Conversations
A New Normal: Assessment and Distance Learning
We were honored to organize and moderate a conversation with Lee Ann Jung, Thomas Guskey, Ken O'Connor, and Rick Wormeli on Thursday, March 26 about the unique challenges facing the world of education right now. Click on the image to watch the video; we hope you find it as inspiring as we did. |
Our Book
Our book, The Standards-Based Classroom: Make Learning the Goal, is a bestseller for Corwin Publishing, and is available through their website or on Amazon. The forward is by the amazing Ken O'Connor, and you can read reviews here. Whether you are a teacher looking to make changes in your classroom, a school leader looking to support change, or any other educator hoping to understand the practical applications and implications of SBL in the classroom, we hope you will find this book useful.
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Other Resources
Check back regularly for updates and much more effective organization! Thanks for your patience as we pull all this together.
Sample Faculty Scales: These are the scales that drive the organization of our book and that we use in the district where we teach. These scales help us design professional development and they help teachers self-assess.
Mastery Transcript Consortium: This organization is leading the charge to change one of the most significant leverage points in the transition to standards-based learning: the transcript. As long as the accepted norm for transcripts requires (or super strongly encourages) grades and GPAs, schools will continue to struggle to change instructional and assessment practices that we know will improve learning. This is important. If colleges shift how they evaluate their applicants by accepting (and soon after demanding!) an alternative, mastery-based transcript, we are going to change our practices much more quickly. And their transcript model is pretty fantastic.
People with Helpful Websites directly related to SBL:
Matt Townsley's fantastic SBL/G site: This is such a great collection of resources. Go here first and then follow him on Twitter at @mctownsley.
Rick Wormeli: Rick was instrumental in our work early on, and has continued to inspire us. His site is full of amazing resources! Follow him on Twitter @rickwormeli2
Ken O'Connor: Read everything you can by Ken. Really. Follow him on Twitter @kenoc7
People with helpful websites that may not be directly related, but support the underlying principles upon which SBL is built:
Marcia Tate: We saw Marcia present a year ago and were blown away by her presence, her humor, and of course, her ridiculous understanding of learning and the brain. Her blog is excellent, and provides so many strategies to "engage the brain." One of our favorite things about standards-based learning is how it supports what we know about the brain, and there's no better or more engaging expert than Marcia Tate. Follow her on Twitter @drmarciatate
Books that were instrumental in our initial understand of SBL and throughout our implementation:
The Art of Changing the Brain by James Zull
Fair Isn't Always Equal by Rick Wormeli
The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli
A Repair Kit for Grading by Ken O'Connor
How to Grade for Learning by Ken O'Connor
Switch by Dan and Chip Heath
Differentiating Instruction by Carol Ann Tomlinson
How People Learn by National Research Council
Drive by Daniel Pink
Students at the Center by Allison Zmuda and Bena Kallick
Grading for Equity by Joseph Charles Feldman
Grading Exceptional and Struggling Learners by LeeAnn Jung and Thomas Guskey
Mastery Transcript Consortium: This organization is leading the charge to change one of the most significant leverage points in the transition to standards-based learning: the transcript. As long as the accepted norm for transcripts requires (or super strongly encourages) grades and GPAs, schools will continue to struggle to change instructional and assessment practices that we know will improve learning. This is important. If colleges shift how they evaluate their applicants by accepting (and soon after demanding!) an alternative, mastery-based transcript, we are going to change our practices much more quickly. And their transcript model is pretty fantastic.
People with Helpful Websites directly related to SBL:
Matt Townsley's fantastic SBL/G site: This is such a great collection of resources. Go here first and then follow him on Twitter at @mctownsley.
Rick Wormeli: Rick was instrumental in our work early on, and has continued to inspire us. His site is full of amazing resources! Follow him on Twitter @rickwormeli2
Ken O'Connor: Read everything you can by Ken. Really. Follow him on Twitter @kenoc7
People with helpful websites that may not be directly related, but support the underlying principles upon which SBL is built:
Marcia Tate: We saw Marcia present a year ago and were blown away by her presence, her humor, and of course, her ridiculous understanding of learning and the brain. Her blog is excellent, and provides so many strategies to "engage the brain." One of our favorite things about standards-based learning is how it supports what we know about the brain, and there's no better or more engaging expert than Marcia Tate. Follow her on Twitter @drmarciatate
Books that were instrumental in our initial understand of SBL and throughout our implementation:
The Art of Changing the Brain by James Zull
Fair Isn't Always Equal by Rick Wormeli
The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli
A Repair Kit for Grading by Ken O'Connor
How to Grade for Learning by Ken O'Connor
Switch by Dan and Chip Heath
Differentiating Instruction by Carol Ann Tomlinson
How People Learn by National Research Council
Drive by Daniel Pink
Students at the Center by Allison Zmuda and Bena Kallick
Grading for Equity by Joseph Charles Feldman
Grading Exceptional and Struggling Learners by LeeAnn Jung and Thomas Guskey