Educator Resources

Assessment

Process of gathering data to understand and improve student learning.

Types of Assessments:

• Pre-assessment: gathers key information about what students know and are able to do prior to instruction; provide evidence to help teachers match instruction with the needs of students, like content, pacing, grouping or learning activities
• Formative Assessment: assessment for learning; used to advance each student’s learning; informs the teacher regarding the effectiveness of instruction and the individual feedback the student receives regarding their progress towards proficiency
• Summative Assessment: assessment of learning; designed to provide a final measure to determine if learning targets have been met; yield a dichotomy: pass or fail, proficient or not proficient.
• Formal Assessment (Common): evaluate or monitor students’ level of knowledge at a point in time during the sequence of learning; student data is collected, organized and used as evidence to inform a response to individual students’ needs
• Informal Assessment: quick check-in to gauge “in the moment” modifications

CAT Handbook

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Brain-Based Learning

Brain-based research relays how information processing supports students' cognitive development.  It emphasizes helping students become independent learners by strengthening their ability to process and retain information.

Brain-Based Learning Process:

• Input - brain decides what to pay attention to from surrounding information

• Elaboration - brain makes connections with the new information

• Application - brain applies the new information to solidify learning

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Bias

Refers to unfair or prejudiced attitudes or actions, particularly in educational settings. This can include explicit bias, which is consciously held and expressed, as well as implicit bias, which are unconscious attitudes and stereotypes that can affect judgments and actions and systemic bias which established systems and structures within an organization create and perpetuate disadvantages for certain groups while providing advantages for others.

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Classroom Educator

Refers to all classroom educators, including special education, multilingual, and specialist educators.

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Coherence

Designing coherent instruction is the heart of planning, reflecting the teacher’s knowledge of content and the students in the class, the intended outcomes of instruction, and the available resources.

Educators must determine how best to sequence instruction in a way that will advance student learning through the required content. It further requires the thoughtful construction of lessons that contain cognitively engaging learning activities, the incorporation of appropriate resources and materials, and the intentional grouping of students.

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Competency

A defined skill, knowledge base or attribute that essential for effective teaching and fostering student success. Represent the board abilities required to excel in the profession.

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Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Practices

Is a research-based approach to teaching that connects students’ cultures, languages, and life experiences with what they learn in school. It raises expectations and makes learning relevant for all students, especially students of color, English language learners, and other underserved groups. It helps create learning environments that validate and reflect the diversity, identities, and experiences of all students.

Other terms for Culturally Responsive Practices:

• Culturally Responsive Methodologies

• Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy

• Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT)

• Culturally Responsive Instruction (CRI)

• Culturally Responsive Historical Education (CRHE)

• Culturally Responsive Education (CRE)

• Culturally Inclusive Teaching

• Culturally Relevant

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Differentiation

Differentiated instruction is an instructional approach when educators make grade/content standards accessible for all by adjusting the process, product, content, assessment, and/or learning environment to maximize student learning. Differentiation is not the same as remediation. Rather, it provides all students access to grade level content.

Designs and delivers services or programs that are accessible, inclusive, and engaging in order to meet the needs of all learners.

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Discipline-specific habits of thinking

Metacognitive processes that include: ways of reasoning, problem-solving, and understanding that are unique to a particular academic discipline. 

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Diversity

Your understanding of self in relation to the lived experiences and perspectives of others to build authentic relationships and connections. See Culturally Responsive Practices above.

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Educational Equity

The condition of justice, fairness, and inclusion in our systems of education so that all students have access to the opportunities to learn and develop to their fullest potentials. See Culturally Responsive Practices above.

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Expectations

The "must have" criteria an educator needs to meet in order to be marked as effective in that indicator. Expectations are listed under each indicator.

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Feedback

Refers to formative feedback that is tied to learning outcomes, specific, actionable, and supportive of student reflection and thinking. Uses assessment to provide clear, timely, actionable feedback for students and families that supports learning and highlights growth

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Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum

A backwards designed course is the Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum:

• Guaranteed: ALL students in the same class, course, or grade level are exposed to the same curriculum, regardless of the teacher.

• Viable: curriculum can be taught within the available time.

• Curriculum: resources and materials are aligned to learner outcomes.

A guaranteed and viable curriculum results from ongoing collaboration between Teaching & Learning, CATs, and individual educators.

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High Impact Instructional Strategy

A plan or method used to teach content and skills that are evidence-based methods proven to significantly boost learning.

