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Recent Blogs
Textbooks: The Process and Fight for School District Adoption
Publishers now face new barriers when selling textbooks. The needs of the teachers and students are at risk unless providers can make flexible, adaptable, and scalable resources. Florida’s rejection of math textbooks for SEL and Common Core standards brings providers new challenges. Publishers may face some of these challenges.
College Courses: 5 Elements to Include for First Year Students
Students enter college from different backgrounds and situations. They might be fully college-ready; meanwhile, others need help. Besides that, college students might not know how to effectively study and attend classes. Thus, colleges have created first-year courses to help guide these students. The What Works Intervention Report produced by the Department of Education shows that students who attend first-year courses did better in college. With more online learning, first-year college courses become a valuable tool for retention and college-career guidance. They can be embedded in core courses like biology and offer various components such as socialization and learning support. Higher-ed leaders can include these five elements for these first-year college courses.
Accelerating Diverse Students’ Learning Through Translated and Illustrated Glossary Resources
This webinar will highlight the processes of development and implementation of translated and illustrated glossaries for use in assessments and instruction. These resources are designed to meet diverse students’ language-related access needs and preferences and provide fair and equitable assessment content.
Subject Matter Experts: Developing Expectations for Course Development
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), the oracles of knowledge, provide the expertise for curriculum and course development. They know the subject, perhaps taught it, made a course on their own before, or worked in an industry for many, many years. When developing the content, leaders, instructional designers (IDs), and other team members rely on them to ensure the content moves in the best direction; they review if the content is reliable. Yet, the curriculum development process may lack clarity. Team members may not know their role or not meet the expectations. Therefore, leaders should understand these situations when directing SMEs when developing courses.
6 Steps for Publishers When Building the Curriculum Process
Making a robust curriculum is complex. Without effective processes, learners lack structure and guidance that makes optimal learning. Besides that, schools cannot effectively measure results. Moreover, tomorrow’s curriculum must connect to various types of learning, such as online courses. Content creators can quickly lose focus. Therefore, leaders can utilize the following six steps for the curriculum process.
5 Powerful Methods for Higher-Ed Leaders to Address Mental Health for College Students
Sixty percent of prospective college students say mental health services are very important when deciding the school to attend. Before the pandemic, that same outlook was only shared half that amount by students. With this issue, increasing mental health disorders affect students’ academic achievement. Therefore, colleges and universities need to invest in, advocate for, and address the mental health needs of college students. Addressing mental health helps increase student outcomes, raise enrollment and retention rates, prevent suicide, and meet a school’s mission goals and economic needs. Higher-ed leaders consider the following five strategies to improve mental health for both students and institutions.
K-12 School: How Publishers and Providers Can Address the New Virtual Continuum
The pandemic has opened various pathways for K-12 students to learn. Savvy providers think differently about the digital tools they offer schools. Publishers give districts digital solutions for different scenarios students face. Also, leaders create equity by meeting the student where they are in their learning journey. Publishing leaders can create materials to supply these virtual platforms, giving every student an equal opportunity for K-12 schools.
SEL Curriculum: The 5 Necessary Elements That School District Leaders Expect
K-12 schools are moving more towards incorporating social and emotional learning (SEL) into their curriculum. The curriculum should include particular elements for the lesson plan materials. These elements ensure that students achieve their outcomes and that teachers rely on efficient and effective instructional materials. As a result, district leaders expect the following five elements in an SEL curriculum. K-12 publishers and providers, therefore, should incorporate these elements as they lead their teams to make instructional products:
Credentialing: Why Higher-Ed Leaders Should Bridge Credit and Non-Credit Courses
College leaders adeptly balance the competing needs of their institution. For years, colleges have held a dual mission: Prep workers for employers and equip students to transfer to four-year institutions for degree obtainment. Nevertheless, these dual missions split into two distinct tracks creating bureaucratic barriers. These walls make moving between obtaining a career-centric certification and a traditional degree difficult for students. Sadly, students of color and at-risk have the most to lose. Still, higher-ed leaders can take steps to bridge the gap between non-credential and credit courses to improve credentialing.
4 Great Ways to Improve Community College Graduation Rates
Staying in college and graduating presents challenges for many students, particularly community college students. According to Think Impact, Inc., a 3.8 billion loss happens each year from college dropouts. Therefore, college leaders for 2-year and 4-year higher-ed institutions must make strides to ensure students become college graduates. Students may come from low-income families and face barriers that traditional students do not face. Thus, college leaders apply these four strategies to help community college students to become college graduates.
The Importance of Building CASEL Curriculum for K-12 SEL
Social and emotional learning (SEL) helps children learn to understand themselves, connect with others, achieve individual and collective goals, and support their communities. Strong SEL skills help students achieve academic success. Also, these skills enhance self-esteem, relationship building, employability, and civic responsibility.
Many educators project that students will need SEL skills for the future. Thus, leaders can help produce materials to address this need. The pandemic and its stresses indicate the need for SEL education. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and Urban Assembly agree that SEL is paramount to community and nationwide civil harmony.
Curriculum Process: 5 points that Higher Ed Leaders Should Know
The curriculum attracts students and engages the surrounding community. However, colleges risk losing new students and opportunities in their community when the curriculum process is slow. Besides that, universities risk missing fresh ideas from faculty when the process is cumbersome. Here are five points higher ed leaders should know.