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trplm06

Standards In Practice: Instructional Gap Analysis Strategy - 24 views

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    This presentation talks about instructional gaps and how they relate to a cycle of low achievement. There is a tendency for assignments to fall further away from the appropriate grade level. Following the Standards in Practice (SIP) model, teachers will be able to close an instructional gap and make assignments more rigorous in order to provide students with the instruction they need to obtain proficiency.
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    This is FANTASTIC resource for teachers to use as a guide for addressing instructional gaps during a data cycle! Thank you for posting this!
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    I like the example assignments they gave from the grade 7 assignment to show that students can and will only perform to the level of the assignments they are given.
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    Great resource! I was part of the group who didn't realize the significance of the Instructional Gap. This presentation did a great job in showing the importance of understanding the Instructional Gap and how we can work in closing that gap.
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    This was a very interesting read. It reminded me of some of the changes we have put in place in my department as a result of the PARCC. We have definitely had to revisit how we teach and what we are teaching, as well as how it aligns to our standards. One issue we faced was that students could not make heads or tails of the grade level writing prompts. Our mentor teacher did a great series of professional developments for us that gave us some strategies for helping students unpack questions. It makes it much more manageable for the kids.
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    This resource is excellent for examining instructional gaps. In my program sometimes I feel as if there is no reason to the rhyme. I may use this method to determine exactly what I want to get out of each lesson. Since I am not the lesson planner (my curriculum specialist does it) It is hard to understand why some of the lessons are provided and what they need to know beforehand. This article provided a tool to use for that.
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    In this resource it states, "Students can do no better than the assignments they are given..and the instruction they receive." While analyzing my data, I found a instructional gap that I need to address in future lessons. This resource will be a great help to me.
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    This presentation is a great resource. I like how it gives specific examples on how to expand an assignment to help students become successful in the classroom. The graph showing the difference in a grade level assignment vs a grade level standard was very telling. If we fail to push our students inside the classroom, we are setting our students up to fail when they are given grade level material on a state assessment. It is important that material given in the classroom matches the standard they will be assessed on later.
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    This article provides an overview of instructional gaps and how to expand assignments to ensure we are teaching and assessing students in way that provides good instruction. It was a helpful overview that provided me with great thinking points and a clear structure on how to move forward.
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    The article was a lot of help. I typically gave lower level readings to my students that are ELL's so they can understand their concept as their reading levels are typically lower. I'm going to try more with the SIP model to see if students will rise to the occasion.
akhanu

What Is Effective Comprehension Instruction? | Reading Rockets - 3 views

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    Explicit, intensive, persistent instructionTo become good readers, most students require explicit, intensive, and persistent instruction.[1] In explicit comprehension strategy instruction, the teacher chooses strategies that are closely aligned with the text students are reading.
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    (Week 7: Adiatu, Julie, and Heather) This journal article was found by Adiatu on Diigo, and is accessible through the link given above by accessing readingrockets.org. The journal article is focused on elements of effective reading comprehension instruction. The authors of the article state that effective comprehension instruction is when students "are able to develop, control, and use a variety of comprehension strategies to ensure that they understand what they read." (readingrockets.org) The article discusses various instruction strategies that students can also use independently in their learning; for example - thinking aloud. This journal article is useful to teachers in that it provides useful information on how to select appropriate reading materials for students, and it suggests instruction practices that motivate students to read widely in order to reach higher literacy levels. This journal article is useful to our group because the teachers' artifacts are based on the reading comprehension and vocabulary gaps of their students, and they are currently implementing instruction techniques to achieve SMART learning goals. Reference: What is effective comprehension instruction? (2009, January 2). Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-effective-comprehension-instruction
toladipo

The Real Versus the Possible: Closing the Gaps in Engagement and Learning | EDUCAUSE - 0 views

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    (Week 9: Tolulope Oladipo and Michelle Bear) This is a journal article that is available in Diigo. The link to the article is also provided below: The Real Versus the Possible: Closing the Gaps in Engagement and Learning. Retrieved from https://www.educause.edu/research-and-publications/books/educating-net-generation/real-versus-possible-closing-gaps-engagement-and-learning. This article explores the generations of learners, how we can utilize technology in learning, the discovery of education community and learning science. The authors discussed further educational Goals about learning, improving student's success, engagement and learning through people to people interaction, people and tools, using information technology device as a vehicle by which concepts are presented (such as using simulations, and animations), using collaboration and rich media communication to promote interaction an engagement. The author discusses how access to technology determines generation of learners, such as the Net generation. According to the authors, many students in the K-12 and post-secondary education do not have adequate access to advanced instructional technologies or the web. Despite the engagement created by technology-enabled interactive instruction, many students, teachers, do not have the requisite experiences. The authors went further that internet resources are not yet fully integrated into the day-t0-day classroom routine. The authors cited a finding that proposed that motivation is a key factor to learning, and that engagement and learning can be achieved through competency and control, curriculum, instruction, the organization, management of the schools and the environmental conditions. Furthermore, according to the authors, the Board on Children, Youth and Families 2004 National report recommended that we can keep young people in school and making learning worthwhile by forming a good connection between learners and the context in which learning occurs. We sh
melrichardson21

