Raising the Rigor

This book shares instructional practices that educators can use to respond to students' diverse needs as they develop 21st century skills. Choose complex thinking strategies to best help students expand their knowledge and skills, and positively impact students' academic success. Use questioning techniques to build connections between students and their learning by encouraging students to have advanced discussions, collaborate, and take risks in the classroom. Explore example situations, templates, and strategies of quality practices in assessment design to promote students' higher-order thinking skills and deepen their engagement. Benefits Discover how questioning can promote the traits that students need to succeed in college and their careers. Provide supports that help students reach deep levels of understanding with questioning structures to engage higher-order thinking. Explore how to deconstruct standards and standards-based questions to write quality questions that align with academic expectations. Create a classroom climate that fosters collaboration and constructive discussions. Use templates, surveys, and checklists to plan instruction, deconstruct academic standards, assess student engagement, and collect data. Contents Chapter 1: Using Questioning Strategies in the Classroom Chapter 2: Concentrating on Higher-Order Thinking Skills Chapter 3: Developing Effective Assessments Chapter 4: Ensuring Student Success With Complex Questions Chapter 5: Encouraging Traits to Attain College and Career Readiness Chapter 6: Encouraging Student Involvement Chapter 7: Growing Students' Ability to Ask Questions That Matter Chapter 8: Creating Standards-Based Questions and Tasks Epilogue: Pulling It All Together References and Resources