By Sara Mitrano
May 18, 2021
As the 2020/21 school year comes to an end, educators are developing summer learning plans to ensure students successfully transition to the next school year. We rounded up evidence-based resources from the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) network and the What Works Clearinghouse to support educators as they create their summer learning plans and prepare for fall 2021.
What Works Clearinghouse practice guides
What Works Clearinghouse practice guides provide evidence-based recommendations to help educators support student learning this summer, including recommendations for:
- Assisting students struggling with mathematics.
- Teaching academic content and literacy to English learner students in elementary and middle school.
- Using student achievement data to support instructional decision making.
Using data to assess student needs and plan instruction
- REL Central recently published a blog post on strategies educators can use to assess the impact of the pandemic on student learning by using preexisting data to form a comprehensive response.
- REL Mid-Atlantic curated a list of research citations in response to an Ask A REL question on the effectiveness of differentiated instruction for visual learners in grades K–8.
- REL Midwest conducted a training series with a community organization in St. Paul, Minnesota, to improve its staff’s knowledge of continuous improvement cycles and help them use data to support their work with high-risk youth.
- A REL Midwest Ask A REL response compiles research and resources on effective grouping strategies for students in grades 6–12 with needs in literacy development.
- A REL Southeast Ask A REL response compiles research on data-driven differentiated instruction.
- A REL Southwest video illustrates how early childhood educators can use formative assessments to learn about and support each student’s knowledge, skills, and abilities.
- A REL West blog post explores how teachers can incorporate data inquiry cycles to see whether new approaches improve their teaching practice and student learning.
Implementing multi-tiered systems of support
- A REL Appalachia blog post provides five suggested practices for educators to consider when assessing the implementation of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) or response to intervention (RTI) frameworks.
- REL Appalachia hosted a webinar on the benefits of using an MTTS or RTI implementation assessment tool, strategies for developing a well-designed tool, and how to support the use of these tools and the resulting data to improve implementation.
- A REL Mid-Atlantic Ask A REL response rounds up research on the impact of intervention models, including RTI, on student achievement.
- REL Northeast and Islands hosted a three-part training series on how to implement RTI models, or scientific research-based interventions, with English learner students:
- REL Southeast hosted a series of webinars on core principles of data-based problem solving, a three-tiered instructional intervention model, and data evaluation to promote literacy success.
- REL West hosted a webinar that provided information on promising practices and research-based strategies for providing multi-tiered student supports in mathematics.
Other evidence-based resources
- REL Central hosted a recent webinar on leveraging community partnerships to address unfinished learning in grades K–3 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- REL Pacific hosted an event on strategies to support educators in implementing reading across the content areas for all students, including English learner students and students with disabilities.
- REL Midwest recently hosted a webinar that provides early childhood educators with effective strategies to help students develop reading skills efficiently during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
- REL Midwest collaborated with the Michigan Department of Education to create a series of easy-to-use guides designed to help families, afterschool providers, and other caregivers support children in kindergarten through grade 3 with early reading instruction and early math instruction.
- A REL Southwest infographic highlights individual learning plan practices that studies have linked to improved student academic performance, engagement, and metacognition.
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