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Adopting an International Innovation for Teacher Professional Development: State and District Approaches to Lesson Study in Florida

Author/Presenter

Motoko Akiba

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2016
Short Description

The state of Florida has taken an unprecedented approach to teacher professional development in its Race to the Top
(RTTT) Program application by proposing to promote an international innovation that originates in Japan, “lesson study,” as
a statewide teacher professional development model. Since winning the US$700 million RTTT funding in 2010, the Florida
Department of Education and districts have been promoting lesson study as one of the statewide vehicles to implement
the state standards aligned with the Common Core State Standards. This study analyzed the state and districts’ approaches
to promote lesson study using policy documents, statewide district survey data, and interviews. We found that a majority
of districts mandated lesson study implementation without securing or spending sufficient funding. In addition, the existing organizational structures and routines for professional development pose a major challenge in capacity building of district leaders and teachers to engage in lesson study.

Mathematics Curriculum, Teacher Professionalism, and Supporting Policies in Korea and the United States: Summary of a Workshop

On July 15-17, 2012 the United States National Commission on Mathematics Instruction and Seoul National University held a joint Korea-U.S. workshop on Mathematics Teaching and Curriculum. The workshop was organized to address questions and issues related to math teaching and curriculum that were generated by each country, including the following: What are the main concerns in the development of the curriculum? What issues have been discussed or debated among curriculum developers, teachers, teacher educators, and scholars regarding the curriculum?

Author/Presenter

Ana Ferreras

Cathy Kessel

Myong-Hi Kim

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2015
Short Description

On July 15-17, 2012 the United States National Commission on Mathematics Instruction and Seoul National University held a joint Korea-U.S. workshop on Mathematics Teaching and Curriculum. The workshop was organized to address questions and issues related to math teaching and curriculum that were generated by each country. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions at the workshop.

Analysis of the National Science Foundation’s Discovery Research K–12 ELL Projects

Background/Context: Educational and societal phenomena can converge to draw attention to a new focus, such as ELs and STEM, and then trigger new research interests. A funding program can play a critical role in shaping these new research interests by prioritizing specific research topics and designs or by requiring particular specializations of researchers.

Author/Presenter

Linda Caswell

Alina Martinez

Okhee Lee

Barbara Brauner Berns

Hilary Rhodes

Year
2016
Short Description

Educational and societal phenomena can converge to draw attention to a new focus, such as ELs and STEM, and then trigger new research interests. A funding program can play a critical role in shaping these new research interests by prioritizing specific research topics and designs or by requiring particular specializations of researchers. The study examined whether funding provided through the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Discovery Research K-12 (DR K-12) program has made a unique contribution to the research in the fields of science and mathematics education for ELs.

STEM Smart Brief: Teaching and Learning Under the Next Generation Science Standards

This brief gives an overview—and by no means a comprehensive one—of several NGSS-aligned projects in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development.

Author/Presenter

CADRE

Year
2016
Short Description

This brief gives an overview—and by no means a comprehensive one—of several NGSS-aligned projects in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development.

Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 16-1

The Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) is comprised of documents relating to the Foundation's proposal and award process. It has been designed for use by both our customer community and NSF staff and consists of two parts:

Author/Presenter

National Science Foundation

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2015
Short Description

The Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 16-1 is comprised of documents relating to the Foundation's proposal and award process. It consists of two parts: the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG)and the NSF Award and Administration Guide(AAG). This document is effective as of January 25, 2016.

Resource(s)

Active DR K-12 Projects Related to Broadening Participation

Author/Presenter

CADRE

Year
2016
Short Description

Whether engaging students in place-based learning, designing/implementing more inclusive curricula or pedagogy, or helping teachers develop their capacity to teach increasingly diverse groups of learners, many DR K-12 projects seek to broaden participation within STEM fields in unique ways.

Scaffolding Argumentation about Water Quality: A Mixed-method Study in a Rural Middle School

A common way for students to develop scientific argumentation abilities is through argumentation about socioscientific issues, defined as scientific problems with social, ethical, and moral aspects. Computer-based scaffolding can support students in this process. In this mixed method study, we examined the use and impact of computer based scaffolding to support middle school students’ creation of evidence-based arguments during a 3-week problem-based learning unit focused on the water quality of a local river.

Author/Presenter

Brian R. Belland

Jiangyue Gu

Sara Armbrust

Brant Cook

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2015
Short Description

In this mixed method study, we examined the use and impact of computer based scaffolding to support middle school students’ creation of evidence-based arguments during a 3-week problem-based learning unit focused on the water quality of a local river. We found a significant and substantial impact on the argument evaluation ability of lower-achieving students, and preliminary evidence of an impact on argument evaluation ability among low-SES students. We also found that students used the various available support—computer-based scaffolding, teacher scaffolding, and groupmate support—in different ways to counter differing challenges. We then formulated changes to the scaffolds on the basis of research results.

Examining the Enactment of Web GIS on Students' Geospatial Thinking and Reasoning and Tectonics Understandings

Geospatially enabled learning technologies may enhance Earth science learning by placing emphasis on geographic space, visualization, scale, representation, and geospatial thinking and reasoning (GTR) skills. This study examined if and how a series of Web geographic information system investigations that the researchers developed improved urban middle-school learners’ GTR skills and their understanding of tectonics concepts.

Author/Presenter

Alec M. Bodzin

Qiong Fu

Denise Bressler

Farah L. Vallera

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2015

Exploring Opportunities for STEM Teacher Leadership: Summary of a Convocation

Many national initiatives in K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education have emphasized the connections between teachers and improved student learning. Much of the discussion surrounding these initiatives has focused on the preparation, professional development, evaluation, compensation, and career advancement of teachers. Yet one critical set of voices has been largely missing from this discussion - that of classroom teachers themselves.

Author/Presenter

National Research Council

Year
2014