Teaching to the Standard: Breaking It Down and Building It Up

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In this episode, Ashley and Dan sit down with Juliana Coleman, an experienced science educator and instructional coach, to discuss how to effectively teach to a standard while ensuring students develop deeper understanding rather than just memorizing facts. 

Juliana breaks down common misconceptions about rigor, explains how to analyze standards to scaffold learning, and shares practical strategies for helping students think critically. 

Whether you're struggling to move beyond surface-level teaching or looking for ways to differentiate instruction while maintaining high expectations, this episode has insights for you.

Key Topics Covered:

• The misconceptions of rigor—why it’s not about more work or moving faster.
• How to break down a standard into manageable steps and scaffold learning.
• The importance of prior knowledge and addressing misconceptions before diving into instruction.
• Using Hess’s Rigor Matrix and Bloom’s Taxonomy to ensure students reach the intended depth of knowledge.
• Why students should be active participants in learning, not passive observers.
• How collaboration among teachers can help clarify standards and improve instruction.

Resources Mentioned:

• Hess’s Rigor Matrix —a tool for determining the depth of knowledge required for a standard.
• Lesson Planning Checklist —Juliana’s guide to ensuring lessons align with the rigor of the standard.

Quotable Moments:

• “Rigor isn’t about giving students more work—it’s about the type of thinking we ask them to do.” — Juliana Coleman
• “The person doing the talking is doing the learning.” — Juliana Coleman
• “If we scaffold down to help students but never scaffold back up, we’re not meeting the standard.” — Juliana Coleman

Don’t Miss:

• Ashley’s realization: How focusing on the verb in the standard can change lesson planning.
• Dan’s concept mapping strategy for planning instruction, identifying misconceptions, and assessing learning.
• Juliana’s best advice for differentiation—when to model, when to let students take the lead and how to adjust based on student needs.

Want to take your teaching to the next level? Listen in for strategies you can apply right away!

The Southern Regional Education Board is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with states and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce.

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