Exit Tickets | EL Education - 15 views

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    "At the end of class, students write on note cards or slips of paper an important idea they learned, a question they have, a prediction about what will come next, or a thought about the lesson for the day. Alternatively, students could turn-in such a response at the start of the next day-either based on the learning from the day before or the previous night's homework. These quick writes can be used to assess students' knowledge or to make decisions about next teaching steps or points that need clarifying. This reflection helps students to focus as they enter the classroom or solidifies learning before they leave."
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    My Smart goal is that "By the end of the numbers unit, 60% of students in the Special Education program in MS Spanish 1A - Period 2 will achieve 80% or higher on each formative assessment including listening, speaking and writing assessments." During our meetings we have noticed a significant gap in my pd. 2 in my SPED students. By using exit tickets, I can continuously gauge how well these specific students are understanding the new material of the week before getting to the formal formative assessment on Fridays. These exit tickets can be modified to include speaking and listening skills depending on where the formative reveals the greatest need is. - Margarita
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    This video using exit tickets is a great resource for my classroom. My SMART goal is Given 2 months of guided reading instruction, students in below grade-level reading groups will increase their reading level by at least two levels." Using the planning protocol I rated this a 4 in the aligned to the standards category. I could create quick exit tickets based on the story my students are reading. The students could answer the question and I could quickly assess whether they were able to comprehend and understand the story which is a part of my smart goal. Reading comprehension is an important factor when testing students' reading level. I would love to use this in my classroom.
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    Smart Target Learning Goal is by the end of marking period 1, 70% of students will score 90% or higher on the EMATS/ performance matters. This will allow me to see where students are still needing understanding about the topic that is being taught. The dimension would be depth of knowledge with 1:recall. This is something that students need to be able to do short hand before they can recall later on.
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    SMART GOAL: At least 80% of students in grade two will be reading level K books or above by the end of 6 weeks. (Julie's goal) Dimension: Alignment to Standards Impact: 2 Reason: Exit tickets are self-assessment questions prepared by teachers, often based on learning goals, that are to be completed by students. Since Julie's Smart Goal is based on measurement (80% of students), I believe that Exit Tickets will give her insight on the percentage of her students that illustrate her students reading comprehension levels. For Julie's Exit Tickets, I think that questions she pose should require answers in the form of explanations from students because I believe it would be the most effective way to help her detect the students that may require extra support. If there is not a common theme to student responses, then it may be an instruction gap that is the issue; if so, Julie would need to ensure that the curriculum/lesson plans correlate with state standards.
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    Smart Target Learning Goal: By the of Unit 5, 80% of students will score at least 70% on the end of unit assessment. My biggest problem is getting students to retain the important information that will be tested upon. Exit tickets will give me an incite to how well students are retaining the class content by creating exit tickets that are similar to exam questions at the end of a lesson where they learned the content to which the question related. This not only allows me to see if they learned the content but also will allow me to see which types of mistakes the students are making in regards to the test. From here my I will be able to modify my lessons in order to insure that my students are in line with the exam.
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    Smart Target Learning Goal: By the of Unit 5, 80% of students will score at least 70% on the end of unit assessment. My biggest problem is getting students to retain the important information that will be tested upon. Exit tickets will give me an incite to how well students are retaining the class content by creating exit tickets that are similar to exam questions at the end of a lesson where they learned the content to which the question related. This not only allows me to see if they learned the content but also will allow me to see which types of mistakes the students are making in regards to the test. From here my I will be able to modify my lessons in order to insure that my students are in line with the exam.
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    Dimension: Rigor and Relevance Impact: 4 SMART Goal:Given 1 month of guided reading instruction, students in below grade-level reading groups will increase their reading level by at least one level. Exit tickets are an excellent way for the students to show their ability to comprehend the text by answering a text dependent question about the story that they have read during guided reading. This will give the teacher an insight on the level of comprehension that they student has for that level book that is being read. This is much more rigorous than just asking and answering questions because students are applying the knowledge of the story into the writing that they are doing about the book.
