Dan Meyer explains why it’s an amazing time to be a math teacher in this TEDtalk , “Math Class Needs a Makeover.”   His talk addresses how to develop math reasoning through “patient problem solving.” His approach is to first present students with visual models and then, through conversation, allow students to identify and describe the problem and the math reasoning needed to solve it.

Early applications and nominations for The New Teacher Project’s (TNTP) Fishman Prize for Superlative Classroom Practice are due tomorrow (12/3/2014).  However, applications will be accepted through January 21, 2014.  The prize awards $25,000 to up to five full-time teachers in public schools that serve at least 40% low-income students.  Eligible teachers must demonstrate: An extraordinary ability to lead students from all backgrounds to academic excellence; A keen understanding of effective instructional practice and an ability to articulate it clearly; and A passion for teaching and a deep commitment to advancing the teaching profession. Click here for more information about the prize and how to nominate a teacher.

On this day before Thanksgiving, the Learning List team would like to give thanks to our subscribing  districts and to the publishers that have submitted products for our review. Our service has been warmly received by districts large and small across the state, from Ingleside to Sonora, Victoria to Northwest, Austin to Burkburnett, Garland to Llano, and Chapel Hill to Channelview, to name just a few. And, with last Friday’s release of the longest-ever list of state-adopted instructional materials, our phones have been ablaze. Thanks to our subscribing districts, publishers are becoming increasingly aware of our service, too.  Approximately a third of the state-adopted math and science publishers have already submitted products for our review and many more have contacted us about submitting.  This week we started releasing reviews of Texas state-adopted products and will continue to do so over the next several weeks. Those products join the many non-adopted products already reviewed on LearningList.com. We thank you for taking this leap of faith with us and wish you all a safe, happy and meaningful Thanksgiving. We wish you a safe, happy, and meaningful Thanksgiving, Jackie Lain Catherine Maloney Dolores Riley Avi Elkoni M’Lynn Mooney Holly Gibson

The State Board of Education today adopted a list of 405 science, math and technical application instructional materials, 303 of which state review panels determined to be 100 percent aligned to the Texas Essential  Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).  The remaining 102 state-adopted products are aligned with between 50 and 100 percent of the TEKS.  Pearson’s and Houghton Mifflin’s materials were conditionally adopted, pending reconciliation of alleged factual errors. By subject, the state-adopted list contains: 93 Grades K-8 math products; 20 Grades K-5  Spanish math products; 221 Grades K-12 science products;  65 Grades K-5 Spanish science products; and, 22 Grades K-12 technology application products. Within each subject, the State Board adopted :   8 math products per grade in grades K-5; 15 math products per grade in grades 6-8; 17 science products per grade in grades K-5; 23 science products per grade in grades 6-8; 5 IPC, 13 Physics, 18 Chemistry, and 9 Biology state-adopted products, as well as a few products in various other high school science courses; 2 technology application products per grade for K-8 as well as in the adopted high school courses; In most grade levels, a couple of state-adopted products are available in both print, blended and/or digital formats. All others are unique products. Districts must now review the available instructional materials to determine which (1) best meet students’ needs, (2) can be implemented effectively given the district’s technical infrastructure, and (3)  reflect the community’s values. An article in the January 2014 edition of TxASCD’s will highlight specific, researched-based criteria districts should consider during their review of instructional materials. Learning List is a new service available to assist districts with the challenge of reviewing so many instructional materials. Like a type of Consumer Reports/Angie’s List for K-12 instructional materials and online courses, LearningList.com features for each product: (1) an independent alignment to the TEKS ; (2) an editorial review that highlights the types of information to help educators determine which products are best suited to meet their students’ needs; and (3) subscriber ratings and reviews . Tools on LearningList.com promote a collaborative selection process among district employees and help the district document compliance with the “100 Percent Rule”.  Beyond the selection process, the alignment reports on LearningList.com help teachers develop TEKS-aligned lesson plans for each reviewed instructional material.  Contact info@LearningList.com to learn more about this new service.

With more school districts using online instructional materials, finding enough time for students to work on computers is often a challenge for educators.  This is of particular importance when students need to be engaged with a product for a minimum amount of time each week in order to progress academically. When selecting online instructional materials, educators should pay attention to the publisher’s statements about the amount of time students should work in a particular online program in order to show academic growth. Often, educators don’t know this information until they have already purchased the product. Then they find that there is not enough time in the class’ or computer lab’s schedule to allow each student to work on a computer for the required amount of time. Learning List’s editorial reviews highlight the time requirements for online products to help educators select not only the instructional materials that meet their students’ needs, but equally important, the products that  the district or school has the technical infrastructure to support.

While attending recent Proclamation 2014 vendor conferences, we heard many publisher representatives explain that their products included Lexile-based reading levels that adapted reading passages for readers at, below, or above grade level.  In this post we discuss Lexiles and how they may be used to adjust reading levels, as well as their limitations. A Lexile is a widely-used reading measure developed by MetaMetrics that matches readers with texts that are appropriate in terms of their complexity.  A receives a Lexile measure by taking a test or participating in a program that assesses reading comprehension.  A is assigned a Lexile measure through the application of a proprietary formula that considers sentence structure, vocabulary, and word frequency.  The idea being, that through the use of Lexiles, parents and educators may more easily match readers to texts that are appropriate in terms of their difficulty.  Lexiles , designated by “L”, range from 0L to 2,000L and are rounded to the nearest 10L.  A Lexile of 200L or below generally indicates a beginning reader and 1,700L and above generally indicates an advanced reader. The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy provide the following overlapping Lexile ranges as a grade-banded guide to appropriate text complexity: CCSS Grade Band Lexile Band K-1 NA 2-3 420L-820L 4-5 740L-1010L 6-8 925L-1185L 9-10 1050L-1335L 11-CCR* 1185L-1385L Source: Supplemental Information for Appendix A of the CCSS for ELA and Literacy: New Research on Text Complexity; *CCR=College and Career Ready  While a Lexile is a useful tool for assessing the complexity of a text, it does not provide any information about a text’s literary value or the age appropriateness of its content.  For example, many bodice-ripper romance novels are written using basic vocabulary and short, simple sentences. Such texts may have Lexile measures that are well within the range of many young readers. However, parents and educators would certainly want to consider such a novel’s content before including it on a reading list. Just because a student read a text doesn’t mean a student read a text.

In order for students to progress academically each year and have the skills to be successful in the future, all educators at the campus and district level need to unite in their efforts to ensure that every student is learning the TEKS to the depth and complexity required. When teachers develop units and lesson plans, do they keep the TEKS in the forefront of their mind as to what they want their students to accomplish?  Is the priority in professional learning communities (PLCs) focused on discussions regarding teaching and assessing the TEKS, as well as analyzing ongoing student achievement data? While observing in the classroom, do campus and district administrators ask themselves what is the standard being taught, how well are the students’ tasks aligned to the TEKs, and how successful are the students working on this task? Do campus support staff discuss with the teacher what is being taught in the classroom as well as gather information on the progress of the students before they provide additional support to students in need?    Does central office curriculum staff understand the TEKS well so they can successfully facilitate curriculum writing with the end result being a closely aligned curriculum to the TEKS? Making sure that students are being taught the TEKS correctly is everyone’s business.  The old adage, “It takes a whole village to educate a child” refers in part to everyone taking responsibility to help students acquire a deep understanding of the TEKS so they can be successful and productive citizens in their communities.