FuelEd’s Post

Educators, what tools or processes do you use to investigate your practice, reflect on its impact, and make informed decisions to enhance student learning? Action research might be just what you need. Action research is a structured approach that engages leaders and teachers to do that work within the context of specific dilemmas or problems of practice. "This process involves several key elements: identifying an area of focus, developing guiding questions, and engaging in iterative cycles of inquiry relative to the identified dilemma or problem of practice," writes our columnist, Ayesha Farag, assistant superintendent for elementary education in Newton Public Schools in Massachusetts. The following questions can be helpful for launching action research or other form of inquiry.

Available for presale March 12, 2024: How to Better Serve Racially Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse Students in Special Education: A Guide for High Needs and Underresourced Schools https://lnkd.in/evjahPqp This important guide offers practical teaching solutions to address the challenges facing RELD students in special education, particularly in high-needs schools where the number of students identified as needing special education exceeds the national average. Written from the perspective of someone with her own lived experience of unique learning needs and marginalization, this book prepares educators to effectively serve our increasingly diverse student population, while also addressing certain special education policy issues and over/underrepresentation of RELD students in special education. Featuring real-life examples and practical strategies to start using in the classroom, this book is key reading for any special educator or school leader striving to ensure special education becomes more equitable and effective.

With schools in NSW going back next week, understanding giftedness and talent is more important than ever. Educators, school support staff, school leaders and parents need to be equipped with knowledge, support, funding, and ‘patience’ to help these often misunderstood individuals. That's why I've written two simple guides to provide practical insights into this highly perplexing area. Check them out here: https://lnkd.in/gFQbybRE Let's work together to ensure that every gifted and talented student can reach their full potential!

If you are a secondary Georgia educator under the L4 grant join me for a FREE webinar series this school year with the Georgia Department of Education! Spots are limited: https://lnkd.in/e-AF5JPS I am thrilled to invite you to our upcoming FREE professional learning with the Georgia Department of Education! In this 4-session module (September 18th, September 25th, October 16th, and October 23rd held from 4:00-5:30 pm), secondary teachers will learn literacy strategies and practices that can be applied across multiple domains. Using these tools, teachers will explore ways to improve students' vocabulary and comprehension skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening and equip them to engage in academic discourse while improving student achievement. In addition, this module will discuss how gradually releasing learning from being teacher-dependent to student-independent will lead to student ownership throughout their learning journey. I didn’t forget about my elementary schools! Comment “MORE DETAILS” to find out how your teacher can join in on the learning! #professionallearning #literacystrategies #studentachievement

Reading instruction is one of the most complicated topics in education policy, encompassing pedagogy, policy, and politics — all rooted in a long history of arguments about the best way to teach kids to read. https://lnkd.in/e_RBfBdu

During a jampacked meeting of the California State Board of Education (SBE) on March 6, the board reviewed the 2024 Accountability Workplan, approved a revised document providing guidance for reviewing and piloting instructional materials, and more. The 2024 Accountability Workplan includes incorporation of the Science Assessment results into the Dashboard; the addition of transitional kindergarteners (TK) and long-term English learners (LTELs) as new student populations; a College/Career Indicator (CCI); student-level growth model data; Priority 1: State level data; and an update of the differentiated assistance criteria and designations required under SB 114. Read a breakdown of the workplan, board discussion and other key items here: https://ow.ly/TnmT50QNGxZ

In Australia, and in education settings across the world, student behaviour and levels of student engagement are significant issues for teachers, school leaders, system administrators, and the public. Student behaviour affects community perception, teacher efficacy and wellbeing, and the academic achievement of all students. When students are engaged, they learn more. A recent paper written by Dr. Tim McDonald outlined 3 key themes. To get a PDF of the whole paper without having to submit your details, simply visit the link below. ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gyarHWDf

Sadly, spot on for too many high schools and universities anymore: I've noticed a fascinating phenomenon in my thirty years of teaching: schools and schooling are increasingly irrelevant to the great enterprises of the planet. No one believes anymore that scientists are trained in science classes or politicians in civics classes or poets in English classes. ***The truth is that schools don't really teach anything except how to obey orders.*** This is a great mystery to me because thousands of humane, caring people work in schools as teachers and aides and administrators, but the abstract logic of the institution overwhelms their individual contributions. ***Although teachers do care and do work very, very hard, the institution is psychopathic -- it has no conscience.*** It rings a bell and the young man in the middle of writing a poem must close his notebook and move to a different cell where he must memorize that humans and monkeys derive from a common ancestor. ~John Taylor Gatto (Book: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling [ad] https://amzn.to/3xDlkVt)

What's in your state's literacy plan? 👉 Today, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) approved a Comprehensive Literacy Plan which features The Language Literacy Network (Wasowicz, 2021)! “The LLN clearly shows how encoding (spelling) and decoding (reading) are distinct yet interrelated processes. Effective spelling instruction helps bridge the gap for students to become proficient readers and writers, especially for those who can read well but struggle with text transcription for fluent writing.” p. 30 Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan We here at SPELL-Links | Learning By Design applaud ISBE for enacting “a roadmap to enhance and unify core literacy instruction efforts statewide...ensuring all student receive developmentally appropriate and evidence-based literacy instruction”. p. 8 Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan Illinois Comprehensive Literacy Plan (isbe.net)

From us to you: The 2023-24 NIET Research Summary. Behind every statistic is our promise to improve teaching and learning. Discover the milestones we've reached together: https://bit.ly/3PUYGhN