Teaching Today

Teachers have a lot of power to determine what and how they’re developing grading systems that reflect students’ knowledge, skills, and progress — but the process is complicated, and can sometimes cause harm. In this episode, we’re talking with Ashlynn Wittchow about systems of grading, and assessing the benefits and drawbacks of different models.

Whether you entered the spring semester with the same students and staff, or are starting fresh, developing and maintaining a positive community is critical to maximizing the potential of students and adults.

If you haven't been focusing on communities of practice, you may feel it's too late — or you may have communities of practice in place and are wondering what you can do to move to the next level. G. Faith Little, CPET's Initiative Director for 21st Century Learning, joins us to talk about the challenges and possibilities of creating and supporting these essential community groups.

Whether it’s the result of a single traumatic event, or one that's prolonged, the impact of stressful situations can spread to students' cognition, emotional regulation, and ability to connect with others.

In this episode we’re talking with Adam Wolfsdorf and Kristen Wedlock, authors of the book Navigating Trauma in the English Classroom. What is trauma, and how does it show up in school? How can we create space to process trauma together?

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To further explore how theorists and therapists approach trauma, please see below for references and resources that are mentioned in this episode:

• Peter Levine, PhD: Somatic Experiencing & Pendulation: https://traumahealing.org/

• Bessel van der kolk: PTSD and Memory; The Body Keeps the Score: https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/

• Stephen Porges, PhD: Polyvagal Theory & Neuroception: stephenporges.com

• Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction: https://www.mindfulnesscds.com/

• Arielle Schwartz, PhD: Somatic Therapy & Post Traumatic Growth: https://drarielleschwartz.com

• Nkem Ndefo: Resilience Tool Kit: lumostransforms.com

• Staci K. Haines: Politics of Trauma & Trauma and Social Justice: www.thepoliticsoftrauma.com, www.generativesomatics.org

• Scott Lyons: Founder of the Embody Lab: https://www.theembodylab.com/

• Elizabeth Dutro, PhD: Trauma and Pedagogy: https://elizabethdutro.com/

• Naropa University Faculty: Contemplative Pedagogy: https://www.naropa.edu/the-naropa-difference/mindfulness-and-contemplative-education/

• The Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education: professional development opportunities: https://www.contemplativemind.org/programs/acmhe

Whether we’re starting from scratch or resetting expectations, the new year always presents an opportunity to embrace the humanity of our students and the important goals we’re aspiring to. This week, Roberta and Cristina share their experiences of returning to school after a holiday break, and the strategies they’ve found effective for connecting with themselves and their students at the start of a new year.

We look back at some of the best shortcuts, insights, motivations, and aha moments that we published to help educators meet their professional goals this year.

Mentioned in this episode:

Centering Students for Literacy Engagement

https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/news-press/centering-students-for-literacy-engagement-student-voice-choice-and-identity

What Makes a Rigorous Question?

https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/news-press/what-makes-a-rigorous-question

What to Do When Kids Aren't Working

https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/news-press/from-off-task-to-on-what-to-do-when-kids-arent-working

Adapting Packaged Curricula: Making It Your Own

https://cpet.tc.columbia.edu/news-press/adapting-packaged-curricula-promising-practices-for-making-it-your-own

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to assessment for learning is the degree to which we’re able to gather information that accurately reflects what our students know and can do in the moment. It takes practice and careful planning to design meaningful assessments, and use the information in the moment to adjust instruction. This week, we’re talking with two members of our coaching team, Dr. Cristina Compton and Lauren Midgette, about promising practices for assessment for learning.

Interesting books are coming out every day, but we don’t always have the time to read everything that’s worth knowing about, and it's hard to know which books to invest in. As founder of The Main Idea, Jenn Lang tackles this challenge by distilling the most important information about a book — in only eight pages.

Jenn returns this week to break down Priya Parker's book, "The Art of the Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters", and discuss how it can act as a resource for designing authentic, productive time in school communities.

Class discussions are dynamic spaces for students to be meaning makers and critical thinkers, and offer unique opportunities for processing ideas, building new concepts with peers, and internalizing key learning points. But the ephemeral nature of discussions is a challenge, because although discussions ends, the learning components within them should be transferable in future reading and writing practices.

In this episode, we’re talking with Brian Veprek, a Strategic Curricular Solutions Architect at NewsELA about the connections between reading, writing, speaking, and listening, and how literacy is a bridge to cognition.

Highly effective discussions require a host of invisible skills that students may or may not pick up organically over time. Without careful instruction or scaffolding, class discussions are often more like Q&A sessions than they are a thoughtful exchange of ideas.

We’re talking with Dr. Sherrish Holloman and Kelsey Hammond this week, two of the facilitators who’ve led our Keep the Kids Talking online course. They’ll share what they’ve learned about the art and craft of teaching towards discussions and the lessons they’ve learned from their own classroom experiences.

Conflicts that emerge with young people can be emotionally, physically, and academically harmful. When adults are in situations where they are responsible for resolving conflicts, it’s easy to slip into classic power dynamics that reinforce bias and oppression, making it even harder to seek true resolution.

In this episode, we’re talking with Rahul Patel, a Restorative Justice Coordinator with the NYCDOE to learn more about how Restorative Justice represents an alternative to traditional discipline models — and so much more.