Making and makerspaces are currently an exciting topic in education. The constructionist nature of learning through making, however, creates an inherent tension for teachers -- one where the need to meet specific standards must be balanced with the open-ended, creative problem-solving that making supports. Unlike the traditional teacher-centered…

This report provides key insights into the difficult working conditions endured by teachers in Arizona and across the nation. Arizona provides just $8,569 in per pupil funding, the lowest among all states. In fact, Arizona provides $5,477 "less" per pupil than the national average. Arizona also invests only 2.5% of its state wealth, as…

The Civil War ended in 1865. From 2011-2015, Civil War sesquicentennial events took place around the nation. The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium used the opportunity to feature two exhibits on the critical role that the river played during the Civil War. Both exhibits highlighted contributions to the war effort by the surrounding…

Education Sector commissioned an earlier version of this collection of essays in conjunction with a March 2012 event "Getting to 2014: The Choices and Challenges Ahead." This updated version includes new essays and a revised introduction. The aim of these essays is to present ideas, elicit feedback, and encourage productive dialogue…

This semester unit on change was designed for use in a pull-out program (meeting approximately 90 minutes per week) for gifted students in grades 1 through 3. The unit focuses on how change affects people's daily lives and impacts on the family, community, culture, government, and world. The basic goals of the unit are for the students to…

This curriculum guide contains four units with relevant problem areas and is intended as a source unit for agricultural education. These problem areas have been selected as suggested areas of study to be included in a core curriculum for secondary students enrolled in an agricultural education program. Each problem area includes some or all of the…

This coal education resource kit for grades K-2 was developed by the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources (ENR). The kit contains activities designed to help students become familiar with the origin of coal and the process involved in its development, become familiar with safety equipment used by coal miners and understand why the…

This learning guide on conserving limited resources is part of a series of learning guides developed for competency-based adult consumer and homemaking education programs in community colleges, adult education centers, community centers, and the workplace. Focus is on the connections among personal, family, and job responsibilities so that these…

This learning guide is designed to connect personal, family, and job responsibilities for adults and out-of-school youth in economically depressed areas of the state (including transitional ex-offenders and corrections populations) so that these individuals learn to manage and balance these aspects of their lives in order to prepare for or…

A guide to teaching resources in three northern Illinois counties was created by 28 teachers in a graduate course entitled "Integrating Community Resources into Curriculum and Instruction." The first part of the guide provides contact information and a brief description for approximately 100 people, places, and things that could be…

This instructional guide contains 19 activities and exercises designed to help teachers familiarize their students with the wetland resources of Illinois. Each activity or exercise is ready to be copied and given to students. They include: (1) making a largemouth bass model; (2) building a wetland ecosystem; (3) investigating problems that…

According to the 2000 census, high school dropouts had a 52% employment rate, compared to 71% for high school graduates and 83% for college graduates. According to NCSE, the national dropout rate is 30% of which 80% had been chronically absent from school ("School attendance tracking: Challenges and effective practices"), which puts the…

This report focuses on teaching with the World Wide Web. An introduction describes the Illinois State Board of Education's (ISBE's) efforts in urging local schools to integrate information technology into all aspects of their curriculum and in emphasizing the need for technology-focused staff development for Illinois teachers. ISBE supports…

The activities presented in this book, designed to help 4th through 8th grade instructors teach about the history of life, help students prepare for a visit to a museum exhibit on life through time. The pre- and post-visit activities as well as the in-museum activities help students prepare for and enjoy their 4.5 billion year trip through time at…

A project in Illinois created a 17-member committee, reviewed literature, and conducted a telephone survey of all 51 state home economics supervisors in the United States to create a conceptual framework for secondary home economics. The framework was reviewed and refined by the participants and is being published. Additional materials developed…