A 21st Century Lesson Cycle

If we are to work toward a truly flexible classroom that meets the needs of all of our students, we not only need to find the correct ways to incorporate technology in our classrooms (see, A Vision for Technological Classrooms for the 21st Century), but we must work toward a focused plan for a 21st century lesson cycle. This lesson cycle will focus not on the material covered, but on the desired student learning outcomes. It must be driven by student success and not by the clock or calendar. Without this well-designed lesson cycle,  any attempt to incorporate meaningful use…

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Using Student Data

We talk about student data. We encourage the use of student data in planning effective lessons. We seek to center our conversations and collaborations with other educators around student data; but,, what do we really mean when we use the words "student data"? Is the context in which we use these words really what we intend and is our understanding of student data really what it should be? Let's talk about data and what effective student data is and is not. While end-of-year and end-of-course exams mandated by the state certainly create student data, the data created is mostly summative…

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Assessment with Purpose

Student assessment takes on many forms in the classroom but no matter what type of assessment we use, it is important that the results be examined and studied to determine what student learning has occurred and what actions should take place next. Effective examination of results is made possible through the design of the assessment and careful correlation to standards, intentional evaluation of results and pre-determined actions based on levels of mastery. Before an effective examination of results can occur, the design of the assessment piece must ensure that desired knowledge and skills are being assessed. An assessment does not have…

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Grades and Mastery

As educators we are constantly told that it's not about the students' grades; it's about whether students master the standard being taught and whether they can demonstrate that they have the necessary knowledge and skills. The problem is that we are still required by schools, our communities and even employers to assign grades and rank students. What can we do to close the gap between testing, assessment and grading, and the idea of true student mastery?First of all, let's take a look at the way we have traditionally graded students. Typically, we teach a lesson, have students practice with us…

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Questioning…What We Do

We talk at length about student learning, what we want students to learn, how we will approach delivering instruction and how we will know whether students have learned, but in the end it all comes back to whether students have acquired the knowledge and skills that we intended. How do we know and how do we get them there? I believe the answer lies in effective questioning. There are multiple ways to deliver instruction, but the key to all of them is using questioning techniques that guide students' thinking in the direction we intend and ultimately show us the students'…

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Practical Application of Guiding Questions

We have divided our course into units and have created guiding questions after carefully unpacking standards that our students need to know. We have collaborated with our colleagues to refine our guiding questions and have posted them for our students to see. Now what do we do with them? Guiding questions not only drive excellent instruction but assist in lesson planning as well as student assessment. Guiding questions are central to daily, focused instruction and evaluation.I am often surprised when I see a guiding question posted in a classroom, especially in a subject with unfamiliar content, and when I ask…

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