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    Hi Elijah! I think the issue is sometimes students do have difficulty retaining the information. I think that the exit tickets will also give you insight into a few different dimensions from the protocol worksheet as well. My SMART goal is by the end of the marking, 80% or higher of students will score a 90% or higher on a base ten assessment. So I think looking at the exit tickets based on the dimensions you should look into student engagement. Since this is important when it comes to exit tickets. If students are not engaged during the lesson then the exit tickets is pretty much showing that the students retained nothing. I think that teachers should always shoot for a 3 or 4 based on the protocol. That way students retention of the information is greater therefore, exit tickets are hopefully higher.
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    Video: Exit Tickets Dimension Teacher Friendliness: Score: 3 I rate this strategy as a 3 in terms of teacher friendliness (3 = "low maintenance few materials and/or little prep work). With exit tickets, teachers can ask students to answer simple questions regarding the day's lesson in order to get a sense of students' understanding. This strategy involves little work to prepare for but provides a lot of insight into how to guide future instruction. There may be topics that many students misunderstood or areas that individual students need support in. The SMART goal I considered while watching this video is raising scores in AP Bio for select students who have not taken AP or advanced classes science classes before. I think exit tickets are a low maintenance way to guage which specific areas to focus on for these students.
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    Dimension: Impact on Learning Rating: 3- Medium-high impact SMART Goal: By the end of the marking, 80% or higher of students will score a 90% or higher on a base ten assessment. Exit tickets are a useful way to help both students and teachers recognize individual student mastery of a topic or skill. Since exit tickets informally assess student learning from that class period, there would be no impact on student learning as students are completing the task. However, teachers can use the information gathered from exit tickets to inform their instruction for the next days instruction. For instance, my groupmate could assign an exit card with 2-3 problems related to that day's lesson. After students complete the exit tickets, the teacher could evaluate to see who struggled and with what particular strategy. The teacher could then use that information to form small groups and provide re-teaching/alternate instruction as necessary. This ultimately will help students receive more personalized instruction thus enhancing impact on learning.
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    I agree that exit tickets are a useful way to evaluate mastery of a concept; however, I do feel they have an impact on student learning as they're completing the task. As students complete an exit card, it requires thought and skill to demonstrate your understanding. Sometimes students make mistakes on exit cards, which helps students learn and grow. This strategy would be helpful as I implement my plan to reach my SMART goal. My SMART goal is "by the end of Marking Period 3, ELL students identified will be able to explain how to solve for an unknown number in an equation with at least 80% accuracy ." Exit card would be extremely helpful in the process of determining necessary supports and areas of need as I complete my action plan. On the planning protocol rubric, I would rate this a four in the dimension of alignment to standards. Exit cards are directly related to what you have taught from the curriculum and therefore align with the standards. This is a great way to evaluate students quickly and frequently on the standards.
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    Dimension: Depth of Knowledge Rating: 3 - strategic reasoning SMART goal: Students will be able to solve an on grade level math task, that will require them to respond and defend their work to explain their reasoning 3 out of 5 times by the end of the 1st marking period. I believe that my team would be able to use this instructional tactic because we could use the exit card to see if students meet the SMART goal. I think that exit cards are a powerful tool for teachers to use because it shows instant data of student performance. It is a quick and informal way to see if students understand the concept or not. This video provides a unique way to students to use/take an exit card in the classroom. We could take ideas from this video and apply to it our own classroom.
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    I like the fact that students assess themselves (based on the learning target). They also give feedback to one another. In this model teachers can adjust instruction based on how students feel they reached learning targets. I am wondering, though, whether or not young students have enough self-realization to understand how they performed during a given lesson. If we're asking them to rate themselves, we have to hope that they understand how important this is, and what it really means. How does this video address dimensions in the 'Planning Protocol Rubric?' Since most of the dimensions were addressed (in other comments here), I'll comment on this video's ways of addressing 'Technology Integration.' No technology integration seen (though it's certainly possible that it may have occurred during the lesson and before this video was taken). Technology Integration level (based on the available video): 1. My SMART Learning Goal: "After three weeks of targeted instruction--and in concert with the content-area teacher--75% or more of our students will score at least one point higher on their ESOL RELA and ESOL math assessments. (The ESOL RELA [WIDA Access] pre-test was given approximately one month ago, while the baseline math pre-test was developed by our school's math department [and contains test stems from past PARCC exams].)" The 'exit ticket' approach can be used in any classroom, but with ESOL learners it might be more difficult to ascertain whether or not they have understood the question/s on the exit ticket sheet. And again, do they have the skills, understanding and self-realization necessary to rate themselves on how they do in a given classroom on a daily basis?
sfcanady

