Educational Marketplace
At-Home Distance Learning: Preserving Core Tenets and Best Practices
At-home distance schooling and a rethinking of how learning takes place are key outcomes of the global pandemic. What is learning? How does it happen? From a Piagetian perspective, learning is the assimilation and accomodation of new information into an existing framework. From a neurobiological perspective, learning shows up as changes in the structure…
Read MoreRead MorePersonalized Learning, Critical Thinking, and Formative Assessment: What to Do?
The Trends of Personalized Learning and Critical Thinking Two key curriculum trends are affecting educational publishing: the movement toward personalized learning and the need for critical thinking lessons. Personalized learning is influencing how curriculum is being developed and also how students’ work and learning is being assessed. Since 2012, 15 states have incorporated personalized learning into…
Read MoreRead MoreCompetency-Based Learning at the State and District Level
When it comes to competency-based learning, New Hampshire is a trailblazer. In the words of one New Hampshire educator, “All students need to have certain skills and certain dispositions to be ready for whatever the future holds for them.” Along these lines, the state began launching competency-based learning pilots in 1998; by 2013, it had…
Read MoreRead MoreAssessing Competency-Based Education
The 21st century is an exciting and challenging time for students. In order to succeed, young people need to be adept at problem solving, collaboration, and inquiry. Many schools are turning to competency-based learning to help students make the most of their education and prepare them for success in college, career, and life. As the…
Read MoreRead MoreCompetency-Based Learning: An Overview
Formative assessment, personalized learning, critical thinking skills: these trends in education are all fueling the growth of competency-based learning. At the state, district, and local level, educators and students are embracing competency-based learning. Competency-based learning is a learning system that focuses on each student’s unique K-12 educational journey, taking into account their skills, mindsets, habits,…
Read MoreRead MoreUpdate on Instructional Materials Adoptions
The adoption market segment remains in flux. A number of trends affect instructional materials development and the adoption of those materials: personalized and competency-based learning the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) implementation of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) continual disruption of digital learning the need for critical thinking and civics lessons the movement of states…
Read MoreRead MoreESSA UPDATE
In April, we reported that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was disrupting the educational marketplace as states began to implement their plans and transition to new systems. Staffing cuts at the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education were also concerning educators and the industry as it might hamper the agency’s ability to effectively oversee…
Read MoreRead MoreKey Trends in Math Education for Upcoming Adoptions
At Victory, we have a history of collaborating with clients to find key market differentiators. What key trends in math education should guide publishers gearing up for the 2020 math adoptions in Alabama, Tennessee, and Utah? More important, how can the work for these states set the stage for a huge year in 2021, when…
Read MoreRead MoreTo Customize or Not to Customize, That’s the Question
According to a 2016 White House report, the U.S. spends over $1.3 trillion on education expenditures. And the instructional materials market for K-12, which includes state adoptions, is over $19 billion. In large states, such as Texas, it makes sense to customize a national program. With smaller states, a calculation needs to be made: does…
Read MoreRead MoreU.S. Education Market Snapshot: English Language Learners (ELLs)
The Early Days In the 1960s, Victoria Porras attended Melrose High School in Massachusetts as an exchange student from Bogotá, Colombia. She was far from home. Her host family, teachers, and new schoolmates were friendly and eager to help, but the everyday English spoken in the Boston area is accented, idiomatic, and studded with acronyms.…
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