ASCD Inservice

• "Play is Problem Solving"

  Early learning programs enrolling children as young as 3 years old are considered critical to closing achievement gaps, evident as early as kindergarten, and an important first step in a student's cradle-to-career trajectory. But along with more formal integration of... [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 1:05pm EST
  by Laura Varlas

• Better Leading Through Technology?

  Post submitted by ASCD Scholars facilitator Tom Hoerr. More and more, it feels like technology is an essential part of our lives. At times it feels like I live on e-mail; at times it feels like it suffocates me. I'm...' [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:47am EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• Feed Up, Back, Forward

  Feed Up, Back, Forward Feedback, a complex and powerful resource for teachers, is characterized by three distinct components, say authors Fisher and Frey: Feed Up, or establishing clear purpose and learning goals Feedback, or ongoing response to student work Feed... [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 2:06pm EST
  by Laura Varlas

• Why Every Student Needs Critical Friends

  Why Every Student Needs Critical Friends Every student needs critical friends--peer critiques transform the classroom into an authentic audience, students tailor their work in consideration of wider array of feedback, and student engagement goes up because they realize their perspectives... [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 1:33pm EST
  by Laura Varlas

• The Quest for Quality Assessments

  The Quest for Quality Assessment quality and balance determine how reliable and useful the data collected will be, say authors Chappuis, Chappuis, and Stiggins in "The Quest for Quality." Using misinformation defeats the purpose of bringing in more results to... [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 4:15pm EST
  by Laura Varlas

• The Problem with Performance Pay

  Special Topic: The Problem with Performance Pay Performance pay requires districts to develop a new definition of performance based on our true goals for students and teachers, argues Donald Gratz in "The Problem with Performance Pay." Teacher performance pay based... [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 2:10pm EST
  by Laura Varlas

• From Test Takers to Test Makers

  From Test Takers to Test Makers Norwegian educator Kari Smith ("From Test Takers to Test Makers") found that her students who were good at retaining factual knowledge and answering what and when questions often did well on tests but did... [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 7:07pm EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• The Next Generation of Testing

  The Next Generation of Testing The history of wide-scale, school-based assessment practices has been pretty circular: 1938 to late 1980s: Multiple-choice tests that measure only part of the skills and knowledge outlined by standards and tell us little about helping... [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 3:54pm EST
  by Laura Varlas

• "YouTube Meets Wikipedia"

  Wikipedia cofounder Larry Sanger's recent launch of an online education video library got a lot of attention last week. WatchKnow.org houses thousands of educational videos for youth ages 3-18, as well as hundreds of videos for teachers and parents. Site... [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 3:28pm EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• Assessment: A Forward Look (1966)

  As we consider how best to use multiple measures of assessment to determine the success of our schools, it's instructive to look back at the dawn of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which in its infancy used a... [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 9:00am EST
  by David Snyder

• Better Support for & from Middle School Parents

  Ed Week's Debra Viadero has a great new piece profiling the work of Harvard University researcher Nancy E. Hill. Hill writes about how schools can better guide parents in supporting the scholarship of their adolescent or middle school-age children. Hill's... [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 1:29pm EST
  by Laura Varlas

• The Many Meanings of "Multiple Measures"

  The Many Meanings of "Multiple Measures" Is anything that measures higher-order thinking a "multiple measure"? What about more than one opportunity to take the same exit exam? Is that a "multiple measure"? From how state and federal policy define and... [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 9:00am EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• A Novel Approach: Political Debate That Illuminates vs. Obscures

  Given the uncivil discourse that's dominated most of the health care reform debate, should those of us who place children at the center of our decision making approach the coming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) with... [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 11:49am EST
  by Melissa McCabe

• Notes from the School Psychologist

  Some of the same qualities that make a great school counselor—humor, insight, and empathy—also make a great blogger. In Notes from the School Psychologist, clinical psychiatrist Rebecca Branstetter writes about everything from student motivation to parenting with verve, intelligence, and... [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 9:00am EST
  by Ben Licciardi

• ASCD Testimony on Child Nutrition and Wellness

  A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released yesterday shows that in 2008 almost 15 percent of U.S. households were food insecure, meaning they had difficulty putting enough food on the table at times during the year. This... [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:21pm EST
  by Melissa McCabe

