academic and careers

'English-Only' Laws in Education on Verge of Extinction

Arizona is expected to repeal its longstanding ban on bilingual education, following similar moves in California and Massachusetts in recent years.




academic and careers

Why Have Education Politics Gone National?

The recent wave of teacher strikes reflects a broader phenomenon, blurring the boundaries between national and local school politics, write three education professors.




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Principal Running for Congress to Challenge Incumbent in Democratic Primary

While the number of principals running for office has been dwarfed by teachers, school leaders are hoping to change policies in statehouses and in Washington that they say impact their students and families.




academic and careers

Biden's Segregation Comments Resurrect His Anti-Busing History

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s recent remarks on his willingness to work with segregationists resurrected his long-ago efforts to oppose school busing. Will it hurt his campaign?




academic and careers

How Warren's Year as a Young Teacher Could Factor in the 2020 Campaign

The swirl of attention around Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s story of being forced out of a teaching job when she was pregnant intensifies the spotlight on her background and K-12 credentials.




academic and careers

Education Issues Resonate in Governors' Races

This year's November elections—a preview to next year's nationwide showdowns—cast their own spotlight on education, a dynamic that played out most prominently in the Kentucky governor's race, where teachers organized to unseat a combative incumbent who'd sparred with them.




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Deep Dive: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren on Charter Schools

Dig into what two leading Democratic presidential candidates have to say in their platforms about charter schools with Education Week's detailed analysis.




academic and careers

How Teacher Strikes Could Factor in 2020 Elections

The recent Chicago Teachers Union strike drew attention from Democratic presidential candidates in Illinois, a state won by Democrats in the last White House contest. For 2020, it's possible we could see a twist on that story: big-city teacher strikes in states with less predictable outcomes.




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How to Vet the Presidential Candidates on Education

There are five key values to consider when separating campaign rhetoric from how a candidate would actually govern, writes Robert Feirsen.




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Endorsements Still Touchy for Teachers' Unions in Presidential Election Season

Both the AFT and the NEA vowed to engage their members more deeply this year in deciding who to back for the White House. How well have they done?




academic and careers

March 24 Open House




academic and careers

Accounting student lands position with PwC

John Boland accepted an offer as an audit associate at the highly competitive firm after just a few months in the Master of Professional Accounting program offered by Penn State Great Valley.




academic and careers

Status update on Abington, Brandywine and Great Valley campuses

With Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s March 25 “Stay at Home” order, Penn State is updating the status of its Abington, Brandywine and Great Valley campuses.




academic and careers

Lion Cage pitch competition winner aiming to reduce rotator cuff re-tear rates

Saif Khalil, founder and CEO of Aevumed, won first place at the REV-UP Center for Entrepreneurship's Lion Cage pitch competition. Aevumed develops medical devices designed to help reduce rotator cuff re-tear rates.




academic and careers

Two Great Valley professors awarded seed grants for COVID-19 research

Ashkan Negahban, assistant professor of engineering management, and Satish Srinivasan, assistant professor of information science, will lead projects that help address the COVID-19 crisis, thanks to seed grants from the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.




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Researchers Probe Connections Between Math, Reading Difficulties

Students with dyslexia often struggle with math fluency as well, and scholars at a recent conference put a spotlight on some of the possible connections.




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Response: 'Challenges Are a Natural Part of Mathematics'

Makeda Brome, Pia Hansen, Linda Gojak, Marian Small, Kenneth Baum and David Krulwich share their thoughts on the biggest challenges facing math teachers.




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From the NFL to MIT: How John Urschel Is Making Math More Interesting

Teachers must reject the idea that math is like eating vegetables, says former offensive lineman and current mathematician John Urschel.




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How the Russians Hacked Our Math Curriculum

An overemphasis on calculus in high school may be harming students, writes Dickinson College professor Jeffrey Forrester.




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Cognitively-Guided Instruction: Supporting Students to Create Their Own Mathematical Understanding

A student-centered approach to teaching mathematics enables students to develop conceptual understanding and to grow as confident mathematicians.




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How to Help Students Heal From 'Math Trauma'

Timed tests and "drill-and-kill" approaches to math education can leave students with long-lasting anxiety, writes researcher Jennifer Ruef. There's a better way to teach the subject.




academic and careers

Mathematics Education

Better mathematics screening procedures may help schools choose students for 8th grade Algebra 1 classes who will be able to successfully complete the course, according to a study by the Regional Educational Laboratory West.




academic and careers

Mathematics




academic and careers

Mathematics

Though boys typically perform better in mathematics, a new study shows that girls' superior verbal skills tend to make them better at arithmetic.




academic and careers

This Tool Can Help Identify 'STEM Deserts.' But It Needs Your Feedback

The National Math and Science Initiative's new tool aims to help the field look for patterns in STEM data, so educators and policy folks can fill in holes.




academic and careers

Students Build Tiny Houses to Bring Geometry Lessons to Life

At Battle High School in Columbia, Mo., students in geometry class have swapped their compasses and protractors for hammers and hard hats. And they're doing it for a good cause.