​8 Proven Ways to Help Close the Achievement Gap | EdSurge News - 13 views

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    An informative and engaging article that provides eight solutions to tackling the achievement gap.  It is well organized and written with clear reasoning for each solution.
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    Emotional start, easy to read eight part checklist that can help bridge the instructional gap; good tools to make sure all is being done to properly cater towards the full comprehension of material by students.
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    This short article highlights years of research that examined the racial achievement gap. Research and finding suggest that much of what accounts for the disparities in achievement is attributed to socioeconomic factors. The article offers 8 ways for closing the gap among those most impacted based on the findings and best practices.
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    Great article. Another source of proof that higher levels of expectations and rigor really do help close the gap. I also like that they reinforce the value of school and home connection.
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    This article talks about using assessments to tell if interventions are working, this like a response to intervention. Raising the bar for the student to they can be successful. Monitor the students progress on a monthly basis and get the parents involved
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    When we met, April's mother was in drug rehabilitation and her father was in jail. She would stare at the ground and rarely utter a word. I was a sophomore in college and was serving as April's mentor; I feared that we might never develop a close relationship.
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    When we met, April's mother was in drug rehabilitation and her father was in jail. She would stare at the ground and rarely utter a word. I was a sophomore in college and was serving as April's mentor; I feared that we might never develop a close relationship.
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    I almost put this article up myself. Very moving.
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    This article highlights 8 ways to provide educational gains to students needing them most. The goal is closing the achievement gap between struggling learners and high performing students. 1. Use Evidence-Based Instruction, 2. Provide a Rigorous Curriculum, 3. Increase Instructional Time, 4. Introduce Supplemental Instruction, 5. Monitor Progress, Ideally Monthly, 6. Motivate & Engage, 7. Deepen Professional Development, 8. Link School and Home
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    This is a great article that highlights different things that can be done in the classroom to close the achievement gap the two that I think are most important are the increased instructional time, and link between school and home. I think almost every teacher has wished for more instructional time in the classroom, I know I only see my students every other day and I often think about how much more I could teach them if I saw them every day like math and ELA. I also think the communication between home and school is important to a student's ability to learn.
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    Great article! I like how it was connected to an inspirational story. I like how each of the ways was described. Often in the busyness of teaching, it's good to have reminders of what is needed, so that you can strengthen weaknesses.
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    (Week 9: Sheila, Suzanne and Cathy) This article is accessible through the link above. This article explains eight ways educators can inspire academic advancements in students, especially students from lower socioeconomic statuses. While mentoring the author gain insight on how to help close the achievement gap. The writer and her team identified that evidence base instruction, a rigorous curriculum, increased instructional time, supplemental instruction, progress monitoring, motivating and engaging, professional development, and a link to school and home would accomplish those gains. The author believes that "if teachers know about and follow those suggestions they could help close the achievement gap." (Fisher, 2015) This article can be a great resource for teachers. Many of the suggestions could be incorporated by most teachers. However, the article also assumes that if followed these eight tools will close the achievement gap. The author also does not explain how teachers can increase instructional time. Reference: Fisher, O. (Oct 2015). 8 proven ways to help close the achievement gap. Istation. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-10-27-8-proven-ways-to-help-close-the-achievement-gap
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    The article was very informative. I especially liked the 8th suggestion, "Link home and school." This is an essential piece that I think educators need to do a better job with for at-risk students. When there are more people engaged and involved, students have a broader network of support to ensure success. We need to do more community outreach to help our students improve both academically and in the broader sense.
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    I really enjoyed this article. As a new instructor I am constantly looking to engage my adult students. Through my instruction, making that personal connection is so important. Once you make that personal connection I find that students start making a personal connection with their assignments as well. I find having a non-academic conversation at the beginning of class can help the students feel involved classroom citizens.
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    This article really gives great advice on how teachers can help close the achievement gap by changing small things they do in the classroom. The two things that stuck out to me was allowing more time and progress monitoring. Sometimes time is all a student needs to succeed. When students feel rushed they end up just picking whatever answer they think is right or just something to complete the assignment. Allowing students to return to their unfinished work could really help students concentrate knowing that they don't have to rush to finish an assignment. As far as progress monitoring goes, it helps when the teacher really cares about making sure the students are on the right track and that their parents are aware of the work they have completed or would need to complete to get them on track.
kbeyborden

A Meta-analysis for Mathematics Instructional Interventions for Students with Learning ... - 2 views

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    Meta-analysis was conducted on interventions used for mathematics with students with learning disabilities. There were four instructional components examine to determine their effectiveness and impact -- a) approached to instruction and/or curriculum design, b) formative assessment data and feedback to teachers, c) formative assessment data and feedback to students and d) peer-assisted mathematics instruction. The research indicates the positive impact of cognitive strategies and the direct instruction model for mathematics instruction. The information was beneficial. Direct instruction often used for reading instruction of students with disabilities so it only makes sense that is also works for math instruction. Research-based information helps me determine what instructional strategies and practices I will include in my classroom.
rgreenumuc

Moving to Assessment-Guided Differentiated Instruction to Support Young Children's Alph... - 1 views

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    (Week Nine: Ruchel and Beth) This article is accessible through the UMUC library via Document Express. This journal article is about differentiated instruction when it comes to teaching students the alphabet. The article highlights the fact that "Early literacy experiences vary widely... and children show substantial differences in their alphabet knowledge development. Thus, children in the same early childhood classroom may exhibit differing levels of alphabet knowledge" (Piasta, 2014). Teachers can use this article to further their instructional practice by using the strategies and assessments discussed in the article to work with students in ways that will help the individual child learn all the letters verses a whole class approach to teaching the alphabet. The article discuses how, "The familiarity of children with letters included in their own first names, for example, has long been observed" (Piasta, 2014). But when it comes to teaching the alphabet in a whole class approach teachers are not acknowledging "differences across letters, often providing the same amount and types of instructional activities for each of the 26 letters irrespective of the ease or difficulty of learning a particular letter (Piasta, 2014). The article provides an idea that all "Early childhood educators may wish to assess all the children in their classrooms or may first use established alphabet screening assessments" (Piasta, 2014). It is also helpful for educators "To conduct a diagnostic alphabet assessment, an educator presents a child with each of the 26 letters and asks the child to supply the name and/or sound for each letter. The educator marks whether the child supplied a correct name and/or sound. Although the assessment can be scored in terms of the total number of correct letter names or sounds (i.e., 0 to 26), most important for diagnostic purposes are which letter names and sounds the child knows (Piasta, 2014)...
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    ...The article finds that small group learning "has been demonstrated to be more effective than whole-class or even one-to-one instruction in supporting young children's early literacy development (Piasta, 2014). The article also stresses the fact that educators should "plan and use effective teaching practices to deliver alphabet instruction on the selected letters. Alphabet instruction can take place in many fun, engaging, and authentic contexts" (Piasta, 2014). In closing, "Outside of planned alphabet instruction, educators may also take advantage of additional "teachable moments" to review and reinforce children's alphabet learning whenever these occur" (Piasta, 2014). References Piasta, S. B. (2014). Moving to Assessment-Guided Differentiated Instruction to Support Young Children's Alphabet Knowledge. Reading Teacher, 68(3), 202-211. doi:10.1002/trtr.1316
cheneymele

