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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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

I almost put this article up myself. Very moving.

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

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.

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.

(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

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.

I have not had much experience with gaming in the classroom, but I have seen other teachers use it and have much success when it comes to motivating students and bridging the learning gap. One interesting point the article mentions is the the "platform" model strategy. In this, students have one log in, and are able to access a variety of games which can be reported t to the teacher as a formative assessment. Teachers are also able to log in and track students progress.

I see the ideas for digital game-based-learning as a method of differentiation that can be particularly effective for students with special needs and learning disabilities. Interest in using games in the classroom continues to grow, as evidenced by the recent Library of Congress grants to build civics applications for classrooms. The full report mentioned in this article is linked within, and worthwhile reading. The learning gaps that we see in our team's data could possibly be addressed using digital games from iCivics, Shephard Software, and other sources.

I agree 100% with Andrea's quote "I see the ideas for digital game-based-learning as a method of differentiation that can be particularly effective for students with special needs and learning disabilities." I only have to think back to this morning in my 2nd period where this worked with one of 8th grade students in special education who has a severe visual disability. In fact I even have the link to the game I use in that class all the time. I encourage everyone to set up a free account: https://kahoot.it/#/ !!!! Kahoot was introduced to me in my Electives Professional Development. More than one of the teachers has issues with incorporating technology into their health classroom. I agree with this article when they write "Additional teacher training, as well as creating a common language between educators and developers, was recommended."

I am a little familiar with a few digital games. In my classroom, I use Kahoot.it to assist my students in learning their vocabulary. I use this website to make a classroom game that we all play together. Everyone can participate at the same time, competing for first place in points. I can create the questions on my smart-board, and the students can play on another computer or they can download the app on their phones. This makes our lessons more interactive, and the students get more involved and enjoy the class more.

Just like the article suggests, I use games to help students review or understand a lesson. A great one that was mentioned, and that I use is iCivics. Since Government is tested in my county, we have to make sure that our students fully understand the purpose, how the government works, and why it was created. When it comes to making sure the students are comprehending the information I will use iCivics, Kaoot.it, and a Jeopardy game I find online. It promotes students to take learning and their education into their own hands. I think the games don't have to be created by us or super complex, as long as you find one that relate to your content and engages students.

I love the idea of using these types of games to keep students engaged. At my son's school, he often has online math games given for homework. He loves IXL and it keeps him motivated to practice skills and learn new ones. In my 6th grade Spanish class we are exploring quia.com. Students can play vocabulary building games while I work one-on-one with students. It is a great way to keep kids engaged while doing assessments, too.

My SMART goal is to make sure 80% of student in my class are reading by level K (using Fountas and Pinnell) by December. Anchor charts could definitely help this by having strategies for comprehending texts and how to be an active reader up around the classroom. Students could refer to them while reading to make sure they are being active readers and taking in what they are reading about. I would rate this 4 for student engagement and high impact on learning.

This video about anchor charts would work great with my SMART goal- "Given 2 months of guided reading instruction, students in below grade-level reading groups will increase their reading level by at least two levels." Anchor charts are a really important tool for students to use as they're reading texts and after reading texts. For example, I have an anchor chart in my classroom that explains the rate of speed for reading. Students can refer to this as they're reading so they can monitor themselves as they're reading to make sure they're reading at a fluent rate of speed. Another anchor chart in my room that students can refer to is the asking questions anchor chart. This anchor chart explains to students how to stop and ask themselves questions throughout the reading. This supports my SMART learning goal because some of my students were held back from moving forward in reading because of their reading comprehension. When referring to the planning protocol rubric, I would rate this a 4 for impact on learning category.

This would be good for my fellow teacher on my team for their SMART learning goal of "by the end of quarter 1, 60% of students will score a 70% or higher on the Quarter 1 Literacy Assessment on Theme." This will allow students to review/ use different anchor charts to review theme. If the teacher wanted to take it to an another level, students could create their own anchor charts in groups that helped them identify the theme in ways so that they would remember them.

