Bridging the Gap: Approaches to personalized learning
Kate Shanahan
This series of case studies provides examples of schools navigating the complexities of integrating personalized learning with rigorous, grade-level instruction.
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Filtering by Tag: Common Core instructional support
Case study: Using a blended learning model to drive student achievement
Kate Shanahan
This case study highlights how Mildred Osborne Charter School is implementing a blended learning model that ensures students have access to rigorous, standards-aligned instruction.
Read MoreCase study: Combining social emotional learning and rigorous academics to support the whole child
Kate Shanahan
Compass Academy was founded on a vision of creating a safe learning environment for students using a social emotional learning model. How can personalized learning that “meets students where they are” also ask them to engage with content above their current level?
Read MoreRigorous instruction sparks change at Gwynns Falls Elementary
Kate Shanahan
A year ago, instruction looked very different at this elementary school. How did they make a major shift in just one year? Principal Mosley says relationships have been key.
Read MoreBuilding a culture of learning at Henderson Hopkins
Kate Shanahan
At Henderson Hopkins K-8 School, attendance is up and chronic absenteeism is down. The number of students meeting or exceeding grade-level expectations doubled. How did they do it?
Read MoreCheck out open educational resources from our friends!
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Check out resources from our partner organizations to expand your instructional toolkit.
Read MoreConceptual understanding in math
Kate Shanahan
Conceptual understanding is one of three aspects of rigor outlined by the Common Core. It calls for instruction that introduces mathematical concepts, emphasizes sense-making over answer-getting, and builds and refines students’ mathematical schema.
Read MoreWhy leader learning matters
Kate Shanahan
As a school leader, you can get so focused on student learning that you overlook your own learning. But the instructional leadership team at MAS Charter School see a direct connection between leader learning and teachers’ and students’ achievement.
Read MoreTeachers drive their development at the Condon K-8 School
Kate Shanahan
How do you make professional development more engaging and practical for teachers? Involve your teachers! At the Condon K-8 School in Boston, teachers design and facilitate their PD—and the impact on teacher investment and collaboration has been incredible.
Read MoreRenaissance Charter School gives the gift of text complexity
Kate Shanahan
The Renaissance Charter School in Queens, NY is doing great work around complex text. When you walk into different classrooms throughout the school, you’ll see first-grade students charting their stamina for reading, fifth-grade students reading and crafting their own memoirs, and sixth-grade students diving deep into texts and sharing their understanding with their classmates.
Read MoreThe Wild West of open literacy resources: 3. Quality and reflection matter
Kate Shanahan
In this post, we want to share a case study of two Chicago teachers’ approach to using the open-source materials offered by the Vermont Writing Collaborative.
Read MoreThe Wild West of open literacy resources: 1. Quality matters
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We’ve all been there: You’re scrambling to prepare a lesson and you think, "Why reinvent the wheel? Let’s check the interwebs." You google your topic and…28,000,000 results pop up. How on Earth do you decide what might be worth using with your students?
Read MoreIntegrating planning and PD saves time, gets results
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If there’s one thing teachers and school leaders are short on, it’s time.
That's what led Marilyn McCottrell to streamline her sessions with her teachers. Instead of carving out separate times for professional development and curriculum planning, she’s found a way to enable teachers and leaders to tackle both of these critical aspects of their work at the same time.
Read More3 steps to productive coaching observations
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Most of Isaac Castelaz’s professional development work doesn’t happen in a packed conference room or a post-observation debrief. It happens before he ever sets foot in a classroom to observe a lesson when he sits down to study and internalize the lesson himself.
Read MoreThe power of questions
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When someone asks you a question, the ball’s in your court. Your brain engages in a deeper, more active way than if information were being fed to you. Teachers take advantage of this phenomenon when they ask thoughtful questions.
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