My personal exploration of how digital technology can support my Montessori practice has been a 20+-year journey. This journey has taken me to many places-- some fascinating, some frustrating. One place I never imagined it would take me (because I didn't even know this place existed) was to a lake in Massachusetts.

This article describes how, in the face of staff shortages and teacher turnover, Worcester (Massachusetts) Public Schools is supporting multiple avenues to recruit and retain quality educators in the district. High-quality professional learning is one of those avenues for ensuring a strong and stable workforce. The district's Office of Curriculum…

Since the rise of state assessments whose primary function is to yield scores that can be used to compare schools and groups of students, most states have developed their state assessment programs under the assumption that either: (a) state tests are not intended to meaningfully shape instruction, or (b), if they are, the information provided in…

Inoculation theory, which applies the biological concept of vaccination to misinformation, provides a range of ways to effectively build resilience against misinformation. In this article, we define and organize the various types of inoculation, which includes three delivery mechanisms that can be useful in the classroom--passive, active, and…

Community-based learning (CBL) is a form of experiential learning that integrates academic theory and content with active service in an applied setting. CBL is especially well suited for teaching about complex social issues. We present the case study of a psychology course on substance use recovery that leverages CBL to dismantle stereotypes,…

A significant movement is underway across the nation to design K-12 assessment systems that better equip stakeholders to provide an equitable and excellent education to each child. While some of these innovations emerged before the pandemic, the massive disruption to instruction fueled a new urgency to rethink the potential of assessments to drive…

Amanda is in her fifteenth year at Mashpee Middle High School where she teaches Technology, Engineering, Robotics, and Intro to Computer Science at the secondary level. She has been recognized for her innovative efforts in STEM Education including in 2020 as an ITEEA Teacher Excellence recipient and in 2019 as the Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the…

This paper looks at the popularity of after-school mathematics by focusing on the Kumon and Russian School of Mathematics models. In 1954, Toru Kumon, a high school math teacher in Japan, designed a series of math worksheets to help improve the test scores of his son Takeshi, a second grader. Toru's goal was to teach Takeshi how to learn…

The National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) looks across the world for innovative and successful policies and practices, grounded in research and supported by the wisdom of practice, to share with partners. In response to concerns about student performance in mathematics, particularly following the precipitous drop in test scores…

How teachers interact with students is important, not only for students' intellectual growth but also for their social and emotional growth. In the classroom, it is easier to see when students are misunderstanding or are confused about some aspect of the lesson. By walking around the class, I can view what my students are producing, and I can see…

This academic essay provides a strategy for teaching complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the classroom, a subject typically critiqued as unconventional and non-scientific. It demonstrates how students can enhance their critically reflective skills by examining polarizing and controversial medical topics, which are often considered by…

Museum educators are well versed in employing multiple techniques for engaging museum visitors. Many use these skills and approaches to support marginalized and vulnerable populations, such as families with an incarcerated adult, families with food insecurity, or unhoused families. Determining how to carry out these beneficial intentions, however,…

To develop a framework for school and district leaders to use to assess their remote and hybrid learning models, Region 1 Comprehensive Center and Region 9 Comprehensive Center staff facilitated a cross-regional Community of Practice (CoP) that included state, district, and school leader stakeholders.

This interactive negotiation exercise was primarily developed for situations where only one or two sessions could be devoted to teaching negotiations. The exercise, which is conducted by the instructor with the whole class, involves a two-party negotiation that puts the students in the role of a board member for a nonprofit camp, negotiating with…

The need for and impact of Object Based Learning (OBL) takes on particular relevance in institutions such as anthropology museums. Although museums in general have moved in the last several decades toward a renewed focus on their social impacts, anthropology museums in particular have needed to grapple with their own histories and the kinds of…