The single greatest authority on student learning is the student doing the learning--but the right structures must be in place for students' voices to be clearly heard and truly valued. Conventional formative and summative assessment are most often conducted through one-size-fits-all quizzes and tests that yield narrow, predetermined categories of…

Classroom assessment is a vital part of teaching. It helps make student learning--or a lack thereof--visible so that teachers can adjust teaching practices and better support learners. But designing and implementing reliable assessments is a complex process. In this comprehensive book by assessment expert Susan M. Brookhart, you will learn the…

In our media-saturated environment, how can we teach students to distinguish true statements from those that are false, misleading, or manipulative? How can we help them develop the skills needed to identify biases and stereotypes, determine credibility of sources, and analyze their own thinking and its effect on their perceptions? In…

Mastery learning is an instructional approach that empowers every student to progress with confidence. Using flexible pacing and targeted supports, teachers guide students through a cyclic process of preparation, demonstration, and formative feedback until there is a mutual agreement between teacher and student that the student is ready to…

Assessment is an essential part of teaching and learning, but too often it leads to misleading conclusions--sometimes with dire consequences for students. How can educators improve assessment practices so that the results are accurate, meaningful, informative, and fair? Educator and best-selling author Myron Dueck draws from his firsthand…

In a world awash in technology, what EdTech skills and strategies should educators focus on to ensure they are making the best use of online spaces for classroom learning? How can they navigate through the overwhelming number of options in digital tools and spaces? How can they guide students in learning best practices? EdTech consultant Monica…

Your students may recognize the words determine, explain, and summarize in the above standard, but would they understand and be able to apply these concepts? Students encounter these and other academic vocabulary words throughout their school years, but too often, they don't have a firm grasp of these words' meanings or what skills they require.…

In this timely and thoughtful call to action, author and educator Starr Sackstein examines the critical intersection between assessment and social and emotional learning (SEL), particularly as it affects students of color and other marginalized groups. The book addresses the five SEL competencies identified by the Collaborative for Academic,…

How do you take the passion and chatter that K-5 students bring to the classroom and turn it into conversation skills that make them better learners? Academic conversation can help hone speaking and listening, critical thinking, and social-emotional skills, as well as deepen content knowledge. But despite its effectiveness, this kind of…

Old habits die hard, particularly when they are part of the unexamined norms of schooling. In "Why Are We Still Doing That?," the best-selling authors of "Total Participation Techniques" lead a teacher-positive, empathetic inquiry into 16 common educational practices that can undermine student learning: (1) Round robin reading;…

Student work is the primary means of learning in most if not all classroom lessons and the primary source of evidence about that learning. Yet research shows that many educators look at student work more to ascertain its correctness rather than to delve into what it reveals about students' thought processes and understanding. "Are you picking…

In this second edition of "Improving Student Learning One Teacher at a Time," Jane E. Pollock and Laura J. Tolone combine updated research and real-world stories to demonstrate how it takes only one teacher to make a difference in student performance. Their approach expands the classic three-part curriculum-instruction-assessment…

Co-teaching has been increasingly adopted to support students in the general education classroom. After 20 years of field testing, we know what works--and what doesn't. In this practical guide, co-teaching and inclusion experts Toby J. Karten and Wendy W. Murawski detail the best practices for successful co-teaching and ways to troubleshoot common…

Do you sense that some students have mentally "checked out" of your classroom? Look closely and you will probably find that these students are bored by lessons that they view as unchallenging and uninteresting. In this follow-up to "The Highly Effective Teacher: 7 Classroom-Tested Practices That Foster Student Success," Jeff…

Students become attentive, curious, and passionate about learning when they can see its relevance to their lives and when they're empowered to use that learning to solve problems that matter. Regardless of the subject or grade level you teach, you can infuse your instruction with the meaning students crave by implementing design thinking. Design…