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The Teacher Clarity Playbook, Grades K-12

A Hands-On Guide to Creating Learning Intentions and Success Criteria for Organized, Effective Instruction

Second Edition
By: Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Taylor Almarode, Kierstan Barbee, Olivia Amador Valerio, Joseph Michael Assof

75% new material
Foreword by John Hattie

Looking for a powerful resource for every teacher? The Teacher Clarity Playbook is the one. Easy to follow templates and tools guide educators to use learning intentions and success criteria and align standards seamlessly. Students achieve because learning is purposeful and expectations are clear.

Full description

Product Details

Grade Level: K-12
ISBN: 9781071937310
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2024
Page Count: 208
Publication date: January 16, 2024

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Review copies may be requested by individuals planning to purchase 10 or more copies for a team or considering a book for adoption in a higher ed course. To request a review copy, contact sales@corwin.com.

Description

Unlock the secrets to student achievement with purposeful learning and clear expectations

On a clear day, you can learn forever— that’s the adapted lyric you’ll be happily humming once you’ve covered this playbook, because you will have mastered using learning intentions and success criteria, the twin engines of Teacher Clarity. This template-filled guide shows you how to own it, do it, and live it—and your students will be more successful as a result.

In this fully revised edition, this succinct, smart, and swift book’s nine learning modules take you systematically through a process that begins and ends with standards. With abundant and all new examples that span grade levels, planning templates for every step, key professional learning questions, new videos, revised success criteria and relevance sections, and the latest research, you have the most practical and up-to-date planner for designing and delivering highly effective instruction:

Identifying Concepts and Skills
Sequencing Learning Progressions
Elaborating Learning Intentions
Crafting Success Criteria
Modifying Learning Intentions to Include Language Expectations
Determining the Relevance of the Learning
Designing Assessment Opportunities
Creating Meaningful Learning Experiences
Establishing Mastery of Standards

Designed for PLCs or independent teacher use, The Teacher Clarity Playbook helps practitioners align lessons, objectives, and outcomes of learning seamlessly, so that the classroom hours flow productively for everyone. For any teacher striving to be more organized and have stronger relationships with students, this is the book that shows you how.

Key features

· Designed to be used, not read, this playbook is filled with templates and tools for teachers to practice what they’re learning.

· Can be used( ideally) in PLCs, or informally in teacher groups or even on your own.

· Includes ·step-by-step guide with examples from across the curriculum to guide teacher learning and practice.

· Explains core concepts, then models how the process is applied through examples for all grade levels and subjects.

Author(s)

Douglas Fisher

Douglas Fisher is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is a credentialed teacher and leader in California. In 2022, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame by the Literacy Research Association. He has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as Welcome to Teaching, PLC+, Teaching Students to Drive their Learning, and Student Assessment: Better Evidence, Better Decisions, Better Learning.

Nancy Frey

Nancy Frey is professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Nancy was a teacher, academic coach, and central office resource coordinator in Florida. She is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California. She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. She has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as The Artificial Intelligences Playbook, How Scaffolding Works, How Teams Work, and The Vocabulary Playbook.

John Taylor Almarode

Dr. John Almarode is a bestselling author and an Associate Professor of Education at James Madison University. He was awarded the inaugural Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship in 2015 and received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia in 2021. Before his academic career, John started as a mathematics and science teacher in Augusta County, Virginia. As an author, John has written multiple educational books focusing on science and mathematics, and he has co-created a new framework for developing, implementing, and sustaining professional learning communities called PLC+. Dr. Almarode's work has been presented to the US Congress, the Virginia Senate, and the US Department of Education. One of his recent projects includes developing the Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continuing his collaborative work with colleagues on what works best in teaching and learning, How Tutoring Works, Visible Learning in Early Childhood, and How Learning Works, all with Corwin Press, were released in 2021.

