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Weekly Accessible Learning Activities: Peat, Coin Collecting, Civil Rights

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Weekly Accessible Learning Activities: Peat, Coin Collecting, Civil Rights

Each Wednesday we shine a spotlight on five student activities that support a broad range of learners. In this week’s roundup of accessible activities, we invite students to learn about the environmental benefits of peat, share the things they love to collect, watch a film about the 10th anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s death, talk about their experiences doing D.I.Y. projects, and make observations about a photograph.

Note: To learn more about this new weekly feature, read our introductory post. Please share your thoughts in the comments section or by emailing us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com.

1. Learn about how peatlands can help slow climate change.

In this Lesson of the Day, students read an illustrated article to learn about how peat — the unsung hero of carbon capture — can help fight climate change. Then, they can ask Times reporters about peatlands and share the most precious physical environment in their community.

2. Share what you love to collect.

In this Student Opinion, teens will read an article about four millennial and Gen Z coin collectors. Then, they will write about the things they like to collect, like coins, sneakers, dolls, comic books or stamps. They can share their responses with their classmates or in the comments section.

3. Watch a film reflecting on the legacy of Trayvon Martin’s death.

In this Film Club, students watch a film commemorating the 10th anniversary of the killing of Trayvon Martin. In the film, they will hear the reflections of former President Barack Obama, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Harvard historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. Then, they will reflect on how that moment set off a civil rights movement and what it means today.

4. Respond to an image about D.I.Y. creations.

In this Picture Prompt, students will share about an experience they have had doing a D.I.Y., or do-it-yourself, project. They can also reflect on influencers they’ve seen who give D.I.Y. tips and read about other students’ projects in the comments section.

5. Make observations about a photograph.

In this What’s Going On in This Picture, students will look closely at a photograph with no caption from The Times. They can share their observations in the comments section and read what other students, and moderators, have said about the image.

See How Christin Is Combining Campus and Online Learning To Achieve Her Dream of Becoming a Neurosurgeon

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See How Christin Is Combining Campus and Online Learning To Achieve Her Dream of Becoming a Neurosurgeon

We recently spent time talking with Christin, a Coursera learner based in Lebanon. Medicine is her lifelong dream and passion, and she’s currently a fourth-year medical student at Beirut Arab University. Her long-term goal is to be a neurosurgeon and researcher within the field of neuroscience. Coursera has become an important part of her learning and career journey—particularly in the context of the pandemic—and we’re grateful that she’s sharing her insights with our community about the skills she’s learning and the role online learning is playing in her professional growth. She also has some great advice to share. Let’s meet Christin!

Christin, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us. Let’s start at the beginning—how did you learn about Coursera?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I saw a list of online platforms offering online courses. I asked one of my university doctors about this, and she highly encouraged me to start my learning journey with Coursera.

How did the pandemic affect your approach to learning? 

I just couldn’t tolerate the idea of staying at home without being productive. Coursera was the perfect fit to satisfy my learning and knowledge needs. 

You sound like a very driven learner! 

I always strive to improve myself and increase my knowledge. I have an ideology that, each day, I must become a better version of myself. 

Your commitment and dedication are so inspiring, and we’re so happy you’re finding the right learning opportunities on Coursera. What are some of the courses you’ve taken so far?

I’ve taken tons of Coursera courses, including ones on Psychological First Aid, Patient Safety, Palliative Care, Personal Branding, Resume Writing, Neuroscience, Anatomy, The Science of Well-Being, and many more.

That’s a pretty remarkable range. Alongside the personal development content, it’s clear you’re also taking courses that align with your career trajectory. Can you tell us a bit more about that?

Coursera has helped me expand my knowledge through several important courses that are extremely impactful and helpful for my career—especially for topics that aren’t usually taught within the university curriculum. 

So you’re using Coursera as an opportunity to supplement your university education, in ways that are specifically tailored towards your career goals, is that right? 

