Empowering Students Through Effective STEM Education: Kinetic Books and a Digital Instruction Platform

At no time in our nation’s history has the education sector been as focused on college and career readiness as we are today. Currently, American corporations spend more than $500 million annually to help students gain the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills necessary to succeed in a 21st century classroom and a 21st century world. Both the federal government and the philanthropic community have similarly invested heavily in the development and adoption of K–12 STEM education. And the National Governors Association has noted: “state leaders increasingly view science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) achievement as a critical component of success in college, career and life.”

Despite the increased attention on the STEM subjects in the United States, student achievement in the area has remained relatively unchanged. U.S. student performance on STEM-related NAEP tests has only marginally increased over the past decade, and U.S. performance on international benchmarks—such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)—has actually shown a decline compared with students across the world.

To address this growing concern, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers have carefully examined Best Practices to determine the most effective ways to equip today’s students with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the future. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Education released Foundations for Success: The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. Analyzing decades of research on the most effective ways to teach math, the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (NMAP) provided a strong blueprint on what to teach when it comes to the core of STEM. NMAP’s work was then followed up by the U.S. Department of Education’s Doing What

Works Initiative (http://dww.ed.gov), which amplified the report’s findings by illustrating ways teachers could implement these best practices. Doing What Works also provided information on research-based practices on encouraging girls in STEM fields.

With the research identified on what needs to be taught in essential STEM areas such as mathematics and physics, researchers have recently turned their attentions to how to best deliver evidence-based STEM education. Recent advances in STEM education have made clear that the “traditional” ways of teaching, the methods and processes in place since the 1800s, do not align with the focus or content of STEM. As a result, recent research has focused in on 21st century instructional delivery, including how to utilize available technologies to improve the instructional process.

In its ground-breaking report on the future of digital instruction, the Digital Learning Council identified the 10 elements of high-quality digital education. These elements included strong content, personalized learning, and student-driven advancement.

Further, organizations such as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) have long emphasized the linkages between strong 21st century curricular materials, knowledgeable and supported teachers, and student achievement. Today, states across the country are adopting interactive textbooks and digital learning environments to advance STEM instruction.

Clearly, the focus on this issue means that STEM education is an integral part of any educational endeavor and learning K–12 in the immediate future.

“Digital learning opens the virtual door to a high quality education.”—Digital Learning Council

“To truly improve our schools for the long term and ensure that all students are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve in the 21st century,

education technology must permeate every corner of the learning process. From years of research, we know that technology can serve as a primary driver

for systemic school improvement, including school leadership, an improved learning culture and excellence in professional practice.”

—International Society for Technology in Education

Phone: (800) 831-4190 | Fax: (800) 543-2745 | Web: perfectionlearning.com

Kinetic Books’ Digital Instruction PlatformBuilt to serve as the next generation of digital math and science

textbooks for secondary schools, Kinetic Books’ programs include comprehensive instructional platforms in physics, algebra, and geometry designed to take maximum advantage of current computer technology. Built on decades of research on the most effective approaches to teaching STEM subjects to middle school, high school, and college students, Kinetic Books are fully interactive and engage students through methods proven most effective for today’s multimedia student.

Kinetic Books’ Digital Instructional Platform includes a range of core features, including virtual labs, interactive activities, electronic whiteboards, self-assessment, and step-by-step problem solving support. Developed to empower and assist both the teacher and the student, the Kinetic Books platform creates an environment unrivaled in today’s classroom, better engaging students on STEM content while equipping students with college-ready knowledge and skills.

Demonstrating a commitment to the inquiry-based approach to

the teaching of science, Kinetic Books’ textbooks and labs expose student to phenomena, encourage them to make hypotheses about the underlying functioning of these phenomena, and test hypotheses. Built on decades of instructional best practice research, Kinetic Books:

• ensures the fundamentals are presented clearly and simply

• allows for multiple learning styles

• relates to students through consistent presentation

• explains terms and concepts

• allows students to proceed at their own pace

• allows for real-time self-assessment

• promotes both relevance and rigor

Utilize Digital Whiteboards

According to the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, nearly one-third of all K–12 classrooms in the United States currently utilize interactive whiteboards as part of the instructional process. Teachers across the nation have determined that the interactivity provided by such whiteboards helps challenging concepts, such as those found in secondary math and physics classes, be better explained and better understood by students when presented through the medium of a digital whiteboard.

The National Education Association, in noting the instructional value of whiteboards for both the educator and the student, notes that the technology allows teachers to transform a 21st century classroom, allowing for multimedia lessons and presentations, collaborative problem solving, and the showcasing of presentations, among other benefits.

Digital instructional platforms such as those offered through Kinetic Books’ math and physics series allow teachers to take the benefits of a digital classroom whiteboard and apply it to the individual learner. Each of Kinetic Books digital books provide a whiteboard for the individual student, bringing complex concepts to life and providing students the ability to tailor the learning process to their needs and expectations. On the Kinetic Books Digital Instructional Platform, students garner all of the benefits of whiteboard learning, whether their classrooms are equipped with a central board or not.

Kinetic Books’ instructional approach allows students to use the latest technologies and instructional best practices to engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. Through this 5E approach, students explore step-by-step solutions in a consistent lesson structure.

Whiteboards combine animation or text with voice narrations. Students click through each step at their own pace.

Math Interactive Digital Tests

Physics Interactive Digital Tests

Engage Students through Interactives

“Providing students with engaging and meaningful activities as part of regular instruction leads to improved skills and test scores. The more interested students are in a subject, the more involved they become in their assignments,

putting effort into their studies and engaging in deeper levels of thinking. Experts believe that increased student engagement in math and science at school will eventually lead to

involvement in math- and science-related after-school activities and career aspirations.”

