New findings from biology and education research show that regular exercise benefits the brain in numerous ways. Not only can regular workouts in the gym or on the playground improve attention span, memory, and learning, they can also reduce stress and the effects of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and even delay cognitive decline in old age.
Complete report:
http://www.edutopia.org/exercise-fitness-brain-benefits-learning
Why We’re Behind: What Top Nations Teach Their Students But We Don’t
This an in-depth look into the content of education in nine high-performing nations that consistently outperform the U.S. on international assessments, specifically on PISA: Finland, Hong Kong, South Korea, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands, and Switzerland.Our research found that one common ingredient among these nations is that they are dedicated to educating their children deeply in a wide range of subjects. Why We’re Behind publishes extended excerpts from national curricula, standards, and assessment practices - documents that can offer lessons to individual states that might want to follow these exceptional models. Here are some examples:
• Fourth graders in Hong Kong visit an artist’s studio, study Picasso’s Guernica, and analyze the works of modernist sculptor Henry Moore.
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• Finnish 5th and 6th graders study how the invention of writing changed human life and the impacts of the French Revolution; they trace a topic such as the evolution of trade from prehistory until the 19th century.
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• Seventh graders in Korea are expected to know not just about supply and demand, but about equilibrium price theories, property rights, and ways to improve market function.
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• Japanese 7th to 9th graders “conduct experiment regarding pressure to discover that pressure is related to the magnitude of a force and the area.”
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• Eighth graders from the Canadian province of Ontario are expected to conduct musicians, create compositions, and know music terms in Italian.
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• Dutch 12th graders must know enough about seven events connected to the Crimean War to be able to put them in chronological order.
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• Canadian 12th graders in British Columbia are expected to identify the author of the words: “Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men” and to what Admiral Nimitz was referring when he said: “Pearl Harbor has now been partially avenged.”
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• On a Swiss exam 12th graders write an essay analyzing JFK’s October 1962 proclamation that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Full report:
http://www.commoncore.org/_docs/CCreport_whybehind.pdf
STILL AT RISK. – What Students Don’t Know Even Now
A new survey of 17-year-olds reveals that, to many, the paragraph above sounds only slightly strange. Almost 20 percent of 1,200 respondents to a national telephone survey do not know who our enemy was in World War II, and more than a quarter think Columbus sailed after 1750. Half do not know whom Sen. McCarthy investigated or what the Renaissance was.
Full report:
http://www.commoncore.org/_docs/CCreport_stillatrisk.pdf
Top Researchers: Evidence Points to School Voucher Effectiveness
School voucher programs increase student achievement and satisfy parents, according to four top researchers who spoke out in Washington recently to highlight the findings of key school choice studies.
Considered four of America’s foremost experts on education research, Jay Greene, Grover “Russ” Whitehurst, Patrick Wolf, and Patrick Stewart revealed key data and perspectives yesterday from more than a dozen school choice initiatives.
The discussion was a timely gathering in light of the Congressional debate over the future of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. This program—a federally-funded initiative—allows low-income District families to receive a scholarship to attend a participating private school of their parents’ choice.
In all, the researchers indicated that when it comes to school choice, the results have been overwhelmingly favorable—and plentiful.
“There is more research on vouchers than any other education policy,” Green said,” This research meets standards of quality like publication, peer review, and replication.”
In terms of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, studies of the program have been closely monitored and are, according to lead investigator Patrick Wolf, “as rigorous as we could make them.” Wolf investigated the program for two independent reports released by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Educational Sciences.
Grover “Russ” Whitehurst, who headed IES until moving to the Brookings Institute earlier this year, vouched for the validity of the D.C. research, calling it “an attempt to compare apples to apples, and carefully.”
In terms of results, Wolf said that the D.C. program shows significant achievement gains among students, as well as extremely high parental satisfaction rates.
Parents of students in the D.C. program, Wolf said, “viewed private schools as safer, more orderly, and more disciplined.” Wolf said that students who were offered vouchers demonstrated 3.7 months of additional learning in reading than their public school peers.
