Think about the discussions that happen in your classroom. Are they frequent? Do all students participate or are they monopolized by a handful of students? Do you use discussion to merely check understanding or do you engage students into purposeful conversations to develop thinking?

16. 17. 25. What do these numbers mean to America? Federal reports show only 16% of high school seniors in the US are interested in pursuing a career in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math). Our students rank 17th in science achievement and 25th in math ability among industrialized nations. Couple that with the fact that “the demand for scientists and engineers is expected to increase at four times the rate for all other occupations,” and it’s no wonder why the topic of STEM is the talk of town. America’s face palm can be heard internationally, but its sting hits close to home, starting with schools. But are four letters enough to encapsulate the issue?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of 2D art, it was the age of 3D models. Okay, maybe this story doesn't share the poetic eloquence of Dickens' silver-tongue-take on the French Revolution, but it is indeed a tale of a girl's goal being fulfilled by her grit, her moxie, and Trifecta™ 800 3D Printer.

We're at it again, and just in time for the start of the 2016-17 school year! In partnership with The Curriculum Corner, VariQuest® brings you the Opinion Writing Unit for Intermediate Classrooms.

This post has been republished with permission from Dr. Melissa Hughes, a curriculum and instruction expert. In partnership with Dr. Hughes, VariQuest delivers professional development webinars to valued educators. To learn more about this offer, visit our professional development page. The Maker Movement, as it’s called, is finding its way to more and more classrooms today. STEM and STEAM initiatives have promoted a learning culture that flips the priority from the consumption of information to the production of innovative and creative meaning. According to some educational experts, the Maker Movement could actually be the impetus for the next industrial revolution.

Q: What do you get when you cross a writing-intensive workshop with visual and kinesthetic learning? A: VariQuest's & The Curriculum Corner's Punctuation Writing Unit In conjunction with The Curriculum Corner, VariQuest Visual & Kinesthetic Learning Tools has developed a punctuation unit of study focused on primary classrooms. Punctuation is a unit that should be taught within the context of real writing, and can be very effective when presented within the framework of a workshop model. However, more hands-on activities that accompany direct instruction can certainly help to increase student engagement and retention for young learners.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) boasts one of the largest ed tech conferences in the nation, drawing from 16,000 educators across the globe for professional learning, collaborative networking opportunities, and of course, some big prizes.

This blog post is brought to you by crowdraising platform PledgeCents. Read the original post here.

The 2015/2016 school year was one for the books (an open-educational-resource book, that is). With the federal government embracing a rather laissez-faire approach toward education, with the student learning experience shedding its spectator skin for a more "doing" dermis, and with the virtual world continuing to grow in opportunities (for better or for worse), VariQuest has highlighted the top 5 topics in education.