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Core Practice Recipes

These are the recipes that we have designed and tested in collaboration with multiple partner districts in multiple networks in multiple states. They are the core recipes we use for maintaining cognitive demand.

They embody the shift in mental model away from "The teacher's job is to be maximally helpful" to "The teacher's job is to maintain cognitive demand."

Handout

HEAT Research Summary

This handout is a condensed description of the research we drew on to propose the HEAT—Heuristic for Equitable and Adaptive Teaching—as a powerful set of simple rules to guide instructional practice.

White Paper

From Model 1 to Model 2: 

Reframing Instruction for Equity & Learning

This paper describes the kind of shift in teaching that we would like to see happen— away from "Model 1", in which the teacher moderates the flow and pace of learning, frequently towards some students and away from others— to "Model 2", in which ALL students are asked to think about challenging ideas and to figure out answers to worthy questions.

Handout
Common Patterns in American Classrooms 

Our colleague Richard Lemons wrote this description of what the research tells us are prevalent types of instruction in American schools. This represents the kind of teaching that we are trying to move away from. The handout can be used as a launchpad for rich conversation about what teaching looks like in your school or district, and what you would like to see instead.

White Paper

HQI Live!

This case study, created by our colleague Sarah Birkeland, documents the extensive and persistent work that our partner district, Milford, Connecticut, has undertaken to create a unique professional learning experience for all the educators in the district. It allows leadership teams to reimagine what it means to create a shared understanding of high quality instruction.