What Every Educator and Parent Should Know About Reading Instruction - 4 views

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    WEEK 4, Name: Julie - 2ND Grade Teacher SMART Goal: At least 80% of students in grade two will be reading level K books or above by the end of 6 weeks. SUMMARY: This article focuses on reading instruction, and discusses why it is important for parents and educators to familiarize ourselves with what scientific-based research tells us about teaching reading comprehension. The topics covered in the article includes scientific research on phonemic awareness, phonics instruction, fluency instruction, vocabulary instruction, and text comprehension instruction. The article determines that there is not a one size fits all solution in reading comprehension intervention. For instance, the article states that students that have underlying decoding or fluency weaknesses would most likely also need instruction in vocabulary and comprehension strategies.
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    SMART Goal: Given one month, students in below grade level reading groups will be able to increase their reading level by at least one level. This resource is useful for teachers looking to improve the reading abilities of young students. When discussing phonics instruction, this article aides educators in articulating the significant relationship between letters of written language and sounds of spoken language to developing readers. In addition to addressing the fundamentals of phonics, this resource offers methods for fluency instruction, such as repeated oral reading.
toladipo

REACH: A Framework for Differentiating: Classroom Instruction. - 0 views

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    (Week 8: Tolulope Oladipo and Michelle Bear) This is a journal article available in UMUC library. The link to the article is also provided below: REACH: A Framework for Differentiating: Classroom Instruction. Retrieved from https://www.dentonisd.org/cms/lib/tx21000245/centricity/Domain/900/diffedframeworkreach.pdf This article explores how educators can improve their teaching methods to achieve individualized instructions, educational standards, outcomes and academic achievement. The article discusses strategies for not just meeting the diverse needs of all students but for ensuring standard educational outcomes. The author examines the plight of two teachers: one general and one special education-the authors offer a rationale for differentiating instruction. They went further to conduct literature review of differentiated instruction, highlighting the myths, models, and evidence to support it. They employ the acronyms / mnemonic called REACH to develop a framework that includes a comprehensive inventory and several practical strategies for using it. This article is useful to my team to enable us determine how we can teach application software such as excel, PowerPoint, access, word using differentiated instructions. Through this article, we will come across those strategies that can be used to address our SMART Targeted Learning Goals, Instructional gaps and Learning gaps. The article swill equips us with skills needed to provide individualized instructions to students regardless of their needs, learning styles, learning pattern. The principles presented provide us with skills of becoming effective teacher, accommodating both special and general education students. References Racia, M.L., Gregg, M., Ellis, E., & Gable, R.A. (2008). REACH: A Framework for Differentiating: Classroom Instruction. Preventing School Failure. Winter2008, Vol. 52 Issue 2.
pgbelliveau

How Partners in School Innovation is addressing the Teaching Gap | Partners in School I... - 1 views

  • (“To Close the Achievement Gap, We Need to Close the Teaching Gap”),
  • The teaching gap refers to disparities between the working conditions and level of support for teachers in the United States and their counterparts in other industrialized nations. 
  • teachers in the U.S. have larger class sizes, spend more time directly teaching children
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  • work more hours per week than the international average.
  • Perhaps most importantly, U.S. teachers have less time for planning, collaboration and access to quality professional development when compared with teachers in other countries.
  • PLCs, including one that supported kindergarten teachers to integrate Common Core-aligned writing into their everyday practice.
  • eachers came together three times throughout the year to learn about the three genres of Common Core writing (narrative, informative and opinion), score writing assessments, analyze student writing samples, set writing goals for their students and plan writing instruction that specifically met the needs of English learners. The learning from the PLC was then supported through collaboration at their school sites throughout the year.
  • professional learning helped them make significant changes in their approaches to writing instruction, resulting in improved performance of kindergarten students. Specifically, those students outperformed all other grades on the district’s end-of-year writing assessment.
  • student achievement increases when teachers have time to learn and plan together.
  • teachers were able to consistently and systematically reflect on student data and their instructional practice. In addition, teachers created clear, measurable goals and designed instructional plans that met the needs of their English learners.
  • advocate for policies that will help close the teaching gap
  • providing development on the instructional shifts within the Common Core, supporting teachers to collaboratively design and refine CCSS-based units and lessons, and providing professional development on how to assess CCSS mastery.
  • providing opportunities for teachers to engage in professional development and collaboration around creating culturally and linguistically responsive lessons and classroom learning environments that reflect the identities of their students
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    This site provided an article that looked into what the organization, Partners in School Innovations is doing to "not just close the achievement gap, but the teaching gap." Results from a survey are shared regarding average class sizes and the time spent teaching versus the time spent planning. The article provides a case study of a school that focused on instructional gaps and its results. This is a great read for administrators, policymakers and other stakeholders.
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    I realize this has more to do with achievement gaps than specific gaps within a single classroom, but it has been my experience that targeted instruction to support a few helps every learner in the room.
margarita_lp

Guided Visual Vocabulary Practice: Spanish Language Vocabulary Instruction ...: UMUC Li... - 2 views

