February 28, 2013

National News

Education Week
State councils propel STEM education
Jeremy Hoffmann and his classmates conduct experiments in a physical-world concepts class at the L&N STEM Academy in Knoxville, Tenn., last week. Tennessee is one of the states that has set up a STEM council.  As STEM education gains ever more prominence, statewide organizations are springing up from coast to coast to advance and better coordinate the cause.  Arizona, California, Iowa, and New York are among the states where STEM education networks and councils have been launched in the past few years. They typically bring to the table a diverse set of players in the state, including representatives from K-12 and higher education, leaders in government and business, as well as nonprofits and other community organizations.

Teachers say they are unprepared for Common Core
Even as the Common Core State Standards are being put into practice across most of the country, nearly half of teachers feel unprepared to teach them, especially to disadvantaged students, according to a new survey.

Universities create ed. entrepreneur programs
Efforts to promote an evolving area of study—entrepreneurship in education—are taking hold in graduate schools across the country, as universities craft programs and courses focused on cultivating school leaders and private-sector developers capable of bringing new ideas, and possibly new products and technologies, to schools.  University faculty members and administrators say the study of K-12 entrepreneurship and innovation has had a presence in the postsecondary world for years. But recently, interest in the subject has grown, and it has secured a much more clearly defined place in a number of colleges of education, business schools, and other academic departments

Education News
NYC kicks off tech education pilot program in 20 schools
Twenty New York City middle- and high schools are going to be taking part in a pilot program that will bring a comprehensive computer science curriculum into their classrooms.   The pilot program is part of the effort by the city to prepare its students to succeed in a world that is becoming more dependent on technology every year.

EdSource
Bill would open the door to undergraduate teaching credentials
For the first time in decades, aspiring teachers in California would be able to major in education as undergraduates and get both a preliminary teaching credential and a baccalaureate degree in four years if S.B. 5 becomes law. Distinct among the states, students wishing to become teachers in California are required to major in subjects other than education, then must go through a lengthy process to obtain a teaching credential.

Related Topics: Common Core, Higher Education, STEM, Teacher Preparation