Yes. For example, as a medical student, we don’t get introduced to information related to palliative care. So I was extremely happy to see that Coursera offered a Specialization on this topic!

Given all that you’ve accomplished already, how are you feeling about your journey so far, and about your opportunities ahead?

I’ve faced a lot of challenges and barriers since I was a child. But I’ve never surrendered to these challenges, and I’ve worked hard to become the woman I am now. My dream is to be a neurosurgeon and a neuroscience researcher, and I can’t wait to achieve that.

We have no doubt you’ll achieve your goals! As someone who has encountered challenges along the way, and who has been so proactive about building new skills and knowledge, do you have any advice for other learners who are working to achieve their goals?

I think it is extremely important for you to keep on seeking knowledge. Keep on striving to grow and learn new things daily, and don’t limit yourself to learning courses that are only related to your field. I encourage you to go on and learn a variety of topics. 

Spoken like a true lifelong learner!

~

Thank you, Christin, for sharing your journey, and congratulations on all your accomplishments. We look forward to more updates about what you achieve next!

Expanding access and inclusion: IIT Roorkee reaches a global audience with its new online data science program

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Expanding access and inclusion: IIT Roorkee reaches a global audience with its new online data science program

By Professor Ajit Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee and Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer, Coursera

More than three-quarters of university leaders are expanding access to online learning after the pandemic by offering more online learning options, including stackable credentials and degree programs for nontraditional students. In India, this global trend is propelled by the National Education Policy (NEP), which encourages Indian universities to build online programs and expand access.

As a leading education institution in India, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee partnered with Coursera in August 2020 — two months after the NEP was approved. Through the partnership, IIT Roorkee aspired to fulfill the goal of inclusive education and reach a global audience of students and professionals.

IIT Roorkee became the first Indian public technical university to offer postgraduate certificate programs on Coursera, and the institute is already reaching students around the world. More than half (55%) of the students in IIT Roorkee’s Post Graduate Certificate in Data Science and Machine Learning are from outside India. Students span 14 countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia. Over a quarter of the program’s students are from the United States. Within India, the program also has a wide reach, drawing learners from 11 states.

Our partnership demonstrates how we can increase equitable access to high-quality, job-relevant education for all learners, regardless of location. As students embrace online learning as the new normal, Coursera data shows that students interested in degrees are most concerned with affordability and accredited programs – university location is the least important factor. Students are eager to learn the skills needed to succeed in the digital economy from world-leading institutions.

University partnerships such as this can also help address local skill shortages, creating a path to make many more citizens job-ready. IIT Roorkee’s program addresses a critical skill gap, as demand for data science professionals surges in India. When students learn leading digital skills asynchronously, they also learn the soft skills needed to succeed in a remote workforce — by mastering independent work while simultaneously collaborating with global peers.

Online learning from leading universities such as IIT Roorkee can be a powerful enabler to democratizing opportunity in a post-pandemic era — by meeting the needs of employers and making citizens career ready. We are at a pivotal point in this journey. Together, we look forward to scaling life-transforming access and opportunities for learners everywhere.

Film Club: ‘‘I Must Save My Mom’: The Women Returning to Ukraine’

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Film Club: ‘‘I Must Save My Mom’: The Women Returning to Ukraine’

4. Next, join the conversation by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box that opens on the right. (Students 13 and older are invited to comment, although teachers of younger students are welcome to post what their students have to say.)

5. After you have posted, try reading back to see what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting another comment. Use the “Reply” button or the @ symbol to address that student directly.

VIITIVTSI, Ukraine — The families staggered in, bleary-eyed, to a two-room kindergarten around 1 a.m., exhausted after a long journey from their home in Cherkasy, about 300 miles away. Fearful of the threat from the Russian invasion, they had decided it was time to leave, and make their way along with tens of thousands of others to the safer regions of western Ukraine.