• Meep Learning Curve on Discipline

  Zero-tolerance policies are often a last resort born out of frustration—the sort of scenario you can imagine resulted in the Danvers High principal recently deciding to ban the word "meep" from utterance on school grounds. The problem is that zero-tolerance... [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:11pm EST
  by Laura Varlas

• Meeting Students Where They Are

  ASCD Express is looking for short, 600 to 1,000-word essays on the theme "Meeting Students Where They Are." The theme description is below, and guidelines for submissions are here. Send us your submissions by December 7, 2009. Kids come to... [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:00am EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• Fewer Topics and Deeper Learning Guide Math Success in Oregon's Middle Grades

  Oregon middle schoolers in every racial, ethnic, and income group are demonstrating better mastery of math concepts—including algebraic reasoning, statistics, and geometry—than they did just three years ago, reports The Oregonian. Teaching for understanding, not coverage of topics, takes precedence... [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 12:59pm EST
  by Laura Varlas

• Have You Been Used?

  Post submitted by ASCD Scholars facilitator Jen Morrison. Does working toward promoting the highest expectations for our students make us susceptible to manipulation? Numerous stakeholders drive the conversation about education and they use all sorts of tactics. We've all encountered...' [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 10:30am EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• Rules & Procedures: Let Research & Your Students Be Your Guides

  In this first of twin chapters (6 and 7), Marzano moves from content and pedagogy to classroom management. What are the most effective ways to set ground rules, establish procedures, and design the physical space of a classroom such that... [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:00am EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• New Teacher's Guide to Better Assessment

  In "The New Teacher's Guide to Better Assessment," Mary Jo Grdina sets up two scenarios that hamper deft use of assessments for new and longtime teachers: Newbies often leave teacher education programs with idealistic visions of the range of assessments...' [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 11:01am EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• Turning to National Standards

  ASCD Express is looking for short, 600–1,000-word essays on the theme "Turning to National Standards." The theme description is below, and guidelines for submissions are here. Send us your submissions by November 23, 2009. The drumbeat for national standards has... [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 9:00am EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• Does Tracking Keep High Schools in Black and White?

  Last school year Cloonan Middle School in Stamford, Conn., began detracking and implementing mixed-ability classrooms to address pervasive achievement gaps. Interest in detracking remains high; in the current most-clicked ASCD SmartBrief story, NPR follows the effects of tracking at Columbia... [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 12:28pm EST
  by Laura Varlas

• Who Will Lead?

  Post submitted by ASCD Scholars facilitator Tom Hoerr. A recent article in Education Week said, "Studies are showing that many principals don't stay on the job long, and that those who leave don't take other jobs as school leaders." But... [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 9:36am EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• Contrasting Attitudes of Japanese and American Teachers (1982)

  In the March 1982 issue of Educational Leadership, research associate Takiko Morimoto explores the attitudes of Japanese and American educators by comparing survey results from a small sample of teachers in Los Angeles with a small sample in Tokyo. Asked... [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 9:00am EST
  by Ben Licciardi

• Facing First Year Challenges

  Little support and even less classroom experience combined to make Deirdra Grode's first year teaching chaotic and almost her last. It didn't have to be that way. Grode says training on how to organize the classroom and learning, better understanding...' [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 3:24pm EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• Platooning Ballooning at the Elementary Level

  Platooning, or departmentalizing instruction according to content area, is on the rise in elementary schools, according to last week's most popular SmartBrief story. High-stakes tests that target subject areas and grade levels are cited as the big motivator in this...' [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 4:13pm EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• Measuring ARRA’s Impact on Education

  Late last week Vice President Joe Biden hosted an event to highlight jobs saved or created with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Two ASCD members were featured at the event: Jill Neustadt, a math content coach... [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 11:01am EST
  by Melissa McCabe

• Why Should We Care About Teacher Leadership?

  Presenter Ann Nkiruka Ifekwunigwe posed this question to a room of attendees Sunday morning in her ASCD Fall Conference session, "Preparing Successful Teacher Leaders: What Have We Learned?" She then shared some research about why teacher leadership is a worthy... [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 9:00am EST
  by ASCD Bloggers

• How Can Educators Take Back the Mic?

  (Post submitted by ASCD Scholars facilitator Jen Morrison.) I once worked in a large, top-down, bureaucratic district where, as a teacher, I was expected to follow a detailed pacing guide, give weekly district assessments, and work only from the adopted... [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 10:30am EST
  by ASCD Bloggers