Curriculum: Page 4

Why teachers don’t use the high-quality instructional materials they’re given

Educators don’t believe their students can manage the rigor of grade-level instruction, and they're not wrong. Here is what can be done about it.

High Quality Materials Teachers

Walking through Paris can provide inspiration for educators

Learning should be less rigid and more like exploring a beautiful city.

Shutterstock 2427038093

The importance of interdisciplinary teaching: Lessons from a study of killer whales

When we integrate subjects and break down barriers, we enable students to solve problems as they exist in the real world—complex and without boundaries.

Shutterstock 2446230393

New study explores common barrier to older K-12 students’ reading proficiency

An analysis by researchers from AERDF and ETS found that the “decoding threshold” is the point that blocks many students in grades 3-8 from advancing to grade-level reading comprehension.

Screenshot 1 11 2024 134716

Literacy/Reading/Language Arts

4 St. Louis schools getting $1M in grants to rethink how they teach kids to read

Emerson Challenge awarding 20K this year, 250K in 2025-26 to help educators collaborate on best ways to implement science of reading, boost literacy.

Grace Gobbi, associate teacher at Atlas Public School in St. Louis, reads to first graders during a morning meeting this fall. (Kristine Terrance)

Assessment in STEM: Making learning visible

A more thoughtful, student-centered approach can transform assessment into an ongoing conversation, giving students a chance to grow, iterate, and refine their learning.

Shutterstock 2486024025

Literacy/Reading/Language Arts

How Tennessee’s largest school system is stepping up its literacy work

Chalkbeat Tennessee

Superintendent Marie Feagins is embracing a “back to basics” approach to reading instruction as Memphis-Shelby County Schools seeks to improve student test results that rank near the bottom statewide and nationally.

A student engages in a reading exercise at a 2023 summer learning camp at John P. Freeman Optional School in Memphis, Tennessee. State test results for English language arts remain stubbornly low for Memphis-Shelby County Schools. (Andrea Morales / For Chalkbeat)

Hawaii school uses mobile classroom to make STEM learning more accessible

Kalani High School teacher and students helped build the portable Innovation Station.

Students talk to the media inside the Innovation Station, a mobile STEM lab.

Becoming a STEM teacher: Why every classroom needs a STEM mindset

Empowering both teachers and students to see the world as a place of endless inquiry and innovation.

Shutterstock 1127599331

Bringing STEM learning to underrepresented students

Urban districts take steps to make connections to career fields.

Shutterstock 2036186204

Policy and Legislation

Nebraska Education Department awarded $55 million federal grant to improve student literacy

Award recipients must use funds to support evidence-based practices, strategies and interventions to address reading gaps.

Brian Maher, Nebraska’s education commissioner, reads a book to a group of mostly 3-year-olds Monday as he and others launched a statewide project to boost reading skills of pre-kindergarteners. The kickoff was at an Educare of Omaha at Indian Hill, 3110 W St., on Oct. 30, 2023. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)

Building a collaborative STEM teaching community for your district

Peer-driven PD, mentorship, and collaborative lesson planning can enhance teaching and learning while better supporting educators.

Jason McKenna is V.P. of Global Educational Strategy for VEX Robotics and author of “What STEM Can Do for Your Classroom: Improving Student Problem Solving, Collaboration, and Engagement, Grade K-6.'

Page 4 of 5