Community News

Teaching Planner (www.teachingplanner.com) is a new site designed to help teachers both find high quality resources online, plan their lessons, and record grading. Teaching Planner is looking for feedback from math and science teachers on the site and its services:

How to help:

• Explore the site at www.teachingplanner.com
• Take a video tour
• Sign up for a free month trial with option to extend to one year
• Take a survey on your experience with Teaching Planner

Teachers and education professionals have the opportunity to participate in one of the best education surveys going: the Speak Up! online research project by Project Tomorrow®, from now through December 14, 2012. 

Conducted every year, the Speak Up national online research project "gives individuals the opportunity to share their viewpoints about key educational issues. Each year, findings are summarized and shared with national and state policy makers. Participating schools and districts can access their data online, free of charge." 

All districts and schools in the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) database are automatically pre-registered to participate in Speak Up. 

Speak Up solicits info from students, parents, and educators. Results are available for schools and districts in February 2013. 

Learn more

Sierra College in Rocklin, California reports positive outcomes from its Advanced Technological Education (ATE) project, funded by the National Science Foundation. Emphasizing the value of two-year college programs, the ATE focuses on improving and expanding the education of technicians in high technology and skills areas integral to the US economy. 

"Sierra College welding students are better prepared for employment because the critical math skills sought by industry are being overtly integrated into class projects. Sierra College Welding Department chair, Bill Wenzel, worked with Katie Lucero, chair of the Sierra College Math Department to develop new infused math in welding curriculum and test it in two classes. While welding classes have alwaysincluded some math, incorporating math lessons tied directly to a student project significantly improved students’ math skills.

The Sierra College IGNITE (Infusing GeN-ed Into Technical Education) project was developed in partnership with the West Virginia University at Parkersburg (WVUP) and funded by the National Science Foundation, according to Carol Pepper-Kittredge, director, Sierra College Center for Applied Competitive Technologies (CACT).

Using the math competencies WVUP identified for infusion into welding, Sierra College faculty developed hands-on, applied math curriculum that related directly to welding projects. Students in Welding Technology 10 classes learned welding and technical skills as they fabricated a Hibachi barbeque, according to Wenzel. “Classes were provided with drawings that showed measurements as fractions and decimals, step-by-step assembly directions and instruction on the use of shop equipment and hand tools,” said Wenzel. “For the experimental class, we designed weekly math lessons that covered critical math skills that applied directly to the construction of the barbeque.”

For example, students multiplied and divided fractions to determine how many lengths of a specified measurement could be cut from a rod. They calculated how much material would be used for the Hibachi handle and the grill. In another exercise, students designed two different grill patterns and calculated the amount of material needed and the cost to construct each design. 

“The class that completed the hands-on math exercises performed significantly better than the control group on basic and pre-algebra skills based on pre- and post-tests,” said Wenzel. The infused math in welding curriculum was also tested in another class, Welding Technology 15, and again the students’ mathematics performance improved.

On a student survey, 52% of the students in the infused math WT-10 class had not enrolled in a math class at Sierra College but 82% said they would feel more comfortable taking a math class in the future as a result of the WT-10 class; and 48% would be more likely to take the math assessment for placement in a math class at Sierra College. So, math confidence improved too.

The Sierra College CACT provides customized training in shop math for Placer and Nevada County businesses. “Employers report that skilled employees can’t apply fractions, decimals and basic math to their work,” said Pepper-Kittredge. “Infusing math into welding shows great potential to address the skills gap before students go into the workforce.”

For more information go to www.sierracollegetraining.com, www.sierraschoolworks.com, or contact Carol Pepper-Kittredge, director, Center for Applied Competitive Technologies, Sierra College, at cpepper-kittredge@sierracollege.edu."

Check out new features on NSDL.org!

 Faceted search enables you to narrow your search results by ed level, resource type, subject, audience, or standards (including Common Core Math). See example using 'area and volume' as search term. 

Standards browse enables users to select the desired standards set: 

• Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects
• National Science Education Standards 
• Geography for Life: The National Geography Standards 
• Benchmarks for Science Literacy 1993 version 
• Benchmarks for Science Literacy 2008 version 

Try it out and play around! Selecting a standards set from the left-hand options on a search narrows your results to applicable standards-associated resources. Go to Learn More About this Resource for any resoursce shown in search results to see specific standards associated with that resource. 

You can provide feedback by using the Contact Us form (add subject line: Faceted Search)