outcomes—all from one platform.
“At HMH, we know that an innovative, connected approach is what educators need to make the most of their time and resources and meet all students where they are,” said Greg Collins, SVP of Platform at HMH. “This back-to-school, a streamlined Ed experience will equip students, teachers and administrators with powerful integrations like Google Classroom and Clever, enhanced embedded assessment, joint solutions like Amira + Saxon Phonics & Spelling and evolve the overall HMH platform experience.”
Critical Integrations…Read More
Mastery learning can help close pandemic learning gaps
As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and prepares for its first post-pandemic school year, the results of a new Khan Academy survey of teachers offers hope for a brighter future and, at the same time, reaffirms education’s deep commitment to staying laser-focused on recovery.
The findings show:
- Nine out of 10 teachers say they’ve been able to identify learning gaps that need to be addressed.
- 84% of teachers believe mastery learning can help address learning loss from the pandemic.
We wholeheartedly agree. Mastery learning ensures each student has the opportunity and incentive to master a concept before they stop working on it. It’s the philosophical core of Khan Academy, and decades of research shows that mastery learning works. …Read More
West Ada School District Approves Seven-Year Adoption of i-Ready® Classroom Mathematics as Its Core Math Curriculum
NORTH BILLERICA, Mass. (July 13, 2022) — West Ada School District in Meridian, Idaho has adopted Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Classroom Mathematics as the primary math curriculum support material for Grades K–5 for the next seven years. Starting in the 2022–2023 school year, more than 800 teachers will use the discourse-driven, standards-aligned i-Ready Classroom Mathematics curriculum to help approximately 17,500 students throughout the state’s largest district become independent mathematical thinkers.
“Using academic data, West Ada has identified math as a primary focus for improvement in our continuous improvement plan,” said Dustin Barrett, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction. “Through our partnership with Curriculum Associates, we are optimistic that the robust nature of the
i-Ready Classroom Mathematics materials, applied in a guaranteed and viable manner for [Grades] K–5, will provide West Ada the ability to improve student math proficiency. The i-Ready Classroom Mathematics materials will allow West Ada to teach, assess, and intervene utilizing easily accessible and actionable real-time data to best support student learning.”
i-Ready Classroom Mathematics will be used alongside the online i-Ready Personalized Instruction and i-Ready Assessment programs, which have already been implemented by the district, to provide teachers with a comprehensive and aligned solution for supporting math achievement. i-Ready Classroom Mathematics was reviewed and chosen by a district adoption committee composed of educators, parents, and community members as part of the selection process.…Read More
How this teacher uses story coding to spark creativity and collaboration
When coding merges with storytelling, you have story coding, in which students use computational skills and design thinking as they demonstrate creativity across core curricular areas.
During an ISTELive 22 virtual session, computer science, robotics, and design thinking educator Paige Besthoff demonstrated how story coding–combining storytelling and coding–helps students develop critical skills.
Story coding involves using computer programming to retell stories–students might summarize a story, write original stories, or use programming to create alternative endings to well-known stories. Teachers can use story coding to bring history, science, world languages, ELA, and even math into their lessons.…Read More
Certell Named a Finalist for Two 2022 Civvys Awards
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — (June 14, 2022) — Certell, Inc., whose mission is to foster a generation of independent thinkers, was named a finalist for two awards in the fifth annual American Civic Collaboration Awards, also known as the “Civvys.”
The Civvys is the only national awards program dedicated to celebrating projects that emphasize working together across divides to strengthen communities and empower citizens. By leveraging collaboration as a core strength, these initiatives put community and nation before party, ideology, and narrow interests, embodying a civic spirit that inspires other Americans to take action.
