Cris Tovani and Samantha Bennett: So What Do They Know? Interview, Part Two

Author and educator Samantha Bennett interviews Cris Tovani about SO WHAT DO THEY REALLY KNOW? Cris's long-awaited new book from Stenhouse Publishers.

So What Do They Really Know? is available now from Stenhouse:

www.stenhouse.com/0730.asp

Samantha and Cris have also created a new website which includes articles and their schedule for professional development:

www.LiteracyLabs.org

About the book:

In So What Do They Really Know? Cris Tovani explores the complex issue of monitoring, assessing, and grading students' thinking and performance with fairness and fidelity. Like all teachers, Cris struggles to balance her student-centered instruction with school system mandates. Her recommendations are realistic and practical; she understands that what isn't manageable isn't sustainable.

Cris describes the systems and structure she uses in her own classroom and shows teachers how to use assessments to monitor student growth and provide targeted feedback that enables students to master content goals. She also shares ways to bring students into the assessment cycle so they can monitor their own learning, maximizing motivation and engagement.

So What Do They Really Know? includes a wealth of information:

Lessons from Cris's classroom
Templates showing how teachers can use the workshop model to assess and differentiate instruction
Student work, including samples from linguistically diverse learners, struggling readers, and college-bound seniors
Anchor charts of student thinking
Ideas on how to give feedback
Guidelines that explain how conferring is different from monitoring
Suggestions for assessing learning and differentiating instruction during conferences
Advice for managing ongoing assessment

Cris's willingness to share her own struggles continues to be a hallmark of her work. Teachers will recognize their own students and the challenges they face as they join Cris on the journey to figure out how to raise student achievement.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• cris tovani
• samantha bennett
• teaching
• assessment
• so what do they really know
• new cris tovani
• stenhouse publishers
• middle school
• high school