By Jodi Peterson
Posted on 2015-10-19
The hot parlor game recently among education advocates is whether the reauthorized version of No Child Left Behind will make it across the finish line this fall amid the turmoil in Congress and the unexpected departure of Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the end of the year.
Despite this, and the fact that members of the conference committee have yet to be named and the growing number of pressing issues Congress has to address in the next few weeks, Congressional education leaders (Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., plus Reps. John Kline, R-Minn, and Bobby Scott, D-Va., ) and their staff are diligently working on the differences between the House and Senate bills and hope to get compromise legislation that can be approved by both House conservatives and the Administration.
One big issue addressed last week was the accountability features in the legislation. A roundtable of prominent Senators and Administration officials called on law makers to ensure the new ESEA will help schools with low student achievement rates.
The Senate’s bipartisan bill, the Every Child Achieves Act (S.1177), contains a provision (S. 1177, Title II E, Section 2005) that would provide targeted funding to states for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs. However, the partisan House bill, the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), does not have a dedicated program for STEM.
Thanks to the support from many STEM education advocates, the final House Dear Colleague letter supporting the Senate language with dedicated STEM funding in the final ESEA conference bill garnered signatures from both sides of the aisle. Thirty four House members—9 Republicans and 25 Democrats–signed the Hanna-Courtney Dear Colleague. NSTA and the STEM Ed Coalition worked with Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY) and Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) to organize the bipartisan “Dear Colleague” letter.
STEM Education Act Is Now Law
President Obama signed the STEM Education Act into law last week. The bipartisan bill 1) officially adds computer science to the definition of STEM subjects for the National Science Foundation and other science agencies, 2) reaffirms NSF’s commitment to informal STEM education by reauthorizing certain informal STEM research priorities; and 3) expands eligibility for some categories of teachers for the prestigious NSF Noyce Teacher Scholarship program for STEM educators. Read more.
Jodi Peterson is Assistant Executive Director of Legislative Affairs for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and Chair of the STEM Education Coalition. e-mail Jodi at jpeterson@nsta.org; follow her on Twitter at @stemedadvocate.
The mission of NSTA is to promote excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all.
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The hot parlor game recently among education advocates is whether the reauthorized version of No Child Left Behind will make it across the finish line this fall amid the turmoil in Congress and the unexpected departure of Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the end of the year.
By Mary Bigelow
Posted on 2015-10-18
Each of the K-12 journals this month includes DCIs, SEPs, and CCs, Oh My! Understanding the Three Dimensions of the NGSS with in-depth descriptions of what the Disciplinary Core Ideas, Science and Engineering Practices, and Cross-cutting concepts mean for science curriculum, instruction, and assessment. A must read!
The themes of the three K-12 Journals in October fit together nicely – the History and Nature of Science lends itself to interdisciplinary studies, and studying the earth provides a context for these studies.
The Science Teacher: History and Nature of Science
The featured articles focus on how historical events and discoveries connect with scientific knowledge and how this knowledge changes with new events and discoveries. See this month’s Science Scope for more lessons on the interdisciplinary Nature of Science.
Here are some SciLinks with content information and suggestions for additional activities and investigations related to this month’s featured articles: Glaciers, Ice Ages, Life on Other Planets, Nuclear Reactions, Our Universe, Periodic Table.
Continue for Science and Children and Science Scope.
Science and Children: Earth’s Systems
This issue focuses on Systems, with examples from earth science, specifically related to climate and weather. Although many elementary students study the weather, understanding how weather and climate are related (and changing) is important for students. As the editor notes, “The core ideas should begin with place-based weather concepts and then expand to global climates.”
Here are some SciLinks with content information and suggestions for additional activities and investigations related to this month’s featured articles: Caverns, Drought, Groundwater, Landforms, Soil, Weather, Water Conservation, Water Cycle, Wolves.
Science Scope: Interdisciplinary Projects
“Viewing similar content from multiple perspectives can enhance learning, produce a greater depth of understanding, and foster creativity and insight,” according to the editor. Many of these articles also address the Nature of Science, the theme of The Science Teacher.
Here are some SciLinks with content information and suggestions for additional activities and investigations related to this month’s featured articles: Ciliophora, Crustaceans, Fossil Record, Fossils, Landforms, Lasers, Ocean Floor, Metals, Recycling, Scientists’ Biographies, Sonar.
Each of the K-12 journals this month includes DCIs, SEPs, and CCs, Oh My! Understanding the Three Dimensions of the NGSS with in-depth descriptions of what the Disciplinary Core Ideas, Science and Engineering Practices, and Cross-cutting concepts mean for science curriculum, instruction, and assessment. A must read!