A New Era of Education Reform: Preparing All Students for Success in College, Career and Life

As society changes, the knowledge and skills required for citizens to navigate the complexities of life and work must also change. As a result, some argue that schools must provide students with a broader set of skills that will enable them to thrive in our increasingly diverse, rapidly evolving and globally-connected world. The intent is not to replace the traditional academic disciplines but to infuse them with knowledge and skills that will better prepare students for success in the 21st century -- often referred to as "21st century skills." While others maintain that as long as a portion of the student population is not mastering basic reading, writing and mathematics skills, schools must continue to focus exclusively on the traditional core academic disciplines. In order to inform the debate about the rationale for and relevance of 21st century skills in Massachusetts' public schools, the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy conducted a survey of superintendents, charter school leaders and principals statewide to gauge the extent to which school and district leaders support the integration of 21st century skills into public education. The goal of the survey was to provide a better understanding of Massachusetts' public school and district leaders' priorities for improving student learning, including their views on 21st century skills. The survey was followed by interviews with a small sample of administrators and educators in districts and schools where the integration of 21st century skills is a priority, in order to better understand district, school and teacher approaches for infusing 21st century skills into teaching and learning.The report describes the background and context for the study, the study methodology, and key findings from the statewide survey and interviews in a sample of schools and districts. The final section of the report puts forth considerations for policymakers and K-12 school and district leaders. Case studies of two public school districts, Reading Public Schools and Brockton Public Schools are included in Appendix B. The case studies offer two different approaches to integrating 21st century skills district-wide. The case study of Reading Public Schools illustrates a district-led approach. The case study of Brockton Public Schools is an example of how one school has spurred a district to focus on 21st century skills.The study gives voice to key education stakeholders who have not been part of the public debate about 21st century skills and provides clarity about what teaching and learning in classrooms that incorporate 21st century skills looks like. While opponents of 21st century skills argue that districts where most students have not yet mastered reading, writing and mathematics skills, should focus exclusively on core academic content, the study revealed that most school and district leaders believe all public schools in Massachusetts should be required to integrate 21st century skills into learning, including schools where students are lacking adequate basic skills. Interviews with superintendents who prioritize integration of 21st century skills revealed that input from a range of stakeholders led their district to expand their mission and vision for student learning to include 21st century skills and rather than adopt a pre-packaged set of skills, the focus in these districts is on particular skills and competencies that ?t the needs of their student body. While most schools and districts have not developed measurable goals for student mastery of 21st century skills, interviews with a small sample of administrators and educators revealed that 21st century skills are assessed at the classroom level, and most administrators view school- and district-wide assessment as a future step in the process of fully integrating 21st century skills. The endings also suggest that administrators believe that, to date, state policymakers have not adequately supported the teaching and learning of 21st century skills.This report was released at a public event on October 7th, 2010. View video clips from this event on our YouTube channel and read an EdWeek article featuring this report

Are e-books effective tools for learning? Reading speed and comprehension: iPad®i vs. paper

Recently, electronic books (e-books) have become prevalent amongst the general population, as well as students, owing to their advantages over traditional books. In South Africa, a number of schools have integrated tablets into the classroom with the promise of replacing traditional books. In order to realise the potential of e-books and their associated devices within an academic context, where reading speed and comprehension are critical for academic performance and personal growth, the effectiveness of reading from a tablet screen should be evaluated. To achieve this objective, a quasi-experimental within-subjects design was employed in order to compare the reading speed and comprehension performance of 68 students. The results of this study indicate the majority of participants read faster on an iPad, which is in contrast to previous studies that have found reading from tablets to be slower. It was also found that comprehension scores did not differ significantly between the two media. For students, these results provide evidence that tablets and e-books are suitable tools for reading and learning, and therefore, can be used for academic work. For educators, e-books can be introduced without concern that reading performance and comprehension will be hindered.Keywords: comprehension; electronic books; reading; spee

MILAGE LEARN+: A mobile learning app to aid the students in the study of organic chemistry

Interactive learning is one of the approaches that is very important to explore in higher education. Chemistry students own smartphones, laptops, and tablets and could use appropriate apps to complement traditional forms of learning. Here we introduce a new app, MILAGE LEARN+, which integrates several teaching strategies, such as mobile learning, autonomous learning, peer review, blended learning, and gamification. These strategies were evaluated by the student users through an electronic survey form containing 15 statements with responses graded on a Likert-type scale. Students rate the usage of novel teaching/learning strategies in the MILAGE LEARN+ app as something very positive. There is a positive correlation between the relative grades obtained using MILAGE LEARN+ and the final exam grades. Thus, in this experience, students with better results in MILAGE LEARN+ also had better results in the final exam.Erasmus+ program - European Union: 2019-1-PT01-KA201-061246 2019-1-CZ01-KA203-061163 2015-1-PT01-KA201-012921info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Effect of Using e-module Model Problem Based Learning (PBL) Based on Wetland Environment on Critical Thinking Skills and Environmental Care Attitudes

