Curriculum
The Shifting Textbook Adoption Market
A recent White House report states that the textbook market is valued at about $7-8 billion, with California, Florida, and Texas being the key adoption states. However, the textbook adoption market is changing. The Old-School Textbook Adoption Buying Pattern In the past, publishers focused most of their textbook development efforts on two states: Texas and…
Read MoreRead MoreThe Texas Reading and ELA Adoptions
All eyes are on Texas as it adopts reading programs, first for grades K–8 and then the following year for grades 9–12. Shifting Markets The textbook adoption market has changed over the last five years. While in past adoptions the major purchase was reading and language arts textbooks, the definition of what is a core…
Read MoreRead MoreCurriculum Round Up
Curriculum is changing. Schools are moving towards competency-based assessment and personalized learning is becoming popular in many districts. Many states are moving away from the Common Core. All of these issues affect what is being taught in the classroom. How to keep up with the trends and movements? Here are some links to help keep…
Read MoreRead MoreBuilding Curricula for Makerspaces
What’s the difference between makerspaces and other trends in EdTech? Well, in fact, makerspaces don’t just represent one trend but rather all of them. That’s because these hybrid computer labs/art studios/machine shops can encompass any educational device or technology a maker might want to put into them. The sky’s the limit, and more schools and…
Read MoreRead More10 Benefits of Gap Analysis
The educational market is in flux. States are pushing back from both Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and assessments linked to the CCSS. States and publishers are waiting to see: Will funding be directed to charter schools? How many more states will drop out of the CCSS? Will states want summative, formative, or competency-based tests?…
Read MoreRead MoreInsights From NCSS 2016
Mark Twain said, “What gets us in trouble is not what we don’t know. It’s what we know that just ain’t so.” Today’s students are bombarded with information and images and there is a need for lessons that foster critical thinking and civic responsibility. The time for strong, innovative social studies lessons has arrived. The…
Read MoreRead MoreTeaching a Holistic Approach to Writing
Here’s a scenario many educators are all too familiar with: a new writing assignment is met with blank stares, or worse, outright revolt. We know that writing is key to literacy and is linked to great student success, so what’s the problem with this scenario? Instead of approaching writing as a chore, we should introduce…
Read MoreRead MoreDual Language Programs and the Bilingual Advantage
As a college student, I spent a semester studying abroad in Italy. My embarrassment stumbling over new words will be familiar to many language learners. Whether asking for directions, ordering food, or attending class, I struggled to keep up as I frantically translated my thoughts from English to Italian. One night, after one of those…
Read MoreRead MoreHow to Manage Classroom Instruction
Not having heard something is not as good as having heard it; having heard it is not as good as having seen it; having seen it is not as good as knowing it; knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice.—Xun Kuang, c. 312-230 BCE Choosing Instruction Modes Facing a classroom of…
Read MoreRead MoreExpert Translation for Education Markets
Spanish: The Greatest Impact on Education Outcomes To achieve a brighter future in the United States, our students will need to be accomplished in math and science, adept in technology, and fluent and literate in English. There are, however, hurdles to jump. One is language. In 2014, the largest numbers of new immigrants came from…
Read MoreRead More