Education thought leaders highlight the need to expand access to high-quality STEM learning for students historically underrepresented in STEM fields, and project-based learning (PjBL) is often seen as a key strategy. Introducing PjBL to classrooms typically focuses on building teacher capacity, but principals also play a key role in effective…

Learning assistant (LA) programs have been implemented at a range of institutions, usually as part of a comprehensive curricular transformation accompanied by a pedagogical switch to active learning. While this shift in pedagogy has led to increased student learning gains, the positive effect of LAs has not yet been distinguished from that of…

As called for in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, the National Science and Technology Council's (NSTC) Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM) released, in May of 2013, the Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education 5- Year Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan). As required by the Act, this report includes…

Paul Jablon's "The Synergy of Inquiry" (2014) is well-timed. The 2014 deadline set by No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2002) for universal student proficiency has come and gone, and according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, "proficiency rates last year were below 50 percent for nearly every racial and ethnic group, in…

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) published a series of case studies from 28 states to showcase examples of how ARRA EETT ("American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Enhancing Education Through Technology") grant funds have impacted teaching and learning. SETDA collected data for the case studies through…

The concept map tool set forth by Novak and colleagues is underutilized in education. A meta-analysis has encouraged teachers to make extensive use of concept mapping, and researchers have advocated computer-based concept mapping applications that exploit hyperlink technology. Through an NSF sponsored geosciences education grant, middle and…

Educational achievement in rural America is one of the country's great overlooked challenges. Rural students achieve below the U.S. average on national tests, and high school dropout rates are higher and college attendance lower than they are in cities and suburbs. When the U.S. Department of Education asks low-achieving schools to be turned…

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA)--the principal association representing the technology leadership in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs--presents its eighth annual report on select, national, educational technology activities. This…