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Mathematics Education

High school math classes should be broadened to focus on goals beyond college and careers, including teaching the math students will need to be literate participants in civic life.




academic and careers

Mathematics

Helping students to categorize different types of word problems can help elementary-age students tackle a common challenge in math class, according to a new analysis of 21 studies in the journal Review of Educational Research.




academic and careers

Math: The Most Powerful Civics Lesson You've Never Had

A handful of educators across the country are quietly making the case that math may be the missing piece in civics education.




academic and careers

Math Teachers Take a Page From English/Language Arts: Comic Books!

Comic books and graphic novels, popular in many language arts and social studies classes, are just now tiptoeing into the world of K-12 math.




academic and careers

Teachers' Content Chops Are Vital to Teach Early Algebra

An educator's experience teaching math is important, but performance on math-content-certification tests is the best predictor of how well a teacher's students will perform in early algebra, finds a new study by the Regional Educational Laboratory Central at Marzano Research.




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Girls' and Boys' Early Brains Respond Similarly to Math Tasks

Boys and girls start out on the same biological footing when it comes to math, finds the first neuroimaging study of math gender differences in children, published this month in the journal Science of Learning.




academic and careers

The Missing Ingredient in Our Democracy: Math

Political numeracy is as important as it is overlooked, argues Wellesley mathematics professor Ismar Volić.




academic and careers

Getting Students to Talk About Math Helps Solve Problems

Math discourse is a technique that works as well virtually as it does on paper or in face-to-face classrooms, according to experts.




academic and careers

How Schools Are Putting Equity First in Math Instruction

Educators are changing instructional priorities, altering lessons, and working on ways to help teachers grow professionally, all in an effort to raise math achievement.




academic and careers

The Boston Public Schools Innovation Incubator

Boston Public Schools is turning innovative ideas into action through a new professional development network.




academic and careers

The Innovation Inequity Paradox

Technology can fuel innovation, foster creativity, and create engaging learning environments. Ineffective edtech and instruction, however, can punish our poorest and most vulnerable students--especially students of color and those living in rural areas. This post explores strategies for avoiding thi




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What Game Are You Playing: Improvement or Innovation?

Improvement and innovation have different rules, expectations, and risks. The key is knowing which game you're playing, but getting the balance right between fostering innovation and fighting for equity may be the challenge of our time.




academic and careers

Protect Your Investment in Innovation: Engage in Change Management

Every time an education institution loses a funding source, rethinks program delivery, revises positions, incorporates technology, or changes curriculum, it is making an investment in change. These are sizable, important investments, so why not protect them?




academic and careers

The Wham-O Pudding Essay Contest Theory of Educational Innovation

I regularly receive invitations to participate in essay contests devoted to rethinking American education. These competitions, I fear, are the worst way to spur real change.




academic and careers

Hacking the Boston Public Schools' Innovation Incubator

The planning team of the district's Innovation Incubator applied the same hacking mindset taught in the professional-development program to improve the program itself.




academic and careers

Comfort Is a Killer of Innovation

As a profession, we need to work to innovate, see education as it needs to be now, and stop comparing it to what it was when we were doing it. The stakes are too high.




academic and careers

Last Words on Innovation

After more than six years and 800 blog posts, I am wrapping up my contributions to Education Week. Before I go, a look at innovation vs. improvement and how we can all support creating a future that works for everyone.




academic and careers

Education Has an Innovation Problem

Are education leaders spending too much time chasing the latest tech trends rather than trying to maintain what they have? Benjamin Herold explores the innovation trap.




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What Teach to One Has to Teach About Education's Innovation Problem

Even the most promising education innovations often struggle to gain traction. In a new paper, New Classrooms CEO Joel Rose identifies three barriers to innovation and what to do about them.




academic and careers

Straight Up Conversation: First American to Win WISE Prize for Education Innovation

Rick talks with Larry Rosenstock, education icon, the founder and CEO of High Tech High, and recent recipient of the WISE Prize for Education, about what he's learned after a half century in education.




academic and careers

Stop Ignoring the Innovation That Happens in Traditional Public Schools

Three national educational funders explain a new program that is highlighting innovative practices in schools around the country.




academic and careers

RHSU Classic: The Wham-O Pudding Essay Contest Theory of Educational Innovation

If I've learned anything after hanging out at a think tank for close to two decades, it's that dreaming up education innovations is easy. Number 12 in our countdown is my take on the goofy contests that talkers seem to be so fond of.




academic and careers

Early career professorship established in mechanical engineering

In honor of a recently retired professor, a generous alumnus donation has enabled the creation of the Martin W. Trethewey Early Career Professorship.




academic and careers

Zooming through a thesis defense

A master’s degree thesis defense is difficult enough under normal circumstances, but due to COVID-19, integrated masters/bachelors student Sabrina Carrozzi defended her thesis on Zoom.