All teachers want their students’ achievement levels to increase. Small group instruction and cooperative learning have a significant impact on student achievement (Hattie, 2009) and are widely used in elementary classrooms. Many middle and high school teachers are increasingly using these structures in other content areas. However, prior to implementing small group instruction teachers often have questions to be answered.
By Linda Diamond and Michelle Rodriguez
Numerous recent reports cite the difference in student learning that an effective curriculum can make. These reports include Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Studies, StandardsWork, Curriculum Research: What We Know and Where We Need to Go; Ashley Berner’s report in Thomas Fordham Institute’s Flypaper, August 2018; and Brookings report by Morgan Polikoff,, June 2018. After 25 years of working with school districts to help them select and implement high-quality curriculum, we agree. However, only a couple reports, the Economic Studies Brookings Report by Morgan Polikoff and Ashley Berner’s report, address a critical difficulty—ensuring teachers have sufficient content and curriculum knowledge to use and implement a standards-based curriculum with fidelity.
Numbers are all around us. Let’s teach children to embrace rather than fear numbers.
CORE’s Chief Academic Officer, Dale Webster, will be speaking at an upcoming workshop co-sponsored by CORE and the Collaborative Classroom. Join us for a one-day workshop to experience Systematic Instruction in Phonological Awareness, Phonics, and Sight Words (SIPPS) and learn about the new dyslexia enhancements.
When: Saturday, September 22, 2018 | 8:30 – 3:30pm PT
Where: Mendocino County Office of Education, 2240 Old River Road, Ukiah, CA 95482
Who Should Attend: K-12 administrators, ELA coaches, and teachers who are interested in learning about SIPPS and dyslexia, as well as current SIPPS users.
$100 registration fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, and materials.
Welcome to the Spring 2018 edition of the CORE Academic Quarterly newsletter!
The end of the school year is upon us! We hope that you have had a productive school year and feel proud of the learning that your students have accomplished.
In this edition’s Reading Expert column, we tackle some misconceptions about dyslexia that still are pervasive among educators.
In the Marvelous Mathematician, we address the importance of developing mathematical fluency and number sense together.
And finally, in the Leadership Corner, we discuss and provide resources related to the importance of a coherent, evidence-based, and standards-aligned curriculum for both literacy and mathematics.
Happy reading!
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Students with disabilities are not making the achievement gains they should make. The achievement gap between students with disabilities and students without disabilities has remained largely unchanged despite adaptive technologies and supposedly research-based methods. But we can improve outcomes for special education students by significantly improving general education and special education together.
One in five students has a language-based learning disability, the most common of which is dyslexia. 37 states now have laws on dyslexia and more have legislation in the works. With so much focus on dyslexia, teachers must be knowledgeable about how to screen for, identify and support students with dyslexia.
This recorded webinar provides a foundation for addressing dyslexia in your district. Dr. Louisa Moats, President of Moats Associates Consulting, Inc., and Dr. Dale Webster, Chief Academic Officer for CORE, review:
- What dyslexia is and what it is not
- What causes difficulty learning to read and spell written words
- How to recognize the signs of dyslexia
- The principles of effective intervention and instruction for students with dyslexia using the multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework
Complete the form below to watch the webinar.
Welcome to the Winter 2018 edition of the CORE Academic Quarterly newsletter!
Spring is in the air! We at CORE hope that your school year has gone well and the upcoming testing period and the end of the school year (fast approaching) will go smoothly.
In this issue of the Academic Quarterly, in the Reading Expert section, we clarify the differences between screening and evaluation of dyslexia.
In the Marvelous Mathematician, we continue our Part 1 article from the Fall 2017 edition of the Academic Quarterly to correlate the practices recommended in Visible Learning in Mathematics with the recommendations in the IES Practice Guide, Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning.
In the Leadership Corner, we feature a new national literacy center that is full of resources for schools and families.
Happy reading!
To receive future editions of this newsletter via email, add your name to the mailing list.
This month’s CORE Excellence in Education Blog focuses on the importance of mathematical fluency and number sense as a critical foundation for entering mathematics in middle and high school.