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    Group 3: Erika Eason, Margarita Lugo, Frances Parker Week 8: This journal article is accessible through the link given above by accessing the UMUC library. Description: Students with learning disabilities commonly either avoided or have been discouraged from taking World Language classes. This article describes "multi-sensory approaches" and the kind of instructional strategies, informed by brain-based research, that can help students with learning disabilities succeed in learning Spanish or another second language. The article focuses on how to create meaningful inclusion and skill building in Spanish courses through general accommodations, existing resources, and learning strategies. The article also references the relative lack of scholarly research on this topic and how that negatively impacts wider knowledge of ways to help students with learning disabilities learn a foreign language. This article was of interest to our group because the SMART goal is directly tied to improving the performance of special education students in Spanish class. The goal of the world languages department is for every student to learn one of the languages taught, yet that is not always possible since special education students who are not meeting the reading goals are frequently pulled from language classes to get reading support. Implementing strategies and other instructional moves that might keep the students in language class, are of interest to the teachers. While several of the multisensory strategies discussed were already known, there were a couple that reinforced practices that have already been implemented as a result of our group's data action plan and at least one new idea that our practicing teacher would like to try. This article would be particularly useful for Spanish teachers who are learning to differentiate their instruction and assessment for the first time and who need ideas about how to involve more Citation: Tolbert, J. B.,
Ann Banegas

The Effects of Input-based and Output-based Instruction on L2 Development - 0 views

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    This study investigated the effects of input- and output-based instruction on the development of L2 knowledge of 129 third-semester college students learning English in Iran. I found this to be an interesting study because it addressed both kinds of instruction and acknowledged the ongoing debate about the importance of each method and its role in student learning of a second language. The study recognizes that input-based instruction needs to be more than exposure alone and include instructional intervention in order to be effective, and that output-based instruction involve meaningful output practice activities supported with feedback. Although the study does not claim that output in and of itself leads to L2 development due to the need for teacher feedback, it does suggest that output-based instruction is as effective as or can be even more effective than input-based instruction.
rgreenumuc

Enhancing Alphabet Knowledge Instruction: Research Implications and Practical Strategie... - 1 views

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    (Week 7: Ruchel and Beth) This journal article is accessible through the link given above by accessing the UMUC library. This journal article discuss practical strategies to help with teaching the alphabet. The importance of the alphabet for early literacy skills is discussed in the article. The article stresses the flaw with the popular "letter of the week" way of teaching the alphabet including the fact that this method takes 26 weeks just to cover the alphabet as well as the fact that if students know a number of letters those weeks are a waste of valuable class time. Teachers can use this article to further their instructional practices in the early childhood classroom by focusing on EAK (Enhanced Alphabet Knowledge Instruction) which "emphasizes identifying the letter name and sound, recognizing the letter in text, and producing the letter form, through flexible, distributed cycles of review based on factors that influence acquisition of alphabet knowledge" (Jones, Clark & Reutzel, 2013). "Rather than the traditional method of one cycle of massed instruction, EAK instruction advocates teaching letters through multiple, distributed instructional cycles which allows for letters to be introduced, practiced, and revisited several times, as needed, during the school year" (Jones et al., 2013). References Jones, C., Clark, S., & Reutzel, D. (2013). Enhancing Alphabet Knowledge Instruction: Research Implications and Practical Strategies for Early Childhood Educators. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41(2), 81-89. doi:10.1007/s10643-012-0534-9
toladipo

The Real Versus the Possible: Closing the Gaps in Engagement and Learning - 0 views

(Week 9: Tolulope Oladipo and Michelle Bear) This is a journal article that is available in Diigo. The link to the article is also provided below: The Real Versus the Possible: Closing the Gaps in...

EDTC615 Fall2018 Research

started by toladipo on 13 Nov 18 no follow-up yet
tricia1022

The 5 Keys to Successful Comprehensive Assessment in Action | Edutopia - 19 views

  • goals
  • These methods mean that assessment is no longer done to students, but with them, putting the focus on the student and learning.
  • Although students are awarded grades, they are rewarded through being at their best and coached through their challenges.
  • ...23 more annotations...
    • tricia1022
       
      I do aspire to coach students through their difficulties. This articles gives teachers a lot to live up to. I like how it condenses unit planning.
  • podcast or a Prezi
  • learning
  • I want to make sure that all of my students succeed, so I must know those goals for all students.
  • "Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content." "Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience." "Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility of each source, and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources."
    • tricia1022
       
      These standards have to be incorporated into your entire school year for students to receive enough practice to master them. Feedback on the little things like warm up responses should have impact on the larger pieces of writing. LIGHT BULB IDEA have students rewrite responses from warm-ups and read them out loud to a partner. Have them do it the old way once, then the new way.
  • I began with the end in mind when I planned this unit
    • tricia1022
       
      Having a picture in mind of what product I want students to create is easy. Mapping out all the skills that students will need to create the product I am still working on but very possible.
  • Whether those are Common Core State Standards or other important district- or school-level objectives and outcomes, we must make sure that our units of instruction are aligned to them.
    • tricia1022
       