Patrick Stewart, a researcher who conducted extensive evaluations of families in the D.C. program, concurred, saying that the program has also led to “increase involvement by parents because of increased involvement by private schools” to engage them.
Stewart said that a reading of school choice research must include factors that complement student learning, such as feelings of safety. The parents in the D.C. program care about test scores and school success but equally want to “find a safe place for their children.”
Reviewing the overall body of research on school choice programs—18 exist across 10 states and the District of Columbia—Greene said that no studies have demonstrated that school vouchers have a negative impact on student learning, with most studies showing “a higher level of achievement in students.”
“The evidence clearly suggests that voucher programs help kids who participate and also help kids who don’t,” Greene said, referencing the benefits of competition resulting from school choice programs.
Whitehurst cautioned that policymakers should analyze data before making decisions about the future of programs, and that advocates on both sides of the school choice debate should not “cherry-pick” positive or negative aspects of reports to make their cases.
“It would be good if people who oppose vouchers—regardless of the evidence—would say why they really do oppose them,” Whitehurst said, adding that supporters must live by the same credo.
New Global Education Research Program Created
The Global Education Research Program is an initiative that will analyze and measure the impact of technology on students’ educational experiences at various levels, ranging from first grade through higher education, both inside and outside the classroom.
Educational institutions have embraced using technology such as PCs, multimedia materials and interactive white boards in the classroom over the past decade to help students develop 21st century skills and to connect administrators and streamline district operations. The new Lenovo initiative aims to gain a complete view of the role and impact of technology in all aspects of the learning environment. The research will benefit Lenovo’s existing and future education customers and programs by helping to outline clear actions and best practices for national, provincial and local governments to improve their use of technology in education. The Program kicks off during Lenovo’s 12th annual Think Tank education conference hosted this year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, NC on June 1-3.
Lenovo Taps Top Education Talent to Drive Research
Lenovo has leveraged its global network of customers and partners to create a network of education centers that will contribute the best practices in education and across all disciplines, in and out of the traditional classroom. Initial program participants include the following centers:
University of North Carolina Center for Faculty Excellence, Chapel Hill, NC – The University's established faculty center will immediately begin developing and evaluating new faculty development strategies necessary to support instructional innovation. Beginning September 2009, UNC faculty will be awarded grants from Lenovo to research the efficacy of technology in teaching, learning and assessment.
Institute for International Leadership, Honolulu, HI – Going live in July 2010, the Institute for International Leadership will bring together top schools in the U.S. and China to foster a multinational, multilingual online learning framework driven by technology. The Institute will promote leadership development in academics and in public service for secondary school students and teachers and encourage international collaboration.
Tiger Woods Learning Center, Anaheim, CA – Launched in February 2006, the Tiger Woods Learning Center is a one-of-a-kind life experience custom built for underserved youth. The Center is technology-rich, innovative and motivates students who are imaginative, engaged and planning their paths to college and a career. This after school campus, designed to inspire career exploration, serves members in grades five through twelve. Classes include forensic science, robotics, engineering, aerospace, video production and marine biology.
The Lenovo Global Education Research Program will conduct both quantitative and qualitative studies using an updated set of criteria defined by the consortium and that are relevant to the skills students must possess to be successful in today’s society. Each center will be led by members of the center as well as an esteemed body of academic advisors and Lenovo education practice experts.
Lenovo is developing the Global Education Research Centers in partnership with Microsoft and Intel.
Building Upon a Foundation Based on PC Technology
At the core of the Global Education Research Program are Lenovo PCs which have been in classrooms for many years. Lenovo works with more than 400 colleges, universities and schools for 1:1 PC deployments across the U.S. and as part of the ThinkPad Universities program. Lenovo tailors its PC solutions to fit their needs with options such as the ThinkPad Ultimate Academic PC Program. This program packages ThinkPad laptops powered by Intel® Centrino® 2 Processor Technology with Microsoft Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Office Ultimate and other software for an affordable solution. Lenovo also works with thousands of primary and secondary schools to integrate PC technology into curriculums with laptops, desktops and recently with netbooks, such as the IdeaPad S10e netbook designed for education. Lenovo also offers schools information and services regarding the U.S. federal economic stimulus solution.
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