5 Lessons About Student Engagement for New Teachers

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

How much fun happens during your class?  One of the easiest ways to make learning fun is to turn whatever you a doing into a game. I’ve been in classrooms that use adapted versions of Jeopardy, Bingo, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (complete with lifelines), Wheel of Fortune, Concentration, and Trivial Pursuit. In a different strategy, Chad Maguire uses a numeration scavenger hunt, during which students must find 50 real-world uses of math. “The students are excited to do this project, and it also opens the awareness that math is not just a subject in school.”   

Download Full Support Resource

Infusing Rigor into Formation Assessment:

Four Simple Strategies

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

An important formative assessment tool for teachers is the use of observations. Observations  can be planned, or they can be spontaneous. In an observation, you simply observe what students are doing, and take notes for documentation. You may choose to observe for particular instructional behaviors, or for understanding of content. Of course, teachers are constantly observing students. However, the most effective observations are planned in advance. For example, if you want to see a student’s problem-solving ability, you would schedule time to observe the student during a science activity or experiment.  

Download Full Support Resource

Motivating Struggling Learners: Three Keys to Success

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

In addition to our high expectations, we need to teach students to have personal high 

expectations.  Too often, students don’t believe they can learn and grow.  That’s the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. As Carol Dweck explains, a fixed mindset assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static and cannot be changed. A growth mindset, on the other hand, adopts the perspective that our intelligence, creativity, and character can change and grow over time. 

Download Full Support Resource

The Beginner's Guide to Understanding Rigor

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

When I am in schools working with teachers, I’m often asked why I care about rigor. They are also quick to tell me they care about rigor because they are told they have to. My response is simple. There are other reasons, such as the clear research base that shows our students need more rigor, the Common Core Standards that require more rigor, or the number of students who graduate from high school ill-prepared for college or the workforce. 

Download Full Support Resource

5 Easy Strategies for Increasing Text Complexity

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

First, think about the student, or reader. Each student brings a variety of important factors to the reading experience, such as his or her current reading ability, prior knowledge and interests, and developmental or age 

level. These factors can support students while they read, or demotivate them if they are not considered. 

Next, there are aspects within the text itself. How difficult is it to comprehend, in terms of readability? Is there specialized vocabulary? 

Just how complicated is it?

Download Full Support Resource

School Leadership Strategies for Classroom Leadership

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

The challenge for leaders is to work with their teachers, students, and community to create schools that are rigorous and provide all students with the support necessary to be successful. It is not easy to confront long standing norms about schools and schooling. We’ve worked with schools on increasing rigor for more than thirty years and have found three major obstacles to creating more rigorous schools and classrooms.  

Download Full Support Resource

Connecting With Parents & Families: An A to Z Guide : Elementary School

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

As a new teacher, my mentor advised me about parent and family relationships. She said,“ Never forget you are the expert and you are in charge.” I’ve learned that is not the most productive way to work with parents and families. The best relationships are partnerships where each of you has something to contribute. The traditional perspective of meeting with a parent or family member, teling them information, and asking them to do what you’ve asked isn’t effective in today’s society. Instead, start the year by asking parents three questions:

Download Full Support Resource

Connecting With Parents & Families: An A to Z Guide : Secondary School

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

One of the hardest things for us to do is to let go of our preconceived notions about our students and their families. I remember having a teacher tel me, “Watch out for Ronnie; his brother was a terror.” Then another teacher added, “And his parents are terrible too!” We have to ignore those comments and make our own judgements about students and families. Just because an older brother was problematic doesn’t mean Ronnie wil be. And if you go into the situation with a positive attitude, you may have a great relationship with his parents.

Download Full Support Resource

The 10 Myths About Rigor

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

While many myths are infused in our conversations about rigor, the reality is that rigor is about starting with where a student is in learning and helping them grow to new heights. 

Download Full Support Resource

Core Common State Standards - Only the Beginning!

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

We cannot assume that simply adopting the standards provides a rigorous environment for students. Rigor is more than what you teach, it’s how you teach and how students show you they understand. The CCSS are an excellent foundation for increasing rigor in your classroom; however, there are other integral aspects of rigor to consider.

Download Full Support Resource

Rigorous Assessments: THE KEY to Student Achievement

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

Rigor is a key component of effective instruction and assessment.  Too often, we think that our instruction and assessment is rigorous, but they are not.  Our assumptions about rigor, as well as our practices, make a difference in what we expect from 

students.

Download Full Support Resource

Challenging ALL Students: Rigorous Tasks and Assessments

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

Although the instructional strategies to scaffold learning are critical, it is helpful to use backwards design.

In other words, start with the end

in mind. Once we know and understand how students are expected to "show what they

know", we can plan our instruction.

Download Full Support Resource

Rigorous Tools for English Language Learners

By Dr Barbara Blackburn

When choosing a text, pair a simple non-fiction book with a  story. This allows students to see the difference between fiction and non-fiction, but can also provide an opportunity for comparison and contrast.  For example, if you read Zack’s Alligator with younger students, then read a short informational article about alligators.  How are they alike? Different?  Do you think the author showed a “true alligator”?  Why or why not? 

Download Full Support Resource