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Taking Center Stage-Act II (TCSII): Ensuring Success and Closing the Achievement Gap for All of California's Middle Grades Students promotes, illustrates, and supports the concepts embedded in the California Department of Education's (CDE) 12 Recommendations for Middle Grades Success. Created specifically for middle grades educators, the Web portal delivers developmentally responsive and research-based practices through videos, professional learning activities, and best practice vignettes focused on the young adolescent.

"We all know that leadership is important in education. Without strong leadership, education initiatives tend to crash and burn. Consider professional learning. Leadership is one of Learning Forward's seven Standards for Professional Learning -- evidence-based standards that outline the characteristics of professional learning that lead to effective teaching practices and improved student learning."

"After writing about the 14 techy concepts every teacher should know about, Educational Technology and Mobile Learning is providing you with a list of learning methods together with their definitions. Knowing about these methods and employing them in your classroom will definitely make a difference in your teaching practics. Check them out below and share with us what you think of them. Enjoy"

"This new section features online apps which you may find useful in your teaching. Check that app! reviews are written by participants and tutors from our mLearning in Practice online training course, so the apps are tried and tested by real language teachers. Click on the links below to find out more about the app, and suggestions for ways to use it with your own students. We update this section regularly, so come back regularly - or subscribe to our social media channels and the updates will come to you!"

"In 2011 I wrote a post entitled Using Teaching as inquiry to guide an elearning action plan, looking at how the inquiry cycle enables teachers to integrate e-learning in such a way that it focuses on the student needs over the e-learning tool itself. In 2012 I revised this model. The inquiry cycle continues to inform the elearning action plan, but this time with a focus on how thinking skills can be developed, using collaborative practices and differentiation, and how this can be supported through the integration of ICT in and beyond the classroom. "

"Technology is always upgrading, especially something popular like iPads with huge user base. Apple has the strong resource to make it better and better. After the upgrades of iOS6, Lisa Nash - the author of Learning and Teaching with iPads, made a list of its impact in the use of schools. Readers will find these changes are thoughtful considerations for daily use practice. "

"Australia's first Australian Professional Standard for Principals was endorsed by Ministers at the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) on 8 July 2011. The content Standard is a public statement which sets out what principals are expected to know, understand and do to achieve in their work. It is represented as interdependent and integrated model that recognises three leadership requirements that a principal draws upon within five areas of professional practice."

"In our opinion, one of the biggest misconceptions in education is the idea that "the basics" must precede innovation. While foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy will always be necessary, there's no reason why we can't teach them alongside innovative practices."

"Convincing more students to pursue STEM studies is a goal widely shared by educators, policymakers, and industry representatives concerned about the leaky pipeline of students preparing to become the next generation of innovators. Fortunately, there's no shortage of solutions. When more than 200 of the nation's top math and science educators gathered at the White House this fall to receive the 2016 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, they exchanged practical ideas for igniting student interest in STEM. ADVERTISEMENT Among the honorees was Dr. Jaunine Fouché, science curriculum supervisor at the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania. This unique residential school, founded as a philanthropic effort more than a century ago, serves more than 2,000 students in preK-12 from across the U.S. Every student comes from a background of poverty. Education and wraparound services are provided at no cost. In a recent conversation, Dr. Fouché shared strategies for making science education more engaging to diverse learners. Here are the highlights."

"Driving past the local "cash-strapped" high school's humongous color jumbotron the other day (the one in violation of zoning laws and with a larger carbon footprint than Toledo), I was reminded that I haven't written about one of my favorite subjects in a while - summer reading. The jumbotron's ominous message warned students not to forget their summer reading "assignment." Let me first state on-the-record that I am for reading. I'm a big fan of it and suggest that others try it occasionally. What I am against is hypocrisy and coercive teaching practices."

"Too often teachers are passive recipients of professional development rather than being active agents of their own development and change. Several recent reports have indicated that teacher professional development, as it is being implemented in most schools, is ineffective and a waste of time and money. Several studies over the past few years that have found professional development to be largely ineffective or unhelpful for teachers. Only 30 percent of teachers improve substantially with the help of district-led professional development, even though districts spend an average of $18,000 on development for each teacher per year, according to a new report. Most professional development today is ineffective. It neither changes teacher practice nor improves student learning. The hard truth is that the help most schools give their teachers isn't helping all that much. When it comes to teaching, real improvement is a lot harder to achieve-and we know much less about how to make it happen-than most of us would like to admit. (New report reveals that teacher professional development is costly and ineffective)"

"Student engagement can be tough all year, but spring fever makes it a bit worse as the weather gets warmer and students' minds wander. After 15 years of teaching, I've learned that a teacher cannot rely on any single solution to keep kids focused on learning. There are so many different ways to get students' attention because there are so many different types of students. However, here are a few ways that have really made a difference in my classes."

"Designing your own 3D printed parts is a skill that every person who owns a printer should have or be actively acquiring. The power to design exactly what you want feels incredible when you actually have it, and the lack of those skills is incredibly frustrating when they present themselves. More from Weekend Watch Weekend Watch: This Hydraulic Press Channel Is Crushing It Weekend Watch: "Ron's Stuff" Is a Collection of Kinetic Wooden Sculptures Weekend Watch: "Geek Builders" Blends Geeky and Practical in Videos Noe Ruiz over at Adafruit has an ongoing educational series called "Layer by Layer". If you skim back through the playlist, there are over 40 videos about designing for 3D printing."

" Because of pressure to teach bell-to-bell -- the pedagogical equivalent of force-feeding geese to make foie gras -- many classrooms now start with bell work, short exercises that students complete while the instructor attends to attendance and other administrative chores. Journal prompts and concept questions can focus students on nutritious academic content and initiate a positive tempo for the next 90 minutes of class. With the help of graduate student David Fictum, I collected several creative, practical and entertaining exercises that can function as bell ringers or sponge activities. Here they are: "