Making Grades Matter
Making Grades Matter

Author: Matt Townsley

Publisher: Solution Tree

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781949539653

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"In Making Grades Matter: Standards-Based Grading in a Secondary PLC authors Matt Townsley and Nathan L. Wear provide readers with a practical guide toward the implementation of the standards-based grading system. Although much has been written about the concept and advantages of standards-based grading, in this book, the authors focus specifically on implementing the framework at the secondary level with the vital support of a professional learning community (PLC). As such, this book provides a roadmap that secondary school educators and administrators working in a PLC can utilize to initiate the multiyear process toward implementing standards-based grading schoolwide or districtwide. Not only are each of the practices needed for this change covered in detail, but each practice is connected directly with one of three foundational principles of standards-based grading. In this book, readers will find all of the tools, resources, and guidance they need to not only implement the standards-based grading system in their schools but, through collaborative work within a PLC, achieve the greatest possible success with it"--

Making Number Talks Matter
Making Number Talks Matter

Author: Cathy Humphreys

Publisher: Stenhouse Publishers

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 1571109986

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Making Number Talks Matter is about the myriad decisions facing teachers as they make this fifteen-minute daily routine a vibrant and vital part of their mathematics instruction. Throughout the book, Cathy Humphreys and Ruth Parker offer practical ideas for using Number Talks to help students learn to reason numerically and build a solid foundation for the study of mathematics. This book will be an invaluable resource whether you are already using Number Talks or not; whether you are an elementary, middle school, high school, or college teacher; or even if you are a parent wanting to support your child with mathematics. Using insight gained from many years of doing Number Talks with students of all ages, Cathy and Ruth address questions to ask during Number Talks, teacher moves that turn the thinking over to students, the mathematics behind the various strategies, and ways to overcome bumps in the road. If you've been looking for ways to transform your mathematics classroom--to bring sense-making and divergent thinking to the foreground, to bring the Standards for Mathematical Practice to life, and to bring joy back into your instruction--this book is for you.

Every Minute Matters [Grades K-5]
Every Minute Matters [Grades K-5]

Author: Molly Ness

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2020-07-02

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 1071818279

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Make the most of every instructional minute with engaging literacy activities Time—or lack thereof—may be the most precious commodity in the classroom. From covering all the necessary curriculum and imparting life skills to attending meetings and answering emails, educators are faced with real challenges when there never seems to be enough time to do it all. Although teachers don’t have the power to create more minutes in the school day, they do have the power to be effective and efficient with the time given. Molly Ness asks teachers first to examine their use of time in the classroom in order to make more space for literacy. She then introduces 40 innovative activities designed to replace seatwork. These literacy-rich alternatives for classroom transitions are presented alongside Research on instructional time in K–5 classrooms Strategies for how to maximize every minute of instruction Suggestions for improving efficiency to expand independent reading and writing time Reflective practices to help teachers examine how they use the time they have The instructional day is ripe for redesign with a thoughtful and authentic time audit. Every Minute Matters guides educators through that process by outlining literacy-rich activities to optimize transitional times and minimize lost instructional minutes.

Grading for Equity
Grading for Equity

Author: Joe Feldman

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2018-09-25

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1506391591

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"Joe Feldman shows us how we can use grading to help students become the leaders of their own learning and lift the veil on how to succeed. . . . This must-have book will help teachers learn to implement improved, equity-focused grading for impact." —Zaretta Hammond, Author of Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain Crack open the grading conversation Here at last—and none too soon—is a resource that delivers the research base, tools, and courage to tackle one of the most challenging and emotionally charged conversations in today’s schools: our inconsistent grading practices and the ways they can inadvertently perpetuate the achievement and opportunity gaps among our students. With Grading for Equity, Joe Feldman cuts to the core of the conversation, revealing how grading practices that are accurate, bias-resistant, and motivational will improve learning, minimize grade inflation, reduce failure rates, and become a lever for creating stronger teacher-student relationships and more caring classrooms. Essential reading for schoolwide and individual book study or for student advocates, Grading for Equity provides A critical historical backdrop, describing how our inherited system of grading was originally set up as a sorting mechanism to provide or deny opportunity, control students, and endorse a "fixed mindset" about students’ academic potential—practices that are still in place a century later A summary of the research on motivation and equitable teaching and learning, establishing a rock-solid foundation and a "true north" orientation toward equitable grading practices Specific grading practices that are more equitable, along with teacher examples, strategies to solve common hiccups and concerns, and evidence of effectiveness Reflection tools for facilitating individual or group engagement and understanding As Joe writes, "Grading practices are a mirror not just for students, but for us as their teachers." Each one of us should start by asking, "What do my grading practices say about who I am and what I believe?" Then, let’s make the choice to do things differently . . . with Grading for Equity as a dog-eared reference.

