Last Tuesday, the House proposed a $26 billion bill to preserve the jobs of 300,000 people, including teachers and police officers; the President signed the bill right away during the one-day session with lawmakers around the nation.
Is the Internet to Blame for Student Plagiarism?
Carol’s Summary:
Several colleges and universities nationwide are dealing with an increase of problems associated with plagiarism—the act of using information without giving credit to the source, largely due to students’ use of the internet while doing research for essays. Students at schools like DePaul and the University of Maryland have recently been caught plagiarizing, after their professors noticed that their text was copied verbatim for websites like Wikipedia.
A professor at Rutgers University found that 40 percent of 14,000 undergraduate students surveyed from 2006 to 2010 admitted to copying a few sentences from sources when writing essays for school. Only about 29 percent students today feel that taking information from the internet is a serious offense and should be considered “serious cheatingâ€. Some professors believe that plagiarism inhibits student’s creativity and writing skills.
In education, plagiarism is a serious offense, and students who are caught “stealing†information usually have to take a failing grade for the classes in which they plagiarized, and some may even be suspended from school altogether. Although it may be a tedious process, professors must be more aware than ever of plagiarism. Many colleges nationwide utilize computer software that tracks plagiarism attempts from students when they turn in their essays.
Our book, Study Skills for High School Students, talks about plagiarism and how serious of an offense it is. Plagiarism not only robs the original source of the credit they deserve but also takes creativity and credibility away from the student who plagiarizes. For more information about Study Skills for High School Students and other LifeBound books, visit www.lifebound.com.
Article:
Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age
By TRIP GABRIEL
At DePaul University, the tip-off to one student’s copying was the purple shade of several paragraphs he had lifted from the Web; when confronted by a writing tutor his professor had sent him to, he was not defensive — he just wanted to know how to change purple text to black.
To read the full article: www.nytimes.com
Why Has Closing the Achievement Gap Been Stagnant?
Carol’s Summary:
A report by the Education Testing Service shows that the achievement gap between black and white students, and efforts to narrow the gap have been stagnant for 20 years. The Educational Testing Service has examined the achievement gap and efforts to close it since 1910.
Some experts have developed a theory that standardized testing alone cannot account for the results of the study, and that social and environmental factors must also be taken into account. In order to close the achievement gap any further, it may be necessary to break the cycle of poverty first. However, the cycle of poverty is not only a result of the achievement gap, but also one of its main causes.
In order to further narrow the achievement gap, it will be necessary to provide equal opportunities for academic growth. Textbooks in poverty-stricken areas would need to be of the same quantity and quality as books for children in middle-class areas. Standardized testing results will have to take into account more than the scores alone but also the advantages and disadvantages, and individual needs of the schools and students.
Teachers who work in schools in impoverished areas will also need to be trained in such a way that they can identify and connect better with their students and the issues that students face both in and out of the classroom. LifeBound visits with teachers from schools in both middle-class areas and areas where people are disadvantaged, and we coach them with our books and curriculum so they can collaborate and work with all students, regardless of their background. To learn more, visit www.lifebound.com or e-mail contact@lifebound.com
Report: When/why progress in closing achievement gap stalled
Progress seen over several decades in narrowing the educational achievement gap between black and white students has remained stalled for 20 years, according to data analyzed in a new report.
Called “The Black-White Achievement Gap: When Progress Stopped,†the report by the Educational Testing Service examines periods of progress and stagnation since 1910 in closing the achievement gap.
To read the full article: www.washingtonpost.com
Many States Adopt National Standards for Their Schools
Carol’s Summary:
Twenty-seven states have adopted a nationwide standardized curriculum that was proposed around two months ago by the Department of Education, partially due to the Race to the Top competition, which will award billions of dollars in funding to states with plans to implement education reform.
Massachusetts, New York, and Colorado are among the states that will adopt the new set of curriculum. The standards contain a detailed description of what students at each grade level will be expected to learn and comprehend, and what academic skills they should have at each level. However, the process of implementing the new national standards is estimated to take years to complete.
Education reform and the implementation of national standards is predicted to save states money in the long run, as states will no longer have to make their own individual curriculum standards. Some educators are also worried that the cost of re-training teachers may be more trouble than it’s worth initially. When LifeBound has coaching sessions, we do so with the goal of showing teachers how to communicate and connect with students effectively and in a way that allows for long-term success. Training teachers is a highly effective way of ensuring future success with students.
As society continues to change, the education system must catch up and be restructured as well. The way that children learned fifty years ago is much different from how they learn now, and it will take possibly years of trial and error to fully restructure the education system as it has been proposed. What’s most important is that education fosters the goals and needs of all children, and of the whole child, not just academically speaking.
