Longitudinal assessments of preK-12 students’ academic achievements show minuscule progress since the now famous report, A Nation at Risk (1983), warned that “the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and as a people.” What makes these assessments even […]
Formative Assessments
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Using the Depth and Complexity Framework to deepen student learning in primary grades
Using the Depth and Complexity Icons to design more meaningful learning experiences.
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Is It Fair to Test Learning Loss?
Executive director of FairTest weighs in on standardized testing reform Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! The Nation’s Report Card As I prepared to interview Harry Feder, the new executive director of FairTest, the latest Nation’s Report Card was published. As a result, our chat felt especially timely. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Students Deserve the Right to Fail
Jonah Simcha Chaim Muskat-Brown, MSW The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the word failure in 3 ways: A lack of success in some effort; A situation or occurrence in which something does not work as it should; An occurrence in which someone does not do something that should be done. A quick Google search revealed other […]
Posted inCOVID
Evaluating Teachers During a Pandemic Is Ridiculous
I am that person who enjoys the app Timehop and On This Day on Facebook where it gathers pictures, quotes, or status from the past. This morning reminded me of one of my most dramatic mornings as a teacher. So I slept through my alarm this morning. The cat awakens me screaming to be let […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies
Getting Students to Write (Part 1)
Getting students to write can be difficult. For students who don’t like writing, being confronted with a lengthy writing task will turn down the will and up the resistance quick. Think about it: they are uncomfortable for a reason. Who knows why: unsure of their skills, confused by the task, maybe just uninterested in that […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
It’s time to talk about the culture of fear around standardized testing
The temperatures are warming. The skies are bright. The birds are chirping. Spring fever is in full effect, and everyone is awaiting summertime! Unfortunately for educators and students, there is a huge hump to get over…standardized testing. End of the year assessments are looming over us. It seems like the entire school year comes down […]
Posted inAdult Learning
Teaching With Minecraft EDU
I’m one of those crazies that actually enjoy professional development workshops, at least the ones that we don’t have to do every single year like blood-borne pathogens and diabetes. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the best professional development: Minecraft EDU. This session was based on the popular game Minecraft but with an educational […]