When it’s time for a game change, you need a guide to the new rules. Helping Students Make Sense of the World Using Next Generation Science and Engineering Practices provides a play-by-play understanding of the practices strand of A Framework for K–12 Science Education (Framework) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Written in clear, nontechnical language, this book provides a wealth of real-world examples to show you what’s different about practice-centered teaching and learning at all grade levels. The book addresses three important questions: 1. How will engaging students in science and engineering practices help improve science education? 2. What do the eight practices look like in the classroom? 3. How can educators engage students in practices to bring the NGSS to life? Helping Students Make Sense of the World Using Next Generation Science and Engineering Practices was developed for K–12 science teachers, curriculum developers, teacher educators, and administrators. Many of its authors contributed to the Framework’s initial vision and tested their ideas in actual science classrooms. If you want a fresh game plan to help students work together to generate and revise knowledge—not just receive and repeat information—this book is for you.

Radically reimagine our ways of being, learning, and doing Education can be transformed if we eradicate our fixation on big data like standardized test scores as the supreme measure of equity and learning. Instead of the focus being on "fixing" and "filling" academic gaps, we must envision and rebuild the system from the student up—with classrooms, schools and systems built around students’ brilliance, cultural wealth, and intellectual potential. Street data reminds us that what is measurable is not the same as what is valuable and that data can be humanizing, liberatory and healing. By breaking down street data fundamentals: what it is, how to gather it, and how it can complement other forms of data to guide a school or district’s equity journey, Safir and Dugan offer an actionable framework for school transformation. Written for educators and policymakers, this book · Offers fresh ideas and innovative tools to apply immediately · Provides an asset-based model to help educators look for what’s right in our students and communities instead of seeking what’s wrong · Explores a different application of data, from its capacity to help us diagnose root causes of inequity, to its potential to transform learning, and its power to reshape adult culture Now is the time to take an antiracist stance, interrogate our assumptions about knowledge, measurement, and what really matters when it comes to educating young people.

Examines the impact of Common Core State Standards on teaching and learning within elementary classrooms. Focusing on the influence that Common Core has on teacher education programs and how the implementation of educational technologies is continuously changing the field, this book is suited for teacher educators, researchers, administrators, classroom teachers, and policy makers.

Guide your students through the fascinating world of engineering, and how to draw inspiration from Nature’s genius to create, make, and innovate a better human-built world. Studded with more than 150 illustrations of natural phenomena and engineering concepts, this fascinating and practical book clearly demonstrates how engineering design is broadly relevant for all students, not just those who may become scientists or engineers. Mr. Stier describes clever, engaging activities for students at every grade level to grasp engineering concepts by exploring the everyday design genius of the natural world around us. Students will love learning about structural engineering while standing on eggs; investigating concepts in sustainable design by manufacturing cement out of car exhaust; and coming to understand how ant behavior has revolutionized the way computer programs, robots, movies, and video games are designed today. You will come away with an understanding of engineering and Nature unlike any you’ve had before, while taking your ability to engage students to a whole new level. Engineering Education for the Next Generation is a wonderful introduction to the topic for any teacher who wants to understand more about engineering design in particular, its relation to the larger subjects of STEM/STEAM, and how to engage students from all backgrounds in a way that meaningfully transforms their outlook on the world and their own creativity in a lifelong way. · Fun to read, comprehensive exploration of cutting-edge approaches to K-12 engineering education · Detailed descriptions and explanations to help teachers create activities and lessons · An emphasis on engaging students with broad and diverse interests and backgrounds · Insights from a leading, award-winning K-12 engineering curriculum that has reached thousands of teachers and students in the U.S. and beyond · Additional support website (www.LearningWithNature.org) providing more background, videos, curricula, slide decks, and other supplemental materials

Public schools are among the most important institutions in North American communities, especially in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods. At their best, they enable students to overcome challenges like poverty by providing vital literacy and numeracy skills. At their worst, they condemn students to failure, both economically and in terms of preparing them to be active participants in a democratic society. In Schooling the Next Generation, Dan Zuberi documents the challenges facing ten East Vancouver elementary schools in diverse lower-income communities, as well as the ways their principals, teachers, and parents are overcoming these challenges. Going beyond the façade of standardized test scores, Zuberi identifies the kinds of school and community programs that are making a difference and could be replicated in other schools. At the same time, he calls into question the assumptions behind a test score-driven search for “successful schools.” Focusing on early literacy and numeracy skills mastery, Schooling the Next Generation presents a slate of policy recommendations to help students in urban elementary schools achieve their full potential.

