ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Middle-Skill STEM State Policy Framework
Author: Rosenblum, Ian
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: STEM Education,State Policy,Community Colleges,Credentials,Careers,Employment Opportunities,Job Skills,Demand Occupations,Science Careers,Best Practices,Partnerships in Education,Career Readiness

The sector of the economy frequently referred to as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is the subject of much national interest and debate. While there is general consensus across various stakeholders such as policymakers, educators, and industry that STEM education and careers are essential to maintaining an innovative and vibrant country, there are frequent and heated disputes: Are there labor shortages in STEM, either overall or in particular fields or regions? How should resources be targeted? What dimensions of the STEM agenda are most critical? Over the last year, Achieving the Dream and Jobs for the Future have focused on a specific segment of the STEM economy that has not been embroiled in those debates--it has, in fact, not received adequate attention until now. Achieving the Dream and Jobs for the Future have zeroed in on those STEM jobs that can be defined as &quot;middle-skill,&quot; requiring less than a baccalaureate credential. Middle-skill STEM jobs represent an incredible intersection of economic opportunity for individuals from low income backgrounds and for labor markets with persistent and growing workforce needs. These jobs are far more plentiful than is generally understood, and they pay more than the typical jobs available to those with less than a Bachelor's degree. To elevate the middle-skill STEM agenda and its urgency in national debates on both STEM education and postsecondary student success, and to articulate a set of policy targets and priorities for states that want to be more active in supporting middle-skill STEM pathways, Achieving the Dream and Jobs for the Future have created a Middle-Skill STEM State Policy Framework. It includes five major recommendations: (1) Ensure that STEM programs meet employer needs; (2) Improve math preparation and developmental education to boost student success; (3) Create new models that lead to degree attainment; (4) Improve data collection and data use to enhance transparency, accountability, effectiveness and equity; and (5) Encourage innovation and reward better outcomes for STEM students and the STEM workforce. This is a living document that will be refined over time as the national debate on middle-skill STEM jobs evolves and evidence mounts on effective policies and institutional strategies that improve outcomes for community college students. [To view &quot;Middle-Skill STEM State Policy Framework. Executive Summary&quot; in ERIC, see ED556765.]
Success in Real-Time: Using Real-Time Labor Market Information to Build Better Middle-Skill STEM Pathways. Executive Summary
Author: Rosenblum, Ian
Date: 2015-01-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: STEM Education,Labor Market,Job Skills,Labor Force Development,Equal Opportunities (Jobs),Community Colleges,Skilled Occupations,Access to Information,Personnel Selection,Employment Qualifications,Career Development,Technical Assistance,Professional Development,Partnerships in Education,Skill Development,Data Collection,Information Dissemination,State Government,Government Role,Decision Making

The gap that separates so many workers from the prospect of good-paying, stable jobs demands urgent action by states--even as the unrelenting fast pace of economic change makes a sound response all the more difficult and as the &quot;rules of the game&quot; continue to evolve. This is especially true in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields, where rapid growth holds the potential for significant employment gains while a skills gap holds back would-be workers from the employers who seek their talents. By taking urgent action, states have the opportunity to level the playing field and create more equitable educational and career outcomes. Keeping up with the evolving needs of employers in this fast-changing economy is a daunting task for any state, much less an individual college or university. While alignment has been a popular buzzword in the education and training sector for years, the kind of alignment required in the twenty-first century economy is not between what employers need today and what a community college or training program can provide, but rather a shift towards alignment as an ongoing and continuous process by which education and training providers must evolve at the same pace as, and in direct coordination with, regional employers and emerging industries. Real-time labor market information stands at the intersection of these trends and can play a powerful role in meeting the need for an alignment process for the modern economy--and especially for the middle-skill STEM careers that hold so much potential for the nation's future. By providing a window into the dynamic needs of employers--the knowledge, skills, experience, credentials and other assets they seek while hiring--real-time labor market information (LMI) gives states and their community colleges the ability to keep up with labor shifts and better prepare their citizenry for exciting career opportunities and advancement. This document is intended to highlight some of the specific challenges states face in providing leadership to close the skills gap and to offer recommendations for harnessing real-time LMI to develop middle-skill STEM pathways to success at community colleges. (For the full report, see ED556761.)
Middle-Skill STEM State Policy Framework. Executive Summary
Author: Rosenblum, Ian
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: STEM Education,State Policy,Community Colleges,Credentials,Careers,Employment Opportunities,Job Skills,Demand Occupations,Science Careers,Best Practices,Partnerships in Education,Career Readiness

