In "School Rethink 2.0," editors Frederick M. Hess, Michael B. Horn, and Juliet Squire gather leaders immersed in the nuts-and-bolts work of educational reinvention to present ten promising education improvements and ways to implement them. Contributors, including acclaimed education pioneers Sal Khan, Beth Rabbitt, and Larry Berger,…

In "Demonstrating Student Mastery with Digital Badges and Portfolios," David Niguidula shows how students can meet standards and express their individuality through digital badges and portfolios. Building off an essential question--What do schools want their students to know and be able to do?--he then shows how schools can implement a…

Describes the development, implementation, advantages, and disadvantages of a mastery learning program for teaching mathematics to mixed ability classes. Indicates that the strategy provides a successful approach while taking account of the realities of group-based instruction, a fixed curriculum with fixed time, use of a textbook, and grading.…

The curriculum matrix is a tool to help curriculum coordinators, principals, and superintendents specify, justify, and align curriculum and instructional time to district specified standards. The problem the curriculum matrix solves is connecting the curriculum; that is, tracing an idea from initial justification to its placement in the curriculum…

This paper describes the design principles, instructional practices, and specific curricula of Direct Instruction--one example of focused, systematic, explicit instruction. At a time when public schools are increasingly held accountable for students' achievement and for closing and preventing the achievement gap between minority/disadvantaged and…

This document consists of assorted supplementary materials for a conference session on the topic of "Improving Education in America through Staff Development and Learning Technology." It contains (1) a preface; (2) a list of assumptions central to West Virginia's educational reform model; (3) a statement of the session's basic purpose,…

Recommendations are offered to help administrators successfully implement mastery learning (ML). It is stated that: (1) ML requires watching both the achievement and satisfaction of learners; (2) consideration of teachers' knowledge and attitudes when training them in ML principles is critical; (3) a high level of skill and commitment is required…

This paper reports on a study of the 1980 Maryland State Department of Education school improvement project utilizing Mastery Learning. It examines the instructional process implementation, the impact of one pilot school, and the statewide program through observation, surveys, interviews, document analysis, and participant self-reports. Data were…