During our nearly 50-year history, EDC has evolved from a curriculum development laboratory specializing in science and mathematics to a global organization focused on learning and human development for people of all ages. That broadened perspective has helped to reshape our work with schools and universities in the U.S. and around the world. Our projects span academic disciplines and address all aspects of school management—including projects focused on professional development for administrators and teachers, curriculum development and implementation, student health and safety, technology integration, school/community/university partnerships, educational policy, and research and evaluation. Despite the diversity of EDC's work with schools, there is a set of key principles that underlie all of our projects—whether they are based in Macedonia, China, rural Tennessee, or Los Angeles. EDC is committed to bringing hands-on, inquiry-based learning to people of all ages and backgrounds. We work in close partnership with educators and administrators in a wide variety of settings to ensure that they have the knowledge and tools they need to support student learning. Read on to learn more about our work in these areas: Education Systems/School Administration Special Education/Inclusive Practices
|
 |
"All of our work involves collaborative, interactive, and innovative activities focused on individuals’ personal discovery. That was our approach in our pioneering physics videos in the late 1950s, and it has permeated all the work we have done since." —Luther Luedtke, EDC's President and CEO
|
Education Systems/School Administration |
||
|
Improving schools and school districts requires a dual commitment to the small details and the big picture. School reform initiatives that focus on single problems in isolation are rarely effective. Well-crafted statements of high standards produce little effect on student learning without strong leadership and teacher development; sound curriculum activities fail when they are not implemented in equitable environments; high schools cannot be improved without attending to the elementary and middle schools that feed into them. Each individual EDC project addresses the larger systemic issues, even while targeting specific challenges. And collectively, EDC's body of school improvement projects address the spectrum of interrelated challenges facing schools today. View all EDC projects related to education systems and school administration
|
"We no longer see curriculum as the main vehicle for change— particularly in resource-poor schools. We focus on getting the leadership of these districts to understand the value of high-quality science education, and, just as important, we help them develop the requisite human and financial supports to build and sustain their programs." —Judith Sandler, EDC's Center for Science Education |
|
Global Projects |
||
|
The traditional approach to education reform in developing countries has focused too often on a "bricks, books, and mortar" approach in which outsiders bring resources into a weak school system. EDC's approach brings with it the issue of readiness: Learning environments need to reach a certain level of readiness before they can absorb and benefit from an infusion of resources. We work with our funders and in-country educators and policymakers to improve classroom practice and school management, while addressing issues of resources and system structure. View
all EDC projects related to improving schools around the world
|
A Closer Look |
|
Middle Grades |
||
|
Testing data demonstrates that it is during the middle grades years that students’ academic achievement begins to slip as they make the transition from childhood to adolescence. To counter this trend, EDC has developed curricula, models of school reform, and other resources that specifically target the needs of young adolescents and the schools that serve them. View
all EDC projects related to middle-grades improvement
|
A Closer Look |
|
Special Education/Inclusive Practices |
||
|
One of the many challenges facing school districts today is ensuring that students with physical, cognitive, sensory, and social/emotional disabilities succeed in school. EDC works to develop and support a set of inclusive practices—at the classroom, school, district, and national levels—that help improve education for all students, including students with disabilities. We specialize in designing and implementing innovative curricula and technology applications that make rigorous academic content accessible to all students.
View
all EDC projects related to special education
|
A Closer Look |
|
Equity and Diversity |
||
|
Beyond a rhetorical commitment to educating all students lies a host of challenges for educators, administrators, and policymakers. How can we ensure that all students have equal access to the best possible education, regardless of race, class, gender, abilities, or disabilities? EDC produces a range of tools and resources designed to help schools and districts identify and remove barriers that contribute to gaps in achievement for different groups of students. View
all EDC projects related to equity and diversity
|
||
School Health |
||
|
Too often, students' health is pushed to the periphery of school reform initiatives. EDC's approach to school improvement begins with the premise that children's health and well-being must be at the center of all education decisions. Such student problems as violence, depression, poor nutrition and fitness, absenteeism, chronic infections, and teen pregnancy affect not only individuals, but also entire classrooms and schools. When schools do not deal with children's health by design, they deal with it by default. Learn more in our Promoting Health section |
A Closer Look |
|
Professional Development |
||
|
Like medical and legal professionals, educators need and deserve access to continual and high-quality professional education. EDC develops, implements, and evaluates professional development programs for teachers and administrators at every stage of their career growth—from university-based, pre-service programs to continuing education programs integrated into the daily work of experienced teachers. In the U.S., many of our professional development projects focus on helping teachers and administrators deepen their content knowledge through immersion in rigorous challenges and close analysis of student work. Many of our global projects focus on helping educators integrate active learning approaches into more traditional classroom practices. On a broader level, we work to restructure professional development systems by creating "communities of practice" within and among schools. View all EDC projects related to professional development Or, view EDC projects related to professional development in these areas:
|
"Learning is more powerful when teachers get out of their everyday environment, examine what works, and take time to build on what they are learning." —Ingrid Chalufour, Senior Curriculum Developer in EDC's Center for Children & Families |
|
Curriculum |
||
|
EDC views curricula as tools to be placed in the hands of skilled teachers, rather than cookbooks to be followed. EDC's curricula integrate professional development for teachers with hands-on, inquiry-based activities for students. Our curricula are designed by and with teachers, in collaboration with academicians and researchers specializing in the relevant content areas. They are extensively field-tested to ensure that they are accessible to a wide range of teachers and students and that they adhere to classroom realities. They are also developed in partnership with EDC and university-based content experts, including mathematicians, research scientists, historians, and artists. In addition to designing curriculum materials in several content areas, EDC advises schools and districts on selecting and implementing curricula that best meets their specific educational needs. View all EDC projects related to curriculum Or, view EDC projects focusing on curriculum development/implementation in these subject areas:
|
A Closer Look |
|
Technology |
||
|
Substantial investment in educational technology has led to a dramatic rise in the numbers of computers in schools—many with multi-media and Internet capabilities. According to Glenn Kleiman of the Center for Online Professional Education, the rapid influx of technology into schools is running ahead of the educational vision and careful planning necessary to put technology to good use. Several EDC centers and projects provide guidance on technology integration to schools and districts, based on the extensive research and evaluation we conduct on educational technology programs. We also develop innovative uses of technology to enhance student and teacher learning. View
all EDC projects related to technology
|
A Closer Look |
|
Community Partnerships |
||
|
Learn more in our Building Communities section. View all EDC projects related to school-community partnerships
|
"Almost any work in education involves community building." —E. Paul Goldenberg, Senior Scientist in EDC's Center for Mathematics Education |
|
School-to-Career |
||
|
Learn more in our Integrating Work & Learning section. View all EDC projects related to school-to-career
|
|
|
Research/Evaluation |
||
|
|
"Our work is built on the assumption that collecting concrete evidence is an inseparable part of understanding and gradually improving instruction." —Jane Gorman, Project Director in EDC's Division of Mathematics Learning and Teaching |
|
Higher Education |
||
|
Several EDC projects are carried out in partnership with university faculty. Our specific areas of focus in higher education are strengthening pre-service education of future teachers; building a pathway from K-12 education to college to careers, with a special emphasis on community colleges; and the prevention of alcohol and other drugs on college campuses. View all EDC projects related to higher education
|
A Closer Look |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
