Check out our newly released Self-Direction Toolkit to support instruction and assessment in K-12 classrooms. A Roadmap to the toolkit can be found at the Students at the Center Hub. The rubrics and tools in this toolkit are designed to support teachers in K-12 classrooms, with particular focus on grades 6-12, who are interested in…
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Our last two articles (here and here) explored the scaling of Work-Study Practices (WSPs, a.k.a., deeper learning competencies) in New Hampshire, the growth of this education innovation in the state and the role of a statewide, nonprofit intermediary, the New Hampshire Learning Initiative (NHLI) as a scaling agent. There is another driver of scale observed by JFF staff: a competency-based learning…
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Since 2014, New Hampshire educators can meet academic accountability requirements through a statewide Performance Assessment for Competency-based Education (PACE) system. Aimed at capturing a more authentic assessment of content knowledge, educators have developed and scored performance tasks with levels of reliability and validity comparable to state level standardized tests. As part of a William and Flora Hewlett Foundation funded…
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Our practice partners in New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Learning Initiative along with Motivis Learning, have been talking to teachers and system leaders about the lessons they are learning as they deal with the Coronavirus. Essential skills (aka Work Study Practices) are being put to the test as are student-centered learning, competency-based learning and teacher…
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reposted from Students at the Center Hub It’s fall 2017 in New Hampshire. The state’s Performance Assessment for Competency-based Education (PACE) system is entering its third year. Using this alternative state accountability system, 150 teachers in nine school districts have created 14 performance assessment tasks in mathematics, English language arts (ELA) and science. The tasks have been…
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Creating a system that can accommodate a wide range of learning contexts across a state can be difficult. Teachers and leaders in New Hampshire share how they are tackling the integration of essential skills (aka Work Study Practices or deeper learning) into their classrooms. Building Essential Skills Today (BEST) for the Future is an effort to elevate the teaching and assessment…
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Employers, colleges and families may not agree on much, but they tend to agree about this: our K-12 students need to develop essential skills like self-direction, collaboration, communication and creativity to successfully navigate college, career and community life. Trouble is, standardized tests and traditional assessments do not adequately capture whether students have developed these deeper…
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When you think about professional development in education it is reasonable to picture what most of us have experienced; full day workshops of “sit and get” and a “hope” that what was communicated in five hours will somehow miraculously change our practice. Or perhaps it is the “Wild West” professional learning approach, where one struts…
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Personalized Learning with Matt and Courtney from interview Kathy White of Souhegan High School, Ann Hadwen of Exeter Regional Cooperative School District, and Ellen Hume-Howard of the New Hampshire Learning Initiative about their research of work habits and how to assess and score them. Listen to the podcast at their site.
School districts across New Hampshire are working to embed essential skills like self-direction, communication, collaboration and creativity into their classrooms. Improving kids learning means getting the tools, resources and rationales to teachers. Building Essential Skills Today (BEST) for the Future is an effort to elevate the teaching and assessment of essential skills in our schools. Check out the…
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