Dimension: Student Engagement Rating: 4 My partner's SMART goal is, "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." Anchor charts could be useful in the Spanish classroom because they could help prompt students about the use of expressions and structures they would need to master the vocabulary in the numbers unit, which would help more students achieve an 80% or higher. While many of those expressions and structures involve common, everyday vocabulary and concepts that also exist in English, the syntax is different enough from English that having something up in the classroom that helps scaffold the students' learning of the syntax would help them communicate with more ease. These would be charts that every student would refer to, and they could change for future units of study.

This video describes anchor charts. Anchor charts are a visual learning tool that helps students work through any type of process. I could see this as being beneficial to my my SMART goal because I could use this with my Biology I students to help them identify learning gaps and work through those.

Dimension: Student Engagement Rating: 3 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. In order to promote achievement of their SMART goal, my groupmate could use an anchor chart to remind students of strategies to apply when reading unknown words. Anchor charts are designed to encourage students to apply a process when solving problems. While guided and direct reading instruction are beneficial to student reading development, it is not realistic for teachers to work with every student every minute of instruction. My groupmate could use an anchor chart to display strategies for sounding out words (ex. "Stretchy Snake" or "Chunky Monkey"). Within the anchor chart the teacher could use colorful pictures and words to remind students of previously learned strategies. This system will allow students to continue their reading development even while they are not working with a teacher. This will ultimately enhance their engagement when reading independently.

Dimension: Impact on Learning Rating: 3 SMART Goal: By the end of the third quarter, 80% of first grade students will score 16-20 points (80%-100%) on the next Unit Test which covers all reading skills. Throughout this video, the teacher discusses the importance of anchor charts in a classroom. She expresses how anchor charts guide students through a process in their learning where they rely on the anchor charts to remember what they learned, what their task is, and where they should go next. Anchor charts are written with different colors to grab student's attention and to make the information visibly pleasing to look at/easy to follow along with. The SMART goal that I have for my class is that 80% of my students will score 16-20 points on their next Unit Test which covers all of the reading skills that they have learned so far in first grade. Most of these reading skills are about the long and short vowel sounds, dipgraphs/blends, and comprehension skills. I have posted multiple anchor charts around my classroom that covers these skills. I use different colors, words, and pictures to teach the information on the charts. I constantly remind my class to use these anchor charts to help assist in their learning and when they have questions. This is why I rated anchor charts a 3 on "Impact on Learning". They have a medium-high impact because students can refer to them anytime they need to in the classroom. They also remind students what they have learned so far in the school year. However, in first grade, they sometimes have trouble reading the anchor charts because they are still learning how to read. This is why I did not rate the anchor charts a 4.

Dimension: Student Engagement Rating: 3 Smart Goal: By the middle of the fourth trimester, 80% of 3rd grade students will score a 3 or 4 on their reading and math assessments. By the middle of the fourth trimester, 80% of 3rd grade students will increase at least 40% on STAR reading. By the middle of the fourth trimester, 80% of 3rd grade students will increase at least 40% on STAR math. Integrating anchor charts into a classroom is a wonderful way to maintain student engagement. Anchor charts are a great tool for teachers to use to help explain content to students. Anchor charts can be interactive in a classroom. A teacher can write a topic on an anchor chart and students can join in the conversation by adding content to the chart. As a third grade teacher, I use anchor charts on a weekly basis. Anchor charts can be used to teach a lesson, to explain rules, or as an exit ticket. Posting anchor charts around a room can help students as they learn a lesson. The best part about anchor charts is how they are more engaging than a poster. Typically, students do not read a poster in a classroom. However, when students are involved in creating an anchor chart, students are more likely to refer back to the chart and it can also help students remember content better. Anchor charts can be used in class to help students reach their SMART goal. In my classroom, I have the students STAR goal for reading and math on an anchor chart. When the students reach their STAR goal, students can put a star by their name on the anchor chart. Also, I have another anchor chart in my classroom listing different strategies to remember when taking STAR reading and math. I rated anchor charts a 3 on student engagement, because anchor charts are wonderful tools to use to keep a student motivated in their learning. I did not rate anchor charts a 4 because technology is a tad more engaging than anchor charts. However, my students sill love anchor charts! EDTC 615

