Helping students understand the Nature of Science

Science is more than just a body of knowledge; it is the process of discovering new knowledge. Therefore, science education needs to involve more than just memorizing what scientists have already figured out. Students also need to learn about the processes that scientists use to generate new understandings about the universe. In other words, it involves understanding the Nature of Science.

The Nature of Science is what distinguishes science from other methods of knowing such as art, philosophy, or social science. The Nature of Science includes understanding that while scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence, it is also subject to change based on new evidence. Science is a human endeavor that requires creativity, but also objectivity.

The importance of the Nature of Science is reflected in state science standards. For example, in Florida, the science standards have the Nature of Science as one of the bodies of knowledge alongside Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth and Space Science. The Nature of Science is further delineated into three big ideas: the Practice of Science, the Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge, and the Roles of Theories, Laws, Hypotheses, and Models.…Read More

Paper Acquires Readlee To Address Literacy Crisis With Artificial Intelligence

MONTREAL – Paper™, the leading Educational Support System (ESS), today announced that it has acquired Readlee, an innovative learning tool that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and speech recognition technology to help students improve their reading skills. Master teachers, in collaboration with Harvard researchers, created Readlee to provide better literacy tools for students.

Pandemic-related learning loss is fueling a growing literacy crisis, with national reading scores at their lowest levels since the 1990s. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, approximately one-third of 4th and 8th graders can’t read at the “basic” achievement level – the test’s lowest level. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that only 34% of American high school students graduate with proficiency in reading. Proficiency levels decrease further to 18% for recent graduates of color. The statistics are clear, the literary crisis is a systemic issue, and the current approach is failing students.

The newly acquired Readlee will become Paper Reading, fully integrated into Paper’s ESS, and available to over 3 million students nationwide. The tool listens to students as they read aloud and provides immediate feedback, individualized support, and measurable success. The platform uses the latest in AI, speech recognition, and learning science, which shows that reading aloud improves memory, vocabulary, and confidence.…Read More

6 ways to help reluctant readers become booklovers

Not everyone loves to read. Even in schools with strong reading cultures, some students just don’t feel the spark—yet.

Through helping reluctant readers find books that capture their imaginations, teachers and librarians can ignite a newfound enthusiasm for reading in students.

Here are six strategies for engaging hesitant students:…Read More

How to evaluate literacy programs that pledge to accelerate learning

The NAEP results in late 2022 revealed that reading scores fell for both fourth and eighth grade readers as a result of the pandemic. Only 33 percent of fourth graders are reading proficiently, which means that two-thirds read below grade level. For eighth graders, the scores are even lower with only 31 percent reading proficiently, and more than two-thirds reading below grade level.

While instruction informed by reading science is necessary for all students, it is essential for students who are at risk for reading challenges due to dyslexia, developmental language disorder, or other factors. Teachers need real-time progress monitoring data, data-driven action plans, and instructional tools that allow them to deliver the right instruction either inside or outside the classroom.

Schools and districts want to know the literacy program they choose is firmly grounded in the science of reading (i.e., more than 50 years of research) and has proven itself in real classrooms. Whether a literacy company has been in the market for 60 years or 60 days, there are ways to fact-check its solutions to determine if its research is valid, there is proven efficacy, and it can fulfill the promises they make to teachers and students. For district leaders, it is critical to understand the importance of the science of reading and the role of Structured Literacy as they review available literacy solutions.…Read More

School social workers fill critical gaps in student care

As a social worker for an in-district classroom inside of a Texas elementary school, I have the honor of serving some of the most vulnerable students in our community. On March 21, World Social Work Day, it’s important to highlight the essential role social workers play in promoting the well-being of our students and their families.

Every day, I have the privilege of witnessing the incredible resilience of our students, who face challenges that many adults would struggle to overcome. Food insecurity, trauma, and family instability are just some of the obstacles facing our students, and these challenges can have a profound impact on their academic performance, emotional health and future opportunities.