Kierstan Barbee

Kierstan Barbee, EdD, is a full-time consultant with Corwin. She most recently served as a project manager of assessment for learning in Dallas Independent School District, which involved creating system-wide professional learning programming for central staff and campuses that promoted the spread of research-based practices. Through an emphasis on relationship-building and human-centered design principles, Kierstan has coached PreK-12 principals, teachers, and district leaders on pedagogical practices that promote equity and student agency. She also previously served as a secondary English Language Arts teacher, academic coach, and professional development supervisor. She holds teaching credentials in Texas and earned her master’s degree from Harvard University and her doctoral degree in educational leadership and literacy from University of Houston.

Olivia Amador Valerio

Olivia Amador Valerio, EdD, was a bilingual teacher in an elementary school, as well as a principal, in San Diego. She holds teaching and administrative services credentials in California and earned her doctoral degree in educational leadership from San Diego State University. One of her most notable accomplishments while she served as a principal with the Chula Vista Elementary School District was receiving the National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST) Gold award for impact on student learning. Olivia focuses her efforts on improving teacher clarity and ensuring that all students have access to high-quality instructional experiences. Olivia is a co-author of The Teacher Clarity Playbook. She is currently a full-time professional learning consultant for Corwin.

Joseph Michael Assof

Joseph Michael Assof is a high school and community college mathematics teacher and the math department chair at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego, CA. He is also an educational consultant and presents internationally on a wide array of topics including teacher clarity, mathematics teaching and learning, visible learning, and more. Joseph coauthored Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, High School, Teaching Mathematics in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades 6–8, and The Teacher Clarity Playbook, and his classroom is featured in a number of Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K–12 videos. Joseph holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics and a doctorate in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Mathematics Teacher Leadership. Mathematics and mathematics education are Joseph’s second passion—his first being his two beautiful boys, Joseph Fred and Jamie Beau.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Module 1: Identifying Concepts and Skills

Module 2: Sequencing Learning Progressions

Module 3: Elaborating Learning Intentions

Module 4: Crafting Success Criteria

Module 5: Modifying Learning Intentions to Include Language Expectations

Module 6: Determining the Relevance of the Learning

Module 7: Designing Assessment Opportunities

Module 8: Creating Meaningful Learning Experiences

Module 9: Establishing Mastery of Standards

Moving Forward

Reviews

"The new videos for each module on the Think Alouds give teachers an explanation of how practitioners are using a specific component of teacher clarity in a comprehensible way. It is a game changer when teachers discover the best hidden secret to learning (success criteria). By adding the seven different ways of sharing what success looks like with learners, Module 4 becomes even more powerful as teachers realize the different opportunities they have to reach and empower students."

Chasity Gray
Director of Professional Learning

“Just like Teacher Clarity demystifies how to be successful teachers and learners, the authors of this practical playbook demystify Teacher Clarity for their readers. It’s a must-read, must-practice book used by all educators across our school district. It’s not another thing; it’s ‘the thing’ for targeted, successful teaching and learning!”

Dr. Angela Lyon Hinton
Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services, Spartanburg School District Two

"This playbook equips educators with a wealth of strategies, examples, and practical tools to amplify their impact on student learning. These resources empower educators to cultivate a learning environment where students are actively engaged, while also helping teachers develop a profound understanding of their expectations, thereby enhancing the overall learning experience."

Kelly Jensen
Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Palmdale School District

"With a through line of alignment and intentionality, this second edition of The Teacher Clarity Playbook emphasizes the cognitive complexities to consider in purposeful planning. This book truly highlights and reminds us of both the art and science of teaching and deepens our appreciation for teachers and leaders."

Amy Miles
Professional Development Coordinator

"In this second edition of the playbook, teacher clarity is explicitly linked to alignment and the intentional moves teachers make when planning for and facilitating instruction. The authors provide a metacognitive roadmap for developing instruction that meets the cognitive complexity of content standards and supports students in knowing where they are now and where to next."

Angie Schultz
Director of Curriculum and Innovation

Other Titles in: Student Engagement & Motivation | Personal Growth & Development | Developing Pedagogy

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#CorwinTalks: Making Sense of Visible Learning [Blog]
Access to companion resources is available with the purchase of this book.
Introduction to the Teacher Clarity Playbook Second Edition [Lessons and Strategies]
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Three Things All New Teachers Need to Know to Be Successful [Blog]