It was slow going. The roads were jammed with Ukrainians making a similar exodus. As they settled in for a few hours of sleep on a set of cots sized for 4-year-olds, air raid sirens blared from the administrative building next door.

The next morning, as snow fell outside, 11-year-old Karolyna Tupytska and her younger sister Albina brushed their teeth, played with a small Terrier and braced themselves for another long day of travel. They were headed to Poland with their mother, Lyuba.

“My grandparents and my dad are still in Cherkasy,” Karolyna said. She said she was sad to leave behind her white hamster, Pearl.

In Ukraine, everyone who has the means is on the move, displaced by a war that seemed impossible to imagine, but has finally arrived. They are fleeing physical danger, of course — artillery attacks that ravaged hospitals, public squares and apartment buildings — but also the desperation of wartime conditions evident in food shortages, loss of work and a dearth of medical supplies.

In the past week, more than one million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, according to the United Nations. A million more are internally displaced. Aid groups have described it as one of the biggest humanitarian crises in recent memory. The European Union said Thursday that it would offer Ukrainians temporary legal protection to live and work in the bloc for up to three years, and the United States also said it would give them temporary protected status.

At the kindergarten, Iryna Boicharenko, a 19-year-old also from Cherkasy, was sleeping in a room with her extended family. The walls were painted with Soviet-era cartoons — a wolf with an accordion, a donkey with a balalaika, and a bear in a vyshyvanka, a traditional Ukrainian costume.

“When I got in the car I started crying,” Ms. Boicharenko said. “I just started to cry because I realized I am leaving my country and running from a war. It’s an awful feeling.”

What Students Are Saying About Ignoring Text Messages, Sharing Their Lives Online and a “Melting Man”

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What Students Are Saying About Ignoring Text Messages, Sharing Their Lives Online and a “Melting Man”

This image depicts the reality of how exhausting life can be at times, bringing light to a struggle we all know. From an outsider’s point of view, you do not know exactly what the man is going through, but it is obvious that something he is experiencing in his life is weighing him down, withering away at his overall energy. As a person who has a very busy, stressful schedule as an AP student, employee, girlfriend, daughter, sister, etc., this photo speaks volume. After a long stressful week full of due dates and clock-in times, it is easy to let yourself feel so tired you could melt. This photo depicts how all people probably feel at times, even though we may not know exactly what it is they are going through.

— Mikayla, Bryant High School

To me, this image conveys how one’s life can easily fade away into a monotone way of living. And about how it is too easy for one’s life to become boring and uneventful with school or work. For me, I would feel this way because of school. I wake up everyday at the same time, just to go through the same eight classes for eight-ish hours every day. And after I’m done with that, I go home and continue to do schoolwork for varying amounts of hours every day, usually around two to three more hours. And once i’m finally done with all of that, I get a small amount of time to live my life I a way that I want to before I go to sleep just to wake up and repeat the whole process over again. It gets tiring and boring, and no one wants that. So I think that this image is saying to change up your life a little every now and then in order to prevent yourself from melting away into a monotonous lifestyle.

— Peter, Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn IL

I think that this image reflects the feeling that comes with a lack of motivation or inspiration. It’s the feeling of sluggishness that seems to accumulate in one spot, sticking us there like a melting popsicle on a hot sidewalk. When devout of motivation, it’s difficult to move out of a specific mindset. We usually tell ourselves that we simply can’t finish that overdue project, get outside, or even see friends and family, just because the lack of motivation makes those things seem impossible. It may even feel like holding ourselves up, at the very least, is impossible. This is when we feel stuck, both physically and mentally, and may experience ourselves “melting away” from the stress, pressures, or boredom of everyday life.

— Keweenaw, Glenbard West High School

I think the artist is trying to represent mental health. The image shows a man looking up while melting which can represent that he is just going through the motions of each day without thinking too much about it. When Covid-19 hit, we were on strict lock down and were limited on the places we were allowed to go. Due to this, some people may have felt like they were trapped at home, this can eventually lead to anxiety or depression. I can relate to this personally because during the second year of lock down, my mental health was really bad to the point where I had anxiety attacks every 2 days. Overall, the message I think the image wants to get across is to indulge in self care.