Article:
Many States Adopt National Standards for Their Schools
By TAMAR LEWIN
Published: July 21, 2010
Less than two months after the nation’s governors and state school chiefs released their final recommendations for national education standards, 27 states have adopted them and about a dozen more are expected to do so in the next two weeks.
To read the full article: www.nytimes.com
U.S. Dept. of Education funds Educational Innovation Efforts
Carol’s Summary:
Over $1 trillion is spent on education every year, by the K-12 school system as well as colleges and universities. Schools are constantly looking for new ways to teach students, whether it is with the use of new technologies, using new books, and changing curriculum.
Most recently, the U.S. Department of Education has created a $650 million education innovation fund; this provides many entrepreneurs in the education industry with new opportunities to share their ideas and products with schools nationwide.
However, it is often a costly and time-consuming process for schools to adopt new strategies and products for educating their students. The funding can connect the entrepreneurs to education researchers, which would provide schools with a smoother transition to implement new curriculum and technologies.
Recently, education reform has been a “hot topicâ€, with the Race to the Top competition entering its final stages, and the debate over whether our nation’s schools should adopt one standardized curriculum. It has become evident that we are beginning to witness major changes in our education system, particularly with funding from Race to the Top and the education innovation fund.
Being well-acquainted with new books, technologies and curriculum enables schools to provide their students with the tools they need to succeed. At LifeBound, we aim to provide teachers and students with books and curriculum that they can apply to the classroom as well as to life outside of the classroom, in order to ensure that students are well-rounded. Critical and Creative Thinking for Teenagers is a book that helps to inspire teens to think outside of the box, and to be open to all sorts of possibilities. To be innovative is to foster success for the future.
Article:
Educational innovation gets boost under new programs
July 30, 2010
A movement is under way to make it easier for entrepreneurs to navigate the lucrative and sometimes-tricky education market and introduce new technologies and products into classrooms.
An educator at the University of Pennsylvania wants to create one of the nation’s only business incubators dedicated to education entrepreneurs. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is also getting into the act with a $650 million fund to boost education innovation.
To read the full article: www.ecampusnews.com
Digital Access, Collaboration a Must for Students
Carol’s Summary:
A survey of K-12 students nationwide shows that many students feel that their use of technology, both at school and home, contributes positively to their overall learning experience. The survey, called “Speak Up 2009: Creating Our Future: Students Speak Up about their Vision for 21st Century Schools,†collected data about technology in relation to education, to assess the way that students utilize technology both in and out of the classroom.
Technology is becoming an increasingly important aspect of learning, and each year more classrooms are adding technological activities to their curriculum and school activities. Findings from the survey revealed that more students are turning to social networking websites to discover new information, as well as conducting their own research on various topics, without the instruction of a teacher or within the structure of a classroom.
The emergence of the digital age in our nation becomes more evident every day, and its presence in education is undeniable. As students have more access to the internet, they become more informed about a wide range of topics that may or may not be discussed at school. The second edition of our book, Making the Most of High School, has a chapter about how to use technology in a way that is safe and beneficial to one’s education and career goals, as well as technology tips in each chapter.
As students become more aware of the world around them, their classrooms and curriculum must be adjusted to fit their needs. Also, teachers will have to be flexible to incorporate learning with these new tools, so that their understanding of the tools equals that of students. It is vital that digital applications are applied to academics in order to ensure that students are prepared for a future where technology is becoming an essential aspect of everyday life.
Article:
Digital access, collaboration a must for students
By Laura Devaney
In a national survey that reveals K-12 students’ use of technology at home and at school, students overwhelmingly agreed that access to digital media tools and the ability to collaborate with peers both inside and outside of school can greatly enhance education.
To read the full article: www.ecampusnews.com
Linking Coursework to Careers Improves Graduation Rates
At Skyline High School in Oakland, California, there is a program that provides students with a focus on careers in the education field. The program, called Skyline education academy, provides students with classes that focus on the education field. It includes a college-prep style learning system, and field trips to elementary schools, where students have the opportunity to act as student-teachers for the day.
Skyline is one of a growing number of schools in California that is working to increase high school graduation rates through an initiative called Linked Learning. Linked Learning merges high school courses with work experience based on the career subject of the program. It has been found that students are more engaged in their coursework when they can apply it to real life. The career-based academy gives the students an in-depth view of various industries to study, such as education, architecture, and graphic design.