Dimension: Impact on Learning Rating: 3 SMART Goals: Given 1 month of guided reading instruction, students in below grade-level reading groups will increase their reading level by at least one level. Anchor charts are a great way for the students to reference important skills and strategies during lessons. As the teacher is teaching the strategies during guided reading, they could make a anchor chart to reference during the lesson in order for the students to use. As the students are reading and they are stuck on a word they can reference the anchor chart in order to find a strategy that would work for them. For example, a student may be struggling with a sentence, then they look at the chart and find the strategy that says "Look at the picture". After they find the strategy, then they are able to apply that strategy in order to help them to read the story. These strategies must be explicitly taught in order for these anchor charts to be effective in the classroom, but it is a great tool to use. EDTC 615 Spring2018

SMART Goals: By the end of the marking, 80% or higher of students will score a 90% or higher on a base ten assessment. I believe that anchor charts are a great strategy for students to use in the classroom. When my students are working independently they can use an anchor chart in order to help them answer a question they may have instead of asking their teacher. It is also helpful when these are really colorful and organized for students. I think that these are a way that teachers can really support student learning because as they say in the video these anchor charts can be based on the curriculum where they are taken down or they can be left up all year long. For example, in my own classroom I have a place value anchor chart on my wall. Now we do not cover this concept in this quarter but since some of my students still struggle with the concept it is important I keep it up. I would say based on the protocol I would be looking at this in the impact of learning dimension. I would say that this would rate as a 4 because students would be able to use this to impact their learning in a positive way either independently or in small groups. EDTC615 Spring2018

Dimension: Student Engagement Level: 4 SMART Goal, "By the end of module 3, students will be able to use various manipulatives to effectively solve measuring equations." Anchor charts are a great way for students to gather information and strategies during lessons. As the teacher is going through the various parts of the lesson, both the students and teachers can write down or draw pictures to explain their thought process and clear up any confusion. When it comes to measuring, teachers can create an anchor chart by putting longer than on one side and shorter than on the other. Students can use linking cubes of different quantities to measure each other sticks. Another activity that will be helpful when it comes to measuring is using print outs of objects with different lengths. Using a string, students will be asked to measure their objects using their string, place it on the correct side, and explain their choice using the sentence frame, 'My object is longer than or shorter than my string.' Using the anchor chart gives each student an opportunity to participate in the group discussion and serves as an process monitoring mechanism for teachers. EDTC615 Spring2018

An appropriate use of Anchor Charts could greatly improve student learning. The visual aids allow students guide their own learning. I think that I can instill confidence and improve engagement, since they do not have to ask the teacher for assistance as often. This would help those students bridge their learning gap, because they have continually reinforcement posted at times to reference and retain. I think that Anchor Charts could be used in multiple contents areas including Biology.

I really enjoyed this video. It seems like anchor charts are a tool before students see a rubric. They are colorful, easy to read, and less intimidating than a rubric. I may use an anchor chart in a class in the future instead of a rubric and see if students have a better understanding of what is expected.

Caryn, I like that this article not only realistically talks about the historic and growing achievement gap, but that it also provides potential solutions. Not surprisingly, most of the solutions whether they be standards, curriculum, or teacher-based are all easily manageable. The only trick is to actually get some forward momentum on this decade's old issue. Victoria

Caryn, I'm reminded of the old educational psychology experiment where teachers were given false information about student abilities. Teachers who were told that a class was full of 'high performing' pupils ended up doing more high end assignments and pushing the students to do better while teachers were told their pupils were 'low achieving' did remedial assignments and barely pushed them to improve. I teach in a very diverse and low SES school, but I always do my best to assume that all of my students are able to do the high level work I assign in Physics. I also agree whole heartedly when then article claimed that teachers have to give extra help to students who are already at a disadvantage. My students do quite well when they apply themselves, but often that means they have to see me during lunch, after school, or even on Saturdays (when I work at a Saturday school program). Many students have jobs to help out their families or need to be home right after school to babysit siblings or to cook supper, etc. I find that the more time I can devote to being available to students, the better my classes perform. I must say however I would like to see an update to this. When it was talking about the lack of progress of students in the 1990s and then discussed 'data in the last 5 years..' I had to scroll up to the date of the article. Being that it is almost 15 years old, I was sad to see how many of the gaps still exist in our schools...

