In 2014, over 30 classroom teachers and administrators from one district joined higher education faculty and researchers from an educational non-profit organization to begin a three-year collaborative project. They wanted to find ways to leverage the use of one-to-one mobile technology (tablets) in kindergarten-2nd-grade mathematics classrooms to…

This past school year, the author set out to develop lessons that incorporated the design thinking process into her literature exploration curriculum in the school library. Design thinking is a term that the author has heard many times over the past few years in the context of education. Design thinking has been incorporated into the school…

The New York State Department of Education (NYSED) has been supporting selected districts in the planning and implementation of PreK-3rd Grade systems. NYSED is supporting the use of the Framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating PreK-3rd Grade Approaches developed by Kauerz and Coffman (2013). Recognizing the ultimate goal of PreK-3rd…

Packed with ideas for both new and veteran teachers of K-8 students, this book touches on a variety of topics that are especially relevant to the first week of school. The author provides critical information that includes arranging and navigating the classroom, setting basic expectations, communicating routines, and understanding your students'…

As a final year Bachelor of Education student at the University of Tasmania, this author recently participated in an innovative program for improving mathematics learning outcomes for primary school students and the mathematics teaching development of pre-service teachers. As a participant in the program, she was required to plan, teach, and…

This article relates the story of a first grade teacher and a child who was the only deaf student in the entire school. Because he had no one who could communicate with him--not teachers, not students, no one, this situation tugged at the hearts of a committed team of professionals. A teacher of the deaf, a first grade general education teacher, a…

Helping children experience early learning success and acquire essential skills by third grade is a crucial part of any school reform effort. Yet, many teachers and children are overwhelmed by the ineffective curriculum-driven education system and the "rush to cover" climate in schools. "Fanatically Formative" shows how you can rediscover the joy…

This publication focuses on special education inclusion. Inclusion is a term that expresses commitment to providing specially designed instruction and support for students with special needs in the context of a general education classroom. All students in the school are full members of the community, participating equitably in the opportunities…

A national literacy professional development project reduced the achievement gap for students experiencing difficulties in reading or writing in 91 of New Zealand's schools. It was based on two premises: coherence within and between the multiple levels of the schooling and educational administration systems, and a focus on evidence-informed…

In Hilliard, OH, administrators, teachers, kids and parents make a school a "community." Visualize, if you will, a symphony orchestra. The violins play as one, led by the concertmaster in the first violin section, who is first among equals. As the music builds, the cellos add their glorious tone while the woodwinds may introduce the theme.…

This report is the result of massive public input, five Governor's Summits, and several Board task forces. The research-based plan reflects a confluence of state legislation aimed at improving student achievement, and the Utah Performance Assessment System for Schools (U-PASS), the state's accountability measuring system. The competency-based…

Traditionally, early childhood educators address the gaping hole in their planning books under the "social studies" header by teaching a smattering of thematic units. Most early childhood educators now know the importance of planning experiences for social studies, or any other content area, that are integrated, meaningful, and of high interest.…

There are now in the United States nine thousand kindergartens, in which more than four hundred thousand children, mostly between the ages of 4 and 6, are taught according to the methods of the Froebel kindergarten, more or less modified to correspond to accepted principles of education and to American life and American forms of school…