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r Teaching methods All educators at Aspire Public Schools use a variety of pedagogical strategies to ensure all students learn and grow continuously. Strategies are selected based on the teacher's knowledge of how students best learn different topics, and are usually used in combination. Each subject area also includes subject-specific variations on these basic categories. The major strategies used include: • Explidt instruction:in this traditional form of teaching, the teacher presents the lesson, which includes: a purpose;specific instructions;modeling,guided practice; and checking for understanding. At the conclusion, students individually demonstrate their new skills or knowledge. • Massed and Distributed Practice. this retention strategy provides students with many opportunities to practice new skills upon initial learning. Practice is then distributed over the course of many months to increase the retention of previously learning skills and knowledge. • Problem solving: this method provides students with astep-by-step process for determining the solution. • Inquiry:in this process, students are presented with a discrepant problem, and formulate and test theories to work towards a solution Technology At Aspire, technology is used as a tool for research, communication,and production—just as it is in everyday life. Each classroom has three to five computers with Internet access. Students exercise their higher-order thinking skills through simulations and presentations, their communication and production skills through electronic mail and publishing, and their research skills through use of electronic references, including the Internet. Bilingual education To meet the needs of English Language Learners, Aspire has added a number of bilingual in building on students' culture, language and teaching strategies to its core program, experiences;using dual-language strategies;teaching the second language through content, practicing English cooperative problem-solving groups;and allowing community language; norms in informal learning situations; and using computers and peer tutors to enhance language. Assessment At Aspire Public Schools, assessment is a critical tool for observing individual student progress, determining the efficacy aed nors, and esingle gessment pro the success of desthe program as a whole. Multiple assessmentsre usbecause sufficient information on students' learning regarding all three outcomes. Aspire students are assessed through: • All standardized tests required for traditional public schools that are mandated in the California Education Code (including STAR;Golden State Exam)3; 'The growing emphasis on norm-reference tests is much debated.Educationally,standardized tests are only a single indicator of ...,c._in hacic skills:however,they are regarded by employers and policymakers as broadly meaningful. Aspire Public Schools