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Frog Street Pre-K Curriculum Linked to Improved School Readiness

DALLAS (PRWEB) — Frog Street, an early childhood education company designed around the latest science in early brain development, has announced the results of a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins School of Education evaluating the efficacy of the Frog Street Pre-K curriculum with students in Texas. The study found that using Frog Street Pre-K curriculum was associated with positive gains in critical early learning domains and increased kindergarten readiness. Frog Street provides a bilingual pre-K curriculum organized into five subjects, five skill-content areas and supports for social-emotional development.

“Ensuring that children are prepared for kindergarten is crucial for their future academic success,” emphasized Jessica Bobo, Head of Product at Frog Street Press and a former Texas early childhood educator and leader. “The data speaks for itself: our students are developing a love for learning and building a strong academic foundation that will serve them well for years to come.”

The study analyzed approximately 78,000 Pre-K students from 316 school districts in Texas who were instructed using Frog Street Pre-K curriculum as their primary curriculum during the 2021-2022 academic year, compared to students who used a different Pre-K curriculum. The researchers assessed the performance of both sets of students in areas like reading, writing, language, health, and mathematics domains using the CIRCLE assessment from fall 2021 to spring 2022. Key findings include:…Read More

10 ways to teach students for a changing world

The world is changing rapidly, with new technology being developed daily and jobs being replaced by automated machines and artificial intelligence (AI). These changes have brought about tremendous opportunities for those who can take advantage of them. However, these changes could spell disaster for those who are not prepared for the future. This is why it is so important that schools and educators take the necessary steps to ensure that our students are prepared for the future.

The 2023 Brain-Centric Design report estimates that by 2030, demand for higher cognitive skills will increase by 19 percent, while demand for physical and manual skills will decline by 14 percent. This means that the future of work will require a different set of skills than needed in the past. Therefore, schools and educators must equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in this new environment.

Here are 10 steps schools and educators must take to ensure that students are prepared for the future due to the rise of AI technology in the workplace:…Read More

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MIND Research Institute Debuts InsightMath, a Neuroscience-Based Elementary Curriculum

IRVINE, Calif. — MIND Research Institute, a neuroscience and education social impact organization dedicated to ensuring that all students are mathematically equipped to solve the world’s most challenging problems, today announced InsightMath, a core elementary curriculum that transforms student learning by teaching math the way the brain learns will launch in Spring 2024.

Building on 25 years of math learning research and proven results with the PreK-8 visual instructional program ST Math, InsightMath was co-designed in collaboration with neuroscientists, researchers, educators, students, and families to give meaning to math for all students. These collaborators helped MIND’s team design a culturally relevant math curriculum that connects with all students.

“For 25 years, ST Math has brought visual models, spatial reasoning, and the perception-action cycle into the learning process,” said Nigel Nisbet, vice president of content creation at MIND Research Institute. “InsightMath expands this time-tested approach into a full-classroom curriculum experience that helps students—and teachers—become math-loving problem-solvers.”…Read More

3 ways to teach multi-sensory math

Learning mathematics is much more than memorization. Rote drill and practice have not shown to lead to significant improvements in mathematics abilities, but rather, using strategies that engage and strengthen the connections to different areas of the brain assists students in learning mathematics.

According to findings published in Teaching Children Mathematics, most students actually use a strategy to recall a fact. They are considered fluent if they can recall a fact within three seconds, which is a long time to be able to employ a strategy. For example, looking at the problem 19 + 6, students might move one from the 6 to make an easier, equivalent statement of 20 + 5.

Using multi-sensory learning to make sense of mathematics, as well as introducing students to strategies and tools such as the ones below, helps them become flexible thinkers and allows them to be fluid with numbers.…Read More

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Creating classroom community in a digital space

One of my favorite parts of being an educator is the sense of community that is created with each new class of students. Fostering that feeling in person has its challenges of course, but is a bit easier to administer and coach when you’re face to face. When asked to build that same sense of community with my students through a computer screen as we went into a distance learning mode, my brain started to misfire. How am I going to do that? Are the students going to be engaged in their learning? Will they be able to feel that sense of belonging in a virtual classroom setting? So, after a few days of crying and worrying, I accepted this new challenge.

My teaching and tech skills were going to be put to the ultimate test.

As I’m reflecting on this past school year, I think it’s the strongest bond I’ve ever built with a group of students, thanks in part to technology and the community building that had to initially happen in our virtual classroom. My goal for this article is to share strategies and tips that worked well and helped me nurture and grow that strong teacher to student relationship through a screen, despite the collective challenges we faced.…Read More

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Building classroom community in a digital space

My teaching and tech skills were going to be put to the ultimate test.

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How to help children develop executive functioning skills

Math. Social studies. Science. There’s no shortage of important topics the U.S. education system imparts on our youth. And yet, there is a set of skills that’s not given enough attention in the classroom: Executive functioning.

Executive functioning is the management system of the brain — it refers to how well students pay attention, organize and prioritize, stay focused on tasks through completion, regulate their emotions, and keep track of the things they are doing. While executive functioning is starting to gain some deserved attention in the classroom, parents can have a huge impact on the growth of these skills for their children.

In this piece, we’ll look at why executive functioning has been historically overlooked in our education system and how parents can help their children learn these skills. …Read More

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11 resources to avoid the summer slide

The summer slide, summer brain drain, summer learning loss–whatever you call it, it’s of even more concern to parents and educators with COVID thrown in the mix.

While many districts resumed hybrid or full in-person learning during the 2020-2021 school year, many educators and experts are still concerned about learning gaps and learning loss.

It’s fair to say students have more than earned their impending summer breaks. Still, it’s not a bad idea to encourage students to keep reading and to give their brains a little exercise here and there.…Read More

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8 awesome podcasts for kids, families, and teachers

As podcasts skyrocket in popularity, news buffs and true crime addicts shouldn’t have all the fun. There are a growing number of podcasts for kids, covering topics from SEL and history to book clubs and brain challenges.

Below, we’ve collected a handful of fun and engaging podcasts for kids. You might be inspired to incorporate them into your virtual, hybrid, or in-person classroom when appropriate.

1. Ooh! You’re in Trouble: Ooh! You’re in Trouble is a podcast for tweens, parents, and teachers about the rules we broke growing up…and what those moments teach kids about making smart decisions when grownups aren’t around. Each episode features young people sharing stories of a moment they broke the rules growing up. The series explores why kids defy rules and what we can learn from it. …Read More

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How positive psychology reduces stress and boosts reading comprehension

Learning to read is a higher brain function. Reading comprehension activates the cerebral cortex of a child’s brain. This part of the brain is important for complex cognitive tasks, but it’s also the part of the brain that’s the most sensitive to the harmful effects of stress.

Because stress impairs both learning and memory, teachers can improve reading comprehension and enhance classroom learning by reducing student stress through positive psychology.

The psychology of happiness and learning…Read More

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