Formative Assessment & Standards-Based Grading
Formative Assessment & Standards-Based Grading

Author: Robert J. Marzano

Publisher: Solution Tree Press

Published: 2011-10-27

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 1935542435

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Learn everything you need to know to implement an integrated system of assessment and grading. The author details the specific benefits of formative assessment and explains how to design and interpret three different types of formative assessments, how to track student progress, and how to assign meaningful grades. Detailed examples bring each concept to life, and chapter exercises reinforce the content.

How to Grade for Learning
How to Grade for Learning

Author: Ken O'Connor

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2017-10-04

Total Pages: 537

ISBN-13: 1506334180

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Implement standards-based grading practices that help students succeed! Classroom assessment methods should help students develop to their full potential, but meshing traditional grading practices with students’ achievement on standards has been difficult. Making lasting changes to grading practices requires both knowledge and willpower. Discover eight guidelines for good grading, recommendations for practical applications, and suggestions for implementing new grading practices as well as: ? The why’s and the how-to’s of implementing standards-based grading practices ? Tips from 48 nationally and internationally known authors and consultants ? Additional information on utilizing level scores rather than percentages ? Reflective exercises ? Techniques for managing grading more efficiently

Digging Deeper
Digging Deeper

Author: Ruth Parker

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 135

ISBN-13: 1625312040

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"Sense-making makes mathematics personal, and when it's personal, it comes to life. And that's how Number Talks can really make a difference."--Ruth Parker and Cathy Humphreys How teachers react to wrong answers and mistakes makes all the difference in mathematics class. The response can determine whether a student tunes out or delves in. In this comprehensive sequel to Making Number Talks Matter, Ruth Parker and Cathy Humphreys explore more deeply the ways Number Talks can transform student understanding of mathematics. Through vignettes and videos, you'll meet teachers who are learning to listen closely to students and prompting them to figure things out for themselves. You'll learn how they make on-the-spot decisions, continually advancing and deepening the conversation. Personal and accessible, this book highlights: The kinds of questions that elicit deeper thinking Ways to navigate tricky, problematic, or just plain hard exchanges in the classroom How to more effectively use wait time during Number Talks The importance of creating a safe learning environment How to nudge students to think more flexibly without directing their thinking This book offers a rich assortment of ideas to help make Number Talks even more vibrant and meaningful for you and your students.

Social Skills Matter!, Grades PK - 2
Social Skills Matter!, Grades PK - 2

Author: Christine Schwab

Publisher: Key Education Publishing

Published: 2014-01-15

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1483809293

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Help your students learn how to communicate effectively, make good choices, and practice appropriate behavior with Social Skills Matter! This book includes reproducible mini-books for children to assemble, color, read, and make their own. Each mini-book focuses on a different facet of important social skills including cooperative play, learning about feelings, communication, school-day behavior, manners, and behavior management. Mastery of these essential social skills can be a factor in determining a child’s future success, social acceptance, and happiness. Key Education products are intended to engage and educate young and special learners, as well as assist teachers in building a strong and developmentally appropriate curriculum for these children.

The Case against Education
The Case against Education

Author: Bryan Caplan

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2019-08-20

Total Pages: 518

ISBN-13: 0691201439

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Why we need to stop wasting public funds on education Despite being immensely popular—and immensely lucrative—education is grossly overrated. Now with a new afterword by Bryan Caplan, this explosive book argues that the primary function of education is not to enhance students' skills but to signal the qualities of a good employee. Learn why students hunt for easy As only to forget most of what they learn after the final exam, why decades of growing access to education have not resulted in better jobs for average workers, how employers reward workers for costly schooling they rarely ever use, and why cutting education spending is the best remedy. Romantic notions about education being "good for the soul" must yield to careful research and common sense—The Case against Education points the way.

Middle School Matters
Middle School Matters

Author: Phyllis L. Fagell

Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books

Published: 2019-08-06

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 0738235091

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A counselor and popular Washington Post contributor offers a new take on grades 6-8 as a distinct developmental phase--and the perfect time to set up kids to thrive. Middle school is its own important, distinct territory, and yet it's either written off as an uncomfortable rite of passage or lumped in with other developmental phases. Based on her many years working in schools, professional counselor Phyllis Fagell sees these years instead as a critical stage that parents can't afford to ignore (and though "middle school" includes different grades in various regions, Fagell maintains that the ages make more of a difference than the setting). Though the transition from childhood to adolescence can be tough for kids, this time of rapid physical, intellectual, moral, social, and emotional change is a unique opportunity to proactively build character and confidence. Fagell helps parents use the middle school years as a low-stakes training ground to teach kids the key skills they'll need to thrive now and in the future, including making good friend choices, negotiating conflict, regulating their own emotions, be their own advocates, and more. To answer parents' most common questions and struggles with middle school-aged children, Fagell combines her professional and personal expertise with stories and advice from prominent psychologists, doctors, parents, educators, school professionals, and middle schoolers themselves.