SERP News

Academically Productive Talk (APT) Today, students are expected to generate ideas, to explain their thinking, and to make and defend arguments using evidence. This requires an entirely different kind of talk–Academically Productive Talk. The new Academically Productive Talk (APT) website provides resources for teachers and teacher educators to facilitate this necessary pedagogical shift.

Good teaching comes with lots of questions. Come share your questions and your answers. Be a part of the STARI community and collaborate with teachers from across the country. STARI Community Forums will continue throughout the 2024-25 school year.

Educator Resources SERP designers work directly with leading researchers to create products that address specific challenges in K-12 schools that have been identified by practitioners. Solutions emerge through an iterative design process that carefully considers learning outcomes, support for teachers, student agency, and equitable access. Please enjoy exploring the resources below, and feel free to share your experiences using them with us at info@serpinstitute.org.

You asked, and we answered! STARI teachers reported that student absences are the single biggest challenge they face. And it’s not just you! The nation’s schools are facing an unprecedented attendance crisis.

Unit 4.1 is ready to go! The Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI) has been used and loved by 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teachers and students since 2014. And we know STARI works! That’s why we decided to expand STARI to specifically serve high school students, too. Many schools already use Series 3 in 9th and 10th grades. Now, SERP is introducing STARI Series 4, designed to meet the needs of high school struggling readers. Series 4 will be rolled out over the course of this school year.

BE PART OF OUR RESEARCH STUDY! Your school is invited to participate in a study of the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI), a program loved by both teachers and students. All participating schools will receive the intervention either immediately (2025-26 school year), or after a two-year delay (2027-28). Participating schools will receive all STARI materials and professional learning opportunities and resources. Schools will also have access to the ETS ReadBasix assessment, free of charge during assigned implementation years.

Grades 4 and 5 125+ assignments available! Fractions • Decimals • Place Value • Multi-Digit Numbers • Measurement • Geometry • Volume • Ordered Pairs • and more!

As the nature of work in the 21st century continues to evolve, students will need access to high quality mathematics teaching and learning that prepares them for college and career. Schools and districts are being tasked to provide professional development opportunities for teachers to support changes in instructional practice.

The evidence is clear. The Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI) accelerates the development of reading skills among adolescents who struggle with reading in Grades 6-9. Educators know that many students continue to need help with foundational reading skills beyond elementary school, and for the last decade STARI has been proven effective in providing that support. But now, with the unprecedented situation of students experiencing an extended period of remote instruction, there will be a massive need for the accelerated reading development STARI provides. STARI is uniquely designed to thoroughly engage students in building their reading and comprehension skills. The themes are complex and age-appropriate for older students, even though STARI builds foundational literacy skills together with grade-level reading skills.

Some of the most widely used components of elementary literacy instruction are classroom centers—activity stations where small groups of students work simultaneously, either independently or with the assistance of a teacher.

California School District Provides Early Support to Preschool Parents.

Biden’s Plan to Expand Title I Funding Could Dramatically Improve K-12 Education.

The SciGen Teacher Dashboard is an online teaching resource for middle school science teachers.

For teachers and students who are looking for device-friendly materials to use for remote learning, the SERP WordGen team has added new options.

STARI is a comprehensive reading intervention for struggling readers in grades 6 through 9.

SERP’s Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI) curriculum is now organized into three series, with Series 1 intended for 6th grade, Series 2 for 7th, and Series 3 for 8th and 9th.

Edweek publishes opinion piece written by SERP's founding executive director Suzanne Donovan and SERP's board chair and president emeritus of the National Academy of Sciences Bruce Alberts.

Free instructional materials integrate social justice content and standards-based practices.

Getting students to engage with school work while at home can be a challenge. So it’s more important than ever to provide materials that are interesting enough to command their attention. WordGen Elementary is designed to do just that!

The challenges of distance learning can lead to greater reliance on worksheets at the very same time that students are being asked to motivate their own learning. WordGen units that focus on deeper thinking about topics that engage students.

In our work with partner schools and teachers, we have received several requests for recommendations regarding how to adapt STARI for use at home during this challenging period of distance learning.

While schools across the country have been forced to close their doors, teachers and families have been tasked with creating new ways to educate and support students. If SERP resources can be of help during this difficult period, please remember that they are available as free downloads to all.

The research team of the Internal Coherence Project has developed a set of processes and protocols to build the collective capability of the adults in a school/school system to carry out an instructional improvement strategy.

The SciGen Teacher Dashboard is a large online collection of resources for middle school science teachers drawing from selected content in the classic SciGen, but with lots of great new assets added as well.

Additional resources and tips for teaching English learners have been updated for the new Word Generation website.

IES has funded a new project that will support iterative development and testing of worked example assignments for high school geometry.

Preliminary results are in, and analyses demonstrate statistically significant results for students using the MathByExample Grade 5 materials over the course of a year.

Based on feedback from STARI teachers and coaches, SERP has developed an assessment guide and other classroom-ready resources to supplement the STARI curriculum.

SERP is working in collaboration with school districts and university chemistry faculty to create a high school chemistry course focused on the compelling issue of climate change that is now energizing so many young people.