Preparing the next generation to inherit the family enterprise is the single most important determinant of a successful generational handoff. It depends significantly on both the senior generation and junior generation taking active roles in the preparation process. Specifically, what can each generation do to help develop the next generation? What does each generation want from the other throughout this journey? These and related questions have been discussed by families from around the world every year since 1997 at the Families in Business program at Harvard Business School. Next Generation Success offers a convenient summary of these rich conversations between senior and junior generation members regarding what each generation can do to help the next generation develop as effective managers, owners and family members. The perspectives of both generations are compared over a 10 year period. Included are Professor John Davis' candid letters to both generations offering wisdom on managing the challenges-and enjoying the rewards-of successfully transitioning the family enterprise to the next generation.

Digital tools and applications are an intricate part of many classroom communities. In the field of education, there is a need to continually monitor the digital landscape and keep up to date on the tools and applications that are available to classroom teachers and K-12 students. Understanding the ever-changing digital landscape and its impact on teaching and learning is critical to using digital tools and applications effectively and in ways that enhance students’ opportunities to learn. Next Generation Digital Tools and Applications for Teaching and Learning Enhancement is a critical scholarly publication that explores digital tools and applications for the PreK-12 classroom and how digital technology can enhance the preparation of teachers. Featuring a wide range of topics including education equity, social media, and teacher education, this book is essential for educators, academicians, curriculum designers, educational software developers, IT specialists, library specialists, researchers, and practitioners.

A Framework for K-12 Science Education and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) describe a new vision for science learning and teaching that is catalyzing improvements in science classrooms across the United States. Achieving this new vision will require time, resources, and ongoing commitment from state, district, and school leaders, as well as classroom teachers. Successful implementation of the NGSS will ensure that all K-12 students have high-quality opportunities to learn science. Guide to Implementing the Next Generation Science Standards provides guidance to district and school leaders and teachers charged with developing a plan and implementing the NGSS as they change their curriculum, instruction, professional learning, policies, and assessment to align with the new standards. For each of these elements, this report lays out recommendations for action around key issues and cautions about potential pitfalls. Coordinating changes in these aspects of the education system is challenging. As a foundation for that process, Guide to Implementing the Next Generation Science Standards identifies some overarching principles that should guide the planning and implementation process. The new standards present a vision of science and engineering learning designed to bring these subjects alive for all students, emphasizing the satisfaction of pursuing compelling questions and the joy of discovery and invention. Achieving this vision in all science classrooms will be a major undertaking and will require changes to many aspects of science education. Guide to Implementing the Next Generation Science Standards will be a valuable resource for states, districts, and schools charged with planning and implementing changes, to help them achieve the goal of teaching science for the 21st century.

As a teacher, what you want most is for your students to learn—to immerse themselves in rich and challenging content and leave your classroom better prepared for school and life. In English language arts and humanities, this includes developing the multifaceted reading, writing, thinking, and communication skills that constitute next generation literacy, including the ability to * Read complex text independently * Develop strong content knowledge through reading, writing, listening, and speaking * Tailor communication in response to different audiences, tasks, purposes, and disciplines * Comprehend text as well as critique it * Value evidence in arguments they read, hear, or develop * Use technology strategically and capably * Understand perspectives and cultures that differ from their own But as a teacher, you also know how much is riding on THOSE TESTS—achievement tests from the national assessment consortia, the SAT and ACT, and independent state assessments. Is it possible to help students succeed on mandated tests without sacrificing your values, your creativity, and their education? Yes, it is possible. This book shows you how. This not a test-prep book. It is not about “drill and kill” practices that narrow learning so that students will pass an exam. Instead, authors Maureen Connolly and Vicky Giouroukakis present a lesson planning approach for the secondary classroom that generates test success as a byproduct of comprehensive literacy learning. After a comparative analysis of how current ELA assessments measure literacy, they model a backward design-based process for using these test items as a tool to create engaging and effective instruction. With 6 sample lessons, 42 instructional techniques, and tips for differentiation, this practical resource will empower you to help the students you love become capable, literate individuals who are also well-prepared to ace high-stakes tests.

Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field. A Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: crosscutting concepts that unify the study of science through their common application across science and engineering; scientific and engineering practices; and disciplinary core ideas in the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences and for engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice. A Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that can inform state-level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, teachers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district science administrators, and educators who teach science in informal environments.