8.8.23 6 back to school tasks for busy teachers Teachers, in the spirit of Greta Gerwig’s pink summer blockbuster, what kind of back to school Barbie are you? Summer School Barbie: This Barbie never really turns their school-brain off.... Read more
8.3.23 Computer adaptive assessment: A proven approach with limited uptake As my colleagues have discussed in earlier Teach. Learn. Grow. posts, there are common misconceptions holding state summative assessments back from innovating at scale. I’d like to look at the... Read more
8.1.23 3 key questions to measure instructional coaching effectiveness How do we know if instructional coaching is effective? This is a question that regularly comes up for educators when discussing the role and practice of instructional coaches. Ongoing... Read more
7.27.23 How MAP assessments can support multilingual instruction A multilingual education has countless benefits. According to the Office of English Language Acquisition, it may help improve cognitive flexibility, lead to more academic and professional... Read more
7.26.23 Celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act Every July, I’m reminded of the Tour de France because my husband is somewhat obsessed. He wakes up early to tune in. He finds coffee shops and bars that also invest in the nearly month-long... Read more
7.25.23 Student proficiency: The “by” vs. “at” year’s end debate As I mentioned in “Misconceptions preventing innovation and improvement in state assessments,” there’s more we can do to better meet the needs of students, educators, teachers, and... Read more
7.20.23 How AI can improve digital accessibility in math Every week, maybe even daily, my 14-year-old shows me changes in technology, such as the new cherry blossom grotto mod in Minecraft, new moves an NCP (non-player character, in case you’re... Read more
7.18.23 How not to teach literacy across disciplines Teaching literacy across disciplines is difficult. When I was an eighth-grade ELA teacher, my school required that all content-area teachers participate in a cross-disciplinary unit each... Read more
7.13.23 Educator mindsets affect student performance We don’t talk enough about educator mindsets. Early in my teaching career, I taught an English class where all the students were three or more years below grade level. I thought this meant... Read more
7.11.23 COVID-19 impacts: New data shows older students’ recovery needs attention As our nation’s educators remain hard at work trying to move the needle for students who have not yet rebounded from COVID-19 impacts on schooling, we’re hit with difficult news: older... Read more
7.6.23 Assessment subscores: Why we have them and what they can—and can’t—do Many common misconceptions and barriers are holding states back from innovating and improving summative assessments, including the value of subscores. Assessment subscores, as they’re used... Read more
7.4.23 5 ways instructional coaches can use protocols for more engaging group learning I admit it: in meetings, I’m that person. I often fidget, stand in the back, and check my watch more than necessary. It’s not that I’m not interested in the content or what my colleagues... Read more