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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Intervention Centered Instruction

It is important that as teachers our focus is not on how much material we cover but on the quality of learning that takes place in our classroom. If we are to maintain this focus on student learning, we must know when to move forward and when to clarify or provide additional instruction. One way this can be accomplished is by looking at the level and type of intervention required for most students to master a concept.  Most of the time when we think about intervention, we envision students being separated from other students and presented with individual or small…

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We Don’t Fix Teachers

How many times do we say to ourselves or our colleagues, "I'll fix that"? When something is not going the way we want, the desire is to "fix" it. Sometimes we allow the "fix it" mentality to begin to apply to ourselves or co-workers. We start to think that it is the teacher that needs fixing. The truth is that we don't need to fix teachers because they are not broken! In fact, nothing is "broken". It only needs adjusting and refining.When faced with new ways of doing things as educators, we often feel that if we are changing what…

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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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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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