Teaching Matters Introduces Digital Badges for Teacher-Leaders

Teaching Matters, a nonprofit that focuses on improving teacher effectiveness, will launch a pilot program in which it gives "micro-credentials" to teachers who demonstrate the skills necessary to improve student achievement and sustain effective instruction in urban schools.

Teaching Matters will offer the micro-credentials, "digital badges," in a pilot program involving 150 teachers in New York City schools that will have meta-data embedded in them to provide evidence of the teachers' expertise and capacity to lead.

At the heart of the program will be a process that involves recruiting potential teacher-leaders, coaching, observing the teachers at work and data collection.

It is one of several programs the nonprofit is involved in to support teachers in urban school districts, primarily New York City.

The micro-credentialing pilot for teacher-leaders was announced October 22 at the Council of Great City Schools (CGCS) annual conference in Milwaukee. CGCS is an association of the 100 largest school districts in the United States that brings together superintendents and policy makers from urban areas to share best practices.

Teaching Matters' micro-credentialing program will join other programs it has developed over the last 20 years to assist teacher-leaders who can then pass on their best practices and skills to their colleagues. It includes the nonprofit's:

  • Teaching for Impact program, which identifies the leaders in 200 New York City schools and helps them create professional learning communities at their schools;
  • Writing Matters program, which is grounded in the best practices for writing instruction; and
  • Voices and Choices, which introduces students to the foundations, issues and responsibilities of democracy and citizenship via an annual citywide Civil Rights Summit or Constitution Today Town Meeting.

About the Author

Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.

Featured

  • classroom scene with students gathered around a laptop showing a virtual tour interface

    Discovery Education Announces Spring Lineup of Free Virtual Field Trips

    This Spring, Discovery Education is collaborating with partners such as Warner Bros., DC Comics, National Science Foundation, NBA, and more to present a series of free virtual field trips for K-12 students.

  • glowing padlock shape integrated into a network of interconnected neon-blue lines and digital nodes, set against a soft, blurred geometric background

    3 in 4 Administrators Expect a Security Incident to Impact Their School This Year

    In an annual survey from education identity platform Clever, 74% of administrators admitted that they believe a security incident is likely to impact their school system in the coming year. That's up from 71% who said the same last year.

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • pattern of icons for math and reading, including a pi symbol, calculator, and open book

    HMH Launches Personalized Path Solution

    Adaptive learning company HMH has introduced HMH Personalized Path, a K-8 ELA and math product that combines intervention curriculum, adaptive practice, and assessment for students of all achievement levels.