Technology for Teaching

Gale in Context: For Educators Adds Assessments and New Lesson Plans

• By Kate Lucariello
• 04/06/23

Gale, an educational content provider, has added built-in assessments and hundreds of new, standards-based lesson plans to its Gale in Context: For Educators database program.

The company, part of Cengage Group, developed the new features based on user feedback with the aim of helping teachers be more effective in helping students achieve positive outcomes. Some new features include:

• Built-in standards-based assessments that measure student progress and identify where work is needed, with new assessment questions continually being added;

• Pre-written lesson plans that point to curriculum-based content, including digital content in a variety of formats;

• Lesson plans in new subject areas, such as financial literacy and digital literacy;

• Lessons focused across the curriculum in a variety of subject areas, such as science and engineering and social studies, built on inquiry frameworks;

• Tools to include and customize any piece of external content such as articles, news media, primary sources, and more, with the ability to embed notes and annotations;

• Tools to collaborate with other educators, including new and substitute teachers, on lesson planning;

• Tools to push content directly into existing learning management systems (LMS) like Canvas and Schoology with no separate links needed.

Coming soon, Gale said, will be the ability to “score short-answer response questions, which will allow for greater flexibility when checking student comprehension.”

These product updates began automatically appearing on March 31, 2023, Gale said, with the integration being “seamless” and requiring no action on the part of users.

“Teaching resources that improve fairness and accessibility for all students are a primary focus as education leaders consider how to leverage funding strategically,” said Shawn Clark, senior vice president of Gale's domestic learning business. “Gale In Context: For Educators’ use of formative evaluations helps teachers better determine where further support is required, enabling them to meet students where they are.”

To learn more about these enhancements, visit the Gale in Context: For Educators blog.