— Madeline, Hawkins High School, Los Angeles CA

I personally think that this can represent many things. But the main topic I thought about when I first looked at this was someone overwhelmed, drowning in their own thoughts. The peace shown in his eyes can be the uncontrollable urge to appear like you’re okay, or also the look you have when you’re looking inside your head, not in front of you. The melting eyes I feel represent the tears falling because of all the stress and sadness doubting yourself can cause. The melting head is like the feeling of losing your head, not being yourself anymore. And the casual pose could represent that this can be a daily thing for someone. That he is used to not feeling well everyday.

— Yosibel, Classical High School, RI

Melting along with his face are his eyes, which gives off the illusion of crying. And while crying is typically associated with sadness and negative emotions, I think it is worth mentioning that both of his eyes are looking up, symbolizing that there is hope in every situation. I believe that no matter what circumstances we are put through, we will always have it in us to pull through in the end. Whether you believe in a God or not, we are constantly being put to the test. Although we may feel discouraged and “melt,” it is up to us to make things right, and I believe we are all more than capable of doing so.

— Teak, Hoggard High School in Wilmington, NC

Sitting there staring. She’s at the front of the classroom going on a never ending spiel. On and on… American Revolution… John Locke… George Washington… Catching every couple words in a sentence. Feeling the walls start closing in on you. Keep eye contact. Keep nodding. Close your eyes, you’re being disrespectful. Wake up. Your head starts to become heavy every sound you hear in the room around you all blends together like everything is distant. Feeling like you’re drowning in a fog by yourself. Waiting for something to happen. Anything.

— Maya, Block 1, Hoggard High School Wilmington, NC

What’s Going On in This Graph? | March 16, 2022

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What’s Going On in This Graph? | March 16, 2022

Special Announcement for March: The American Statistical Association is now running its annual This is Statistics Spring Contest. Students can showcase their statistical literacy and journalism skills by submitting their clear and compelling headlines for New York Times graphs in March’s four weekly challenges. To learn more, visit This Is Statistics.

These graphs were produced by The New York Times using data collected by NOAA’s Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) from more than 7,800 weather stations across the United States.

On Wednesday, March 16, we will moderate your responses live online. By Friday morning, March 18, we will provide the “Reveal” — the graphs’ free online link, additional questions, shout outs for student headlines and Stat Nuggets.

1. After looking closely at the graph above (or at this full-size image), answer these four questions:

  • What do you notice?

  • What do you wonder?

The questions are intended to build on one another, so try to answer them in order.

2. Next, join the conversation online by clicking on the comment button and posting in the box. (Teachers of students younger than 13 are welcome to post their students’ responses.)

3. Below the response box, there is an option to click on “Email me when my comment is published.” This sends the link to your response which you can share with your teacher.

4. After you have posted, read what others have said, then respond to someone else by posting a comment. Use the “Reply” button to address that student directly.

On Wednesday, March 16, teachers from our collaborator, the American Statistical Association, will facilitate this discussion from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time.

5. By Friday morning, March 18, we will reveal more information about the graph, including a free link to the article that includes this graph, at the bottom of this post. We encourage you to post additional comments based on the article, possibly using statistical terms defined in the Stat Nuggets.

We’ll post more information here on Thursday afternoon. Stay tuned!

More?

• See all graphs in this series or collections of 60 of our favorite graphs, 28 graphs that teach about inequality and 24 graphs about climate change.

• View our archives that link to all past releases, organized by topic, graph type and Stat Nugget.

• Learn more about the notice and wonder teaching strategy from this 5-minute video and how and why other teachers are using this strategy from our on-demand webinar.

