History

As laser technology expands there became a need for a training program for technicians. TERC develops the first program for training laser-electro optic technicians.

In 1974, Jimmy Carter became chair of the DNC and announced his candidacy for president in December 1974. He spent the next two years touring around the country meeting many people. One stop on his itinerary included TERC’s headquarters!

TERC’s Special Needs Center concentrated on equity in education and training for underserved populations—handicapped students, women in nontraditional occupations, and minority students. Research and development projects involved school industry collaborative planning, provisions of handbooks and in-service training for educators, and evaluations of compliance with nondiscrimination regulations.

TERC staff spent two years conducting a national project to find out what could be done about women’s low participation in male-intensive occupations. Through many interviews with coordinators of programs that recruited, trained, and placed women in skilled and technical jobs, researchers learned what to do and not to do to promote women’s success. They compiled their suggestions into two books containing guidelines for programs in non-traditional occupations (NTO), from planning to follow-up, and tested the guidelines at five post-secondary vocational and technical schools. The results were remarkable: 372 women enrolled in male-intensive occupational programs, and the programs enjoyed an excellent retention rate. All five NTO program coordinators were rehired by their schools with inside funding after the end of the TERC-funded field test.

Prior to the 1989 release of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, TERC began developing
Used Numbers — a series of curriculum units that focus on data analysis in grades K-6. This publication marked the beginning of TERC’s later curriculum Investigations.

LabNet established student research projects as an important and accepted part of science instruction throughout the United States by enhancing science teachers’ ability to involve students in science investigations. LabNet’s creators understood that high school science teachers, especially those in small or rural communities, are typically more isolated than other teachers simply because their numbers are so few. LabNet promoted interaction among science teachers – giving motivation and support to do experimental collaborative, project-based instruction, using technology as appropriate.

TERC’s research on statistical reasoning and how computers could help students see and analyze data led to the development of software tools such as Tabletop — a graphical data analysis and visualization tool.

Needing space to accommodate growing programs and staff, TERC relocated to the renovated carriage factory space in Cambridge where we still reside.

PSL was a project that developed data-collection sensors and software on IBM PCs, building on TERC’s experiences with the ground-breaking MBL (Microcomputer-based Lab) project. It brought in a talented team of newcomers who became important in TERC’s work building software, curriculum, and teacher professional development using the PSL system.

The ViEW (Video for Exploring the World) project developed the CamMotion software, which allowed students to explore the mathematics of motion by creating and analyzing videos of their own movements, such as doing a cartwheel, jumping rope or riding a bike. The project was significantly ahead of its time, as video was analog – not digital – in the early 1990’s, so the first step in analyzing a video was to use a special “digitizer” to translate the video into machine-readable form. Then students used CamMotion to trace the position of a chosen point (e.g. their right hand) through consecutive frames, creating a trace of its motion over time, which was superimposed on a frame of the video. The software could then create graphs of x- or y-position over time, as well as calculate velocity. The system thus tied traditional physics and math representations to students’ embodied knowledge.

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TERC’s award-winning puzzle game continues to engage players using computational thinking skills.
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LSC-Net, a web-based, interactive community, enriched the work of Local Systemic Change (LSC) initiatives throughout the country and supported collaboration among them. Three virtual conferences that addressed sustainability of systemic change came out of this project resulting, in the development of MSPnet.

Global Lab launches students in grades 6–9 on a collaborative scientific enterprise. Students choose a local “study site” for interdisciplinary, hands-on explorations in four essential areas: interaction of matter and energy; bio-geochemical cycles; biomes and biodiversity; and Earth as a system.

Global Lab includes curriculum guide, 5 units (teacher and student books), instruments and supplies, and a network membership. The Investigating Science Outdoors eBooks developed by TERC are based on Global Lab.

Investigating Astronomy is the first comprehensive astronomy textbook written specifically for high school students.
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This full-year integrated science curriculum weaves its way through the disciplines of biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, and Earth science, as well as sociology, ethics, and the psychology of human thought and behavior.
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This year-long, project-based high school curriculum that situates standards-based science learning in authentic workplace contexts. The curriculum is based on the principle that all students learn better and more deeply when they learn in context, and on the belief that such an approach offers students who have not been engaged by abstract science the opportunity to achieve on a par with their peers.
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EMPower is a mathematics curriculum for non-traditional students enrolled in adult basic education, pre-GED, GED, and transitional courses to college, as well as students in alternative high schools, workplace settings, or corrections programs.
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Students and astronauts use this powerful new tool to explore earth from space.

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An 86-page full-color book, Mixing in Math contains mathematical activities with fun instructional pictures, all of which are connected to Common Core State Standards.

The Inquiry Project stems from a partnership between TERC and Tufts University. The project offers content and strategies to help elementary teachers lay the groundwork for molecular theory studies in junior high and high school by teaching concepts such as weight, volume, and density in grades 3-5.

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TERC revised and enhanced its groundbreaking mathematics curriculum for adult learners. The updated and enhanced versions of three titles (Using Benchmarks, Split It Up, and Everyday Number Sense) in the original EMPower™ series. EMPower Plus titles, as well as the original series, align with Career and College Readiness Standards for Adult Education.

The culmination of over 25 years of research and development aimed at improving the teaching and learning of elementary mathematics, Investigations 3 maintains and builds on the philosophy and pedagogy of the first and second editions, and continues to be based on the work of real teachers and students. Investigations 3 is a focused, coherent, and rigorous K-5 mathematics curriculum, fully aligned to the content and practice standards of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
Investigations 3rd edition

Six new signing glossary apps were developed to help families with deaf or hard of hearing members access information in aquariums, botanical gardens, natural history museums, nature centers, science museums, and zoos. The apps provide access to thousands of signed terms and definitions, and are free to use on iPhone and Android mobile devices.

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The Multiplex, funded by the National Science Foundation, provided access to over 1,000 videos showcasing federally funded research and development projects in STEM education. It enabled researchers, educators, policymakers and parents to interact with each other, view and discuss cutting-edge efforts to improve STEM education, and create and share playlists. The site also hosted “Theme of the Month” events featuring expert panel webinars and online asynchronous discussions.

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Storytelling Math from Charlesbridge Publishing celebrates math, diversity, and the power of storytelling. The books feature children using math in their daily adventures as they play, build, and discover the world around them. Joyful stories and hands-on activities make it easy for kids and their grown-ups to explore everyday math together. Storytelling Math is led by Marlene Kliman at TERC.
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Walch Education and TERC announce a new partnership to offer TERC’s highly-respected EMPower™ and EMPower™ Plus series. EMPower and EMPower Plus address the tremendous need for adult students to develop a strong conceptual foundation that supports the achievement of higher-level math skills. The series was written by adult education professionals, field-tested in adult education programs, and is aligned with the College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education (CCRSAE).
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