Comprehending Standards-Based Testing: Exploring Constraints, and Examining its Influence on Equity Traditional standards-based testing has long been the primary method for assessing K-12 students in the classroom. State standards provide a framework for teachers to instruct and students to learn. Administrators use temporary assessments, often provided by the states or other benchmark tests,
Improving Mathematics Performance Through Gamification In the dynamic world of education, where traditional methods often fall short in getting the attention of students, innovative approaches are important. Gamification, the integration of game elements into environments where they are very static, has become a powerful tool to transform education, especially in the realm of
What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)? Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework created by David H. Rose, Ed.D. of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), that seeks to provide all learners with access to an inclusive learning environment. The guiding principle
One of the most significant special education court cases in several years has been decided by the US Supreme Court this week. The case, Perez vs. Sturgis, clarifies the circumstances in which a disabled student has the right to sue a school district for failing to provide a “Free Appropriate Public Education” (FAPE). Students
During the pandemic, K-12 teachers and staff quit their jobs more than all other US professions, with 2 out of 5 telling a Gallop poll in 2022 that they were burned out. All told, 300,000 teachers quit US schools in just 2 years. What's worse, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and many
What are IEP accommodations? Individualized Education Plan (IEP) accommodations are an important part of individualizing a student’s education plan. Accommodations are changes made to enable a student to achieve learning in their own way. Unlike modifications, accommodations do not alter the learning expectations, only the manner in which the learning goal is taught.
What is Cognitive Load Theory (CLT)? Cognitive load theory (CLT) is an instructional design principle at the intersection of psychology and education which helps teachers optimize the learning potential of their students. CLT divides the storage in our brains into 2 fundamental buckets, short-term and long-term memory, and helps define instructional procedures and
What is a Reluctant Learner? How do educators find motivations for students and reluctant learners? Virtually everyone has encountered students who experience some degree of motivation challenges. A wide variety of complex reasons help explain "reluctant learners", including problems at school, problems at home, confidence challenges, and illness. And student engagement plummeted during
Common Core Math Standards and Fractions The myth that Common Core is “new math” can spell disaster for teachers, kids, and parents. For one thing, Common Core has been around since 2010, so it’s hardly still in its infancy. We call the math NEW because we still don’t know how to teach the
What Is Scaffolding in Education? Instructional scaffolding, or simply scaffolding, is an instructional strategy which helps students learn new skills by providing appropriate, flexible, temporary supports in their learning experience. It’s an iterative process of building a learning bridge between old and new material by systematically supporting new skills while building upon prior
