Assessment

Strength in Assessment: A Professional Development Protocol

How can you lead a discussion about assessment without getting bogged down in minutia? Andie Cunningham shares a protocol that sparks participation with the drawback of one or two people (or assessment tools) dominating the conversation.

The Power of the Spoken Word

Heather Sisson helps a fourth-grade teacher apply speaking and listening standards from the Common Core in his classroom, and collect data to analyze students' oral skills at the same time.

Picture It: Objectives and the Coach

Posting objectives is the norm in many classrooms. Heather Rader has a suggestion for making the practice more reflective for teachers and coaches.

Assessing Students: Many Hands for a Lighter Load

Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan describe seven different strategies they’ve seen in schools for fostering more collaboration among teachers assessing students.

Improvement Plan

Have you ever had to develop and implement an improvement plan with a struggling teacher? Jennifer Schwanke not only faced this challenge — she had to mentor a teacher who was two decades older and resistant. She explains how her work with the teacher and the plan evolved over two years of collaboration.

Triangulating: The Importance of Multiple Data Points When Assessing Students

No data point for any child stands alone.  Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan write about the importance of triangulating data when looking at student assessments, and in the process affirm the value of classroom observations.

Transcription: A Lens for Reflection

Amanda Adrian develops a new appreciation for transcriptions and the reflection they encourage.

Personal Conferring Notebooks

With more than 75% of students receiving extra support in a high-need district, Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan struggled to find tools to help teachers collaborate around student needs. Enter the personal conferring notebook, a terrific vehicle for teachers to record insights about students working with multiple teachers and specialists.

Literacy Coaching and Student Work with Diane Sweeney (PODCAST)

Diane Sweeney talks about the importance of focusing more on student work and less on teacher plans and lessons for literacy coaches.

Coaching Monkey

Heather Rader has advice for literacy coaches looking for honest appraisals of their work from colleagues.

Building on Success and Maintaining Momentum