In the age of fake news, teachers in every subject area should redouble their efforts to help students distinguish between credible and deceptive sources of information. The author calls attention to a few key resources, including the CRAAP guidelines developed at California State University, Chico, and promoted by the American Library Association.

If we want to attract the best and brightest and those with the biggest hearts into the profession that educates all others, we must show today's college graduates that they have something to look forward to if they choose to be a teacher. We want them to know that teaching is intrinsically gratifying but that there also are tangible rewards and…

Increasingly, policy makers, educators, and school systems are embracing LGBTQ+ individuals and issues in the classroom. This fall, California's K-12 classrooms began using LGBTQ-inclusive textbooks, and, for the last three years, a San Francisco high school has offered an LGBTQ Studies course, likely the first in the country and a pilot for…

At High Tech Elementary Chula Vista in California, teachers are using improvement science, a method for solving a problem of practice with disciplined inquiry, to help students make their thinking visible. The teachers wanted to increase students' use of how and why language to articulate their thinking; to that end, they have been using short…

This article addresses the work of Jerome Bruner, a famed psychologist of education, who is considered to be very responsible for how education and learning are conceived today. In 1959, Bruner brought together scholars from many academic disciplines to focus on redesigning curriculum and thus redesigning the foundation of American schools. Bruner…

One district, South Bay Union School District, devises and executes a comprehensive strategy that includes training for district staff, teachers and coaches, including using PLCs and professional development in the implementation of Common Core English language arts standards.

The Santa Cruz/Silicon Valley New Teacher Project--under the aegis of the New Teacher Center--devised a program to train teacher mentors to help new teachers incorporate the Common Core standards into their teaching. The three-year program yielded five critical lessons: Mentors need ongoing support to develop their readiness and willingness to…

In contrast to much of this year's frightening economic news, many states are investing in initiatives to strengthen local economies. This article describes how several states are improving education and training so they match business needs and the labor pool.

Winners and finalists for the annual Broad Prize for Urban Education have consistently outperformed peer districts serving similar student populations. What makes the difference? These districts consistently demonstrate a learning loop that influences the district's ability to learn, which ultimately influences student opportunities to learn.…

In this article, the author argues that teaching "technological literacy" at the expense of hands-on skills training is wrong for the students, wrong for the economy, and wrong for the nation. Students need not only the opportunity to explore a variety of trade skills but also the opportunity to learn a skill well. It is in the teaching…

Using teachers' professional development as its central strategy, California's Middle Grades Mathematical Renaissance project aims to transform its mathematics program so that all students become empowered mathematically. This article discusses key questions concerning the program's resources, strategies, leadership roles, and monitoring…

Describes two recent trends in professional development: (1) external teacher professional networks aimed at improving teacher content-area instruction, collaboration, and leadership skills and (2) internal school-reform networks focused on developing change structures and teacher forums. Includes two change-oriented elementary schools in…

A longitudinal investigation of the ways policymakers and practitioners in California, Michigan, and South Carolina view curricular reform in elementary mathematics and literacy instruction shows the complexities involved in "updating" teachers' professional development. Curriculum standards and frameworks are no substitute for the…

In this article, the authors tell the story of how the Garden Grove Unified School District in California is taking on the challenge of preparing all students for college and skilled careers. Though every student may not plan to attend college, the district has decided that the opportunities made available to students should not depend solely on…

For nearly 2 years, opponents of California's curriculum reform movement have been protesting a series of K-8 social studies textbooks officially adopted by the state board of education and widely endorsed by teachers, administrators, school boards, and community groups. This article explains that the Houghton Mifflin series is neither racist nor…