Grading Reform: Getting Started

Dr. Deborah Peart Crayton, the Queen of Mathers, brings her unique style and insight to this episode, taking aim at everyone who ever said they're not a math person. Deborah will be a keynote speaker at the ICTM27 Conference in Franklin, IN, Feb. 6-7. Register at indianactm.org.

I sat down with Jason Williams to start a conversation about how video, produced locally at the school level, can be a powerful tool for professional development around the implementation and growth of instructional strategies. It also has the potential to be a support for teacher leaders and an aid in teacher retention. Join us for this encouraging conversation.

Does every great lesson need a digital upgrade? Absolutely not! In our Season 2 premiere of Teaching Forward, Keep Indiana Learning Innovation Coaches Stevie Frank and Nicole Nelson explore the SAMR model and what purposeful technology integration really looks like. Together, they challenge the idea that more technology always means better learning, discuss AI's role in the classroom, and share practical ways to make instructional decisions that put student learning first. Whether you're tech-savvy or prefer to keep things low-tech, this episode reminds us that effective teaching starts with the learning goal, not the tool.

Don't skip this one! Join Liesl and Jeff as they talk about how the brain learns and what implications that has for teaching.

Season 2 of Setting SAIL is here, and I couldn’t have asked for a better first guest than Dr. Bill Watson from Purdue.Bill has spent his career on one big question...how do we build schools where every student actually learns, instead of a system that holds time fixed and sorts kids? He’s been chasing personalized learning since grad school, long before AI was part of the conversation. Now he thinks AI might finally be “the key to the lock.”

Basic fact fluency is a great big topic and I’m gearing up for a few episodes - or many, we’ll see -  to talk about it. I don’t have any documented evidence to support this, but in my 20 years of having a leadership role of some kind in schools the quote, “My kids don’t know their facts” is a statement I hear over and over again. When I ask what they’re doing to teach facts sometimes they answer that they are giving timed tests; other times, they say “well we aren’t allowed to give timed tests, so I don’t do anything.”Here’s the deal. A timed test doesn’t *teach* basic fact fluency. It assesses who can do facts fast. We need kids to know their facts and we need them to be able to know them without counting on fingers, etc - but to do so, we have to actually teach - not just have them memorize. And there are very specific reasons for that.In this episode, Ryan Flessner and I talk about our own personal stories with basic facts - both as students and as teachers. Our stories are really different and represent the two kinds of teachers we encounter in schools - and I love that, because we both ended up coming to the same understanding of how we should teach basic facts in our classrooms despite having two really different stories.There was a massive thunderstorm rolling through during this recording so there were a few technical difficulties that I tried to edit out and fix, but I’m a real amateur, so stick with me here as we venture into the hot topic of how to TEACH basic fact fluency.Exciting News! The KINL Podcast Network has a sponsor for this month's podcast episodes! What if your schools could simplify access, automate the work behind the scenes, and use real data to understand what’s actually happening across your digital learning environment? ClassLink brings Access, Automation, and Analytics together, helping school systems securely connect users, streamline account management and rostering, and turn technology usage data into insights that can guide smarter decisions and eliminate unnecessary tools. Visit ClassLink.com to learn more about how ClassLink can help your school system run smoother, work smarter, and get more value from your technology.

Join Jessica Miller and myself for an informative conversation about what coaching is and what it isn't. Jessica has a wealth of knowledge; I learned so much during short time together, and I know you will, too. If you want to know more about coaching, check out more learning opportunities with Jessica at keepindianalearning.org/upcoming-events.

We all have our go-to sections of the bookstore…and the ones we tend to walk right past. In this episode, the Lit Gals are stepping outside our reading comfort zones and tackling the genres we find challenging. Anna, Morgan, and Martie share the genres we struggle to pick up, the books that have helped change our minds, and what we’ve discovered by reading beyond our usual favorites. Maybe we’ll even convince each other (and you!) to give something new a try!The Lit Gals are proud to be part of the Keep Indiana Learning network and are excited to also be airing on the KINL Podcast Network this season! Books Discussed:Children’sWho Would Win? series (Jerry Pallotta)YACaraval (Stephanie Garber)AdultThe Berry Pickers (Amanda Peters)The Binding (Bridget Collins)Indelible (Karin Slaughter)Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe (Heather Webber)Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (Robin Sloan)Theo of Golden (Allen Levi)Tower of Dawn (Sarah J. Maas)Yellowface (R.F. Kuang)

Join Sam Vidal to learn more about Indiana's Accountability Law and what we need to be thinking about for our middle schoolers!

You know you want to grade differently, but you're not sure where to start. No problem. Jeff gives some great strategies to open up the conversation about grading differently and how you can get started tomorrow. Got more questions? Reach out to us at [email protected], we're here to help.