E-Hints Related to Instruction

It is a familiar scenario and solution. The pressure is felt to improve reading skills to score higher on standardized tests. Elementary teachers can’t extend the school day, so they borrow time from a content area which doesn’t have a state assessment or one not as often. Social studies and…

Many of our school districts have begun work with proficiency scales, a tool introduced by Robert Marzano and Marzano Research to determine levels of student learning. One benefit of including proficiency scales in your curriculum, instruction, and assessment work is that both the teacher and student can use them. Let’s…

As a new school year begins, educators need to set and communicate expectations to the students in their classrooms. When identifying expectations, teachers often struggle deciding whether expectations are too high, too low, realistic, and uniformly applied. Popular research continues to indicate that setting high expectations leads to better results than…

Analysis of relevant elements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) suggests topics of discussion for the CLI district’s curriculum coordinating council. Although those who prepared ESSA say the act places most responsibility for establishing provisions to ensure school accountability on states, many stipulations included at the federal level do…

“Curriculum” is discussed on a daily basis in conversations within schools among administrators, teachers, support staff, and outside stakeholders. Strangely enough, it is a term that carries fundamental misconceptions that make those conversations difficult. Unless everyone involved in the conversation has the same definition for curriculum, what is said and…

We live in a fast-paced world where society as a whole communicates and receives feedback within seconds. This has become the expected norm in social settings and the business world and has also affected how educators connect with the parents of our nation’s most important product — children. Here are…

In honor of School Library Month, this E-Hint is inspired by a new book: The Other Side of the Report Card: Assessing Students’ Social, Emotional, and Character Development by Maurice Elias, Joseph Ferrito and Dominic Moceri (2016). As curriculum developers, we know that academic learning should be thoughtfully planned, and…

Educators are always trying to discover and use new academic strategies to increase student learning. Sometimes the best approaches are not academic, but they are supportive in nature. According to Awaken the Learner, published by Marzano Research, as well as recent articles in NEA Today, attention should be paid to…

Have you and your colleagues ever been told by an administrator that test scores need to be improved because current results aren’t good enough? Afterward, did you find yourself thinking there is nothing that can be done without support from parents, or that today’s kids just aren’t motivated enough? Or…

It is well-known that middle school years can be a challenging time for young adolescents. These critical years could be the best time to foster positive habits that will lead to lifelong success. This E-hint is full of positive recommendations for teachers and parents.