• Sign up for our free weekly Learning Network newsletter so you never miss a graph. Graphs are always released by the Friday before the Wednesday live-moderation to give teachers time to plan ahead.

• Go to the American Statistical Association K-12 website, which includes teacher statistics resources, Census in the Schools student-generated data, professional development opportunities, and more.

Students 13 and older in the United States and the Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Plundered Shelves

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Plundered Shelves

Use your imagination to write the opening of a short story or poem inspired by this illustration — or, tell us about a memory from your own life that this image makes you think of.

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn more.

Want more Picture Prompts? Find them all in this column.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Word of the Day: uncouth

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Word of the Day: uncouth

The word uncouth has appeared in 11 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Dec. 4 in “Public Displays of Resignation: Saying ‘I Quit’ Loud and Proud” by Emma Goldberg:

America’s quitting rate — the percentage of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs — is historically high, reaching 3 percent this fall. It is also exceptionally visible. People are celebrating their resignations in Instagram reels or “QuitToks.” They’re turning to the Reddit forum R/antiwork, where subscriptions ballooned this year, to gloat about being free from their 9-to-5 jobs. They’re tweeting screenshots of texts to their bosses declaring they have quit.

… There once was a time when broadcasting the decision to quit a job might have seemed unwise, or at least uncouth. Career coaches traditionally advised their clients not to disparage former employers online. Though there was always a subset of workers who quit loudly on principle, recruiters often raised their eyebrows at candidates who’d gone public about negative experiences in their previous roles. But after over a year of laboring through a pandemic, protests over racial justice and all the personal and societal tumult that followed those events, some workers are ready to reject stale professional norms and vent.

Can you correctly use the word uncouth in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.

If you want a better idea of how uncouth can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

If you enjoy this daily challenge, try one of our monthly vocabulary challenges.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.

Coursera partners with UK government to provide free modern skills training for girls in developing countries

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Coursera partners with UK government to provide free modern skills training for girls in developing countries

Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer, Coursera

Coinciding with International Women’s Day, we are thrilled to announce that Coursera has joined forces with the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and ten other partners to deliver a £20 million programme to improve girls’ access to education and employment in developing countries. 

The UK’s first education partnership of its kind, Girls’ Education Skills Partnership (GESP), will deliver high-quality skills training to around 1 million girls, initially in Nigeria and Bangladesh. The initiative will focus on equipping girls with the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics skills needed in in-demand sectors such as technology and manufacturing. The UK government is contributing an initial £9 million to GESP, with businesses providing £11 million in total. 

“Ensuring every girl and young woman across the globe receives 12 years of quality education is the greatest tool in our armoury to end the world’s great injustices. Delivering on this mission will be one of the best defences against ignorance, ensure the greatest protection from prejudice and put a rocket booster behind our hopes and dreams for global development in the years to come.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, March 8, 2022. 

As part of this initiative, Coursera will provide 10,000 scholarships to complete entry-level Professional Certificates at no cost. Taught by industry leaders like IBM, Google, Meta, and Intuit, these certificates prepare learners with no college degree or industry experience to enter high-growth careers like IT support, data analytics, and social media marketing. 

The UK Government notes that private sector involvement will help to ensure that the training delivered corresponds to the requirements of employers. Other partners in the initiative include Unilever, Pearson, PwC, Microsoft, Accenture, Standard Chartered, United Bank for Africa, Vodafone, BP and Cognizant. 

In the UK, we saw the share of enrolments from women in online STEM courses on Coursera increase from 34% pre-pandemic to 41% as of June 2021. While hopeful trends are emerging, we still have important work to do to ensure young women and girls have equal access to economic opportunity in the modern workforce. Institutional collaboration initiatives like GESP that provide flexible, affordable pathways for women to advance their education and careers will be crucial to addressing gender workplace gaps in the digital economy. 

For more information about Coursera for Government, visit coursera.org/government.

