Curriculum & Instruction

How to Save Time Creating Standards-Aligned Lesson Plans

August 12, 2022June 30, 2014

Having attended almost 10 years of legislative hearings, I’ve heard countless educators lament that with so many demands on teachers’ time, lesson planning is often relegated to a last-minute “to do”. Just as our alignment reports and editorial reviews help districts and campuses streamline their selection processes, educators can use Learning List’s independent alignment reports to create standards-aligned lesson plans more efficiently and effectively.

To Be or Not to Be: Are Publishers Aligned to Standards?

June 28, 2014

Today, Learning List released market insights drawn from hundreds of alignment verifications we have completed. Although Learning List reviews both comprehensive and supplemental instructional materials, this analysis only included materials that publishers claimed to be aligned to 100% of the relevant standards. Learning List’s Subject Matter Experts (experienced educators) found that, on average, those materials were aligned to: 87% of Common Core …

Teacher Collaboration: A Key to Success!

August 12, 2022June 24, 2014

Kentucky educator and “teacherpreneur” Paul Barnwell eloquently blogged this week about the fact that teachers need more time to plan and collaborate to improve education. “With so much on our plates, and few opportunities to scale solutions outside of the classroom, we teachers are longing for expanded opportunities to share what we know and can learn from one another. But we …

Teachers Credit Positive Classroom Culture to Bridges in Mathematics

June 19, 2014

The Math Learning Center recently released the second edition of Bridges in Mathematics for grades K-5, and Learning List has just reviewed the new set of products. Bridges is a comprehensive, inquiry-based program that creates a cooperative community of learners in the elementary mathematics classroom by blending teacher-led instruction, structured investigation, and open exploration of math concepts. The Bridges …

May Texas School Districts Use Instructional Materials Aligned to the Common Core Standards?

June 18, 2014

Today, the Texas Attorney General issued the much-anticipated opinion GA 1067, addressing “Use of the Common Core State Standards Initiative by Texas school districts to teach state standards.” We were among the sources asked whether the AG’s opinion prohibits Texas school districts from purchasing instructional materials aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The Austin American-Statesman has a brief article …

How to Align Resources Without Bias

June 28, 2022June 16, 2014

For the first time, the Texas ASCD* Ignite ’14 Conference is providing a marketplace area for conference attendees to review Exhibitors’ best practices for learning, teaching and leadership in education. Nearly 20 providers will be showcasing their solutions and services at Ignite ’14 from June 16 to June 18 at the Embassy Suites DFW in Frisco, Texas. Walter McKenzie, a …

JOIN US for a RECEPTION at ISTE

June 11, 2014

As school leaders prepare for the 2014-2015 school year, one challenge remains in the forefront of Superintendents’ and Curriculum Directors’ minds: With thousands of instructional materials to choose from, how can we choose the right standards-aligned resources for our students’ needs? Recently featured on NPR , Learning List is a low-cost, subscription-based instructional materials review service for schools and districts. Think of Learning List as a combination of Consumer …

The Road to Singapore Math – Customized for U.S. Students

June 10, 2014

Since the mid-1990s, Singapore’s students have ranked at the top of international comparisons of mathematics scores on exams such as the TIMSS and PISA. Given this success, many U.S. schools have sought to implement Singapore’s model of math instruction, which focuses on developing a deep understanding of numbers and concepts. To support these efforts, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt worked with Marshall …

3 Options for Teaching to the Common Core Standards

August 12, 2022June 4, 2014

As millions of students across the country embark on their summer vacation, thousands of schools will be working hard to re-architect the textbooks, lesson plans and homework that will be needed to launch Common Core curriculum during the next school year. A recent article about Common Core implementation (Teachers Hit the Common Core Wall), cited three options school administrators, curriculum directors …

How Learning List Helps Further Educational Equity

May 2, 2014

A central premise of American public education is that all students should have access to a rigorous, high-quality curriculum. While education reform efforts have tended to focus on the challenges urban public schools face in achieving educational equity, rural schools also confront challenges in achieving this important goal. Social and geographic isolation, coupled with inadequate school and community resources, limits …

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