Skyline and other schools that use Linked Learning have reported higher attendance and graduation rates as well as better test scores. Programs such as Linked Learning could definitely benefit other states nationwide, because they will enable students to not only apply what they learn to their futures, but also to see just how many possibilities are out there career-wise.
When students are goal-oriented and know that the purpose of their education is to prepare them for success in career and life, they will be more motivated to strive for the best. Books like Sophomore Guide to College and Career are geared towards getting high school students to think about potential careers and what happens after high school ends. To learn more about this book and other LifeBound books and materials, visit www.lifebound.com or e-mail contact@lifebound.com.
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Article: Linking courses to careers improves grad rates
James E. Canales
Sunday, July 25, 2010
When Cynthia Gutierrez arrived four years ago at Skyline High School in Oakland, she was neither an academic superstar nor someone who struggled with school. Like most kids, she says, she was “somewhere in the middle.” Bored with her classes, she’d left behind a trail of C’s and D’s, and with some bad luck, she might have even lost interest in school altogether. “I didn’t know what I was doing,” she says.
Instead, Gutierrez had a stroke of good fortune. During her freshman year, a teacher told her about Skyline’s education academy, a small school within the school centered around careers in education. When she heard the program included regular field trips, she signed up. Gutierrez and 25 of her classmates spent the next three years taking classes together on education-related topics like child development and how people learn, combining a rigorous college-prep curriculum with student-teaching trips to local elementary schools. In the close-knit environment of the academy, Gutierrez found new motivation, and she discovered a love of teaching.
To read more: www.sftimes.com
Colorado Board Adopts National Standards
Carol’s Summary:
Colorado, where I live, along with 32 other states have passed a “core standards†curriculum. I agree with the core standards, but I don’t believe that teaching the standards alone will bring global success for American students. Starting with core standards is admirable, but other aspects of learning, which are equally as important to academic development, include emotional and social development. Students need core standards tied to practical, real life applications. Teachers who captivate the hearts and minds of students with provocative, engaging questions will prepare students to challenge themselves and learn to love learning. Students who understand that learning goes beyond the classroom and seek interesting experiences as well as role models will come to class with much more to say and contribute more than students who expect to sit and learn core subjects in class and then go home and spend countless hours on the internet or watching TV.
American students will be competitive with their counterparts around the world when they have core standards as a foundation for learning, while expanding that foundation to include experiences which intimidate and challenge them. In short, we need to teach today’s students to make a difference in their own lives, their communities and the world as a whole. The core standards is a baby step in that direction.
Article: Board adopts national standards: Narrow, controversial vote adopts national education standards in Colo.
By: Peter Marcus
The Colorado Board of Education yesterday narrowly backed adopting controversial national education standards in language arts and math despite pleas from dozens of citizens not to back the proposal.
Critics say the board’s 4-3 decision to adopt the Common Core Standards will erode local control over education, setting the stage for a national curriculum. Critics also do not believe it was necessary for the board to back the national standards in an effort to better position the state to secure $175 million in federal education grant money.
To read full article: www.thedenverdailynews.com
ARE YOU IN THE “FLOW� Tips to Enhance Your Productivity and Passion
Scientists refer to the freedom of total absorption in an activity as “flow,†an almost euphoric state of concentration and involvement. Flow happens when an artist loses himself entirely in his work, or when a soccer player enters a mental zone where it seems every kick she makes will result in a score.
One expert on the theory of flow is University of Chicago psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. In his bestselling book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, he cites eight key principles that, when applied, can create flow experiences in any realm of life:
1. Consider what is expected. Do you have a specific sense of what you are trying to accomplish? Are the outcomes and goals clear?
2. Perceive personal progress. How well do you self-manage? Do you have feedback or a process whereby you can gauge your results against your goals?
3. Discern the right fit. Is your enterprise or job a good match between the challenge required and the skills, knowledge, and abilities you have? Can the challenge keep you stimulated and interested as time goes on? Can you add your own sense of ingenuity to create new opportunities?
4. Learn how to focus. Can you keep distractions to a minimum? Can you maintain your focus over time when the novelty of the project wears off?
5. Exercise faith. Everyday issues and challenges can be overcome. Keep looking towards what is possible, when dealing with obstacles.
6. Activate choice. Be accountable for your actions and exercise conscious choice.
7. Release the opinion of others. There is no reason to be self-conscious or defensive because you are so committed and involved in your mission that the views of others don’t hinder you.
8. Experience time transformed. You may have heard the expression of “work being play†for people with a passion. This is true for people in the flow.
Ultimately, being in the flow produces a desire to take your gifts and talents to a higher level.