Key Characteristics of High-Impact Strategies:

• Backed by research and data

• Promote structured higher-order thinking

• Facilitate structured collaboration

• Ensure equal opportunities for active participation

• Encourage continuous feedback and reflection

• Allow for skill transfer

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High Quality Instruction

Tier 1 (core) instruction includes culturally and linguistically sustaining standard-based and differentiated academic, social and emotional instruction for every student as a necessary foundation for tiered support.

Part of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).

Atlas: MDE resources for Learning Acceleration in Tier 1 Instruction

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Identity

Age, gender, religious or spiritual affiliation, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status are all identities. Some identities are things people can see easily (like race or assumed gender), while other identities are internalized and are not always easy to see (like a disability, socioeconomic status or education level). Since they can shape the experiences of students within classrooms, it is important to understand social identities to actively develop inclusive learning environments for all students.

In Stillwater Area Schools, identity refers to:

• culture

• language

• gender identity

• race

• ethnicity

• religion

• familial status

• sexual orientation

• socioeconomic status

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Inclusion

Ensuring all students, regardless of background or ability, feel welcomed. Focuses on participation and access.

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Inclusive

Creating environments where all individuals are respected and supported. Applies to classrooms, policies, and materials.

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Indicator

Specific, observable, and measurable actions or outcomes that reflect the educators proficiency in the competency. Provide clarity on what constitutes success and can serve as a criteria for education. 

• The Educator Rubric: Classroom has 17 indicators

• The Educator Rubric: Services and Programs Rubric has 14 indicators

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Learning Goals and Success Criteria

Refers to grade level knowledge and skills; Success criteria allows teachers and students to know if students are making progress towards, or have met, the learning targets; “criteria of success for learning”; used to determine levels of proficiency.

Examples include: learning target, essential question, guiding question, success criteria

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Metacognitive skills

The ability to think about one's own thinking, including how one learns, understands, and solves problems.

An example of delivering instruction using a range of high impact instructional strategies to foster student engagement.

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Professionalism (SEP)

Conduct, behavior, and attitude expected of education professionals. Often defined in the Standards of Effective Practice (SEP) from MDE.

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Protected Classes

The state law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, public services, education, credit, and business based on protected class, such as: race, religion, disability, national origin, sex, marital status, familial status, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

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Reciprocal Communication

Two- way communication. Engages in reciprocal communication, utilizing culturally and linguistically responsive strategies with students, families, and staff to foster strong relationships.

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Rigor

Cognitive rigor is influenced not only by the complexity of the content, but also by the cognitive engagement with the content (sometimes referred to as depth of knowledge levels) and the scope of the planned learning activity (Hess, et al., 2009). We see evidence of cognitive rigor when students can think flexibly, refine their thinking as they get input from others, use strategic scaffolding and collaboration, or apply metacognitive and self-direction skills.

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Scaffolding

Refers to the temporary support provided to students as they learn a new skill or concept. This support is gradually faded as students become more proficient, ultimately enabling them to perform the task independently (gradual release of responsibility). Scaffolding helps students bridge the gap between their current knowledge and the desired learning outcome, often within the zone of proximal development. 

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Services and Programs Educator

Refers to service provider/non classroom educators: instructional coaches, occupational therapists, school counselors, school nurses, school psychologists, school social workers, speech-language pathologists, teachers on special assignment (TOSA). (Services and Programs Educator Rubric)

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Student Engagement

Happens as a result of a teacher’s careful planning and execution of specific strategies: every teacher can create a classroom environment in which engagement is the norm instead of the expectation. A model of attention and engagement includes four areas: (1) emotions, (2) interest, (3) perceived importance, and (4) perceptions of efficacy.(Marzano, The Highly Engaged Classroom, 2011)

 

ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday activities. see Competency A

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AIPAC

American Indian Parent Advisory Committee. See Competency D.

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e.g.

Latin abbreviation for "exempli gratia," meaning "for example." Used to introduce one or more examples, not an extensive list. See Examples in rubric

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SEL

social-emotional learning. See competency A & C. 

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CAT

Collaborative Action Team. See Competency B, D, & E. 

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BARR

Building Assets, Reducing Risks. See Competency C & D. 

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MDE

Minnesota Department of Education. See Competency D

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LGBTQIA+

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual, with the "+" symbol acknowledging the numerous identities not fully encompassed by the acronym. See Competency E.

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LETRS

Acronym for Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling. It's a professional development program designed to provide educators with a deep understanding of literacy and language, particularly in relation to the science of reading. See Competency E.

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ML

Multilingual Learners. See Competency A & B.