Lessons we can all learn from Reading Recovery
Lessons we can all learn from Reading Recovery
September 21, 2017
Categories:
Assessment,
Reading
When I was a Reading Recovery teacher, “Back to School” meant screening the lowest-performing first-graders for placement in the program. As I walked students down to my room for the assessment, I would try to put them at ease by [...]
Is ‘good enough’ good enough?
Is ‘good enough’ good enough?
September 14, 2017
Categories:
Assessment
Previously, we explored distinctions between proficiency and growth. Proficiency, from its Latin origin, means “to accomplish or make progress.” Accomplishments in the education setting are generally described as reaching an established performance benchmark. Most commonly, this benchmark [...]
Student growth: Why does it matter?
Student growth: Why does it matter?
September 7, 2017
Categories:
Assessment,
Reading
The first year of school is an exciting time for students and their parents. Riding the bus, meeting new teachers, and making friends are important milestones at the beginning of each school year. Let’s talk about Max, a student eager [...]
Tips and resources for easing into the school year
Tips and resources for easing into the school year
August 31, 2017
As we enter the final stretch of August, the nights are getting cooler, school supplies are being pushed front and center in stores, and the trees are showing a hint of the fall colors to come. Where did the warm [...]
5 icebreaker activities for the first week of school
5 icebreaker activities for the first week of school
August 24, 2017
The end of summer is bittersweet, but the beginning of a new school year is exciting. Fresh notebooks, pristine bulletin boards, and new faces await. Whether you’re about to begin your first year of teaching or your thirtieth, the first [...]
4 quick tips to build connections with students through reading
4 quick tips to build connections with students through reading
August 17, 2017
Categories:
Reading
The positive teacher-student relationship is thus important not so much because this is worthwhile in itself, but because it helps build the trust to make mistakes, to ask for help, to build confidence to try [...]
6 ways technology has helped me facilitate student growth
6 ways technology has helped me facilitate student growth
August 10, 2017
Categories:
Assessment
Many educators remember the days (and sometimes long, long nights) before technology became a trusted tool. In those days, we did everything by hand and often from scratch. We developed curricula, assessed students, calculated grades, set up groups, and more [...]
Personalized learning: Innovation? Or mere invention?
Personalized learning: Innovation? Or mere invention?
July 13, 2017
Categories:
Assessment,
Math,
Reading
Time will tell… I believe that one of the most useful definitions of innovation comes from the US Department of Education. It’s a particularly good definition because it considers a critical element forgotten in many others definitions—scale. Often, our [...]
New thinking about RTI within the MTSS framework
New thinking about RTI within the MTSS framework
June 29, 2017
Categories:
Assessment,
Math,
Reading
Introduction The positive impact of Response to Intervention (RTI) over the past 40 years, plus the recent emphasis on social-emotional aspects of learning, has made it possible to address the academic, social, emotional, and developmental needs of all learners by [...]
Building a culture that lasts
Building a culture that lasts
June 27, 2017
Our team celebrated Red Nose Day this past May. Featured above is the Madison Marketing Department. If you ask a Renaissance® employee what the company stands for, chances are he or she will tell [...]
