Curriculum

In this project, CSE draws on its own and other resources at EDC to provide technical assistance to the management of the Presidential Award program. Every year, that program honors exceptional science and mathematics teachers from every state. CSE facilitates the program’s work in several ways. Staff connects the project with national science and mathematics leaders who take a role in the awards process.

CCT is conducting a formative evaluation of Intel’s Innovation in Education teacher training program. The program supports and guides teachers in using Innovation in Education tools and resources. As part of the evaluation, CCT conducts surveys, site visits, observations, and interviews to document the program’s impact on teachers and classrooms. The research is designed to help Intel ensure that teachers receive access to high-quality tools and resources, such as software and curricular materials, as well as training on how to use these resources effectively.

ERO is creating science curriculum units for middle and high school students that focus on two of the most innovative and promising areas of botany: ethnobotany and economic botany. The units are designed to supplement existing life and plant science curricula as well as to provide an engaging set of materials for informal education settings, such as after-school science clubs, botanical gardens, and nature centers.

CME Project is a rigorous, coherent four-year high school mathematics curriculum designed to help students develop mathematical proficiency. CME Project fits into the familiar four-year high school course structure while maintaining mathematical relevance and rigor and integrating key concepts from the sciences and other fields.

HHD/EDC is working closely with Education International, a federation of teacher unions, and WHO to help teacher unions in Haiti and 11 African countries conduct an HIV/AIDS prevention program. The project’s objectives are to help teachers protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs); advocate for school-based HIV prevention programs and policies; and use skills-based health education in the classroom to prevent HIV/AIDS and other STIs among students.

EDC/CCT developed Web-based tools to support students and teachers as historical thinkers. With an interdisciplinary team of humanities scholars and teachers, we created several kinds of online inquiry guides around primary historical materials related to the building of modern America from 1880 to 1920.

This project designs, produces, and tests two professional development modules on early algebra: one on generalization and one on functions. The modules are part of Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMI), a series designed for elementary and middle-grades teachers. DMI seminars support teachers’ learning about mathematics and about children’s mathematical thinking. Five modules have already been produced, on themes of arithmetic, geometry, and data. The modules on early algebra complete this program, providing teachers with the background they need to prepare students for later study.

COPE is developing a series of 26 online professional development courses that are available through the PBS TeacherLine site. The courses are designed to help elementary, middle, and high school teachers deepen their own understanding of mathematics or reading/language arts, incorporate effective teaching and assessment methods, use technology in their classrooms, and address issues of equity.

EDC is developing, field-testing, and evaluating a comprehensive K–5 mathematics curriculum designed to address two challenges. First, the curriculum provides a learning-by-doing model of professional development, allowing teachers to gain a more profound understanding of fundamental mathematics through the natural course of their daily work. Second, it provides high-quality mathematics content and pedagogy for districts that want to change but need additional help and districts that have tried and rejected other models of reform.

This project has developed a common language and framework for the teaching of information technology (IT) applications across 6 of the 16 career clusters identified by the U.S. Department of Education. In partnership with the National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education, EDC works with community college faculty to develop an electronic library of learning resources, including problem-based scenarios, to assist faculty in integrating IT into their programs and courses.