Talkativeness and cognitive development
Talkativeness and cognitive development
February 4, 2016
Categories:
Reading
“Please see if I am grokking this properly.” (Angel, 2016) Admit it, before reading further, you thought about jumping to Google, dictionary.com, or even Wikipedia to see what “grokking” is, and more importantly, to learn what is required to grok [...]
Welcome to a new era in testing
Welcome to a new era in testing
January 21, 2016
Categories:
Assessment
When I go into schools and talk to teachers, there’s a lot of rich dialogue going on around testing. I’ve only recently come to the Marysville district, but I’ve been in the business for over 15 years and have seen [...]
Vygotsky and Gita explore the ZPD’s social side
Vygotsky and Gita explore the ZPD’s social side
December 17, 2015
Categories:
Assessment
I want to tell you about a person who has been described in many ways: an “outstanding scientist,” an “eminent scholar,” and even a “genius.” I want to tell you about Lev Semenovich Vygotsky. –Gita Vygodskaya And so begins Gita [...]
What kids are reading: New insights on the path to college and careers
What kids are reading: New insights on the path to college and careers
November 10, 2015
Categories:
Reading
It all comes down to the first sentence. That’s how I decide. If the writing pulls me in, I’ll buy or borrow the book. If not, it remains on the shelf, whether physical or virtual. No matter how riveting a [...]
Are your students ready for the Smarter Balanced assessment?
Are your students ready for the Smarter Balanced assessment?
November 10, 2015
Categories:
Assessment
In recent years, we’ve entered a new era of education—one that leverages data, insight, and, yes, testing to understand what learning looks like for every student and to meet new state standards. One of the new exams is the summative [...]
What educators need to know about measurement error
What educators need to know about measurement error
October 15, 2015
Categories:
Assessment
At my first introduction to measurement error, the word error gave me pause, and I silently wondered what good could possibly come from it. To most of us, an error usually means something is terribly wrong! It doesn’t help either [...]
Differentiated learning: Closing the gap between theory and practice
Differentiated learning: Closing the gap between theory and practice
October 1, 2015
Categories:
Assessment
Differentiation has been an education buzzword for some time, and yet, in a January 2015 Education Week commentary, James R. Delisle writes that “differentiation doesn’t work.” His commentary was met with a swift response from Carol Ann [...]
Math is “ruthlessly cumulative”: The truth about fluency and the promise of differentiated practice
Math is “ruthlessly cumulative”: The truth about fluency and the promise of differentiated practice
September 3, 2015
Categories:
Math
MIT Professor Steven Pinker made a statement that has stuck with me. He observed that math is “ruthlessly cumulative” (1997). Phil Daro expanded on this by noting that, when studying history, you can surely learn a great deal about World [...]
Getting students hooked on investing in their own learning
Getting students hooked on investing in their own learning
August 20, 2015
Categories:
Math,
Reading
Over the past few years, an increased focus on educator effectiveness has permeated the literature and dominated conversations. The idea has been to identify the observable and replicable characteristics of teachers who routinely lead students to success. I reviewed these [...]
No datum left behind: Making good use of every bit of educational data
No datum left behind: Making good use of every bit of educational data
August 6, 2015
Categories:
Assessment,
Math,
Reading
“Just what do you do with all that data?” A superintendent asked me this question the other day, and I understand where she’s coming from. The educators in her district have put faith in Renaissance products. She is responsible for [...]
