Fuel student-driven success and enhance learning with better assessment
What if there was a better way to collect and interpret assessment data that could strengthen the link between teaching and learning? Student Assessment: Better Evidence, Better Decisions, Better Learning is the innovative guide to show ......
See beyond content standards to the broader context of life-changing skills. The standards-based learning and grading movement of the past twenty years has ushered in a critical shift in assessment that demands clarity in both what is being measured and how well students are learning. Seeing the value in this evolution, a wave of schools has invested enormous effort to institutionalize the policy and practices of the movement. In doing so, many focused their initial efforts squarely on grading and fell short of the more important work-classroom assessment. There are important lessons in these missteps and failures. This groundbreaking, "next generation" approach to classroom assessment challenges educators to reflect on the connections between growth, mastery, and student self-efficacy and to prioritize the transferable skills of metacognition and self-regulation in assessments. A powerful call-to-action, this guide includes: A conceptual framework that guides the questions and order of assessment reform An approach to assessment, grading, and reporting that prioritizes student growth over a standard definition of success for everyone Strategies to develop metacognition and catalyze motivation in students Orientation to each chapter with learning intentions with success criteria Vivid case stories and prompts to power deep reflection Underscoring the importance of learning environments that work for the full range of learning profiles, this book calls for a revolution in the narrative around assessment and grading, emphasizing the ultimate goal of nurturing students who are metacognitive, expert learners, motivated by the joy of learning.
Discover models, strategies, and real-life stories to strengthen your collaborative practices. Cooperation, coordination of services, and impactful collaboration are critical to the success of multilingual learners with exceptional needs. Written by experts in the fields of language and literacy development, equity, and special education, this ......
A Framework for Teaching Beyond Representation Toward Liberation
"When can we move beyond representation to liberation?" This question from a young Black girl moved New York Times #1 bestselling author Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul to offer a vision for antiracist teaching that goes far beyond adding diverse texts in a classroom library. Antiracist Reading Revolution provides an actionable antiracist teaching framework and models how K-8 educators can create opportunities for transformative reading and discussions in classrooms. Dr. Cherry-Paul offers six critical lenses that help educators to adopt an antiracist teaching stance, spotlighting the importance of instruction built around love, joy, community, justice, and solidarity. Educators are invited to reflect on their instructional practices, dismantle ideologies that are barriers to students' critical and creative thinking and cultivate identity-inspiring learning experiences where students can show up fully as themselves and recognize the full humanity of all people. This is what it means to move beyond representation to liberation. Chapters feature several children's books that center BIPOC characters and creators. Dr. Cherry-Paul provides prompts and pathways for each children's book that guide teachers toward putting into action the six critical lenses at the core of the Antiracist Reading Framework - affirmation, awareness, authorship, atmosphere, activism, and accountability. And she provides toolkits for students and teachers to use when selecting and reading books on their own. Chapters in this book also ... Offer personal and insightful anecdotes, supported by research and scholarship, that illustrate the power of antiracist teaching in working toward equity, justice, and freedom Provide a clear and actionable guide for K-8 literacy educators including classroom teachers, instructional coaches, and librarians Encourage critical reflection, pausing to ask educators to examine their own identities and values, and how these influence their teaching Guide educators toward selecting and teaching with books that center the lived experiences of BIPOC students This book is a call to action. In Dr. Cherry-Paul's words, "In an antiracist classroom, reading helps us to dream, experience joy, engage in collective struggle, liberate our minds, and love. Let's move forward together to realize our vision of an antiracist reading classroom rooted in love and liberation."
Strategies to Build Culturally Competent and Affirming Schools
A framework for the courageous school leadership our students deserve. From the foreword by Gholdy Muhammad... "In Leading With C.A.R.E., Dr. Allen provides a way to disrupt the harms that systems, teachers, and leaders may inflict on children. He uses the richness of his personal and professional experiences to speak to the true purpose and power of schools, which is to disrupt disparities and affirm students' cultural identities and brilliance. In doing so, Dr. Allen reminds educators that we must examine the structures of education historically and in the present so that we can dismantle harmful practices. The framework of C.A.R.E. presented here guides educators to lead with Culturally Responsiveness in teaching and learning, while Affirming children's identities, and building positive Relationships with youth. Dr. Allen posits that this leads to spaces of Empowerment. This book provides the what, the why and importantly, the how. The C.A.R.E. framework helps leaders center the genius and joy of youth and teachers, while recognizing the social times we live in and elevating the education of children, especially those who have been historically excluded in schooling and in society. The framework provides a way forward for leaders to lead differently-with care, belonging, and excellence; providing every child with what they deeply deserve." With learning goals, summaries, and reflection questions included in each chapter, this guide offers actionable strategies educators can use to establish a culture that prioritizes students' experiences and affirms their identities.
