Mathematics

EDC will investigate whether learning in the visual arts, a discipline in which students continually practice visualization, leads to improvements in geometric reasoning. This study will compare high school students with and without extensive exposure to the visual arts. Geometric reasoning will be assessed at baseline and after one and two years of study, as will visualization skills in art, general spatial visualization, and control tasks not related to visualization.

Supported Literacy for Adolescents is a research-based literacy program developed over 10 years by EDC, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education (Office of Special education Programs and Institute of Educational Sciences), Annenberg Foundation, and MetLife Foundation. Its goal is to improve reading, writing, and comprehension among both high risk and typically achieving populations. It is deeply rooted in standards-based curriculum design, and all components of the program are aligned with national reading and writing standards, as well as selected content standards.

CSE is working with the Robert Goddard Council and the STEM Pipeline Fund staff and committee to define STEM strategies for the Council, and to outline the major STEM priorities to be addressed by Commonwealth stakeholders.

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.

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.

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.

This project is creating two professional development courses, with both on-site and online versions to build the capacity of middle school teachers of mathematics and special educators and their administrators to enable students with disabilities to be successful mathematics learners. During the project, one eight-session course for classroom teachers and their special education colleagues and a six-session course for school administrators will be developed, tested, and disseminated.

EDC in collaboration with partners in education, youth media and business, is creating a youth-produced, Web-based media series and companion educator materials on science and engineering careers, targeting girls from underserved groups (minority populations, youth of low socioeconomic status and those with disabilities). The Girls Communicating Career Connections (GC3) project’s media series—short video segments produced by middle school aged girls—will capture the inquiry-based learning experiences of girls, as they investigate what it means to be a scientist or engineer.

CCT is conducting an external evaluation of the Eastern Alliance in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (EAST), a five-year cooperative agreement to increase the number and diversity of students with disabilities receiving degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and ultimately entering STEM careers in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.