The sector of the economy frequently referred to as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is the subject of much national interest and debate. While there is general consensus across various stakeholders such as policymakers, educators, and industry that STEM education and careers are essential to maintaining an innovative and vibrant country, there are frequent and heated disputes: Are there labor shortages in STEM, either overall or in particular fields or regions? How should resources be targeted? What dimensions of the STEM agenda are most critical? Over the last year, Achieving the Dream and Jobs for the Future have focused on a specific segment of the STEM economy that has not been embroiled in those debates--it has, in fact, not received adequate attention until now. Achieving the Dream and Jobs for the Future have zeroed in on those STEM jobs that can be defined as &quot;middle-skill,&quot; requiring less than a baccalaureate credential. Middle-skill STEM jobs represent an incredible intersection of economic opportunity for individuals from low income backgrounds and for labor markets with persistent and growing workforce needs. These jobs are far more plentiful than is generally understood, and they pay more than the typical jobs available to those with less than a Bachelor's degree. To elevate the middle-skill STEM agenda and its urgency in national debates on both STEM education and postsecondary student success, and to articulate a set of policy targets and priorities for states that want to be more active in supporting middle-skill STEM pathways, Achieving the Dream and Jobs for the Future have created a Middle-Skill STEM State Policy Framework. It includes five major recommendations: (1) Ensure that STEM programs meet employer needs; (2) Improve math preparation and developmental education to boost student success; (3) Create new models that lead to degree attainment; (4) Improve data collection and data use to enhance transparency, accountability, effectiveness and equity; and (5) Encourage innovation and reward better outcomes for STEM students and the STEM workforce. This is a living document that will be refined over time as the national debate on middle-skill STEM jobs evolves and evidence mounts on effective policies and institutional strategies that improve outcomes for community college students. (For the full report, see ED556763.)
Building a Grad Nation. Executive Brief: Overview of 2012-13 High School Graduation Rates
Author: Civic Enterprises
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Graduation Rate,High School Graduates,Geographic Location,Trend Analysis,Racial Differences,Ethnic Groups,White Students,African American Students,Hispanic American Students,High School Students,Minority Group Students,Low Income Groups,Education Work Relationship,Dropouts,Public Health,Educational Attainment,Economic Factors,Socioeconomic Influences,Citizen Participation

Over the past dozen years, schools, districts, and states have begun to focus increased attention on boosting high school graduation rates. During this period, the nation has seen more evidence-based educational reforms in low-performing schools, more support for struggling students, and better data and stronger accountability to chart progress and challenge. In 2006, an emerging group of leaders and institutions that would become the &quot;GradNation&quot; campaign set an ambitious goal: to raise the national high school graduation rate to 90 percent by the Class of 2020 and to take that goal seriously by fostering the reforms, supports, and accountability that could ensure more students stay on track to graduate. In 2012, the nation took a giant step toward achieving this goal by reaching the 80 percent threshold for the first time in history, up about 10 percentage points from the beginning of the decade. The upward trajectory of high school graduation rates over the past decade continued in 2013, as the national graduation rate hit a record high of 81.4 percent. For the third year in a row, the nation remained on pace to meet the 90 percent goal. This Executive Brief highlights high school graduation rates across the nation, and notes the progress being made by states and the subgroups of students represented within them. It also provides statistics on the benefits of earning a high school diploma to underscore the importance of getting students through this critical juncture. While the nation celebrates this achievement, it must also maintain a commitment to keeping standards high to ensure students are prepared to meet the challenges ahead. This Executive Brief keeps pace with the release of data on graduation rates and lays a foundation for the more comprehensive annual &quot;Building a Grad Nation&quot; report that will be issued in May 2015.
Art &amp; Early Childhood: Personal Narratives &amp; Social Practices. Occasional Paper Series 31
Author: Sunday, Kris, Ed.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Personal Narratives,Art,Art Education,Play,Art Activities,Literacy Education,Illustrations,Role,Learning Processes,Early Childhood Education,Teaching Methods,Visual Arts,Verbal Communication,Cooperative Learning,Foreign Countries,Teacher Education,Social Studies,Freehand Drawing,Imagination,Artists,Photography,Aesthetics,Energy,Science Education,Playgrounds

