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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise. Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan describes the historical context for this problem and some actions educators can take to combat anti-Asian hate in their schools and classrooms.
What does it mean to “wish mathematical knowledge” into your students? If reading the title of this article makes you pause, you might be doing it. Take the quiz to find out!
Infusing practices from the business of instructional technology with Accountable Talk® features provides a light that can guide the planning of technology-based instruction, helping educators navigate challenges in order to enrich remote learning.
® Accountable Talk is a registered trademark of the University of Pittsburgh.
Students are more engaged when they see themselves in the books they read. IFL partner, Syracuse City Schools, has worked to better represent all their students by expanding their multicultural libraries on a global scale.
Comprehension work is critical work when we engage students with a text. Understanding and enacting the steps for planning a high-level comprehension task will help teachers provide students instructional opportunities that set every student up for success.
While there has been a tremendous amount of schooling loss, students maintain unique funds of knowledge valuable to math classrooms. This article looks at three practices that work in combination to foster safe, student-centered learning environments as students return to school having unique and varied lived experiences.
Creativity in mathematics abounds at the intersection of belief and practice! When the belief that all learners are doers of mathematics and enter the classroom with valuable lived math experiences intersects with the use of a lesson routine that offers space for students to do the thinking, learners become the creators and authors of the material from which they learn.
Questioning the Author is a discussion-based approach that supports students in studying and understanding complex texts. Comprehension work is an essential piece of any text-based task. If students don’t get the gist of the text or grasp an author’s ideas, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to do deeper analytic and interpretive work. It is especially important for emerging readers and emergent multi-lingual (EML) students to be able to access the big ideas of a text while building their comprehension muscles.
An understanding of number, specifically the idea of sets of quantities of things, begins in infancy and develops long before formal schooling. So…
• What does mathematical thinking and reasoning look like in infants?
• How do thinking and reasoning change after infancy?
• How might parents/families/caregivers influence the development of children’s mathematical thinking and reasoning?
• What are some things that adults can do to support children’s mathematical development?
Check out our interview with Dr. Melissa Libertus, Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychology and Research Scientist, Learning Research & Development Center, who sat down with us to share her research and provide answers to these questions and so much more.
Accountable Talk discussions require teachers and their students to support one another and mutually create a classroom community committed to using and building accurate knowledge and engaging in rigorous thinking. Everyone involved understands and is accountable for respecting each other and the learning community, as a whole. This begins with recognizing and honoring each person’s different lived experiences because every person brings vital knowledge and valuable assets to the learning community. This article provides a general understanding of Accountable Talk discussions and serves as a basis to begin exploring this high-leverage practice.