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This article provides detailed background information regarding explicit writing instruction, especially regarding students with special needs such as ADHD, but the strategies discussed can be adapted and used with all learners regardless of ability or grade level. The article begins with a focus on strategies for providing students with motivational contexts for their writing as well as making writing a routine that they enjoy. The rest of the article is divided into sections based on students' ability/age level (basic skills, revising and editing, and motivation). This article discusses strategies that can help address teachers address students' learning gaps in elaboration and explaining their ideas fully in expository writing tasks. Be sure to click "Single Page" at the bottom right of the article so you can see the entire article on one screen, and explore the links to the left of the article for more information about writing instruction for different populations!

We live in an age of personalization and customization -- and companies know it and are gearing their efforts to serve our needs in the way they think we want to be served.

This is not an article but a diagram that shows how learning gaps in lower grades continue and get more pronounced as a student moves on. I felt that this was important to me because I teach 1st grade. As teachers we need to lessen the learning gaps early.

I selected this article as it serves as a reminder that as educators we need to look at our instructional techniques and designs to figure out what we can do better in helping our students learn. Sometimes, we get so comfortable with a particular strategy, that we fail to see how it impacts student learning. This article is a reminder that we must vary instruction to promote student learning. Abstract: The problem of achievement gaps among different subgroups of students has been evident in education for many years. This manuscript revisits the work of renowned educator Benjamin S. Bloom, who saw reducing gaps in the achievement of various groups of students as a simple problem of reducing variation in student learning outcomes.

This article is very timely it talks about the NCLB law and how it isn't working. Threats to teachers firing, closing schools and students still continue to decline. Standardized testing isn't working. This is a great article, must read.

This article is a case study on how better teacher preparation for instruction and assessment of writing can lead to improved writing instruction.

(Week 4: Frances and Claudio) This article is accessible through the link given above. This article focus on teachers ability to improve their instruction skills by eliminating their weakness to overlook students needs by pretending the problem is non existent. It focus on the inconsistencies of teachers' techniques for class deliverance and the missed learning opportunities for students. The readings present that students are not always given the opportunities to write or be assessed in the context of classroom instruction by teachers who feel uneasy on how they deliver the class subject. Other areas of the article points out that students get low exposure to variety forms of writing and become in prepared when there is a change in writing format.(Graham & Perin, 2007; Hillocks, 2008). Through the SMART goal, Group#4 can utilize some of the examples by providing opportunities to students by offering different writing assignments that are more realistic to meet writing abilities of the students. Students will be more in line with the SMART goal if they are allowed to provide the feedback to the teacher once the assignment is complete so they can see their own improvements. Also, teachers can improve in the teaching efforts and will be able to provide the appropriate assignments to those students who extra help which will move the teachers' uneasiness about their preparation to teach and assess writing at different learning levels. Read, Sylvia and Landon-Hays, Melanie M. (2013) "The Knowing/Doing Gap: Challenges of Effective Writing Instruction in High School," Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education: Vol. 2 : Iss. 2 , Article 3. Available at: http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/wte/vol2/iss2/3

Preventing students from dropping out of high school shouldn't begin in high school. Research shows that efforts and attention should begin in the middle grades because those grades can be a prime battleground against dropping out in the future. There program does not lie solely with the at-risk youth and potential dropouts. Schools need to determine and implement school improvement strategies and models reflective of all students to give each student e genuine opportunity to succeed. Meaningful Engaged Learning (MEL) helps students succeed academically. MEL focuses on five areas - Inviting Schools, Learning by Doing, Student Voice and Choice, Higher Order Thinking, and Real World Connections.

Diigo's default comment: LearnZillion is the world's first open, cloud-based curriculum. We help teachers, schools, and districts improve instruction and respond to the specific needs of their students. My comments: Learn zillion provides a large bank of instructional videos and resources that align to the Common Core. The lessons are designed for teachers or students. I often show bits and pieces of certain videos to my students during our ELA or Math block. Occasionally I will just use a Learnzillion video for myself as a refresher on strategies for teaching a specific standard. This resource can help identify and eliminate instructional gaps in the classroom. Teachers can even log in and assign their students specific videos or just share a link.

The abstract included really says it all: "This reflective essay describes a teacher's development of a student-centered approach to teaching which bridges the gap between students' knowledge before and after a course. In 'mind the gap teaching,' students' prior knowledge leads the conversation and, in turn, the teaching, allowing them to integrate new information more effectively." The essay does a really great job of addressing the need for a lot of personal reflection as a teacher in an effort to improve instruction in the classroom.

I think this is a great article that shows the growth of a teacher throughout the years. The idea of calling the instructional gap between students knowledge as "mind the gap" speaks to the history nerd in me. I'd love to share this teachers journey with my fellow faculty members because we are making the switch in my school to a more student centered classroom, and we have a lot of skeptics. I think the section of benefits is the best, particularly the line about "the quality of comments" that students started sharing. It shows that the students are interested in what is going on in the classroom.

This article is a way to focus on student knowledge. Closing the gap between what is being taught and what is actually being retained by the students.