The Next Generation Science Standards emphasize the need to promote equitable opportunities for all students to engage in science and engineering. This article offers eight tips that educators can use to support students of all abilities, including those with special learning needs, to engage in engineering challenges at the elementary level.

The challenges facing the United States in educating its youth have been widely documented. The dropout rate in the past decades has been staggering, with students of color and in lower socio-economic circumstances posting an even higher rate. However, educators are now beginning to embrace the promise of ubiquitous digital technologies in the…

The adoption of personalized learning approaches has increased significantly in recent years. This report examines achievement in 62 public charter and district schools that are pursuing a variety of personalized learning practices, and examines implementation details in 32 of those schools. Researchers obtained achievement data for personalized…

How do teachers and schools create meaningful learning experiences for students with diverse skills, abilities, and cultures? How can teachers authentically assess the learning of their students and build on their strengths and interests in ways that enrich the larger community? How can schools become places where everyone is learning from each…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), enacted in December 2015, presents a historic opportunity for the United States to begin to transform K-12 education toward personalized, student-centered learning. Across the country, state leaders are shifting from a focus on compliance toward continuous improvement and systemic change, in order to support…

In "Creating Learning Environments in the Early Grades that Support Teacher and Student Success," the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) profiles three expanded-time elementary schools that leverage a longer school day to better serve young students. In particular, the report describes how a longer day opens up opportunities…

The authors enjoy the challenge of teaching classes on gender and violence, including violence against women, psychology of trauma, and psychology of gender. Although various sources provide suggestions for teaching classes that provoke strong reactions in students, they have found that one size does not fit all. Rather, they must first identify…

Provide targeted mathematics instruction for every child. These books combine formative assessment with practical activities to differentiate the elementary classroom. The formative assessments include student work samples at varying levels. The authors: (1) Illustrate the distinction between a "traditional" assessment and an "enhanced"…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe elementary, general-education teachers' reports of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997) in using Marzano et al.'s (2010) evidenced-based instructional strategies to differentiate instruction for students with disabilities. The two frameworks that guided this investigation were Bandura's (1997) theory…

"Teacher's Survival Guide: Differentiating Instruction in the Elementary Classroom" answers the most common questions about differentiation, including what it is, how teachers can set up a classroom that promotes differentiation, which topics should be differentiated, what strategies are most effective, and how teachers can assess students engaged…

Strategic grouping can transform reading instruction in the middle grades from a hit-or-miss learning experience to a targeted, responsive one. This book features a practical and field-tested model for small-group differentiated reading instruction in Grades 4-8. Jennifer Berne and Sophie C. Degener offer a clear, detailed discussion of how to…

Now that many schools are developing curriculums thoughtfully linked to standards--including benchmarks for achievement--many teachers wrestle with this question: Can we still make room for individualized instruction? The authors, who have taught at diverse international schools in many countries, believe the answer is yes. They argue that under…

Too often, intervention occurs late, is fragmented, and is not supported by the system as a whole. Using traditional intervention structures, struggling students and the educators who support them are unlikely to achieve long-term success. What results is a precarious outcome--"can't do" students become "won't do" students. By…

The purpose of this study was to determine the capacity of teacher candidates to facilitate and reflect on classroom discourse in the context of an early field experience. The classroom discourse and reflections of 10 teacher candidates were examined through interviews, audio and video recordings, and written reflections. The findings indicated…

Drawing on interviews with 33 young people between the ages of 14 to 17 attending three English schools we examine their experiences of a personalised education system. The policy climate in England has for some time been one of intense and persistent reforms. The Labour Party took office in 1997 and advanced "personalised learning" as a…