MSP News: Offer feedback on national standards, and math reasoning
March 11, 2010
NEWS IN BRIEF
1. NATIONAL SCENE: Share Your Opinion!
This week we encourage you to comment and offer feedback on three important documents. Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making has stirred debate and we post some of the opinions along with the document. Add your thoughts! The draft of Common Core Standards K-12 has been released, as has a National Educational Technology Plan and feedback is being solicited. It is important that the MSP community weigh in. We look forward to reading your comments on MSPnet, and also encourage you to send feedback directly to the authors of these documents.
A. "Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making," National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2009.
B. "Common Core Standards K-12 Draft," National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, March 2010.
C. "National Educational Technology Plan (Draft)," Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Dept. Education, March 2010.
2. NEW IN LIBRARY
A. "Promoting Scientific Inquiry Through Innovative Science and Engineering Curricula in Grades 3-5," Augusto Macalalag, Jr., Susan Lowes, et al., presented at American Society for Engineering Education, June 2009.
B. "The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color," College Board, January 2010.
C. "The State of American Boyhood," Judith Kleinfeld, The Boys Project, in Gender Issues, v.26, pp.113-120, 2009.
D. "No Map to Manhood: Male and Female Mindsets Behind the College Gender Gap," Judith Kleinfeld, The Boys Project, in Gender Issues, v.26, pp.171-182, 2009.
DETAILS BELOW
1. NATIONAL SCENE: Share Your Opinion!
A. "Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making," National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2009.
"Building on three decades of advocacy for Standards-based mathematics learning of the highest quality for all students, a new publication of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommends that all high school mathematics programs focus on reasoning and sense making. In recent years, a number of documents have provided detailed analyses of the topics that should be addressed in each course of high school mathematics. NCTM's Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making offers a different perspective, proposing curricular emphases and instructional approaches that make reasoning and sense making foundational to the content that is taught and learned in high school."
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Ed Change & Policy
http://hub.mspnet.org/entry.cfm/20568
B. "Common Core Standards K-12 Draft," National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, March 2010.
"As part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI), the draft K-12 standards are now available for public comment. These draft standards, developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, seek to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.
Governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states, 2 territories and the District of Columbia committed to developing a common core of state standards in English-language arts and mathematics for grades K-12. This is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).
The NGA Center and CCSSO have received feedback from national organizations representing, but not limited to teachers, postsecondary education (including community colleges), civil rights groups, English language learners, and students with disabilities. These standards are now open for public comment until Friday, April 2.
These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs."
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Ed Change & Policy
http://hub.mspnet.org/entry.cfm/20570
C. "National Educational Technology Plan," Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Dept. Education, March 2010.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Technology Education has released an 80-page draft of a five-year National Educational Technology Plan (NETP), which presents a model of 21st century learning powered by technology, with goals and recommendations in five important areas: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan welcomes your comments on this plan.
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Ed Change & Policy
http://hub.mspnet.org/entry.cfm/20569
2. NEW IN LIBRARY
A. "Promoting Scientific Inquiry Through Innovative Science and Engineering Curricula in Grades 3-5," Augusto Macalalag, Jr., Susan Lowes, et al., presented at American Society for Engineering Education, June 2009.
"This Math and Science Partnership project provided 47 grade 3-5 teachers with high quality science and engineering curricula, classroom-focused professional development, and mentoring designed to address key topics in earth systems science and engineering education. The study examined whether the project's instructional activities enhanced teachers' notions of scientific inquiry. Findings showed that teachers' descriptions of scientific inquiry were more comprehensive after attending two weeks summer workshops. The paper also highlighted a classroom of 3rd graders engaging in an inquiry activity. "
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>MSP Papers
http://hub.mspnet.org/entry.cfm/20561
B. "The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color," College Board, January 2010.
"In 2008, the College Board held four sessions to explore the educational challenges facing young men of color in the United States. Known as "Dialogue Days," these gatherings brought together more than 60 scholars, advocates and representatives from minority communities across the United States for one-day conversations about the dynamic nature of American life, the changing shape of American demographics, and how to help educators and minority families and communities stand up to what seem to be growing pressures on minority males. Each meeting focused on a particular minority group -- African American or Black, Hispanic or Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans, including Alaska Natives.
The resulting report, The Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color, draws on participants' comments during the Dialogue Days to identify a set of common concerns and themes, and recommend steps for moving forward. The report also highlights promising programs that have proven effective in raising achievement among this underserved group."
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Ed Change & Policy
http://hub.mspnet.org/entry.cfm/20571
C. "The State of American Boyhood," Judith Kleinfeld, The Boys Project, in Gender Issues, v.26, pp.113-120, 2009.
"The existence of a "boy crisis" in the United States is a topic of educational policy debate. While the problems of girls in schools have been addressed for many years, should boys now become the focus of educational reform? To clarify this issue, this study reviews national statistics on the well-being of American boys and young men, examining not only the usual school indicators but also such issues as mental health, premature deaths, juvenile delinquency and arrest rates. Boys are in trouble in many areas: low rates of literacy, low grades and engagement in school, high dropout rates, placement in special education, especially in the more subjective areas of emotional disturbance and learning disabilities, more suspension and expulsions form school, and lower rates of postsecondary entrance and completion. Boys also suffer from dramatically higher suicide rates, conduct disorders, premature death, and rates of arrest and juvenile delinquency. Girls, however, are far more apt to suffer from depression and eating disorders., lower scores on mathematics and science tests, and are less likely to achieve at the very highest levels. This study argues that both boys and girls suffer from characteristic problems, but the issues affecting boys are serious and neglected."
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Ed Change & Policy
http://hub.mspnet.org/entry.cfm/20573
D. "No Map to Manhood: Male and Female Mindsets Behind the College Gender Gap," Judith Kleinfeld, The Boys Project, in Gender Issues, v.26, pp.171-182, 2009.
"This study explores the basis of the gender gap in postsecondary enrollment through qualitative interviews with 99 high school seniors who are making decisions about college. While individual differences occurred, female high school seniors were far more apt to have well-developed plans to attend college based on their views that education is a vital educational investment, that the occupations they seek require a college education, and that they want to make a difference to society. Male high school students evidenced two different mindsets. Those from families whose parents had graduated from college saw higher education just as the expected path. Those from working class families had little knowledge of the labor market, the likelihood of obtaining "dream jobs," and the income they would need to live comfortable adult lives. Far more young men disliked schooling. Both sexes have developed a stereotype of males as "lazy," a label which covers a host of problems reducing college enrollment."
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Ed Change & Policy
http://hub.mspnet.org/entry.cfm/20572