Synopses & Reviews
This book provides a new approach to assessment that draws on the assessments that occur naturally and internally for students every day. All learners continually assess the quality of their work, skills, understanding, and behavior and decide what is good enough. They assess and decide when written work is good enough to turn in; when they have put enough effort into a reading assignment or math test; when they understand a concept sufficiently; and whether they have been respectful and helpful to others. But for a variety of reasons, students and teachers often don’t tap into this level of assessment and learn how to capitalize on it. Teachers frequently fall into the trap of simply saying “try harder,” without giving students specific targets, feedback, time to revise, and encouragement. What students really need are tools to assess and improve their own learning and the motivation to do so.
Leaders of Their Own Learning offers school leaders and classroom teachers a new way of thinking about assessment based on the celebrated work of Expeditionary Learning Schools across the country. Student-Engaged Assessment is not a single practice. It is an approach to teaching and learning that equips and compels students to understand goals for their learning and growth, track their progress toward those goals, and take responsibility for reaching them. This requires a set of interrelated strategies and structures and a whole-school culture in which students are given the respect and responsibility to be meaningfully engaged in their own learning.
This book provides everything teachers and school leaders need to implement a Student-Engaged Assessment system in their schools. It contains chapters on eight key practices that will engage students in making academic progress, improve achievement, and involve families and communities in the life of the school. Each chapter describes a practice, gives advice on how to begin, and explains what teachers and school leaders need to put into practice in their own classrooms and schools. The chapters include descriptive text, resources, advice, and stories from schools successfully using the practice. The companion DVD offers compelling video clips that illustrate each key strategy in real schools with real students—to serve as models, raise questions, and stimulate discussion.
Leaders of Their Own Learning shows educators how to ignite the capacity of students to take responsibility for their own learning, meet Common Core and state standards, and reach higher levels of achievement.
Synopsis
From EL Education comes a proven approach to student assessment Leaders of Their Own Learning offers a new way of thinking about assessment based on the celebrated work of EL Education schools across the country. Student-Engaged Assessment is not a single practice but an approach to teaching and learning that equips and compels students to understand goals for their learning and growth, track their progress toward those goals, and take responsibility for reaching them. This requires a set of interrelated strategies and structures and a whole-school culture in which students are given the respect and responsibility to be meaningfully engaged in their own learning.
- Includes everything teachers and school leaders need to implement a successful Student-Engaged Assessment system in their schools
- Outlines the practices that will engage students in making academic progress, improve achievement, and involve families and communities in the life of the school
- Describes each of the book's eight key practices, gives advice on how to begin, and explains what teachers and school leaders need to put into practice in their own classrooms
- Ron Berger is Chief Program Officer for EL Education and a former public school teacher
Leaders of Their Own Learning shows educators how to ignite the capacity of students to take responsibility for their own learning, meet Common Core and state standards, and reach higher levels of achievement.
DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file, but are available for download after purchase.
Synopsis
From Expeditionary Learning Schools comes a proven approach to student assessmentLeaders of Their Own Learning offers a new way of thinking about assessment based on the celebrated work of Expeditionary Learning Schools across the country. Student-Engaged Assessment is not a single practice but an approach to teaching and learning that equips and compels students to understand goals for their learning and growth, track their progress toward those goals, and take responsibility for reaching them. This requires a set of interrelated strategies and structures and a whole-school culture in which students are given the respect and responsibility to be meaningfully engaged in their own learning.
- Includes everything teachers and school leaders need to implement a successful Student-Engaged Assessment system in their schools
- Outlines the practices that will engage students in making academic progress, improve achievement, and involve families and communities in the life of the school
- Describes each of the book's eight key practices, gives advice on how to begin, and explains what teachers and school leaders need to put into practice in their own classrooms
- Ron Berger is Chief Program Officer for Expeditionary Learning and former public school teacher
Leaders of Their Own Learning shows educators how to ignite the capacity of students to take responsibility for their own learning, meet Common Core and state standards, and reach higher levels of achievement.
DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file, but are available for download after purchase.
Synopsis
Leaders of Their Own LearningLeaders of Their Own Learning offers a new way of thinking about assessment based on the celebrated work of Expeditionary Learning. Student-Engaged Assessment involves students in understanding and investing in their own growth, changing the primary role of assessment from evaluating and ranking students to motivating them to learn. Student-Engaged Assessment ignites the capacity of students to take responsibility for their own learning, building the independence, critical thinking skills, perseverance, and self-reflective understanding they need to meet the demands of the Common Core, reach higher levels of achievement, and succeed in college, careers, and life.
Prasie for Leaders of Their Own Learning
This book offers teachers and leaders a clear, detailed blueprint for implementing Student-Engaged Assessment, including a wealth of videos that demonstrate core practices in action.
“Long before the nation began discussing Common Core standards, Expeditionary Learning was working with thousands of educators to design learning targets that expressed clear, shared understanding for what students should know and be able to do. Let this serve as your guide to Expeditionary Learning, a concept so successful but so simple that you’ll wonder aloud why it isn’t universally available for those kids who would benefit from it most.”
—From the Foreword by Mike Johnston, Colorado state senator
“Chockfull of examples, tips, and video illustrations, this masterful book achieves the remarkable feat of being both a practical how-to guide for how students, teachers, and school leaders can use student-engaged assessment, and a visionary argument for how we can invert the school reform pyramid and put students in charge of their own learning.”
—Jal Mehta, associate professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education; author, The Allure of Order
About the Author
Ron Berger, chief academic officer for Expeditionary Learning, taught public school for more than twenty-five years.
Leah Rugen has worked as an educator and writer for more than twenty years.
Libby Woodfin, a former teacher, is director of publications for Expeditionary Learning.
Table of Contents
DVD Contents viiForeword by Mike Johnston xi
Preface by Scott Hartl xv
Acknowledgments xvii
About the Authors xix
About Expeditionary Learning xxi
Introduction 1
1 Learning Targets 19
2 Checking for Understanding during Daily Lessons 53
3 Using Data with Students 93
4 Models, Critique, and Descriptive Feedback 131
5 Student-Led Conferences 177
6 Celebrations of Learning 209
7 Passage Presentations with Portfolios 253
8 Standards-Based Grading 299
Conclusion Transforming Schools 347
Appendix Accessing the Bonus Web Materials 351
References 353
How to Use the DVD 355
Index 357