January 2017

Manuel R. CortezRodas
Educator, MRCR Education.

Welcome

We counted down around the world towards midnight on December 31st, 2016 to welcome the new year.  2017 arrived with the fanfare given to each new year celebration and we turn to it with hope and a positive outlook.  Across the US educators and students enjoyed their much deserved Winter Break, and are now in the process of getting ready to go back to school also with hope and a positive outlook.


Goals

MRCR Education has taken time during this Winter Break to look back and reflect on the goals that were set when we began the school year and how we are doing in reaching each of these goals.  MRCR Education continues to make education a priority for all and remains committed to share its experience in English Learners, STEAM, and HAST education.


English Learners

Learning English is the most important skill that newcomers face.  The acquisition of language skills and knowledge will allow students to become successful in school and as they continue on their path towards both college and career.  It will allow them to create and develop a bridge of communication between the education they have acquired thus far and that which they are currently receiving.


STEAM Education

STEAM education continues to become an integral part of the curriculum across many schools.  As we continue to embrace the idea that interconnecting disciplines leads to critical thinking and problem solving skills, STEAM will also continue to lead the way we approach teaching this methodology to our students.


HAST Education

There is no time like the present to put forth the humanities in all academic areas and levels of education.  HAST, like STEAM, allows for a new approach to achieve this while maintaining high educational standards that allow students to also develop social skills that are critical to become successful members of society such as leadership, empathy, grit, and self-discipline.


Looking Ahead

We look forward to continue to share with you our thoughts and ideas as well as welcome your views, input, and feedback.  Thank you for your continued support by visiting our website MRCR Education Site, blog MRCR Education Blog , and Twitter feed MRCR Education on Twitter.  We wish all Educators, Administrators, Teachers, Coaches, Support Staff, Students, Parents, Mentors, and all leaders and stakeholders in education a wonderful and successful 2017.  Looking forward to the class of 2017 to complete their journey in the near future.


Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2017.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

January 2016

Welcome Back Educators!

It is time to kick-off 2016.

Soon.  The class of 2016 will complete its educational journey, and become prepared to be promoted towards a higher level of achieveable education.

Soon.  Some time in the late spring.  The second year of CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Progress and Performance) will take place.  Care must be taken that California education and educators do their best to prepare students, do not become complacent or over-confident, and avoid a dreaded Sophomore slump.  Together, we should look forward towards continued growth and success in education for 2016.

MRCR Education continues its commitment to education particularly in the areas of EL's (English Learners), STEAM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Arts-Mathematics), and HAST (Humanities-Arts-Science-Technology)

Thank you to our blog visitors and @mrcreducation Twitter followers for your support.


Manuel R. CortezRodas - Chief Educator/Founder

Copyright 2016.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

HAST Education

HAST Education
(Humanities, Arts, Science, Technology)

It is within our nature to make observations and take annotations in addition to recognizing patterns and identifying problems that may occur.

We also have a tendency, through ingenuity, to come with reasonable solutions that benefit us all as a whole.

HAST Education brings this together.  HAST greatly benefits the student's learning process through the integration of the core subject areas of humanities, arts, science, and technology.

With a HAST approach to education, students become better prepared to identify issues, solve problems, recognize patterns, take notes, and observe their environment.

A student's educational performance should flourish and be deeply rooted in a diverse academic field of knowledge.



Manuel R. CortezRodas - Chief Educator/Founder

Copyright 2015.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

How to Bridge Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology

This question has been put forth in previous posts: How can humanities and science be bridged?  These two areas of knowledge, of academic wisdom, of human endeavor, have been at odds since the beginning of time.

Humanity has benefited greatly from scientific achievements that have allowed for the development of modern technologies and art forms.

Yet there have been many instances in which these same scientific achievements, modern technologies, and art forms, have caused some of the darkest chapters in human history.

HAST education, the integration of Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology, is founded on the four cornerstones which these four areas provide.

HAST education helps bridge the vast expanses that can form within these four core areas.  It keeps as a primary focus the effects that education and its applications have for the people, our communities, and society; while taking into account the benefits to humanity of our scientific achievements, newly developed technologies, and the art forms that are created from them. HAST education also brings to the forefront the dangers that can happen to us if we do not take these thoughts into consideration by bringing light to some of the most tragic events in humanity.


Manuel R. CortezRodas - Chief Educator/Founder

Copyright 2015.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

How Art and Technology Bridge Humanities and Science

It seems that science and humanities have been at odds since the beginning of time.  Science being deeply rooted in facts, formulas, and processes; while humanities being deeply rooted in the human spirit, life, and all their qualities.  Humanities has been described as everything that is not science, and science as everything that is not humanities.  Yet both have managed to coexist, throughout time, in many cultures and various places.

