This videotape recording shows students the many ways scientists look at the stars and how they can use what they see to answer questions such as What are stars made of?, How far away are they?, and How old are the stars? Students learn about the life span of stars and the various stages they pass through from protostar to main sequence star to…

Texas educates the second-most students in the country with a home language other than English. Students are identified as English learners (EL) based on a state language assessment that evaluates a student's primary language other than English to determine if the student qualifies for additional support to develop the English language skills…

Discusses inquiry-oriented science instruction and experientially based programs that support newer instructional strategies. Also provides examples of six process-oriented programs (Cat Lab, Geology Search, Rocky's Boots, Tell Star, Volcanoes, What's in Your Lunch?). Level, hardware needed, publisher, and description are provided for each…

This issue of the Bank Street "Occasional Paper Series" is authored by an allgirl/womxn cast who brilliantly offers insights into possible futures, considering opportunities to rethink education and abolish the patterns of harm too-often enacted in and by schooling as it currently exists. This special issue begins with four articles…

We know that students cannot learn if they are not in school, and that students with economic challenges miss school more frequently than other students. What obstacles create this attendance gap, and how can school districts provide the supports to improve attendance for these students? The authors of this article, who work with the Texas…

Responsive professional development is about watching learners closely, interpreting observations to make nuanced decisions, and taking action to support learners at particular moments. What might they be ready to do next? What instructional moves will best provide "just enough" support? In other words, what is the next wise action?…

Technological progress has consistently driven remarkable advances in the U.S. economy, yet K-12 education sees little technological change compared to other sectors, even as U.S. K-12 students increasingly lag behind students in other nations. This proposal considers how we can take a signature American strength--innovation--and apply it to K-12…

For game three of the 2013 NBA finals, 11-year-old Sebastian de la Cruz, a musical prodigy born and raised in the great state of Texas, opened the June game with a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner--a la mariachi. As the applause faded for the El Charro de Oro's [The Golden Mariachi's] performance, an outburst of racialized twittering hit the…

GreatSchools.org neatly ranks more than 136,000 traditional public, private, and charter schools nationwide on a scale of 1 to 10, based on state test scores. But what often draws readers are the gossipy insider comments posted by parents, students, and teachers, and the star ratings those commenters contribute. The growth of online school rating…

"Educator day" is one of the most important and nerve-racking for the people taking part in Imagine K12, the biggest incubator program in the United States specifically for education technology startups. Many entrepreneurs in K-12 believe technology can solve education's problems, but don't work to understand those problems before prescribing…

Paul Bambrick-Santoyo (Managing Director of Uncommon Schools) shows leaders how they can raise their schools to greatness by following a core set of principles. These seven principles, or "levers," allow for consistent, transformational, and replicable growth. With intentional focus on these areas, leaders will leverage much more…

Teacher effectiveness has the largest impact of school effects on student learning, and research indicates that top-quintile teachers produce learning gains three times (3X) that of bottom-quintile teachers. However, the supply of these "3X" teachers is limited. Meanwhile, 3X teachers affect only a small portion of children each year, no more than…

In attempting to define what constitutes a good children's book, the author looks at attitudes of those who have set standards in the past, such as Caroline Hewins, a Hartford, Connecticut, librarian of the late nineteenth century. Points that must be considered in evaluating children's books are made. (PP)

Describes what the author means by "making the student the star" by relating several unforgettable moments from his tutoring experience. Describes how these moments helped him understand what separates meaningful, effective learning environments from ineffective, frivolous ones. Concludes by describing some interactive design techniques he has…

This report is an overview of recent research on the effects of class size on the academic performance and behavior of students at risk. In several ways it is not a conventional literature review. It emphasizes one recent large-scale investigation, Tennessee's Project STAR (Student-Teacher-Achievement-Ratio), begun in 1985. It is more evaluative…