Foster a love of mathematics by creating a more inclusive and empowering learning environment through asset-based teaching! An asset-based perspective on math education means starting with what students already know instead of focusing on what's missing. This approach elevates student thinking and reasoning skills. In this way, educators acknowledge that all students bring prior experiences, strengths, talents, and resources to the learning process and can contribute meaningfully in an authentic learning environment. Transform Your Math Class Using Asset-Based Teaching for Grades 6-12 provides insight into asset-based perspectives in mathematics education to create an environment where all students feel valued and capable of being doers of mathematics. In the book, Michael Steele and Joleigh Honey highlight the importance of using language, instructional routines, and systemic structure that positively impact student engagement, their math identity, and ultimately their outcomes. Providing a wealth of knowledge and practical strategies that can be used to transform math classrooms into inclusive, supportive, and empowering learning environments, this book: Introduces an asset-based perspective that focuses on students' strengths, assets, and potential to learn mathematics Includes a variety of frameworks and tools that teachers can use to build and grow their sense of asset-based perspectives Offers strategies for promoting a growth mindset in mathematics, encouraging productive struggle in math, and promoting equitable math instruction Supports teachers in reflecting on their decisions, self-awareness, and self-management Includes a companion online study guide to support teachers individually or as part of a professional learning community Adopting asset-based perspectives is about movement over time, not about flipping a switch. This book paves the path for an asset-based journey that ultimately helps to transform our math classrooms and advance all students' learning and development.
Proven practices to rescue struggling education initiatives... or prevent a crisis before it starts. Insufficient planning, unclear outcomes, missing data--for leaders overseeing education initiatives, it can often seem like there's a crisis around every corner. Drawing on decades of experience in assessment, evaluation, and data-driven decision-making, author and Professor of Educational Leadership James Marshall offers a combination of evidence-based practices and real-life experiences that provide practical solutions to the diverse challenges school leaders encounter as they implement new initiatives. Exploring oft-encountered challenges such as poor outcomes, waning interest or support from leadership, public relations issues, scaling and sustainability roadblocks, and other implementation-related obstacles--the book identifies six types of crises confronted by education leaders and offers valuable insights and solutions for each. Features include: Guidance to recognize the six types of education initiative crises and strategies for resolution tailored to each type 24 unique tools to positively impact challenges, such as the "Triage Tool" to prioritize crisis intervention and the "Don't Swamp the Boat" tool to explore the complement of initiatives in your school Two case studies and real world examples illustrating the application of selected tools across a range of crisis types Whether you're an education leader dealing with a program or initiative in crisis or proactively looking to prevent a crisis, Fixing Education Initiatives in Crisis provides practical solutions to navigate troubled initiatives and guidance for the design and implementation of healthy initiatives that yield predictable results.
Six Steps to Improving Outcomes for Every Student When gaps keep ambitious instruction and engaging learning experiences out of reach of every student, including students with disabilities, those learning English, and others who tend to be left out of school improvement plans, it's time for radical excellence! Radically Excellent School Improvement presents a model for ambitious improvement and tireless focus that ensures every student grows, thrives, and achieves to their fullest potential. It provides district and school leaders with a bold blueprint for designing, implementing, and monitoring a comprehensive school improvement process for radical excellence. Inside, you'll find: A six-step school improvement process that ensures all students have access to high-quality instruction Ways for districts and schools to ensure they meet legal and ethical standards Figures, examples, case studies, end-of-chapter summaries, and appendices Written by a transformational leader with years of experience leading districts and states toward equitable, integrated, and inclusive services for all, this resource is a must-read for education leaders who aspire to create a learning environment focused on providing every student the opportunity to achieve.
Lessons That Inspire Student Engagement and Creativity, Grades K-6
Teaching fantasy writing increases student engagement, enables them to flex their creative muscles - and helps them learn important narrative writing skills. Opportunities for kids to lean into their innate creativity and imagination have been squeezed out of most school days, due to the pressures of standardized testing. And writing instruction has become more and more formulaic. In Teaching Fantasy Writing, Carl Anderson shows you how to include a study of fantasy writing in your writing curriculum that will engage student interest and creativity -- and make writing exciting for them again. Teaching Fantasy Writing is a game-changer. The fantasy genre gives children tools for expression that other genres don't, providing them with a powerful way to work through challenging issues and emotions. And it also offers students the opportunity to address subjects such as gaining confidence in oneself, bullying, fighting injustice - and more. Plus, fantasy writing helps kids learn the skills necessary to meet narrative writing standards. And they'll have fun doing it! If you're an elementary school teacher who wants to help your students develop their writing skills by studying a high-interest, high-impact genre, you've come to the right place. In Teaching Fantasy Writing, Carl Anderson will: Discuss why fantasy writing develops students' creativity, increases their engagement in writing, and accelerates their growth as writers Walk you through fantasy units for students in grades K-1, 2-3, and 4-6, which include detailed lessons you can teach to help students write beautiful and powerful fantasy stories Suggest mentor texts that will show students how to craft their fantasy stories. Show you examples of students' fantasy writing, including the "worldbuilding" work they do before writing drafts Explain how you can modify the units and lessons to fit the needs of the students in your classroom By teaching fantasy writing, you can reignite the spark of creativity in your students and increase their joy in writing. Imagine the possibilities!
