Implementing the Common Core State Standard: A Range of Opinions and Approaches to Designing the best Professional Development

There is a wide range of opinions on the best way to prepare current classroom teachers to teach the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. This piece highlights expert views from across the field, from an in-service teacher to the New York State Education Commissioner.   

Funders Set New Round of Support for STEM Teachers

11/02/2012

Education Week features the opening of 100Kin10's second fund. The fund, with an eventual goal of $20 million, launched with $5 million from the Amgen Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Samueli Foundation. It will support the innovative work of 100Kin10 partners to train and support 100,000 excellent STEM teachers over the coming decade.   

Calif. Program Takes Aim at 'Teacher-Diversity Gap'

10/09/2012

Studies show that students benefit when taught by a teacher who is ethnically similar to them -- thus the emergence of the phrase "teacher-diversity gap." A program based in Oakland, CA is addressing this issue by recruiting individuals from within the community to undergo a rigorous application and training process before earning certification to teach within Oakland schools.   

Reese News Lab launches STEM initiative with $50,000 grant

09/27/2012

The 100Kin10 NewsBureau, based out of the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communications, will feature stories on 100Kin10 partners while distributing news focused on STEM education on a larger scale. STEMwire.org will act as the primary website for this project, working to move the conversation on STEM education forward.   

Chances of success vary with Obama’s promises on education, energy, other issues

09/07/2012

In his speech at the Democratic National Convention in early September, President Obama presented deliverables for the four years following the election in November. Included in his plans was the existing goal of training and supporting 100,000 excellent STEM teachers in the next decade, which is the objective adopted and implemented by the 100Kin10 initiative.   

Building a Better Science Teacher

08/03/2012

This Scientific American article discusses the recent focus on STEM education, specifically the widespread attention that has fallen on STEM teaching. The data points continue to prove the need to reform teacher training and support, and the article highlights 100Kin10 and its partners -- Teach For America, the UTeach Institute, TNTP, and Uncommon Schools -- for their role in this effort.   

Abandoning Algebra Is Not the Answer

07/30/2012

This Scientific American blog responds to a recent New York Times Op-Ed arguing that Algebra -- and higher mathematics at large -- is unnecessary for most students to learn. Author Evelyn Lamb makes a very strong case against this claim, pointing to the many important roles that math plays, both actively and passively, in the average person's daily life.   

U.S. News Inducts Five to STEM Leadership Hall of Fame

07/26/2012

Five STEM educations experts were inducted into the newly-formed U.S. News STEM Leadership Hall of Fame. Together, the inductees touted four necessary means to improving STEM education: (1) creating partnerships between sectors, (2) engaging students in the joys of STEM fields, (3) improving teaching training and support, and (4) involving parents and families in their child's education.   

Golf Pro Phil Mickelson Aiming to Boost U.S. STEM Achievement

07/26/2012

Professional golfer Phil Mickelson co-founded (with ExxonMobil) a week-long STEM teacher training academy, which provides 3rd - 5th grade teachers with exciting, interactive lessons that will engage students in STEM subjects at an early age. Mickelson is an advocate for STEM education, drawing connections between STEM skills and sports while promoting its importance in the lives of all children.   

100Kin10 Partners Applaud White House Announcement to Launch STEM Master Teacher Corps

07/18/2012

100Kin10 applauds the White House’s launch of a national STEM Master Teacher Corps, which will reward the most excellent STEM teachers, provide training and mentorship to many thousands more, and raise the prestige of the teaching profession. This program will initially recognize 50 exemplary STEM teachers in 50 sites and will, within the next four years, grow to include 10,000 teachers.