How do you solve big problems in education in a way that honors the knowledge and expertise of educators in a methodologically rigorous way? How can what’s working in individual classrooms and schools be used to address problems on a larger scale? Educator Networks, or Networked Improvement Communities, are groups Read more
The National Association of State Boards of Education’s fall issue of its journal, The State Education Standard explores the many ways policymakers can ensure that those who teach and lead our children in public schools are better prepared and better supported to do their jobs well. Research shows that teacher Read more
Teachers know that motivation matters. It is central to student learning; it helps determine how engaged students are in their work, how hard they work, and how well they persevere in the face of challenges. Though we hear mostly about the “achievement gap” between demographic groups, researchers have also identified Read more
We first blogged about Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) here: https://www.coreeducationllc.com/blog2/using-the-wisdom-of-educators/ But what exactly is an NIC, and how does it differ from a Professional Learning Community, Action Research group, or Community of Practice? The Carnegie Foundation offers a helpful guide: Networked improvement communities (NICs) are scientific learning communities distinguished by Read more
GTL Center’s latest Professional Learning Module is Supporting Principals Using Teacher Effectiveness Data (September 2015). It discusses practical strategies principals and district leaders can use to make hiring, staffing, teacher leadership, and professional development decisions. Teacher effectiveness data can help school and district leaders to make informed and evidence-based talent Read more
The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) has announced a new initiative designed to advance teacher preparation and professional development in the use of assessment in teaching and learning. The initiative includes a Task Force that will guide efforts to improve assessment literacy nationwide and the newly expanded AssessmentLiteracy.org website that will Read more
In the world of ed-tech, STEM, and international comparisons, it can be easy to overlook art, music, and drama teachers; career and technical education instructors; and athletic coaches. Yet, as Peter Hofman argues persuasively, these are the very teachers who the most adept at “stimulating student performance and the complex Read more
Teachers need helpful feedback and support to improve their instruction and own their professional growth. Over the past four years, 30 states have changed how they evaluate teachers, and another 14 states are slated to do so in the next two years. As many of those states are learning, however, Read more
TNTP has spent the last two years trying to answer the question, “Do we know how to help teachers get better?” Their new report,The Mirage: Confronting the Hard Truth About Our Quest for Teacher Development, shares what they found. The Mirage examines how three large public school districts and one Read more
The National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) released a new code of ethics recently for educators. The effort was supported by Educational Testing Service, University of Phoenix College of Education and the National Network of State Teachers of the year. Phillip Rogers, executive director of Read more
REL Mid-Atlantic is offering an open question line for education-related research questions. Are you interested in learning what the latest research says about an issue in your district? Need help using data to inform policy decisions or identifying evidence-based curricula or interventions? REL Mid-Atlantic can help at no cost to Read more
In today’s highly competitive and increasingly global economy, students need more than just academic skills and knowledge. They also need employability skills in order to successfully cultivate a career. Employability skills include relationship skills such as interpersonal skills and personal qualities; workplace skills such as resource management, information use, communication Read more
In a piece for the Albert Shanker Institute, researcher John Lane contends that in teachers’ typical learning opportunities, reforms are reduced to a set of strategies that “work” across settings, and in which the contexts of teaching become an unwanted entanglement. He argues that teachers would benefit from opportunities to Read more
We’ve become a perpetual multitasking culture. Our brains aren’t good at this, especially when we’re trying to learn new information. But of all the things that make it hard for us to learn, multitasking is one of the very few that is entirely within our control. Living rooms, dens, kitchens, Read more
One of education’s big problems is that the collective wisdom, insights, observations and experience of educators are pretty much squandered. That is to say, millions of educators have figured out important things about what and how to teach under different kinds of conditions — but no system exists for them Read more
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) has offered a national certification for interested teachers since the late 1980s. There are currently 110,000 National Board certified teachers across the U.S. This blog wrote about changes the NBPTS made to its certification process to incentivize more teachers to become board-certified. Read more