One way in which these two areas of knowledge can be bridged is through the arts and technology. At various periods of time the emergence of new technology and art have had an effect on the relation between humanities and science.  From telegraph, to television, to Twitter, each new technology expanded the art of communication in human society through scientific inventions.  Knowledge no longer staying localized, but rather began reaching a far greater audience, having a greater impact in opinions, reasoning, and thought.  Creating the need to begin a dialog about how each innovation can do both bridge and isolate.

The close relation between Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology (HAST) can serve as a foundation upon which a framework for the education process can be built.  HAST Education benefits those who participate in it by addressing how the human pursuit for knowledge has an effect on humanity.


Manuel R. CortezRodas - Chief Educator/Founder

Copyright 2015.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

APRIL 2015

Manuel R. CortezRodas
(Chief Educator/Founder)

April has arrived, and with it, the season of spring which brings the signs of rebirth.  

There is much that is associated with this month and have included a few examples to consider:

• Spring showers, which are urgently needed in California.
• It is, as it is written in hashtag, #NationalPoetryMonth or #npm15
• The beginning of the last three months of school (Apr, May, Jun).
• Graduates blooming from our high schools as the Class of 2015. 
• The continuing duty and debate of year end education assessment.
• Spring Break 2015!!!

MRCR Education is doing its best to continue presenting and sharing information that can be of assistance to educators prepare in that final stretch of the 2014-15 school year.  

The MRCR Education Logo
(Inspired by the Mayan representation
for "TUN" meaning: Stone, Year)

Please continue to follow us on Twitter @mrcreducation for the latest updates from MRCR Education and its resources on the areas of English Language Developement (ELD) Education, STEAM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics), and HAST (Humanities, Arts, Science, Technology) Education, in addition to other educational themes and topics. 

We look forward to your feed back! 

Thank You. 




Manuel R. CortezRodas - Chief Educator/Founder

Copyright 2015.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

Formative Assessment

Formative Assessment is a continuous process that can:

1) Facilitate learning through the integration of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
 

2) Communicates data through feed back loops which connect students, teachers, administrators, educators, etc.
 

3) Allows for the development of a multiple instruction pathway.
 

4) Makes thinking visible.

A key to the success of Formative Assessment is a gradual implementation of this process, through a multitude of points designed to allow for learning modifications to take place.

Formative Assessment can be applied in California schools through the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and educational programs such as English Language Development (ELD), STEAM, HAST, etc.

At the 2015 Formative Assessment in the Classroom, the Curriculum, and the Culture of Schools conference, sponsored by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), a panel of education professionals representing various leading institutions (CRESST, IFL, SCALE, SRI, UC Berkeley, And WestEd) shared their insight on, and support for, Formative Assessment.

School, district, and educational leaders interested in introducing Formative Assessment to their sites, are highly encouraged to search for further information from the many available resources.

Formative Assessment is not anything designed or implemented to create or cause a systematic change in educational systems, or establish a one-size-fits-all education model, but rather work together through collaboration and innovations in the approach to education.

Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2015.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

HAST Education Lessons

How can we develop a HAST Education lesson?  What are some of the steps that educators can take to develop a lesson that is engaging for students, yet relevant to what they are learning, and can be applicable to the current problems which they are facing?  In this post we share some of the steps which we have found are helpful to develop a HAST Education Lesson.

• Develop the lesson around a central theme.  Choose a theme for your lesson, then incorporate the different strands of HAST education into it.

• Research the theme of the lesson.  Find what sources are available and can be accessed by students.  Make sure that they are up to date, and their information is relevant.

• Create variations of the lesson.  Do not limit yourself to the "one master lesson plan".  Adjust your lesson so it best fits the needs of your students.

• Use a diversified approach to present the lesson.  Present the lesson through various points of view.  Doing this can help engage students who may not be reached with the one lesson approach.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the lesson.  Set the goals you want your students to achieve and compare them to those achieved by them.

We hope that you find these steps to be helpful as you plan your student lessons and incorporate that many aspects of HAST Education into the classroom.

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2014.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

HAST Education Curriculum

HAST Education Curriculum should be created to best serve the students to acquire, demonstrate, and apply the skills and knowledge which HAST education has to offer.  Classrooms, schools, and districts who would like to implement a HAST education curriculum as part of their instructional process, should begin by establishing a team who will be assigned the tasks to research, design, and evaluate the implementation process.

In creating a HAST Education curriculum all resources available should be taken into consideration.  This includes, but is not limited to, facilities, faculty, funding, supplies, students, and parents.  The team should determine how to manage all these resources and put them to use.  A roadmap will also help to set goals and hold the team accountable for making progress toward implementation, while a framework will help to envision the finalized process.

One factor to also keep in mind is that of time. While the education process that students must undergo is to last throughout their lifetime, as educators we are limited by how much time we can be instructing them.  A well designed curriculum will take into account that there are time limitations to achieve mastery of HAST skills and knowledge, and that it must be held accountable through established measuring guidelines.