This is where social workers come in. Social workers are a unique component in the education system because we are trained to focus on both the student and their environment. I work alongside special education teachers and other staff to provide the support that our students need to thrive. …Read More

5 ways to make way for science in an ELA and math world

How much time do you think the average K–3 student spends learning about science? Thirty minutes a day? An hour a day? Well, according to the 2018 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education, K–3 students spent an average of 89 minutes studying ELA, 57 minutes learning math, and a miniscule 18 minutes a day on science. These numbers aren’t too surprising when you consider that reading and math are high priorities in early grades. However, when educators fail to make room for science in their lessons, students can still lose out on essential growth. 

Science is much more than naming planets or memorizing the periodic elements. At its heart, science is about tapping into a student’s innate curiosity and creativity while fostering their critical thinking skills. It encourages them to ask important questions and discover answers by carefully examining their surroundings.

Given the incredibly packed school day schedule, finding room for science will take more than a little flexibility and creative thinking. Here are just a few resources and strategies that teachers can put into practice right away:…Read More

3 ways to engage students in productive struggle

What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Think about it for a minute. You are facing a new challenge – whether it be learning to fix a burst pipe, tackling a new hobby, or just struggling to figure something out. What do you do?

I’ve asked hundreds of people this question and the first thing they often say is, “I Google it.” (Then I joke about the times before the internet when we needed to spend time looking through the Encyclopedia Britannica to find our answers.)

In education, a big challenge is how to teach students what do to do when they don’t know what to do. What systems are needed for productive struggle to take place in classrooms and schools? How do students learn to struggle so they can eventually problem solve for themselves?…Read More

The purpose of a K-12 education: Who decides and how do we get there?

In a recent report by Populace (2022), 55 percent of American parents expressed their desire for educators to rethink how today’s K-12 schools are educating our children. The study found that, despite the widespread perception that American society wants K-12 schools to prepare students for college, college is not as important to parents as it used to be. Instead, the study reported, today’s parents would like to see their children develop practical skills “for both life and career” (p. 10), critical thinking skills that allow them “to problem solve and make decisions” (p. 8), and moral character traits such as “honesty, kindness, integrity, [and] ethics” (p. 20).

The Populace study reported that today’s parents want more individualized educational experiences for their children, with greater emphasis on students’ interests and personal/career goals than on a one-size-fits-all curriculum. Parents want their children to have learning opportunities across a variety of modalities, and they want learning to be assessed through demonstration of mastery as opposed to traditional assessments like standardized tests.

According to the Populace study, today’s parents believe that “better” (as in straight As and college bound) should not be the purpose of a K-12 education, but “different” (as in a customized educational experience for every student) should be. It seems that–at least for parents–the purpose of an American K-12 education is changing.…Read More

ChatGPT can generate, but can it create?

While artificial intelligence (AI) has been a relatively silent partner in higher education’s early warning systems, personalized learning platforms, and more for some time now, we might fairly say that ChatGPT is the big boom heard ‘round the university. The AI chatbot is taking many of us by surprise and startling more of us to attention, not in small measure by its charming, eager extroversion: it “talks” to us. What’s happening here? Is ChatGPT a threat? What happens next?

Diffusion of ChatGPT

ChatGPT has been quite the busybot, going to business school, law school, the office, Congress, and more. We are experiencing the unfolding of Rogers’ (1962) innovation diffusion in real time. Since OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public in research preview on November 30, 2022, we’ve been busy ourselves, curating links and disseminating our treasuries to each other. We’re also creating artifacts such as the Advancements in AI Timeline developed by the Center for eLearning Initiatives at Penn State Behrend. The twin goals of all of our awareness-building activities are to hasten the development of our individual and collective opinions about whether ChatGPT is aide or adversary and to decide our next steps accordingly.…Read More

3 tips for confusion-free inclement weather communications

Even if the old spoon under the pillow trick hasn’t worked for the students in your district yet, it doesn’t mean it won’t be your turn next!

No matter how well prepared you are, weather cancellations can be cause for confusion. It’s worth taking a few extra precautions so your families know exactly what the story is.

Here are a few simple tips districts can follow to make sure weather communication messages are reaching home without causing confusion:…Read More