Coursera and Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream launch free nationwide skills training initiative for underserved Americans 

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Coursera and Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream launch free nationwide skills training initiative for underserved Americans 

By Leah Belsky, Chief Enterprise Officer 

The pandemic profoundly reshaped the skills and employment landscape, accelerating digitization, displacing workers, and worsening social inequities. With 149 million new digital jobs projected globally by 2025, the skills gap will only continue to widen as businesses and workers face the challenge of reskilling amid rapid transformation. 

To address these challenges, Coursera and the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (MCAAD) have joined forces to launch The American Dream Academy, an ambitious free online training initiative designed to prepare underserved communities across the U.S. to enter high-growth digital jobs, while removing barriers to earning a college degree. 

As Coursera’s largest workforce development partnership, the MCAAD American Dream Academy will provide scholarships for certified skills training to over 200,000 underemployed Americans over three years, particularly youth, underemployed workers, and those without a college degree, to unlock their full economic potential. 

“Our mission with this partnership is to give underemployed young Americans the opportunity to learn skills that will qualify them for higher-level employment, so they are better positioned to prosper and work toward their ultimate dreams. Simultaneously, the program will provide a steady stream of talent to companies that want to diversify their workforce and focus workforce training on skills for the future, not the past. We encourage businesses across America to join us and Coursera in expanding opportunities to underserved youth to ensure a skilled workforce for the future.”

– Dr. Kerry Healey, President of MCAAD

The free six-month program focuses on three key areas:  

  • Industry-recognized credentials and degree pathways 
    • Eight entry-level Professional Certificates from industry leaders such as Google, IBM, Meta, and more, which train workers without a degree or technology experience for well-paying digital jobs in fields like IT support, social media marketing, data analytics, and cybersecurity. 
    • High-quality online courses identified by MCAAD as critical for jobs of the future, emphasizing durable employability skills including critical thinking, communication, and developing a growth mindset. 
    • Learners who complete certificates from Google and IBM with ACE Credit Recommendation are eligible to earn up to 10 to 12 college credits – the equivalent of up to four college courses. 
    • Western Governors University will allow TADA learners who complete the program to transfer credits into a degree program and qualify for admissions in WGU’s Bachelor programs in the College of Business and College of Information Technology.
    • The University of North Texas will allow TADA learners who complete certificates from Google and Meta to transfer credits into its Bachelors of Applied Arts and Sciences program.  
  • Wrap-around support services 
    • Webinars and virtual experiences will enable learners to build community and develop tools to succeed at work or continue education.
    • Elective courses will help learners build their professional networks, write resumes and cover letters, and prepare for job interviews. 
    • Upon completion of the program, each learner earns an American Dream Scholars Badge acknowledging their achievement, as well as industry-recognized certificates for the credentials they earn along the way. 
    • An “alumni” network of badge holders offering mentorship and networking opportunities.  
  • Job opportunities 
    • Learners who complete entry-level certificates from Google are able to apply for open jobs from over 150 employers who are currently hiring, including Walmart, Verizon, and Google. 
    • IBM will connect learners enrolled in the IBM cybersecurity analyst certificate with additional cyber career readiness and support resources on its SkillsBuild platform. 
    • Facebook Certification Career Network connects certified learners with 100+ companies including BBDO, Havas Media, GroupM and more. 
    • EY will support TADA learners with access to their employer networks and insights on in-demand jobs and employability skills. 

A call to action 

Training and reskilling workers won’t be enough if employers maintain outdated practices with strict requirements for educational attainment and rigid in-person working policies. We invite employers to join us in this movement to remove barriers to great jobs while expanding and diversifying their hiring pipelines. 

MCAAD and Coursera are proud to join with our partners to help revitalize the American Dream and build a more equitable workforce in the digital economy.

If you are a U.S. resident, visit theamericandreamacademy.org to sign up for the program. For more information about Coursera for Government, visit coursera.org/government. 

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