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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.

Chicago students can take up to 5 mental health days

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.

This story was produced as part of the Medill Media Teens journalism program for Chicago Public School students at Northwestern University. The writer worked under the mentorship of Medill graduate Anandita Bhalerao.

With working 25 hours a week at her minimum wage job at an ice cream shop, juggling a stressful workload with AP and honors classes, and dealing with anxiety, sometimes Jones College Prep sophomore Meghan Cuddy just needs a break. …Read More

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Research to Identify Effective Math Tutoring Designs for Underrepresented Students Begins in U.S. School Districts

Wappingers Falls, N.Y. — Research shows that high-impact tutoring can produce learning gains for a variety of students, but which tutoring designs are most effective from a cost and academic perspective? Three school districts across the country will begin data-driven experiments to answer that question and more as part of a research project led by Littera Education. The project, which is funded by a Gates Foundation grant, will use the Littera Tutoring Management System (TMS) in conjunction with assessment and curriculum from Renaissance.

Littera, which was founded expressly to address inequities in public education, launched the research project with the aim of improving the implementation of math tutoring programs that support students who are Black, Latino, or experiencing poverty. 

“The pandemic not only left students months behind in math, but it widened achievement gaps for historically disadvantaged students,” said Justin Serrano, CEO and co-founder of Littera. “Federal emergency relief funding has been a tremendous help in supporting learning recovery through high-impact tutoring, but what happens when that funding ends? This grant project will provide insights into key factors that impact student achievement so districts can design sustainable tutoring programs that are outcomes-driven and cost-effective.”…Read More

Learning acceleration is best to move kids forward in math

As the nation works to collectively get students back on track after pandemic-era learning disruptions, new research provides promising evidence that learning acceleration can help all students catch up and move forward in math.

Powered by two years of pandemic-era math-learning data, researchers found when a student is consistently accelerated, they complete twice the amount of grade-level lessons and struggle less in their math learning.

“We decided to conduct this research as a way to deepen our support for teachers who are contending with more than two years of disruptions and are forced to make intervention decisions for each student, each time they struggle,” said Shalinee Sharma, Zearn’s CEO and co-founder. “This research gives us hope that with the right learning strategies students can catch-up and move forward with their math learning.”…Read More

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Brainingcamp Releases ‘Biggest Update Ever’ to Its Math Education Products

AUSTIN, Texas, (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Brainingcamp announced a massive update to its digital math manipulatives. The update is immediately available, just in time for the 2022-2023 school year. The new Brainingcamp will enhance math education for its more than 7 million global users and counting.

“This is our biggest update ever,” said Dan Harris, President of Brainingcamp. “We’ve rewritten every line of code.”

Empowering Math Educators
From the beginning, Brainingcamp’s focus has been on delivering easy-to-use, powerful math education tools, Harris said. “Ease of use is incredibly important to us. We want students spending their mental energy learning math, not learning UI.”…Read More

FEV Tutor Students Achieve Higher Growth Scores in ELA and Math on NWEA MAP Growth, STAR, and i-Ready Assessments

BOSTON, Mass. – Aug. 18, 2022 – Fifty-six percent of U.S. public schools are using high-dosage tutoring to support learning recovery, thanks to funding from the American Rescue Plan. But is it working? New research from FEV Tutor shows that live 1:1 tutoring with a subject matter expert can help students progress and close achievement gaps.

During the 2021-22 school year, students who participated in recommended dosages of tutoring with FEV Tutor, a comprehensive, research-based, virtual tutoring solution for K-12 schools, achieved higher growth relative to non-participants in English language arts (ELA) and math on the NWEA MAP Growth, Renaissance STAR 360, and i-Ready assessments.

The growth and impact analysis, which was conducted by independent researchers from JoinIn Ventures, examined fall 2021 and spring 2022 assessment results for nearly 40,000 students from more than 20 states. The data showed that students who participated in 21 or more online tutoring sessions with FEV Tutor showed greater improvements in ELA and math relative to their peers. The results also showed that the students who were the furthest behind benefitted the most.…Read More

Clearlake Capital-Backed Discovery Education Acquires DoodleLearning

Silver Spring, MD (Tuesday, August 17, 2022)— Discovery Education—the worldwide edtech leader backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (together with its affiliates, “Clearlake”)—announced the acquisition of  DoodleLearning. The United Kingdom-based DoodleLearning’s Math and English Language Arts products create personalized learning experiences that help improve students’ academic achievement and confidence. Terms were not disclosed.  

The acquisition of DoodleLearning supports Discovery Education’s mission to prepare learners for tomorrow by creating innovative classrooms connected to today’s world. DoodleLearning complements Discovery Education’s other award-winning digital services, which include  Discovery Education’s K-12 platform,  Mystery Science,  STEM Connect, and the  Math,  Science, and  Social Studies Techbooks. 

“Discovery Education is dedicated to creating a best-in-class edtech ecosystem that supports our mission to prepare today’s students for future success,” said Discovery Education Chief Executive Officer Scott Kinney. “This acquisition is an important milestone in that effort, and we look forward to both partnering with the talented DoodleLearning team and scaling the reach of their innovative, adaptive Math and English Language Arts products.” …Read More

Gamification tools that increase student engagement

Who out there doesn’t enjoy some form of game? Whether it be watching or playing a sport, a card game, a board game, or video games, most people would say they at least enjoy one.

Games are part of many people’s lives–so why not use them to benefit students when teaching?

From a 5th grade teacher lens, it is evident that students are more likely to engage in an educational activity when it is “gamified,” and even more so when it is gamified with technology. …Read More

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AI is the key to scaling personalized, one-on-one instruction

K-12 school systems are facing a “perfect storm” of challenges today. 

The pandemic has put students well behind in their education, with millions of children achieving below grade level in reading and math. The only way to accelerate their learning and get them back on track is to work with each child individually. Yet, at the same time, schools are facing a historic teacher shortage—and third-party tutoring services aren’t able to fill the tremendous need for one-on-one instruction.

Fortunately, there is a solution available that can address this confluence of challenges. Before I describe the solution, however, it’s worth exploring each of these challenges in more detail.…Read More

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5 ways to create a strong math culture in your schools

Picture this: a student enters your classroom, a negative attitude at the ready. They are distant during class, uninterested in engaging with the material, and their beliefs confirmed every time they get a question wrong – “I can’t do math.” How can teachers combat this belief?

The culture that schools foster through the messages, beliefs, and behaviors that educators promote can help create a positive attitude among students that leads to better math achievement. Furthermore, research suggests that having a positive attitude toward math can boost math achievement.

In my 40-year tenure, where I concluded my career as a math specialist at New Caney Independent School District (ISD), I employed the following five strategies to help educators foster a strong math culture that leads to greater success for their students.…Read More

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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