There are no worksheets in Rachel Thomas’ sixth grade math class at Ritenour Middle School. They don’t memorize formulas, either. Even more impressive is the way students rally around one another as they tackle the latest high-level math problem that Thomas has thrown their way. They’re in this together. “The focus on high-level tasks has […]
For some reason, the 40 fourth graders that Kristen Buescher co-teaches this year at Parkwood Elementary School are finding cows hilarious. “Their collective obsession with cows has bonded the group, so we’re going with it,” Buescher muses. “We really try to build opportunities that bond students to one another and to us. Laughing while you’re […]
Even when their play is mud-pie messy, preschool children are learning skills they need for socializing, language, and math. “Young learners are capable of higher-level thinking, and much like adults, they appreciate authentic work,” says Corrie Hamilton, a teacher at Julia Goldstein Early Childhood Education Center (JGECEC) in University City, where plans are underway for […]
Rachel Ruggirello, associate director of the Institute for School Partnership at Washington University in St. Louis, is the 2022 recipient of the Outstanding Administrative Support Award by the National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA). The award is given annually to honor one educator who is working outside the classroom at school, district and city/county levels […]
For the past 30 years, the Institute for School Partnership (ISP), an academic center at Washington University in St. Louis, has worked regionally with schools and community organizations to empower educators and improve educational outcomes for all students. The ISP offers a variety of programs that serve approximately 189,000 students and 3,850 teachers from 56 school districts and 64 independent schools annually. […]
A two-year collaboration between teachers at the Ritenour School District and faculty and staff from Washington University in St. Louis culminates this year with four completely new high school science courses. Instructional specialists with WashU’s Institute for School Partnership (ISP) and Michael Wysession, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and an expert on the Next […]
Between earning his undergraduate degree, Ph.D., and working as a research scientist, Marcus Foston spent 13 years at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Around year 10, he said his mother asked him exactly what his job was. “I told her I was a professional student and to a certain extent, that is still true today. […]
It’s mid-July and in a fourth-floor lab at Washington University in St. Louis, Brittany Daugs, sporting goggles and a mask, is carefully cutting silicon pieces into squares and laying them out on glass gel plates. “I am preparing silicon-coated substrates that will become electro-deposited with bismuth selenide,” she explains. “We will then investigate the growth, […]
In a two-part podcast, ISP Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives Nikki Doughty spoke with Terrell Carter, the President and Executive Director of Rise, for the podcast series entitled Communities Forward. They discussed the challenges and opportunities related to education in the St. Louis region. In particular, Doughty touched on the ISP’s work to develop stronger […]
Successful completion of algebra 1 is the gatekeeper to higher-level math and is required for virtually any education beyond high school. That makes math education an equity issue. A 2019 article in the Journal for Research and Mathematics Education states, “It’s well documented that Black and Hispanic students are underrepresented in eighth-grade algebra courses. As […]