Final Version of A Framework for K-12 Science Education is Published
“A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas,” dismantles the silos in which the STEM disciplines are currently taught. Because students are “born investigators,” the report emphasizes cross-cutting concepts and interdisciplinary inquiry in learning experiences that “engage them with fundamental questions.” The Framework’s principles are at the heart of the STEM Learning Studios that NCTAF has been developing for three years. Studio teams of students, teachers and experts...
read moreLearning Studios Teacher-Student Team Presents at 100kin10 Summit
It is time for teacher voices to ring loud and clear in the national policy conversation. The 100kin10 Summit on February 21st, opened with a NCTAF Learning Studio Team Leader, teacher Donald Belle, and one of his outstanding students from Gwynn Park High School in Prince George’s County, MD. They spoke about the impact of STEM Learning Studios on their learning and teaching experiences and also had the opportunity to introduce introduced Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education. Michele Cahill of the Carnegie Corporation of New York...
read moreLearning Studios Update from Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Spirits were high last week when Learning Studios teachers from Anne Arundel County, Maryland met to continue their work with their cross-curricular teams. NCTAF works with over twenty teachers at three middle schools in Anne Arundel County – Central, Old Mill South, and Lindale. NCTAF launched at these sites at the beginning of the 2012-2012 school year with the support of content experts from the U.S. Naval Academy and recently added the support of the Boeing Corporation. The design session began with updates from each team as they...
read moreLearn How to Use Collaboration to Improve STEM Teaching and Learning, From Research by NCTAF and WestEd
Join this interactive webinar to learn about new research supporting the value of teamwork to improve STEM teaching and learning. With support from NSF and in collaboration with WestEd, NCTAF conducted a two-year analysis of research studies about STEM teachers working together to strengthen their teaching and improve student achievement. The summary report, STEM Teachers in Professional Learning Communities, provides examples of projects using collaboration to improve STEM teaching and learning – such as the NCTAF STEM Learning...
read moreNew Hampshire’s Next Generation Learning Studios are Launched!
On Monday, February 13th, fourteen schools from across New Hampshire continued to work on New Hampshire’s Next Generation (NxGL) Learning Studios, launched in January in partnership with NCTAF. Teams ranging from 2 to 10 teachers worked diligently throughout the day to fine-tune essential questions that students are investigating during the spring semester and to decide on action steps to be taken before the next meeting, scheduled for April 11th. Some of the challenges the teams encountered over the past month and throughout the day...
read moreNew Videos! Linda Darling-Hammond Discusses NCTAF and Key Issues in Education Reform
Last week, Linda Darling-Hammond, co-founder of NCTAF and current board member, came to our offices to discuss the organizations history, its future, and some key issues in education reform. Darling-Hammond, the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Teaching and Teacher Education at Stanford University, talked about why NCTAF was founded and the policy environment in which NCTAF’s seminal report, What Matters Most, was written and about the continuing relevancy of its findings. Darling-Hammond also outlined her ideas for how to increase the...
read moreGreat Teachers for Our City Schools Summit April 11-13
The fifth annual Great Teachers for Our City Schools National Summit, Building Community Support for Urban Student Success, will be held in Denver April 11-13. The goal of the Summit, which is put on by the Center for Urban Education, Metropolitan State College of Denver, is to build a national network where urban educators can share research findings, instructional practices, program strategies, policy initiatives and other resources aimed at developing and supporting the best and most effective teachers for students in high-need urban...
read moreReporting Live From NASA Goddard!
This room in the depths of the NASA Goddard Visitor Center has no windows; but there’s no lack of natural light here. The energy of 30 middle and high school teachers, along with that of scientists, engineers and district personnel is palpable. The teachers work in their interdisciplinary teams as NASA scientists listen in and answer questions; talk of solar panels, clean energy, and the ozone permeates the room. An integral part of NCTAF’s Learning Studios process, this Design Session provides the much-needed work time for these Prince...
read moreNCTAF A KEY PARTNER IN Digital Learning Day!
Inaugural National Day around Digital Learning to Focus on Personalized Learning and Effective Teaching Washington, D.C. – January 26, 2012 The National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future (NCTAF), in partnership with the Alliance for Excellent Education, is calling on teachers, schools, principals, community leaders, parents, and students to participate in the inaugural national Digital Learning Day on February 1, 2012. Digital Learning Day will celebrate innovative teaching practices that make learning more personalized and...
read moreNCTAF Launches New Website
NCTAF Launches New Website WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 26, 2012 The National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future (NCTAF) launched a new website today, to highlight the organization’s high-quality research, projects and partnerships. In addition, NCTAF’s blogis updated frequently with news, commentaries, and analysis of current trends in education. “For more than fifteen years, NCTAF has been a leader in the movement to ensure that all students have access to high quality teaching in schools organized for success. Our new...
read moreAn algebra teacher, a biology teacher…
An algebra teacher, a biology teacher, a media specialist, an English teacher, a social studies teacher, and an engineer are sitting around a table… Sound like the beginning of a bad joke? Actually, it is a recipe for ensuring that every student is provided quality teaching in a school organized for success. Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Pin it share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
read moreNCTAF Featured on Connected Educators Innovations Blog!
What happens when teachers use mobile devices to connect to peers and mentors? This question is the driving force behind the Teachers Learning in Networked Communities 2.0 project that the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) launched this school year as an extension of the Teachers Learning in Networked Communities (TLINC) project. Read NCTAF’s full post on the Connected Educators Blog Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Pin it share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet
read moreTime for a Paradigm Shift
Mark Phillips’ recent post “Education Reform Paralysis – and How to Fix It” asks some provocative questions about how we can get out of the current education reform scenario that might be summarized as “If you keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll keep getting what we’re getting.” Tinkering with the schools we have won’t get us the schools we need. One problem (and Phillips admits this freely) is that most educators are too busy with immediate problems to figure out what a new vision for schools would look like. Phillips calls...
read moreIt is Time to Stop Teacher Bashing
The argument that teachers are drawn from the bottom third of the workforce is just the latest version of the old saw: “Those who can, do – those who can’t, teach.” The irony is that those who make this argument understand the importance of quality teaching; but they fail to recognize that their teacher bashing undermines the profession. In his recent blog post, “Where do Teachers Come From,” Merrow demonstrates that teacher bashers base their “bottom third” argument on questionable conventional wisdom, and he...
read moreResponse to “How to Rescue Education Reform”
In “How to Rescue Education Reform” (NY Times 12/5/11), Rick Hess and Linda Darling-Hammond call on all sides to focus on what the federal government can do well, and to leave the rest to educational leaders at the state and local level. What the federal government does well is to promote a level playing field and equitable learning opportunities for all students. What it does poorly is to nurture innovation. The problems of compliance-driven industrial schools can’t be fixed with more factory-era thinking. Time and again, federal...
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