      Explaining a concept in writting is a higher-order thinking skill. A student can demostrate learning through writing an explanation. teachers have to give students enough sustenance to build knowlegde upon to own the concept.
  • the power of media.
  • "How do advertisers trick us?"
  • Even though there was choice in the written products, there was a common, standards-aligned rubric that could be used to assess all the products to ensure that all students were meeting the same outcomes.
  • Portfolio
  • In fact, students were able to show some of their content knowledge as well as speaking and listening standards around collaboration and effective presentation.
  • Performance assessments like these allow us to check not only for engagement, but also for deeper learning through 21st-century skills.
  • Feedback
  • differentiation decisions
  • Students were also given specific, timely, and actionable feedback through the formative assessment process, with peer critique, teacher critique, and even outside expert critique on their performance assessments.
  • . Student Ownership of Assessment Process
  • the rubrics
  • ments
  • learning
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    WEEK 8 - (Chris Baugher, Patricia Bankis and A. Burns) Assessment is the key to good instruction. It shows us what students know and allows us to adjust our instruction. Assessment is tied to learning goals and standards, but students must own the assessment process as well, as they must be able to articulate what and how they are being assessed -- and its value.
  • ...2 more comments...
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    point 4 - Formative assessment and feedback along the way - "Formative assessment allowed students to experiment and, yes, sometimes fail. However, they were given the tools, both through feedback and instruction, to improve and move forward to success." In the video it is mentioned that we often grade students on a paper, tell them what they have done wrong, but do not let them go back and rewrite the paper. Students should be able to experiment and fail... but need to be able to take these failures as lessons to go forward and succeed!
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    Linda Darling-Hammond, professor of education at Stanford University "A false distinction has cropped up in the United States which seems to suggests that it is ok for outside summative assessments to just be multiple choice." She goes on to mention other countries that use project based summative assessments as well as essays, performance and oral examination to allow students to show understanding or learning im more real world methods.
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    This article provides five useful strategies to help students improve and to improve assessments. There are two key factors in this article which ring true for me. The first is "formative assessment and feedback along the way" (Miller 2015) where students are given specific feedback on their assessment on how to improve and continue forward (Miller 2015). "Formative assessment allowed students to experiment and, yes, sometimes fail. However, they were given the tools, both through feedback and instruction, to improve and move forward to success." (Miller 2015). What this entails if differentiated instruction; something my district and school are pushing for. The second is "student ownership of assessment process" (Miller 2015). Giving students choice, options, and freedom allows students to take ownership and responsibility for doing something all while doing their best on it. In addition, students will know more about what is being asked of them or what they're supposed to do in order to earn a higher grade or preform the task more effectively. "These methods mean that assessment is no longer done to students, but with them, putting the focus on the student and learning" (Miller 2015). Hopefully with these implementations and integration, students can feel the focus from assessment scores to learning content and gaining understanding.
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    This article is useful when considering big picture assessment objectives. In my own experiences, I have touched upon each of these strategies when conducting an assessment, but I've never built each of them into one assessment. The (5) strategies mentioned in this article include: Aligning Essential questions at the beginning of a unit to standars, building in written assessment components for students to describe/explain in writing, creating performance and project-based assessments to demonstrate understanding and application of concepts taught, regular and on-going formative assessments and feeback to help teachers to better tailor instruction to meet each learner's needs, and involving students in the decision-making process when choosing activities and when determining diagnostic measurement tools. As a World Language teacher, I think that these tasks which are challenging in themselves to build into curriculum, become extremely difficult in the L2 setting. I'm wondering how L2 instructors find themselves doing each of these things on a regular basis. Do they conduct all of it in L2, as it is suggested that L2 teachers do, or does some of this end up being done in English?
jlinman7

How We Learn. Ask The Cognitive Scientist. The Usefulness of Brief Instruction in Readi... - 0 views

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    This article, How We Learn. Ask The Cognitive Scientist. The Usefulness of Brief Instruction in Reading Comprehension Strategies, was found in Diigo. Written by cognitive psychology professor Daniel T. Willingham, he surfaces the importance of teaching reading comprehension strategies that students may benefit and receive all they're supposed to out of their reading.
simonebh

Narrowing the Language Gap: The Case for Explicit Vocabulary Instruction. - 2 views

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    This paper discusses the importance of vocabulary instruction and instructional strategies in order to support vocabulary learning across all grade levels and content areas. Using direct and intentional vocabulary development in the educational setting provides students with the tools and language skills necessary to progress and thrive. This focus is instrumental in narrowing achievement gaps between students, and is particularly beneficial for ESOL students. As a language teacher, it was an excellent reminder of the need to continue vocabulary focus across all skill levels. The lower levels are very vocabulary-centric, but the higher levels become less vocabulary-focused and more communicative in nature. However, there are always more words to know and as concepts and themes of study become more sophisticated, so too becomes the language and word level. Various strategies must be employed, both emanating from the teacher's intentional instruction and students' independent work. This paper has concrete and specific instructional strategies that teachers of all content areas and across all age levels can employ.
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    I found this paper particularly interesting because it highlighted that when teachers explicitly teach vocabulary to students, it results in not only the increased retention of words learned, but of increased comprehension skills as well.
jcossette

Foundations of Mathematics Achievement: Instructional Practices and Diverse...: UMUC Li... - 0 views

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    (Week 8: Jennifer and Ashleigh) This article is accessible through the link above using the UMUC library database. This article analyzes data from an early childhood survey to determine how various instructional strategies in math impact students of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, and varying readiness levels. The results of the study indicate differing exposure to instructional strategies to support students in math. For example, the study shows that students with high socioeconomic status and higher readiness levels have more exposure to the use of manipulatives, while students with lower socioeconomic statuses and lower readiness level have more exposure to music and movement to learn math. Additionally, the study found that only some instructional strategies have an impact on student achievement in math. This study is beneficial for teachers as they reflect on their current instructional practices in relation to student achievement. The results of the study express the need for differentiated math instruction for various communities of learners within the classroom. This is useful as we examine Ashleigh's Data Action Plan and how the use of manipulatives for measurement may or may not support achievement for all students. As strategies are implemented, Ashleigh can take note of which strategies are most beneficial for different subgroups within her classroom. References Bottia, M. C., Moller, S., Mickelson, R. A., & Stearns, E. (2014). Foundations of mathematics achievement: instructional practices and diverse kindergarten students. The Elementary School Journal, 115(1), 124-150.
margarita_lp

