Using Data to Differentiate Instruction
Kay Brimijoin Carol Ann Tomlinson In an age of standards, using assessment data to differentiate instruction is essential. At Redlands Elementary School, Ms. Martez’s 5th graders are studying the math concept of greatest common factor.1 Following an interactive lesson, students participate in a self-assessment procedure that Ms. Martez has created. Using a car windshield metaphor, she […]
The Icing or the Cake?
Kristina J. Doubet and Jessica A. Hockett Teachers can plan for student engagement so that it’s more than just decoration. Please, please, please try to just shake it up sometimes. Give us a variety of work and activities and don’t just stick to the same type of lesson every day.” This student’s plea, reported in […]
The Anti-Racist Educator
Tracey A. Benson and Sarah E. Fiarman Let’s help new teachers (and all teachers) take a growth approach to recognizing and working to curb any implicit racial bias. A few years ago, Tracey was observing a first-year teacher’s math class. During the lesson, none of the black students raised a hand to participate, while multiple […]
Pursuing the Depths of Knowledge
Nancy Boyles Whether students are engaging in deep learning or just recalling facts, rigorous instruction should be part of the plan. Good teachers resist the idea of “teaching to the test.” But aligning literacy instruction with assessment isn’t teaching to the test if that assessment is a valid measure of our students’ performance. If the […]
Tell Me About
Tell us about a way you changed your curriculum or teaching practice to be culturally inclusive. No More Homework Grades One way I changed my teaching practices to be more culturally inclusive was to stop assigning my students homework that counted as a grade. I realized that just because I had resources outside of school […]