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EDC Update Spring/Summer 2006

  • EDC and PBS Promote Childhood Creativity

    The home computer can become an electronic babysitter for busy parents, but educators believe that young people learn best when parents participate in their children’s “screen time.” Toward that end, EDC has developed a Web site featuring online activities for parents and children (to age 9) to do together. “The site is designed so parents can see their child’s creativity in action,” says Christine Rafal of EDC’s Center for Children & Families. “It’s meant to help parents learn more about their child’s creative development.”

  • EDC Hosts Education Tour for Egyptian Delegates

    EDC’s International Education Systems Division recently hosted a study tour for 15 Egyptian education experts who are working with the Egyptian Ministry of Education to reform early childhood education. The tour, conducted in partnership with the Academy for Educational Development, was funded by USAID and focused on best practices in early childhood care and education training.

  • Discovering Nature in Chinese

    Discovering Nature with Young Children, one of three curriculum modules in the Young Scientist series published by Redleaf Press, has now been translated into Chinese.

  • Promoting Healthy Learning in Germany

    EDC is collaborating on a ground-breaking program in Germany designed to improve education by attending to the physical, social, and mental health of teachers and students, as well as the quality of the learning environment.

  • EDC Program in Uruguay Goes Beyond "No Smoking"

    After successfully piloting its youth tobacco control program in India, Ghana, and Mexico, EDC’s Health and Human Development Programs is now testing the model in Uruguay. The country, emerging as a leader in tobacco control efforts in Latin America, was one of the first in the region to ratify the international Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

  • Instructional Coaching for Teachers

    More than 200 educational leaders from across the country gathered in Boston last September for a three-day conference focused on a particularly promising school improvement strategy.

  • Online Math Training for Military-Base Schools

    The Department of Defense Education Activity operates 200 schools in 13 countries that enroll more than 100,000 students—the children of military service members and Department of Defense civilian employees. EDC is providing online training and materials to nearly 3,000 teachers who work in these schools.

  • Web Site Offers Teachers Creative Literary Resources

    Teachers know that the Internet is full of useful and creative materials to improve reading, but often they are too busy to find the best ones. To make these Web resources more readily available, Judith Zorfass and her staff at EDC’s Center for Family, School, and Community have developed the Literacy Matters Web site. The site aims to improve the literacy development of middle and high school students, especially those who may be struggling.

  • Radio Brings Information, Resources to War-Ravaged Sudan

    With funding from USAID, EDC’s International Education Systems Division is using radio to bring vital information and resources to the poorest and most remote regions of Sudan.

  • Newsletter Focuses on Emergency Preparedness on Campus

    Reinforced by the impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans colleges, U.S. campuses are taking more deliberate approaches to planning for emergencies, including accidents, epidemics, natural disasters, violent incidents, and terrorist attacks.

    In line with these efforts, emergency preparedness on campus is the focus of Catalyst, a 12-page newsletter recently published by the U.S. Department of Education’s Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention (HEC). The center is operated by EDC’s Health and Human Development Programs.

  • EDC Teams with Cisco Systems to Target IT Gender Gap

    EDC’s FunWorks project has teamed up with technology giant Cisco Systems, Inc., and the National Center for Women & Information Technology to increase awareness of education and career opportunities for girls and women in math, computing, and technology.

  • Keeping Teens Safe at Work

    Most of the 80 percent of teens who work enjoy a positive and enriching experience. However, teenagers in the workplace may be at risk for injuries on the job due to inadequate safety training, unsafe equipment, and stressful environments.

  • Promoting Youth Leadership in Gaza and the West Bank

    For years, Palestinian youth living in the West Bank and Gaza have seldom been perceived as an important resource for building their nation’s future. The Palestinian Youth Empowerment Program, or RUWWAD, is hoping to change that perception.

  • Up Close with Mildred Z. Solomon, EDC Vice President

    Dr. Mildred Solomon directs EDC’s Center for Applied Ethics and Professional Practice. The center researches the complexities associated with advances in medical knowledge and technology, and designs programs aimed at improving clinical practice, health care decision-making, and, ultimately, patient and family well-being. She was recently named to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Transplantation, which advises the Secretary on national organ donation policy.