UnboundEd Blog

Find the latest research, commentary, and resources to empower educators and help all students meet the challenges of higher standards.

Reflecting on the 5 Charges

This past year, we’ve asked thousands of educators from across the country to stand with us at the intersection of equity and standards work. We asked them to look for the justice we all seek in the details of teaching and learning. Each time we gather at the Standards Institute, we start the week by examining the growing body of …

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The Profound Effects of Language in Both ELA and Math

How do we get students to engage authentically—to genuinely desire to communicate their ideas—in both ELA and math? This is a central question in Dr. Timothy Shanahan’s and Dr. Jeff Zwiers’ keynotes at the summer Standards Institute. United by a desire to improve student outcomes across the country, Shanahan and Zwiers implored participants to examine the role that language, specifically …

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Leadership and Equity

Conversations about equity often stay in the schoolhouse. The conversation might happen in an afternoon PD session, or it might be a one-on-one discussion with a colleague. But how often do we bring the conversation about equity to the communities in which we serve? More important, have we considered the context of our times and current public opinion of schools? …

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Final Thoughts from Standards Institute

Throughout last week, educators attending the Winter 2018 Standards Institute took a deep dive into the standards and were charged to confront themselves and the biases that show up not only in their instruction but the education system they support. As the conference came to a close, here are just some of the epiphanies they left with:         …

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Educating Mitchell: A Tale of Undoing Bias and a Charge for Change

How often do you think about your privilege and how it may come across in the classroom? Implicit bias is prevalent in our schools, and most times, Black and Latino students bear the brunt of the bias that lives in all of us. In this keynote address from our Summer 2017 Standards Institute, Kristen Ehlman and Lacey Robinson discuss how …

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