This article summarizes the foundational research and scholarship on early word recognition, discusses strategies and tactics for putting the science of reading into practice, and includes numerous useful tips and best practices from an experienced reading interventionist.

For this episode, we’re once again joined by Dr. Chase Nordengren, principal research lead for Effective Instructional Strategies at NWEA to talk about teacher-led approaches to academic recovery.

Chase works closely with leading scholars from around the globe to turn theory into actionable practices to drive instructional improvement. His latest study, High Growth for All, captured ways teachers in one Chicago-area district are leading the academic recovery effort and producing above average academic growth over multiple years for kids across the achievement spectrum

Chase is also the author of Step into Student Goal Setting: A Path to Growth, Motivation, and Agency from Corwin Press.

“Professional learning should be intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, and data-driven.”

Jacob hops from the host’s chair to the hot seat as he sits down with Kailey to discuss his journey through the education world to become a leader in professional development for teachers. Starting with his time working with abused & neglected children, Jacob realized how much he would need to continue to grow to best serve his students. After time as a high school math teacher and coach for math educators, Jacob dedicated his career to serving teachers looking to improve their craft. Then, Kailey & Jacob get into the details of what kinds of professional learning teachers need more of now. They talk about why teachers aren’t taught about the assessment side of instructional practice and how new attitudes towards data literacy are changing that trend.

Three education leaders from a high growth district share their strategies for encouraging data-driven instruction. They also offer tips for onboarding new teachers, building trust, and encouraging buy-in—the hallmarks of a strong growth culture.

NWEA early literacy experts teamed up with a district-level data whiz for a lively discussion on inventorying literacy data to help your team make informed changes to instruction. Presenters also shared how to triangulate points between MAP® Growth™ and MAP® Reading Fluency™, spot anomalies, track trends and more.

Kailey & Jacob are joined by two educators and NWEA content specialists who have thought a lot about how to improves student experiences in science. Kim Baker has been at NWEA for 13 years, and Megan Kuehl has been here for eight. We discuss challenging assumptions about the science classroom and unpack the notion that science is inherently impartial.

NWEA collaborates with more than 30 providers to determine how MAP Growth scores can be used by dozens of instructional and data products to make every classroom a data-informed classroom. Learn more about the Instructional Connections program and explore its unique benefits for administrators, teachers, and coaches.