E-Hints are short, easy-to-read posts that educators may find relevant to their school improvement processes. You might find an E-Hint on the latest research about a topic, a new approach to an instructional technique, or a “what works” tip from another school district. You are welcome to download E-Hints and share them with others within or outside your district.
Check out our recent E-Hints below!
A Resource to Support the Local Curriculum
Have you ever been in a conversation about learning targets, and the textbook was called the curriculum? At first, it may seem like a simple error of using the wrong term. However, a common belief among some educators is that the textbook or resource is a curriculum. The curriculum is the knowledge and skills students should know and be able to demonstrate. A resource is a tool used to provide instructional support to teach the curriculum.
Conflict Resolution for Facilitators
Educators and other professionals spend a lot of time participating in online and onsite meetings. As a facilitator, your role is to guide and manage the group. At times, this assignment can be challenging when conflict arises. Recognizing early warning signs can minimize the potential for trouble. However, some issues naturally generate differences in opinion.
Now is the Time to Strengthen Community and Parental Connections
Now this nation is besieged by the Coronavirus Pandemic, an event that is changing the nation in many ways. Especially schools and colleges. Ways of doing things in the past seem hopelessly mired down. The experience tells us much about ourselves and the institutions we revere. Parents who once accepted the value of standards and high stakes tests are now in homes with children struggling to learn via an internet platform or some other kind of virtual connection. They can see what their children are doing or not doing.
Read more Now is the Time to Strengthen Community and Parental Connections
Keeping Students Engaged Systematically Using the Instructional Planning Resource
Client districts using CLI’s Instructional Planning Resource (IPR) can connect contingency planning to intentional forms of instruction. The IPR does not overcome the lack of personal computers, home-based internet availability, or willingness of parents to risk their children getting sick. But it does give structure to how teachers plan for variable instructional settings.
Read more Keeping Students Engaged Systematically Using the Instructional Planning Resource
New Challenges Require District Curriculum Councils to Revisit Curriculum Governance Policies
School boards, curriculum councils, teachers, and administrators are under more pressure than ever. Parents and school patrons demand solutions to nearly unsolvable problems. Most of which involve virtual learning, social distancing, and learning quality.
A Reflection on “What Works” from a Veteran Consultant
As I reflect on the past 25 years or so of working directly with school districts of various sizes, I debated my last topic for an E-Hint. A staff colleague asked, “In your work, what have been the most important things districts can do to change school culture through curriculum development, instructional planning, and local assessment development?” So, I created this list of actions that I feel lead to the most significant impact for districts.
Read more A Reflection on “What Works” from a Veteran Consultant
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