Combining standards, high standards for all learners and highly qualified teachers helps to close the learning gap.

I was very interested in this article because I teach at a title 1 school in MCPS. Majority of my students are minorities or low income students. Our FARMS percentage is extremely high. I do not mean to repeat what Caryn had posted earlier but I mean to piggyback on her comment "To increase the achievement levels of minority and low-income students, we need to focus on what really matters: high standards, a challenging curriculum, and good teachers." I know this to be true in my classroom. For my students I have to high expectations and structure. I have to present them with a challenging curriculum. I need to devote myself and give them all I can. But, progress has come to a halt, which happened around 1988, and since that time, the gaps have widened. To me that is frightening and it makes me want to act immediately. "Because if we don't get the numbers out on the table and talk about them, we're never going to close the gap once and for all." People need to not be afraid of talking about the data, addressing the data, conquering the data. But in order for none to take offense everyone needs to know the correct data. Before speaking, people need to be educated. There simply cannot be "downright wrong-notions about the whys beneath the achievement gap." This article is great and goes on to give us proper data. It informs us of what needs to happen in order to close the gap: standards are key, all students must have challenging curriculum, students need extra help, and teachers MATTER A LOT.

Looks into why the instructional gap has widened after 1988 after having been narrowed the previous 18 years.  Offers patterns and key concepts to look at when trying to understand how to close these gaps.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article as it relates to the student achievement gap. I currently teach at a Title 1 school in Prince George's County where majority of my students are working at a level below their perspective grade. This article does a great job breaking down the statistics and providing steps to move forward in solving this major issue. Lesson 1 spoke to me directly because the teaching and comprehension of standards are the building blocks of students growth. I reinforce the focus standard(s) of the week by way of intervention, homework, informal, and formal assessment. This article is very VALUABLE!!!

I love the lessons outlined in this resource. I especially like how Lesson 4 places a focus on the teachers and how they matter. In impoverished schools, many times the most qualified and effective teachers do not want to be there, therefore limiting the quality of teachers present. It is unfortunate that this happens but it is very common.

Helpful article on closing the gap with low income and minority students.

While this article came out too long ago to have up to date technological solutions, it still offers a brief, helpful framework for looking to improve classroom outcomes.

Excellent resource laying out the achievement gap problem (with data) and valuable solutions to close the gap.

This resource does an excellent job of breaking down and making sense of the achievement gap. When the numbers are presented in this way, it makes it clear just how wide that gap is and how worrying it is that the gap is once again increasing. The most interesting piece of the article was the stark contrast in the reasons for the gap between adult stakeholders and student stakeholders. The adults appear to place blame on factors beyond the classroom that are difficult to control, while the students highlight the growing concerns within the walls of the schools that are much more actionable.

The points in this article are personal to me as I teach adults at a Community College. In every cohort that I have 50% of my students have difficulty writing a cogent paragraph and 90% of them have never heard of an academic journal. While this is not part of my curriculum, I also teach these things. My students need to be sent into the workforce being able to participate in conversations in the workplace.

The article really breaks down what happens to students during high school where they fall behind to move forward in attending college. One thing they mention is test scores. To attend college students have to take and pass a standardized test that determines of they will get into college and what college they can get into. I believe community college is a great way to bridge the gap between high school and a university. There they can determine a major and may attend school part time while still working. This gives them the time to determine what they want to do in life while still being able to survive.

We should understand how race, poverty and the environment influences a child's potential in education before they even start Kindergarten. But like a disabilites or inequities there is diversity in the factors that cause these disparities and our solutions to remedies these gaps must offer a multifaceted approach. An approach that offers rigors instruction in the classrooms, access and guidance for continued learning at home and within our communities.

This is a great article about the evolution of a teacher and how they evolved to developing the "Mind the Gap Teaching" in their words this is when a teacher includes the process of taking in information from the students first, before they try to teach it to them. In other words they are trying to see how they can relate this to their past experiences instead of just relying on the fact that they know information from a previous post.

A great article which presents innovative ways to improve learning gaps for young children.

Very interesting article, it provides ways to bridge the gaps that exists in the learning process.

Ah, the summer slide! Good resource to share with students and parents to help minimize the learning gap of students in the summer time.