This issue explores the nature of childhood by offering selections that re/imagine the idea of the child as art maker; inquire about the relationships between children and adults when they are making art; and investigate how physical space influences approaches to art instruction. Readers are invited to join a dialogue that questions long-standing traditions of early childhood art--traditions grounded in a modernist view of children's art as a romantic expression of inner emotional and/or developmental trajectories. Selected essays create liminal spaces for reflection, dialogue, and critique of the views that have governed understandings of children and their art. Individual essays in this paper include: (1) Entering the Secret Hideout: Fostering Newness and Space for Art and Play (Shana Cinquema); (2) The Affective Flows of Art-Making (Bronwyn Davies); (3) Seeing Meaning (Barry Goldberg); (4) The Existential Territories of Global Childhoods: Resingularizing Subjectivity Through Ecologies of Care and the Art of Ahlam Shibli (Laura Trafí-Prats); (5) Visualizing Spaces of Childhood (Heather G. Kaplan); (6) A &quot;Widespread Atelier&quot; for Exploring Energy (Giulio Ceppi); (7) Art Education at Bank Street College, Then and Now (Edith Gwathmey and Ann-Marie Mott); (8) Theorising through Visual and Verbal Metaphors: Challenging Narrow Depictions of Children and Learning (Sophie Rudolph); and (9) Time for a Paradigm Shift: Recognizing the Critical Role of Pictures Within Literacy Learning (Beth Olshansky). Individual essays contain references and figures.
Claiming the Promise of Place-Based Education. Occasional Paper Series 33
Author: Altman, Roberta, Ed.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Collected Works - General
Subjects: Place Based Education,Fantasy,Childrens Literature,Museums,Nonschool Educational Programs,Theater Arts,Ecology,Economics,Preschool Education,Kindergarten,Earth Science,Preservice Teacher Education,Elementary Secondary Education,Urban Education,Environmental Education,Science Education,Foreign Countries

Each of the papers in this collection offers a much-needed antidote to the forces that disconnect educators from the places in which they teach, learn, and live. Together, they provide an opportunity to reflect on the power of place in education. This issue offers an opportunity--an invitation--to embrace all that the places both in and outside the classroom have to offer. Individual essays in this paper include: (1) Reclaiming the Promise of Place: An Interview with David Greenwood (Roberta Altman); (2) Playing in Literary Landscapes: Considering Children's Need for Fantasy Literature in the Place-Based Classroom (Sarah Fisher); (3) Guggenheim for All: Museum Education for Students on the Spectrum (Chiara Di Lello); (4) Curtain Up: Place-based Teaching &amp; Learning in the New York City Theater District (Peggy McNamara and Bryan Andes); (5) Place-Based Education: (Re)Integrating Ecology &amp; Economy (Mark T. Kissling and Angela Calabrese Barton); (6) Discovering Place-based Education in the Foothills of the Himalayas (Monimalika Day with Doug Hernandez); (7) Learning Naturally: An Inquiry Study of Streams in Hawaii (Becca Kesler); (8) Nature Preschools: Putting Nature at the Heart of Early Childhood Education (Ken Finch and Patti Ensel Bailie); and (9) Preparing Teachers for Place-based Teaching (Amy Vinlove). Individual essays contain references and figures.
Postsecondary Support for Competency-Based High School Transcripts: Lessons from the Competency-Based Transcripts Postsecondary Convening (Washington, DC, May 29-30, 2014)
Author: Achieve, Inc.
Date: 2015-03-11
Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Subjects: Competency Based Education,Academic Records,High Schools,Postsecondary Education,Elementary Secondary Education,Conferences (Gatherings)

In December 2013, while attending Achieve's Annual State Leadership Team Meeting in Alexandria, VA, leaders from Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont issued a call to action to create a national movement for postsecondary leaders to signal their support for proficiency-based and competency-based high school diplomas and transcripts. Achieve has been working to support 12 states, including the five New England states, in advancing their policy and practice through the Competency-Based Pathways (CBP) State Partnership. In response to this call to action, Achieve partnered with The Learning Accelerator and the Center for Innovation in Education to plan an initial convening of leaders and stakeholders from K-12 and postsecondary education--a convening designed to build guidance and recommendations for what it would take for postsecondary education to signal its support. The conversation that took place on May 29-30, 2014, in Washington, DC, was a first step in building this movement. This document summarizes the intent behind the convening and describes several key lessons that presenters shared as well as findings that emerged from discussions. A list of participants concludes the paper.
State Policy Recommendations for Providing Educators Access to College- and Career-Ready Open Educational Resources
Author: Voss, Hans
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: State Policy,College Readiness,Career Readiness,State Standards,Open Source Technology,Instructional Materials,Shared Resources and Services,Textbooks,Alignment (Education)