Adapting Curriculum to Learners' Needs | EL Education - 11 views

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    My SMART Goal: "By the end of the numbers unit, 60% of students in the Special Education program in MS Spanish 1A - Period 2 will achieve 80% or higher on each formative assessment including listening, speaking and writing assessments." - This resource video on adapting curriculum to learners' needs could assist in differentiation the strategies and activities done in class for students with varying special needs to close their achievement gap since they are not currently receiving many of their needed accommodations.
  • ...3 more comments...
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    The SMART Goal I will be using: "By the end of the four week close reading intervention, 80% of students will be able to demonstrate improvement in their writing ability by composing a paragraph with less then 5 grammatical, spelling, and structural errors. Students will meet with the teacher three times a week for a 30 min session". Planning Protocol: I would evaluate this video as a Rigor and Relevance of 4 as each student has an opportunity to engage with the content through differentiated activities suited to their individual learning needs. I feel this particular video was very useful in demonstrating various strategies for differentiating the lesson content to make it accessible to learners of various levels of proficiency. These methods could be extremely helpful in differentiating the content of my SMART Goal to ensure that every student has a opportunity to improve their writing skills according their level of skill.
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    Planning Protocol: Impact on Learning would be a good reflection on this video because the instructor is differentiating the lesson based on the data she has to make sure each student has some type of impact on his or hers learning. I think differentiating the lesson will have a huge impact on each students learning. The SMART Goal that I will be using is "Students will be able to solve an on-grade level math task, that will require them to respond and defend their work to explain their reasoning 3 out of 5 times by the end of the 1st marking period." I think this video will be a great instructional tactic because the lesson is differentiated based on the student. With the data the instructor has, the student will be able to receive more help that will help them respond and defend their work on grade level. With students that need more help with sentences.... a sentence starter can be used to help support them.
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    From the Planning Protocol Rubric I choose to relate this video to the dimension "Rigor and Relevance": At the Highest level-Students think and work. All students in this video are being challenged in very different ways this leading them to think and work independently and collaboratively. This teacher does a phenomenal job at differentiating her material on all levels. All students are doing the same work on the reading assignment however the avenue in which they give there response are different. She is able to give each student the support they need ahead of time so that students don't feel singled out. By doing this the students often feel empowered to be able to complete the assignment because they know the supports they need will be available to them. This also allows the teacher to go directly to the students who need extra support because the higher students have the challenges they need as well to not become board with the lesson. The SMART Goal I am focusing on this is one of my team members "After three weeks of targeted instruction, students will increase their pre-assessment scores by 3 or more points, or 75 percent or higher on the post-assessment" Our team could defiantly translate the instructional tactic used in this video to the above SMART goal. The teacher in the video is targeting specific learning goals in her instruction by reaching students at their specific needs and helping guide them all in the same direction teaching the same topic just in different ways. The above SMART goal is all about targeting instruction for the PARCC assessment to improve students scores. All students will have to take the same assessment however the supports they need along the way will be different.
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    This video had some great ideas especially about differentiation that could be used for me to achieve my SMART goal of 100% pass rate for standardized English Language tests amount a targeted group. The teacher's method of pre-arranged assignments to prevent students from feeling singled out is very clever, and especially important for students in that age group. I could see myself adapting these strategies for use in many different classes. From the dimension of 'teacher friendliness' I do think these tactics are not necessarily teacher friendly, but they sure seem to be worth it if it means positive student outcomes.
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    EDTC615 Fall2018 Group 6 Dimension: Teacher Friendliness My SMART target goal is the percentage of students who will score 90% will increase by 80%. This means that 80% of the students will score 90%. The instructional tactic I will use from this video is teacher friendliness. In the video, the teacher displays high level of support, and maintenance with the students. She showed how she provided materials to the students and go over the materials in the class. She also does some great prep work as well. She was seen going around the students table to provide supported as needed. This is very relevant tactic that can be used by my team. The data we both presented covers teaching Microsoft suite-excel, access, word and powerpoint. The instructional style boarders greatly on simulation training, grader activities, grader projects and hands-on practice. In this regard, it is important for the instructor to provide high maintenance and support the students as needed. For instance, during simulation training, the instructor needs to go around the class to assist individual student as needed. The instructor should also provide students will relevant materials and resources to help them achieve success. For instance, in meeting this goal, during our review, we realized that we should teach the topics using 2016 applications as against 2013 applications. This guide of quest was born out of our desire to promote students friendly learning environment. EDTC615 Fall2018
Colleen Gradowski

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED528919.pdf - 2 views

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    The research looks at academic gaps of low income communities. They looked at 3 factors, teacher performance, class abilities and classroom size. The researchers found that the better teaching practices significantly increased students scores, but the class abilities did not. They also found that class size was a factor. Although class size is important, teachers can not completely control that. However, this research shows that students fell into instructional gaps due to instruction that was not meeting teaching standards or not provided adequate instruction on the material.
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