Bridges to Learning 2022
Local Agency and Adaption Are Needed for Equitable Improvements to Instruction
Educators and schools whose students have high average achievement tend to be given a lot of freedom whereas educators and schools whose students have low average achievement are given little freedom. In this article, Chris Schunn, an LRDC senior scientist, shares that in his experience, this approach tends to have many negative consequences, and the net effect is to amplify inequities.
Finding Entry Points Can Unlock Educators’ and Learners’ Potential
A simple question sparked big changes in Nashville. By challenging the thinking of adults, educators can discover new approaches and consider ways to refine their existing approaches to challenge the thinking of their students.
The Science of Reading: Looking Beyond Phonics Instruction
The Science of Reading seems to be everywhere, from literacy research journals to mainstream media outlets. A recent Google search of the science of reading yielded over 4 billion results. Much of what we see and hear focuses on how to support children in their ability to decode words and the importance of systematic phonics instruction. But is that all there is to it? Check out this article to learn more the science of reading, an approach that prioritizes basic science with a scope that encompasses more than just phonics.
Relational Thinking: Text to Text, Self, and World Connections in MATH!
It is common in ELA classrooms for students to leverage relational thinking around text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections. What does this kind of relational thinking look like in math class and how can it benefit students? This article, the second in the series, uses classroom scenarios to look at how these connections provide opportunities for students to become stronger mathematicians and for teachers to implement more equitable teaching practice.
Navigating the Cost of College Can be Confusing, this Q&A May Help
“To prepare students for college, career, and community success”
Lots of school districts include some version of this line as part of their core purpose—and with good reason! So, with college application season upon us, now is a good time to consider college costs.
In Their Own Words, Stories from the Field
Here we are mid-October and the excitement and nerves that come with a fresh school year have given way to the joy that grows out of learning and the comfort from predictable classroom routines.
As teachers move further into the year, we wanted to create space to share some of their stories. We reached out to educators and posed the following to questions to get their thoughts.
• What led you to education?
• What goals do you have for the work you do?
• How does your work reflect you?
The following are excerpts from several responses. We invite you to read, pause, celebrate, and reflect on their stories.
Making Space for Student Choice in the Writing Process
Students should have a voice in the writing process. Building students’ writing toolkits and then inviting them into the writing process by asking them to make decisions about how to approach a writing task is one way to do that. In this article, we discuss one way to use gradual release to build student agency in the writing process.
Relational Thinking in Mathematics Classrooms: Numeric and Algebraic Reasoning
People of all ages and in all spaces use relational thinking on a regular basis. Relational thinking, generally speaking, involves using existing understanding to reason about and make sense of novel information or situations to deepen and/or construct new understanding. In recent years, the IFL math team has been exploring ideas related to relational thinking and its role in teaching and learning mathematics for understanding.
Learning from Vic Bill: 5 Lessons for Leading Impactful Work
In our final article of the school year, we spotlight Victoria “Vic” Bill who spent more than three decades as an educator and led the IFL math team for more than 25 years. How did she support and sustain the development of relevant professional learning opportunities and new products for math teachers? Read about (and learn from) her leadership skills that impacted the work of so many educators.
Celebrating Success in the Dallas ISD/IFL Network for School Improvement
Four years ago, the IFL along with the LRDC and CUE partnered with the Dallas Independent School District to improve literacy instruction at fourteen of the district’s highest needs schools. As the network enters its fifth year, we look back on teachers’ successes.
Revisiting the Importance of Planning for High-Level Instruction
Check out four of our top ELA articles from the archives! They offer insights into why we advocate to make space for collaboarative instructional planning.
Revisiting Practical Ways to Increase Instructional Equity in Mathematics Classrooms
Check out four of our top math articles from the archives! They offer insights and practical suggestions for making math classrooms more equitable learning spaces for students.
Superintendent’s Student Cabinet a Success
You wouldn’t want to be at a job where you had no say on what happens, how it happens, or why it happens. So why wouldn’t students want the same? By inviting student voice into your school, you’re building accountability and credibility with the students you serve.
Ptáyela Waúŋspeič’ičhiyapi: Building Cultural Competence and Responsiveness
IFL partner Todd County, South Dakota serves nearly an entirely Indigenous student population. However, their teachers do not reflect that population. To bridge that gap, they are putting their students’ culture at the center of their education.
When a High Assessment Load Prevents Learning
In the time of COVID, so many are worried about learning loss, and because of this concern, assessments quantifying this learning loss are on the rise. The intent is to help bring students back on track, but this response has large negative effects on teaching and learning. Now is the time to give your students’ assessment load a large downsizing.
Teach Test Writing as a Genre
Despite best intentions, test writing sometimes ends up being the formula that students never have to break. In this article, I advocate for teachers to teach test writing as a genre, inviting students to develop knowledge around the features, purpose, and audience of the writing required on standardized tests.
“Esto Si lo Puedo Hacer!”: Creating Opportuinities for Success when Teaching Academic Vocabulary in Mathematics
Too often we hear the suggestion to pre-teach math terms to multilingual students, an action that prefences memorization over meaning making. Though well intended, this approach limits opportunities for students to engage in sense making of the mathematical concepts and relationships they are studying. There is a better and more equitable way! This article shares four pedalogical choices that foster student success in the math classroom while positioning multilingual learners as leaders.