Certell’s SensibleSchool was named a finalist in the National Category for its Bending Bars program that brings Civics and other classes to prison inmates. Certell’s Poptential™ was named a finalist in the Youth Category for its free family of social studies course packages that include engaging digital storytelling to bring social studies to life.…Read More
BoomWriter and Walch Education joins forces to provide world-class EdTech solutions
Milton-based EdTech developer and publisher, BoomWriter Media Inc., (BoomWriter) has merged with education powerhouse Walch Education. This puts the combined company on the map as the leading provider of applications supporting the core fundamentals of education.
BW Walch, as the umbrella company will be known, brings a partnership that offers complete solutions for schools and teachers to create engaging in-class experiences and to provide better learning outcomes for students across all age groups.
“This is a perfect merger of capabilities,” says Al Noyes, CEO of Walch, “Walch brings a platform that has been used for over 50 years and now we are adding the engagement applications for reading and writing in the classroom.”
“With so many start-ups in the EdTech industry there will be inevitable consolidation and lots of elimination of fledgling companies,” adds Chris Twyman, founder of BoomWriter. “Bringing Walch and BoomWriter together gets us ahead of the curve and together we provide a greater portfolio of engaging educational solutions.”
BW Walch has over 1m registered users of its technology solutions combined. In March 2022 alone it saw over 6m reading logs and more than 72,000 books written, using its unique collaborative writing tools. In 2020/2021 the two companies launched two major technology solutions: GoRead and the Curriculum Engine. GoRead won the top prize at the BETT Awards and the math flagship, Curriculum Engine, won a Tech Edvocate award. The Curriculum Engine and BW Walch’s math content is being used in hundreds of classrooms with tens of thousands of students achieving outstanding results.
Prior to the merger, BoomWriter acquired UK-based businesses Squirrel Learning (Squirrel) and Axe Edge to help grow operations and service solutions that empower teachers to bring classroom learning into the 21st century. The relationship between BoomWriter and Squirrel has been long established, with BoomWriter previously investing in the company’s platform.
These acquisitions were made possible through both organic revenue growth as well as a significant investment from Alexander Elorriaga, a venture partner at Scale Capital and chairman of SimpleTV. Mr Elorriaga also joins BoomWriter as a strategic advisor. With his extensive experience in the TV industry combined with a proven track record of leading large-scales operations Mr. Elorriaga adds edutainment expertise to the BoomWriter team.
“BoomWriter is producing magic in the classroom”, said Mr. Elorriaga. “The blurring of the entertainment and education world is the holy grail for increasing engagement in the classroom. BoomWriter does this without sacrificing the delivery of a rounded educational experience.”
ABOUT BOOMWRITER MEDIA, INC.:
BoomWriter Media, inc., (BoomWriter) is a digital education company headquartered in both Wolverhampton, UK, and Milton, US, which engages children and educators through collaborative content creation and storytelling.
Founded in 2012 by Chris Twyman and Ian Garland, the innovative, web-based publishing platform brings together passionate educators, technology experts, corporate sponsors, enthusiastic parents, and students to promote and develop creativity, writing, reading, critical thinking, and other essential 21st century literacy skills.
Aimed at students in grades 2-8 to make them better writers and learners. BoomWriter partners with authors and celebrities to provide the first chapter that sparks kids’ imaginations and inspires story collaboration with classmates. Teachers and students from more than 37,000 elementary, middle, and high schools in more than 105 countries are already using the platform.
BoomWriter brings together creative writing and gamification to provide children a unique approach to writing stories as well as getting published. The company provides a competitive writing platform that can be integrated into a variety of curriculum.
ABOUT WALCH EDUCATION:
Walch Education is a leading developer and publisher of online teaching and learning solutions and tailored curricula. Adapted to fit the needs of each state and district partner, Walch’s proven solutions give teachers what they need to extend and enhance student learning. The company’s Curriculum Engine leads the way in a new category of “Curriculum-as-a-Service” offerings, helping teachers teach more effectively so that students can succeed. Curriculum Engine is a uniquely turnkey solution, enabling school districts to rapidly tailor high quality resources and answering the need for purpose-built accelerated learning support.