As states and districts transition to college- and career-ready standards and aligned assessments, the need for high-quality instructional materials is clear. Open Educational Resources (OER) offer a low-cost solution with high potential to assist teachers nationwide in helping students meet the demands of higher standards. More and more developers are choosing to publish their instructional materials as OER as an alternative to publishing with a traditional, all rights reserved copyright. In addition to this advantage, OER support the ability of educators to share and modify instructional materials for classroom use. With the advent of common, college- and career-ready standards in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), educators can seek out, customize or develop high-quality instructional materials and can share those materials with their peers across districts and state borders. The modern classroom incorporates modular instructional materials from myriad sources, and therefore instructional materials and the policies and practices related to those materials should support this new model. The model of one textbook per student in each subject is out of sync with a world where content is available digitally, through an array of methods, to meet the needs of students and teachers in 21st-century classrooms. However, as with the rest of the marketplace, the demand for materials has led to a flood of new OER instructional materials. The large number of materials presents a daily challenge for educators who are trying to determine the quality and alignment of the materials. It also underscores the importance of policy leaders with shared standards having a shared understanding of what constitutes quality and standards alignment for OER instructional materials, across districts and across states. This brief sets forth state policy recommendations for providing educator access to college and career-ready OER. Two appendixes include: (1) &quot;The Case for OER--A Guide for Policymakers&quot;; and (2) Related Resources.
Toward a More Loving Framework for Literacy Education. Occasional Papers 29
Author: Stearns, Clio
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Collected Works - General
Subjects: Literacy Education,Teaching Methods,Reading Instruction,Grade 5,Elementary School Students,Elementary School Teachers,Reading Material Selection,Reading Aloud to Others,Picture Books,Personal Narratives,Parents as Teachers,Childrens Literature

We all want children to become engaged and enthusiastic readers. Yet teachers are often challenged by students who, because of histories with a standardized and irrelevant curriculum, poor pedagogy, or unique learning styles, have become alienated from the written word. Impatient with teachers' ignorance and desiring to be liberated from well-meaning interventions, these so called &quot;struggling&quot; readers often make short shrift of teachers' best efforts. In this provocative and moving essay, Clio Stearns, a Bank Street educated teacher, toggles back and forth between moments with her young daughter who daily grows more attached to books and moments with her fifth grade students who remain disconnected from her carefully chosen texts. Refracted through a psychoanalytic lens and a deeply caring heart, Stearns' description of her classroom practices offers a canny account of all that she must give up in order to see through and past her students' resistance. In a surprising turn of events she learns to join with her students as they become curious readers of the world that really matters to them. Three senior scholars respond to Stearns' essay by reflecting on their lives as curriculum theorists in order to highlight the fundamental dynamics of teaching and learning with other people's children in the following essays: (1) Near &amp; Far; (2) Dirt &amp; Early Reading; and (3) The Pedagogical Use of Loss. This collection of essays reminds the reader that which would be forgotten: Reading and writing are profoundly human activities requiring mindful attunement to the interpersonal relationships through which they are achieved. Individual essays contain references.
Inclusive Classrooms: From Access to Engagement. Occasional Papers 28
Author: Andrias, Eve, Ed.
Date: 2012-00-00
Type: Collected Works - General
Subjects: Inclusion,Disabilities,Mainstreaming,Access to Education,Civil Rights,Barriers,Team Teaching,Interaction,Interpersonal Relationship,Interpersonal Competence,Physical Disabilities,Educational History,Educational Legislation,Court Litigation,Equal Education,Educational Quality,Special Education,Special Classes,Special Schools,Response to Intervention,Teaching Methods,Federal Legislation,Desegregation Litigation

What would schools and classrooms look like if they truly mirrored our democratic ideals? In this issue of the Occasional Papers, five authors explore current and historical questions related to the inclusion of children with disabilities in public schools. The history of educating children with disabilities--an ongoing civil rights issue--has progressed over the decades from exclusion, to segregation, to access, towards a vision of inclusion that is yet to be universally realized. Too often in the currently polarized educational climate, the debate on inclusion is reduced to questions of funding, improving students' performance on standardized tests, or simply does not occur at all (very little has been written, for example, on the implications of value added assessments for teachers in co-taught classrooms). Inclusion, however, is an ethic not a place, service, or &quot;outcome.&quot; The contributors to this volume explore the meaning of inclusion from a range of more nuanced perspectives. They tackle themes related to historical progress, access and collaboration, and take a close look in particular at the complex and changing relationship of general and special educators. The contributors offer exemplary models, surface critical questions, and identify enduring challenges. An introduction by Valentine Burr is followed by individual essays: (1) Inclusion: What Came Before (Judith Lesch); (2) Doing the Civil Right Thing Supporting Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms (David J. Connor and Kristen Goldmansour); (3) Overcoming Barriers to Co-teaching (Seamus O'Connor); and (4) From Access to Interaction: Prioritizing Opportunities for Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Development for Children with Physical Disabilities in Inclusive Classrooms (Daniel Atkins). Individual essays contain references and figures.