‘It's just math': Preschoolers can do more than we might think

Vermont's passage of a law requiring food that is genetically modified to be labeled spurred action at the national level to create one standard, rather than a patchwork of state laws, that offers food companies several ways to label foods with GMOs. The national bill did eventually pass, but as this piece illustrates, no one seems very happy about it. Environmentalists feel it leaves large loopholes and while the food industry likes one standard, it does not like the stigma the GMO label confers.

One scientist, dared to take a risk, and go where no one else had: mass-spectrometry imaging of microbes and chemicals. These images tell scientists how microbes communicate with each other, the environment, and humans. The benefits of this new technology could have far reaching benefits.

The University of Nevada at Reno’s DeLaMare Library houses a ‘maker space’ which houses creative tools ranging from whiteboards to laser cutters to microprocessors. It is the library’s hope that this space allows students and the general public to fabricate their ideas and form new, innovative collaborations.

Two federally-funded Seattle tech training programs tasked with increasing diversity in the industry returned dramatically different results over the course of one year. Experts credit Apprenti's employer-driven nature, use of an online screening tool, and close ties with the local tech community with its relative success in placing 220 people in apprenticeships in its first 18 months. 94 percent of applicants to Aprenti's program were women, veterans, or persons of color, with only 55 percent holding a post-secondary degree.

In 2004, the Media Initiative set out to develop a trauma-informed curriculum for preschoolers in Northern Ireland. Using puppets, cartoons, and professional development, the social-emotional lessons have empowered students to better address conflict and communicate more effectively with each other. A Boston-based teacher education program is one of many who travel to Ireland to observe the program in action each year.

Virtual reality is being used as part of medical education providing a way for nurses and other medical workers to better understand how a patient may experiencing their surroundings. Virtual reality modules have been created for blind, colorblind, dementia, and dying patients.

Math requirements are a common barrier preventing students from successfully graduating from community college in Washington state. Schools are offering a new way for non-STEM majors to earn the credit; Statway teaches students accessible statistics mixed with real-world examples as an alternate to the traditional algebra-precalculus trajectory.

In California, half of school-aged children are the children of immigrants. Among many other initiatives in the city, a community-wide training project in Fresno aims to improve how adults in the city work with students of immigrant families. One of the challenges of the renewed push for a bilingual approach - finding sufficient bilingual teachers after years of the state's English-only education policies.

A six-week, half-day kindergarten jumpstart program in Billings, Montana is helping students to get acclimated to the classroom before formally entering school. While the "preschool-lite" offerings are not meant as a stand-in for a comprehensive preschool experience, they are a step towards closing the achievement gap, local officials and school administrators say.

A number of barriers prevent young children in Appalachia from enrolling in formal preschool classes. In response, a fleet of buses is traveling to remote communities to teach students academic and social skills.