Curriculum

EDC views curricula as tools to be placed in the hands of skilled teachers, rather than cookbooks to be followed. EDC's curricula integrate professional development for teachers with hands-on, inquiry-based activities for students. Our curricula are designed by and with teachers, in collaboration with academicians and researchers specializing in the relevant content areas. They are extensively field-tested to ensure that they are accessible to a wide range of teachers and students and that they adhere to classroom realities. They are also developed in partnership with EDC and university-based content experts, including mathematicians, research scientists, historians, and artists. In addition to designing curriculum materials in several content areas, EDC advises schools and districts on selecting and implementing curricula that best meets their specific educational needs.

Lowell’s Enhanced Approach for Development Early Readers (LEADER)

Project LEADER is an Early Reading First grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This three-year project will provide an intensive professional development program in early childhood literacy for staff in Lowell’s Community Teamwork Inc. program. The program includes credit-bearing courses in language and literacy, use of formative assessments to inform instruction and science; in addition, teachers will receive instructional coaching throughout the program.

Enhancing Mathematics in the Ford PAS Business Curriculum

A collaborative project of EDC’s Education, Employment, and Community Programs and Center for Educational Resources and Outreach, this project is enhancing the mathematics content in the Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies (Ford PAS) curriculum. EDC was awarded a subcontract by Mathematica Policy Research (MPR) to create six new lessons for the Ford PAS module Planning for Business Success and to create a professional development experience to support business teachers in using the math-enhanced module.

Innovation and Creativity: Henry Ford Learning Institute High School Curriculum

The Henry Ford Learning Institute creates small charter schools that focus on innovation and 21st century skills. Built on the success of a flagship school in Dearborn, Michigan, the Henry Ford Academies will be co-located with businesses, community, and cultural institutions in urban neighborhoods, and will leverage a wide range of local resources to provide hand-on learning experiences for students while supporting neighborhood revitalization.

Making Connections: An Integrated Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Academic Curriculum

EDC is developing an interdisciplinary career technical education (CTE) curriculum, Making Connections, that prepares students to pursue their interests in the arts, media, and entertainment when they go off to college or join the workplace. The curriculum addresses national and California state standards for grades 9 and 10, and also includes integrated units for English language arts, math, science, and social studies to help teachers link these subjects with applications in arts, media, and entertainment.

Bioethics Science Curriculum

CAE and EDC’s Center for Science Education are developing a supplemental curriculum in bioethics to be used in high school biology courses. An advisory team of ethicists, scientists, and teachers are working with EDC staff members to develop instructional materials on topics of social importance in the life sciences. These topics include the nature of bioethics, vaccinations, genetic testing, organ transplantation, and modifications of the natural world.

The Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care (IPPC): Creating Lasting Institutional Infrastructure

The Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care (IPPC) is an educational and a quality improvement effort, aimed at enhancing family-centered care for children living with life-threatening conditions. IPPC’s comprehensive, interdisciplinary curriculum addresses knowledge, attitudes and skills that health care professionals need in order to better serve children and families.

Building Capacity for Teachers to Use New Web Tools with Online Professional Development

EDC’s EdTech Leaders Online program (ETLO) is providing online facilitator training to teams from five state departments of education (Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Virginia) to prepare them to deliver online training to teachers in each of their states on incorporating new Web tools such as blogs, wikis and podcasts into their classroom curriculum. Participants will learn to facilitate ETLO’s “Learning and Teaching with Web 2.0 Tools” online workshop, which prepares educators to help students use these tools safely and develop classroom curriculum that incorporates these tools.