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2014.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

HAST Education Benefits

What are the Benefits of HAST Education?

The benefits of HAST Education are many. It would be challenging to attempt and list them all, and if we were to assume that we had listed all of them, upon sharing them with others, we would soon realize that there were other benefits that we were unable to see for ourselves.  HAST Education can provide many benefits on a variety of levels: The student as an individual, the classroom as a whole, and the school as part of the community, just to illustrate three of the many levels which could benefit from a HAST Education.

Of the many benefits which HAST Education has to offer, an understanding of human interaction, an appreciation of the beauty in art, the application of scientific knowledge, the development of modern technology, and a cross reference multiple subject knowledge, are some which we might want to take into consideration. By working with students to develop the five benefits mentioned above, we would also be working with them in developing the skills needed to have a better chance of success academically, professionally, and socially.

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2014.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

HAST Education Definition

Just as our DNA is composed of four building strands (A, C, G, T), so is HAST Education composed of four educational strands: Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology.

Humanities has its origin deeply rooted in humans and our ability of being human to our fellow mankind, people.  The humanities, then, can be studied through subject areas such as history and philosophy, where great intellect and feeling come together be learned. Humanities does draw an academic boundary around itself in order to distinguish itself from science.

The arts are about craft, creativity, and skill.  In the arts we are presented with the opportunity to apply what we have learned in order to express human emotions like happiness, sadness, beauty, pain, and share these emotions for others to experience as well.

Science is the search for knowledge.  Scientists study facts so they may develop principles, create systems, and establish methods. Science provides us the means, not only to search for such knowledge, but to also collect, organize, and present such knowledge with the scientific community and the public.  It is through science that we can ask and answer the following: Why?, I want to know why, Do you know why?, Let's find out why.

The art of applying science to the industrial and the practical is what gives us technology.  Technology is a tool that will forever continue to improve its usefulness, or risk stagnation and possible elimination.  It is through technology that we have expanded our communication with the development of the internet, television, radio, telephone, telegraph, and all the way back to the most ancient manuscripts preserved in papyrus, wood and rock carvings, as well as cave paintings where we have recorded the earliest of human knowledge.

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2014.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

HAST Education Introduction

It is within our nature to be curious and tinker, to try and make sense of that which is around us, and that which originates from within.  We sense by sight and sound, smell and taest, in addition to touch, so that we may feel.  Then we take what we feel and think about whether it is good or bad, right or wrong, new or old, logic or not.  It is through these various processes, multiplied over time and divided among individuals, communities, society, and cultures, that we have created the humanities, the arts, the sciences, and technology.  These are the cornerstones which make the foundation of HAST Education.

To introduce HAST Education we should begin by looking at each component individually and how they can become interconnected.  At first glance, we may wonder how can humanities and science be bridged? How do the arts and technology relate to their counterparts? HAST Education gives us the opportunity to bridge both the humanities and the sciences through the arts, while technology provides the tools with which to build and maintain such bridge.

It is through these relationships that the four cornerstones of: Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology can be established as a foundation upon which HAST Education can be built.  HAST Education can be integrated in our schools through the development of skills and the application of the skills we develop, to further our education, to expand our knowledge, and to help build a better future.

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2014.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved

HAST Education

Since ancient times, we have excelled in four educational areas: Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology.  Excelling in these four areas has allowed us to develop the great civilizations of the world and create cultural enrichment.  In recent years, there has been a focus on incorporating these core areas in education.  This has been the case in higher education, but it should also be so throughout all levels of education, including early learning.

HAST Education provides an opportunity to implement these areas into different aspects of the education process. Through the use of HAST Education we can establish a foundation, create a roadmap, and design a framework that allows students to have the opportunity to excel in all areas of HAST.  MRCR Education is dedicating this month to address different aspects needed to succeed in implementing HAST Education.  We hope that you find the information we share as valuable, and welcome your thoughts and feedback.

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2014. MRCR Educational Consulting Firm. All Rights Reserved.

April 2014

This month of April is dedicated to HAST Education.  HAST Education combines the areas of Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology.  Through the implementation of HAST Education, educators can create lesson plans and create a curriculum.  HAST Education can become part of the educational process of learners, and they will benefit from the core areas that are the primary focus of HAST.

MRCR Education is going to discuss and introduce HAST Education and in addition cover topics like: Defining HAST Education, Benefits of HAST Education, Developing a HAST Education Curriculum, and Creating HAST Education Lessons.  We hope that you find this month's theme of HAST Education to be of interest to you, and that you find our posts to be informative and educational in value.

The core areas that are the foundation for HAST Education provide great value to students, teachers, parents, administrators, and can have a great benefit toward the development of our communities.  HAST Education is a great source for educational development which we ought to invest and fund as part of our schooling.

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator

Copyright 2014. MRCR Educational Consulting Firm. All Rights Reserved.