Education Department Encourages Support for Educators and Teaching Profession

Posted on November 3, 2016October 28, 2016 by coreeducation

The U.S. Department of Education has released non-regulatory guidance to help support the nation’s educators and elevate the teaching profession. The guidance encourages states and districts to prepare, train, and recruit high-quality teachers and principals to increase student academic achievement. With the enactment of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states and districts have the opportunity Read more about Education Department Encourages Support for Educators and Teaching Profession[…]

Instruments for Measuring the Performance of Professional Learning Communities

Posted on November 2, 2016October 28, 2016 by coreeducation

The Institute of Education Sciences has released a new guide that can help researchers and practitioners who are planning, implementing, and evaluating professional learning communities (PLCs). The guide, from Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic, compiles 49 valid, reliable, and tested measures of key performance indicators of teacher PLCs. The guide features an annotated bibliography that identifies Read more about Instruments for Measuring the Performance of Professional Learning Communities[…]

Will D.C. Public Schools’ Big Bet on Teacher Development Pay Off?

Posted on October 19, 2016October 15, 2016 by coreeducation

New America’s Kaylan Connally recently reported on DC Public Schools’ new Learning Together to Advance Our Practice (LEAP) initiative. The new program provides staff with guidance from seasoned teachers on content mastery and teaching methods. Below are excerpts from the article: Teachers tend to be dissatisfied with how professional development (PD) activities, even those that Read more about Will D.C. Public Schools’ Big Bet on Teacher Development Pay Off?[…]

Do teacher expectations matter?

Posted on October 4, 2016March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

Nicholas Papageorge, Seth Gershenson, and Kyungmin Kang have released a discussion paper, titled Teacher Expectations Matter, that uncovers teacher expectations that differ by racial groups in a way that puts black students at a disadvantage, exacerbating racial achievement gaps. The authors recently wrote about their findings in Brookings blog: We demonstrate that teacher expectations do Read more about Do teacher expectations matter?[…]

What Matters Now: A New Compact for Teaching and Learning

Posted on September 2, 2016August 26, 2016 by coreeducation

The National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future (NCTAF), the author of the seminal “What Matters Most” report of 1996, is calling for a new compact with teachers in order to capitalize on this moment in time when policy and practice are shifting toward more engaging and relevant teaching and learning for all students. “What Matters Read more about What Matters Now: A New Compact for Teaching and Learning[…]

Five Questions New Teachers Should Ask and Schools Should Be Able to Answer

Posted on August 31, 2016August 26, 2016 by coreeducation

At the end of every interview, there comes a time when the principal asks the prospective teacher, “Do you have any questions for me?” Cristie Watson advises in Education Week Teacher that the following five questions are appropriate to ask (and the answers provide important information for new teachers): What support can I expect to Read more about Five Questions New Teachers Should Ask and Schools Should Be Able to Answer[…]

Guides Offer Educators Help Designing, Administering, and Analyzing Surveys

Posted on August 25, 2016August 20, 2016 by coreeducation

Survey data can be an effective way to gather data that informs instruction or programmatic decisions. But some educators do not have the training or experience needed to design surveys or analyze the data that surveys can provide. Three research alliances in the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands region asked the REL to Read more about Guides Offer Educators Help Designing, Administering, and Analyzing Surveys[…]

Now that we have Google, is it important to learn facts?

Posted on August 15, 2016March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

The 74 recently released a piece titled, “9 Things Science Tells Us about How Kids Learn to Read and Think Critically.” The article makes a compelling argument for more exposure to science and social science content matter even in the face of easy access to information. The argument is that one cannot think critically without Read more about Now that we have Google, is it important to learn facts?[…]

Teacher Leaders: A Key Link between Teacher Evaluation and Professional Development

Posted on August 2, 2016July 31, 2016 by coreeducation

Anna Duncan, writing for New America, explores the power of teacher leaders to transform the debate around teacher evaluation and place the emphasis more squarely on professional development. Excerpts from the article appear below: That teacher leadership systems have to serve as a key link between teacher evaluation and professional learning becomes evident in a Read more about Teacher Leaders: A Key Link between Teacher Evaluation and Professional Development[…]

The CLASS Project: Empowering Educators, Raising Student Achievement

Posted on July 29, 2016July 22, 2016 by coreeducation

Against a statewide backdrop of sliding student achievement levels, widening education inequities, and high levels of teacher dissatisfaction, the CLASS Project—an Oregon nonprofit initiative—has made sharp gains in all of these areas while simultaneously improving the working relationships between various education system stakeholders. But what exactly IS the Creative Leadership Achieves Student Success (CLASS) Project? Read more about The CLASS Project: Empowering Educators, Raising Student Achievement[…]

Re-Thinking Teacher Evaluation

Posted on July 6, 2016September 12, 2020 by coreeducation

Charlotte Danielson is author of a number of books including Framework for Teaching, first published in 1996. She has consulted with state departments of education across the United States, as well as ministries of education abroad. She recently offered her view on how to improve current systems of teacher evaluation: The idea of tracking teacher Read more about Re-Thinking Teacher Evaluation[…]

No Panacea: Key Obstacles to Effective Teacher Professional Development

Posted on June 21, 2016June 16, 2016 by coreeducation

Historically, states and districts have invested large sums on teacher professional development or “PD” as the primary strategy to help teachers improve their practice. Despite its potential, in its present state, PD has gained a poor reputation among educators and those who study education, in part because little evidence exists that the significant investment of Read more about No Panacea: Key Obstacles to Effective Teacher Professional Development[…]

How to Get a First-Rate Teacher in Front of Every Student

Posted on May 12, 2016May 7, 2016 by coreeducation

A recent Education Week blog by Marc Tucker examines what it truly takes to get a first-rate teacher in front of every student, and compares the United States systems to the rest of the world. Some experts estimate that half of those who start a career in teaching are gone in five years, and those whose Read more about How to Get a First-Rate Teacher in Front of Every Student[…]

What Are Micro-Credentials?

Posted on May 10, 2016March 3, 2020 by coreeducation

Nowadays, most employers expect their workers to continually seek out learning opportunities. Micro-credentials offer students and working professionals alike a way to bulk up their resumes with field-specific skills. Micro-credentials are like certifications. Students or professionals take courses and develop specific skills in certain fields. This could include topics like: Teaching writing in K-12 classrooms Read more about What Are Micro-Credentials?[…]

Looking Outside: Learning about PD from Other Industries

Posted on May 2, 2016April 30, 2016 by coreeducation

A recent report written by the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders and Learning Forward examines what teachers and educational leaders can learn about professional development from other industries. The education field has long recognized the importance of ongoing professional learning and growth opportunities, and recent policy priorities have underscored the importance of ongoing learning. Read more about Looking Outside: Learning about PD from Other Industries[…]