Hillary Procknow's blog

Two Goals, One Path: Why Interesting Work Makes for Better Test Scores

When the CRAfT team began meeting with teachers across Texas to provide professional development for the implementation of College Readiness Assignments (CRAs), a number of teachers expressed concern that, while using CRAs in their class appealed to them because the depth and scope of thinking they required was commensurate with their expectations for their students, these assignments might interfere with preparation for end-of-course exams.

Establishing Good Routines

Back-to-school season signals a fresh start with new students and a chance to try out lesson ideas that you’ve reflected on (and let’s be honest, obsessed over) during the summer. This is also the time that educators hear so much about the importance of establishing routines right from the start. Routines are not only a way to help keep order in class; they also free up space in your brain to make more important decisions.

Focus on Pedagogy: Developmental Courses and CRAs

This week continues our four-post series on pedagogy with a look at Developmental Education and the ways in which CRAs can be used to support remedial instruction. Hillary Procknow is part of the CRAfT team and teaches Developmental Integrated Reading and Writing at The University of Texas at Austin.

Focus on Pedagogy: Flipping the Classroom

This week we begin a four-post series on pedagogy. Through this series we will highlight specific pedgagogical techniques, strategies, and tips that highlight ways instructors are transforming student learning and using College Readiness Assignments (CRAs) to improve college and career readiness. This week’s guest post comes to us from Dr. Julie Schell, a scholar internationally known for her work in flipped classrooms and Peer Instruction.

Flipping the Classroom

Skills Every Student Needs: Critical Thinking

Today we begin a three-post series on a few important skills that every student needs to be successful. We will describe these skills and illustrate how CRAs can be used to further develop them. Today, we begin with critical thinking.

Science CRAs

This entry marks the fourth in a series of five blogs that will explore the College Readiness Assignments (CRAs) in each of the 5 subject areas in which they are housed.

This week, we are looking at the Science CRAs. Recent discussions about learning science suggest that thinking like a scientist is more than just memorizing definitions for cell structures or formulas for energy conversion. Thinking like a scientist is about investigating, asking questions, connecting ideas, and working through problems.

Math CRAs

This entry marks the third in a series of five blogs that will explore the College Readiness Assignments (CRAs) in each of the 5 subject areas in which they are housed.

As with all the College Readiness Assignments (CRAs) on CRAFTx.org, The Math CRAs address the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and the Texas Collage and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS).

Cross-Disciplinary CRAs

This entry marks the first in a series of five that will explore the College Readiness Assignments (CRAs) in each of the 5 subject areas for which they are available.

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