Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Discovery Education, Caterpillar Foundation, and Learning Undefeated Launch New Initiative to Inspire Next Generation of STEM Professionals

Charlotte, NC – Discovery Education, the Caterpillar Foundation, and Learning Undefeated today announced the launch of a new education initiative – Innovation at Play. This unique program leverages the power of play by using engaging, hands-on digital resources to educate and inspire students in grades 9-12 to consider exciting careers in a variety of STEM professions. 

Innovation at Play provides standards-aligned digital resources that make it easier than ever for educators, after-school instructors, and parents to connect STEM concepts to potential career pathways. Classroom activities, play-inspired lessons, and phenomena-based videos exemplify how curiosity drives STEM solutions while empowering students to learn by doing and seeing. The content will equip students with the right skills and knowledge to pursue STEM careers at home, in the classroom, or wherever learning takes place. 

“The future STEM innovators are sitting in classrooms all across the country. No matter where they are, Innovation at Play will empower students to connect their STEM curiosity with STEM skills to solve problems and secure careers,” said Asha Varghese, Caterpillar Foundation President. …Read More

Intervene K-12 Receives $150,000 Grant From National Nonprofit Accelerate To Make High-Impact Tutoring Sustainable And Cost-Effective

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Intervene K-12, a Houston-based online tutoring platform, announced today it will receive a $150,000 Innovation grant from Accelerate, a national nonprofit working to make high-impact tutoring a standard feature of the American school day. The grant will advance research on the impact of Intervene K-12’s signature tutoring method that pairs high-impact tutoring with mentorship to encourage academic success and career exploration. The grant will also support Intervene K-12’s unique curriculum integration and staffing model to hire tutors from various business sectors to expose scholars to diverse professionals. 

“Our unique combination of tutoring and career exploration has been implemented in dynamic, urban districts with measurable and replicable results,” said Aaron McCloud, founder and CEO of Intervene K-12. “With this grant we will be able to hire even more tutors from diverse personal and professional backgrounds to allow scholars to connect with tutors who look like them and work in highly desirable fields.” 

Intervene K-12 uses evidence-based lessons that are designed especially for Intervene K-12 scholars to meet them where they are. These lessons are leveraged using high-impact, online tutoring within the school day, during which small groups of three to five students facing similar challenges are paired with a tutor. …Read More

CAE and Pearson Partner to Bring Critical Thinking Assessment to Secondary Education Students

NEW YORK (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Council for Aid to Education, Inc. (CAE), a leader in designing innovative performance tasks for measurement and instruction of higher order skills, today announced the immediate availability of its College and Career Readiness Assessment (CCRA+) through a non-exclusive partnership with Pearson [FTSE: PSON.L], the world’s leading learning company. Pearson will resell CCRA+ as part of its Pearson Assessment for Learning Suite (PALS).

Designed for students in grades six through 12, CCRA+ assesses critical thinking, problem solving and written communications – essential skills that are predictive of positive academic and career success. These skills are highlighted in Portraits of a Graduate profiles, yet most states and districts do not have an effective and reliable approach to measure these skills.

“CAE is proud to partner with Pearson to help schools and districts access our assessment tools to support student growth,” said Bob Yayac, president and CEO, CAE. “While more than 125 districts have developed or are developing a Portrait of a Graduate, our research and conversations indicate most have not identified how they will measure these skills in an objective, consistent and standardized manner. CCRA+ addresses this important need.”…Read More

Survey highlights troubling teacher morale issues

Key points:

  • Most teachers would not choose a teaching career again
  • Nearly half of teachers say poor mental health is impacting their work

Only 46 percent of current public K-12 educators would be “fairly” or “very likely” to advise their younger selves to choose teaching again, according to a new survey that shines a spotlight on a pressing crisis facing U.S. education.

More than one-third (35 percent) of educators are considering leaving the profession altogether. This is according to the 2023 Merrimack College Teacher Survey, which was conducted by the Winston School of Education and Social Policy at Merrimack College.…Read More

Reflection Sciences Appoints Isaac Van Wesep as Incoming Chief Executive Officer

MINNEAPOLIS (PRWEB) — Reflection Sciences, the executive function company, has appointed  Isaac Van Wesep as Chief Executive Officer, effective June 1. The appointment will drive innovation, growth and the pursuit of the company’s mission to ensure every child gets the executive function support they need to achieve academic, career and personal success.

Van Wesep has a deep understanding of education technology and a passion for improving educational outcomes for all children. His expertise will be instrumental in guiding Reflection Sciences as it continues to lead the growth of cognitive science tools to enhance learning, curriculum and child development.

“After working closely with Isaac over the last two years, it’s clear he has the vision, energy and executive function skills to build on Reflection Sciences’ leadership in executive function,” said Co-Founder and Board Director Stephanie Carlson, Ph.D. “The science is now very clear that executive function skills significantly predict student achievement in core areas such as math, literacy and social-emotional skills. Measuring and improving executive function skills is the way forward to support student success.”…Read More

Labor market problems start with the K-12 system

The U.S. has a two-pronged labor market problem: a labor shortage and a skills gap. If every unemployed individual in the U.S. found a job right now, there would still be 4 million open jobs. Furthermore, a National Federation of Independent Business survey found that 54 percent of business owners struggle to hire qualified workers. As it becomes increasingly evident that schools are not providing students with the requisite skills to succeed in the labor market, the root of the persistent labor shortage and skills gap in the U.S. can be traced back to the K-12 education system.