—U.S. Department of Education, Doing What Works

In recent years, education researchers and psychometricians have looked for new, more comprehensive methods for assessing student achievement and knowledge acquisition. Further investigations into current learning standards—from the federal level down to the district level—coupled with the adoption of future standards and the assessments to measure student proficiency against those standards has increased the call for ongoing assessments throughout the learning process.

Such an approach, as noted by the U.S. Department of Education and others, requires increased student engagement. The research demonstrates that ongoing assessment—versus simply testing at the end of a particular instructional unit—helps improve student proficiency while empowering teachers to tailor instruction to individual student or class needs, based on the assessments.

One way to provide such ongoing assessment is through an interactive instructional approach that provides students a range of problems to gauge their mastery of specific content. Through its math and physics digital instructional platform, Kinetic Books provides students a steady stream of interactive problems aligned to specific instructional content. This approach allows teachers to regularly assess student knowledge while empowering students to explore content at their own pace. Kinetic Books also provides comprehensive lesson plans designed for student discovery and exploration, while structured for ease of use by teachers.

Students further benefit from Kinetic Books’ Online Homework System, which provides flexible assignment creation, automated grading, real-time results, and individualized practice.

Enhance Instruction through Online LabsTechnological innovation has dramatically changed the way

educators teach in the classroom. Recent research demonstrates the value of adapting instruction to the ways today’s students consume information and interact as learners.

This is particularly true in complex areas such as science. The Center for Improving Technology in Education (CITEd) has noted that “it is critical that all students have extensive practice in what it means to be a scientist.” CITEd further notes that one essential element to providing that extensive practice is the effective use of multimedia tools. The challenge, then, for 21st century educators, is how to effectively use multimedia innovations to enhance the instructional process, building on the specific lessons learned in a textbook or through a teacher.

One effective approach to adapting technology to the classroom is the implementation of online labs. Kinetic Books’ Virtual Physics Labs, for instance, provide comprehensive online labs developed to improve student engagement. Constructed on instructional best practice, the Kinetic Virtual Physics Labs include

• an explanation of the necessary physics, including the equations that must be used

• detailed operational instructions on how to conduct the simulated laboratory

• simulations in which students can vary parameters to accomplish a particular goal or simply observe physical phenomena

• questions that ask the students to make hypotheses, record data, explain the data, or justify their solution

Through its instructional platform, Kinetic Books provides comprehensive simulations, interactive activities, virtual labs, videos, physical labs, and demonstrations to create interactive learning opportunities with real-world problems. This approach is proven effective for boosting student engagement and achievement.

Students discover the relationship between velocity and orbital radius.

The two-player activity shown below requires students to combine fractions of increasing difficulty. In this pre-algebra activity, one player uses a mouse and the other a keyboard to control their part of the factory.

Phone: (800) 831-4190 | Fax: (800) 543-2745 | Web: perfectionlearning.com

Achieve, Inc. (2006). Closing the expectations gap: An annual 50-state progress report on the alignment of high school policies with the demands of college and work. Washington, DC: Author.

Ashby, C. (2006). Science, technology, engineering and math trends and the role of federal programs: A report to the Committee in Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives (GAO-06-702T). Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office.

Baldi, S., Jin, Y., Skemer, M., Green, P.J., Herget, D., & Xie, H., (2007).Highlights from PISA 2006: Performance of U.S. 15-year-old students in science and mathematics literacy in an international context. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

Digital Learning Council. Digital Learning Now!, Foundation for Excellence in Education: Washington, DC, 2010.

Duschl, R.A., Schweingruber, H.A., & Shouse, A.W., (Eds.). (2007). Taking science to school: Teaching and learning science in Grades K–8. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Evan, A., Gray, T., & Olchefske, J. (2006). The gateway to student success in mathematics and science. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research.

Murnane, R.J., & Levy, F. (1996). Teaching the new basic skills: Principles for educating children to thrive in a changing economy. Glencoe, IL: Free Press.

National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008). Foundations for Success: The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, U.S. Department of Education: Washington, DC.

National Research Council. (2001). Adding it up: Helping children learn mathematics. Kilpatrick, J., Swafford, J., & Findell, B. (Eds.), Mathematics learning study committee, center for education, division of behavioral and social sciences, and education. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Shavelson, R.J. & Towne, L. (2002). Scientific research in education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Conclusion“STEM education is an economic imperative. Experts say that technological innovation accounted for almost half of U.S. economic growth over the past 50 years, and almost all of the 30 fastest-growing occupations in the next decade will require at least some background in STEM.”

— Change the Equation (a national organization focused on promoting STEM education)

With educators and policy makers alike putting a greater emphasis on STEM education and its impact on college and career readiness, schools must focus on delivering math and science instruction in ways that better engage today’s students, taking full advantage of the technologies and proven teaching methods currently available. Through research conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, the Digital Learning Council, ISTE, and many other organizations, we know that an interactive learning platform can be most effective in building lasting STEM skills in students, particularly those in high school.

Through its Kinetic Books math and physics programs, Perfection Learning provides schools and school districts with the highest-quality instructional content, digital whiteboards, interactive problems, and online labs necessary to build STEM skills in young adults. Built on the latest research and what is proven effective in both STEM instruction and digital learning, Kinetic Books serves as a strong digital instructional platform to boost student science and math achievement in high schools across the United States.

Kinetic Books are next-generation, interactive textbooks designed to maximize current technologies and student interests. Through hundreds of interactive simulations, thousands of multimedia animations, hours of audio and video, spreadsheet models, and thousands of end-of-chapter problems, Kinetic Books provide a comprehensive instructional platform aligned to both current standards and the best in student learning.

References and Resources

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