This study aims to analyze the effect of using an E-module with a wetland environment-based PBL model on students' critical thinking skills and environmental care attitudes. This study was a quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent posttest only control group design. The study population was 150 students, while the sample was selected by random sampling. The number of samples in this study was 64 students who were divided into two classes. The instrument used was a test, namely a question of critical thinking skills in the form of an essay and a non-test in the form of a questionnaire for environmental care attitudes. The collected data were analyzed by using Multivariate Analysis of Variance. The results showed that the significance of the three hypotheses was 0.000, which means less than 0.05 (0,000 <0.05). So, it can be concluded that there is a positive effect of using the E-module with the PBL model on critical thinking skills and environmental care attitudes. The novelty of this study integrates the wetland environment in the learning process using teaching materials in the form of E-modules in the learning process of the topic of acid-base solutions on critical thinking skills and environmental care attitudes of student

The socio-educational context of literacy accomplishment in disadvantaged schools: Lessons for reading in the early primary school years

Literacy does not develop in a vacuum. Reading is taught and is learnt within a social context, and the school and teachers are a central part of this context. This context will affect the way learners acquire literacy as well as the consequences of their literacy accomplishments within the learning environment. This article presents findings from a study that assessed Grade 1 learners' literacy accomplishments and examined the school literacy context as well as the literacy practices and perceptions of teachers in a primary school. The findings are discussed in relation to the broader school literacy environment and the learners' literacy achievements. The findings indicate that the acquisition of literacy skills is the product of a set of socio-educational circumstances that translate themselves into specific literacy environments for learners. The article concludes by identifying some implications that follow from the findings. Key Words: reading; literacy assessment; assessment standards; socio-educational context of literacy Journal for Language Teaching Vol.38(1) 2004: 45-6

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CONTEXT: INVESTIGATING IN-SERVICE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS FOR SYRIAN TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE DURING TIMES OF MILITARY CONFLICT

The purpose of this study is to research how teaching practices and in-service professional development of English language teachers’ in Syria have been affected during times of military conflict: what impact English language teachers in Syria perceive the professional development programs they are required to attend have on their teaching and the learning environments they provide for their students, and how this perceived impact relates to the country’s current military conflict; and to explore the ways that teachers can be assisted to enhance their in-service professional development in a country experiencing a military conflict. Thus, by probing these two issues, this study provides the foundation for the initiation of pedagogical change based on a systematic approach towards in-service teacher training programs, exploring the training needs of teachers in light of the current military conflict, and on the Syrian teachers of English as a Foreign Language own perspectives on both these programs and their in-class practices. The importance of this research grows from the scarcity of empirical data on the EFL Syrian teachers’ previous or current practices in their classrooms and in regard to the in-service training they have received. In order to comprehensively address the complexity of the research questions, a mixed method research design using both quantitative and qualitative methods was applied. This allowed for triangulation of data, in order to achieve greater validity and reliability in the study. The methods were designed to be closely related to each other to ensure a fully integrated research design. The questions were investigated through a mixed method approach using a structured survey and teachers’ journal-logs. Concept mapping of teachers’ responses to the open-ended question in the survey served as a check on researcher bias and allowed respondents in the survey population to identify and name clusters of the participants’ responses. The research revealed that the designers of the in-service development programs for Syrian teachers of English as a Foreign Language overlooked the fact that public education is a system in permanent interaction with various individuals with different needs, facing different challenges in different environments. The survey respondents did not believe that the Ministry of Education’s approaches to engage the EFL teachers and their students have been effective. The study revealed that Syrian EFL teachers were not trained to recognize or deal with classroom issues related to or affected by the military conflict. In more general terms, teacher respondents were skeptical about centralized in-service development programs. Therefore, there is a need for a design structured upon the micro attributes and analysis of the specific EFL teachers’ needs in the context of their actual classroom environment. This can occur by involving the teachers in what needs to be included in the programs. This research adds to both international literature on the theme of education in conflict areas in general, and to Syrian EFL teaching during times of military conflict in particular. This research is unique in that it was conducted and completed while the military conflict was still ongoing, unlike most retrospective studies that are conducted after conflicts have been resolved. Another distinctive element of this research, methodologically speaking, is that up to this date, there has not been any empirical research that has examined Syrian in-service EFL programs or their effectiveness from the EFL teachers’ perspectives prior or during The study provides a solid foundation for a systematic redesign of Syrian EFL in-service development programs in a manner that addresses both the teachers’ needs and the students’ language-learning needs while taking into consideration the immediate class environment and broader military conflict

Becoming culturally responsive: A guide for music educators.

As America sees an increase in minority groups, providing an education that is beneficial and responsive to all cultures is a growing focus in the education system. One of the many roles of a music educator is to expose students to allmusic and music that is most meaningful to the students. Music educators are charged with providing students with musical instruction that is well rounded, and that will aid in the personal and educational growth of learners. Through culturally responsive teaching, defined as “a research-based approach towards teaching that connects students’ cultures, languages, and life experiences with that they learn in school” students are given an individualized instruction as well as the opportunity to learn more about their heritage and cultures outside of their own.[i] This approach towards teaching requires an in-depth understanding of the relationship between human culture and music, how culture influences one\u27s learning, as well as knowing culturally responsive teaching extends far beyond the classroom. This is achieved first by developing an understanding of the cultures of students and then implementing this knowledge in the curriculum. This thesis offers a framework for designing a music classroom that includes African American culture. Included are interviews of three teachers who have been recognized for successfully creating a music classroom that reflects and respects diverse groups and various ideas that can be used to improve the music classroom. Examples of culturally responsive lessons are offered. J[i] Understood at Understood, Educators Team at. “What Is Culturally Responsive Teaching?” Understood, Understood, 28 May 2021, https://www.understood.org/articles/en/what-is-culturally-responsive-teaching