However, career and technical education (CTE) programs have shown great promise in addressing this issue. The Department of Education (ED) notes that students who focus on CTE courses in high school have higher median annual earnings, graduation rates, and employment rates than non-CTE students. Despite the proven efficacy of CTE programs, inadequate federal investment remains a primary barrier to implementing successful programs nationwide.

It’s essential to adopt new funding methods and policies to mitigate this barrier, expand CTE programs in K-12 schools, and encourage widespread adoption of these programs to bridge the skills gap and foster student success. Like most education programs, CTE programs are primarily funded by state and local resources. Accordingly, increasing the implementation rates will be predicated on encouraging outside funding sources, such as private-sector partnerships and philanthropic organizations, to bridge the gap in federal funding and support the growth of CTE programs.…Read More

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Carousel Cloud Scales with Indianapolis School District for K-12 Communications

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – The Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Washington Township in Indianapolis is midway through a district-wide Carousel Cloud digital signage network deployment that will eventually reach more than 11,500 students and staff in eight elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school plus a career and technical center. The district reports 70 screens are live today with Carousel digital signage content coming from multiple contributors per school, with approximately 150 screens expected upon completion.

The Carousel Cloud deployment coincides with a district-wide remodeling project that includes the school district’s Central Campus, home to North Central High School, Northview Middle School and the J Everett Light Career Center. The district has adopted a “one school at a time” rollout strategy that helps its technology specialists effectively train staff before using the system. 

“We wanted to implement a digital signage network that invites many contributors, and that means the system has to be easy to learn and easy to use,” said Matthew Whitt, Audio Video Specialist – Technology, MSD of Washington Township. “We also wanted software that could be flexible for the needs of different education levels. With Carousel, each grade has a unique channel with its own voice.”…Read More

New, Free Digital Experience Offers All Students Invaluable Career Readiness Opportunities

BOSTON, MA – Kids today do not feel adequately prepared to make informed, confident decisions about what they want to do after high school. Research shows that more than 65 percent of students feel they would have benefited from more career exploration in middle and high school. An additional study states that less than half of Gen Z respondents said they had enough information to decide what pathway was best for them after high school. To improve career readiness outcomes for students, American Student Assistance® (ASA), a national nonprofit that changes the way kids learn about careers and navigate a path to postsecondary education and career success, today announced the expansion of its free suite of digital resources that advance career readiness by launching EvolveMeTM.

The EvolveMe platform gives teens access to and rewards them for completing high-quality, professional career experimentation activities and building transferable skills they can apply to any job. This is done through interactive online videos, quizzes, games, and mini-lessons or quests that help them develop life skills while enabling them to explore careers, build their networks, and actually experiment with jobs. Through the mobile experience, students are rewarded for completing these tasks and earn points to redeem for gift cards to their favorite retail, restaurant, and/or entertainment brands. They can also track their progress and accomplishments through fun and dynamic visuals within the platform. For instance, they can see their personalized tree grow as it sprouts unique flowers and creatures each time they complete an activity.

Co-created with a nationwide panel of middle and high school teen advisors who provided feedback on design, site features and functionality, and user experience (UX) – alongwith quantitative validation based on feedback from more than 4,600 additional young people, EvolveMe helps kids ages 13-18 prepare for their individual career journeys. Since more than 90 percent of teens have access to smartphones and mobile devices, ASA’s suite of digital experiences provides an equitable way to ensure all youth can explore career possibilities that match their interests — as early as middle school –  and test and try in high school. They can access hands-on opportunities, network with career professionals, and build transferable, career-ready skills they’ll need to succeed in the workforce.…Read More

Fewer than half of underserved students believe post-high school education is necessary

As school district leaders continue to worry about students’ college and career readiness, a new survey finds that less than half of students from traditionally underserved populations believe education after high school is necessary.

The new survey conducted by ECMC Group, in partnership with VICE Media Group, surveyed more than 1,000 high school students ages 14-18 from low-income, first-generation and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) backgrounds and found that only 45 percent believe education after high school is necessary, compared to 52 percent of all high schoolers.

In addition, only 8 percent feel fully prepared to make the decision of what to do after high school.…Read More

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Harnessing edtech for deeper science engagement

Throughout my career as a science educator in Colorado, Washington, and now in Florida, I’ve collaborated with many tremendous educators to solve the challenge of engaging students in science. Over time and through trial and error, we’ve learned the importance of engaging students in relevant content that is meaningful to them, engaging them in monitoring their own learning, or engaging them through strategies that make learning accessible.

However, I believe the most important factor in achieving a high level of student engagement in science is providing opportunities for students to participate in active learning experiences. As the K-12 science coordinator in a medium-sized school district in Central Florida, it is a critical part of my team’s work to find and create these opportunities and share them with teachers across the district.

There are five examples of these active learning experiences that stand out as effective strategies to achieve student engagement through relevancy, self-monitoring of learning, and accessible learning for every student:…Read More

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