|
With this issue, Innovator gets a new look. We've traded the former column on the right for a single column to improve readability on devices large and small. The wider single column also allows more flexibility in presenting more varied data illustrations.
Your responses to our recent survey gave us a wealth of ideas about the content you value and want to see included - more practical tips for the classroom, more news about education trends and policies, more stories about student successes, to name just a few. We'll be using more of your ideas as we plan future issues. Please let us know of others.
|
|
Solving math puzzle key to student success
|
Let's face it. Math is problematic. It's hard to teach well, and a subject about which it's easy to concede defeat. Yet results from recent assessments - more rigorous ones to be sure - are a clear signal that we must do more to help ensure that all students gain the skills now so critical for success.  Data from last school year's exams are still a couple of weeks from release, but we already have ample evidence that students too often are finishing high school ill equipped for the demands of college or careers.
- Nearly 70 percent of North Carolina students failed to meet the college readiness benchmark in mathematics as measured by the ACT in 2012 and 2013.
- More than 60 percent of North Carolina students in grades 6-9 fell short of proficiency standards on the state's more rigorous mathematics exams in 2013.
- Mathematics courses at the college level produced the highest failure rates of all course types, according to the latest data from the NC Community College System and the UNC System.
- Students in the United States achieved scores in the bottom third of OECD nations as measured by the PISA mathematics exam in 2012.
Read more ...
|
Teachers spend summer learning on the job
|
Teachers from schools across North Carolina - including two dozen teachers from 21 schools that partner with North Carolina New Schools - have been getting valuable lessons in relevance this summer through paid externships that provide first-hand experience in the "real world" of math, science and other fields.
NC New Schools encourages and supports employers and community organizations in providing work-based experiences for educators through formal externships,  fellowships, field studies and workshops. In the past three years, more than 400 educators have benefited from these and other industry-linked experiences, which teachers translate into lessons and curriculum materials for their students and colleagues across the state. Through exposure to working science labs, day-to-day operations of big-league employers and the inner workings of health-care organizations, teachers are gaining perspective to help students bridge the gap between classroom and workplace. Increasingly, teachers and employers must work together to ensure that teaching and learning are both relevant and focused on the competitive job market graduates are entering. As teachers gain more industry-based experiences and better understand the modern workplace, they're better equipped to bring the world of work into the classroom. Learn more from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences about their summer externship program in partnership with NC New Schools. Read more ...
|
|
Lessons to share: Externship makes it real
|
 Biology and chemistry teacher Abbey Wood used her 2013 externship at BASF to transform her approach to teaching her students about biotechnology.
"I was surprised by how often students would bring up their experiences during that unit in class, sometimes months later and many of them in their final course reflections. It demonstrated that it was a truly memorable experience for them, and, as their teacher, what more could I ask?"
|
|
Data story: College hurdle higher for many
|
Low-income students want to go to college - at a higher percentage than students overall - but are less likely to enroll immediately after high school. Research released last month by ACT Inc. and the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships found a wide gap between college aspirations and college enrollment because many lacked the necessary academic preparation.
 
|
|
Teacher takeaway: Collaborating, virtually
|
Melissa Ligh, an English teacher at Davidson Early College High School, relayed her experience launching a virtual professional learning community (PLC), or collaborative team focused on student learning, in a recent FutureReady blog post.
"Making PLCs happen consistently and proficiently can clearly be a struggle, but there is a solution: Virtual PLCs.
"As the only English teacher in my school, I have faced ... obstacles when trying to schedule a PLC. But eventually, and successfully, I initiated a virtual PLC using FaceTime with another English teacher in my district.
"We communicate weekly via email to determine the day and time to conduct the session, decide on the areas on which we would like to focus, agree on who will initiate the call, and simply call from anywhere to complete our PLC. Typically, our call lasts 30 minutes and we remain focused on our predetermined agenda. We can complete our PLC from our schools, home, office or even sitting at the park while watching our kids play.
"It is productive, efficient, convenient and, quite frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way."
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
