presentations

2022

1. Goal Setting: Empowering Learners to Own Their Learning

   Nordengren, Chase

   Presented at the FETC annual meeting

   Abstract

   A growing body of research shows how setting and working toward individual goals offer students the opportunity to take ownership over their own learning, relate what they’re studying to their long-term ambitions, and experience success regardless of how below or above grade level their current knowledge sits. Educational technologies play a valuable role in goal setting by creating learning environments where students can reflect on their learning, receive scaffolded opportunities for practice, and differentiate learning activities in busy classrooms. This session will make clear connections between the components of effective student goal setting and the educational technologies that can help teachers make this practice a reality.

2. Using Goals to Build Reader Resilience: Connecting to What Readers Care About

   Nordengren, Chase

   Keynote for Nevada Read by Grade 3 Literacy Summit

   Abstract

   The COVID-19 era represents interrupted learning: not just closed schools, but reduced access to the intellectual, social, and emotional resources schools provide. With students returning to school, they’re likely to face new reading challenges and need support to develop the resiliency to preserve through challenging texts. Setting student goals helps provide the story of why reading matters and how all readers can be successful. This talk will describe how goals help create relevance by tying an immediate reading goal to a student’s long-term ambitions and interests, allow teachers to identify appropriate texts by balancing current reading level with ambition, use students’ interests to “jumpstart” accelerated reading, and support wisely using assessments to monitor student progress. The work of rebuilding student skills is a long-term project: goals provide the hook that will allow students to persevere.

3. Using Goal Setting to Drive Growth and Empower Learners

   Nordengren, Chase

   Presented at the ESEA annual meeting

   Abstract

   Working with students to set clear, achievable academic goals has been shown to accelerate learning, promote student ownership and autonomy, and create relevance across subject area and grade level. This session connects research on student goal setting with exercises for teachers and leaders designed to highlight how informal and frequent goals can empower all types of students. Building on a new book published through Corwin Press, the session will introduce the key principles of effective goal setting and will provide ample opportunities for participants to adapt sample tools and techniques to suit their own instructional practice, particularly to increase motivation and ownership among underserved student communities. For this audience, goal setting will be highlighted as a particularly efficient and meaningful way to build cultural relevance, focus on student growth alongside proficiency, and drive acceleration in the aftermath of pandemic-driven unfinished learning.

2021

1. Why Do We Grade?

   Guskey, Thomas R.; and Nordengren, Chase

   Post for The Continuing Educator

   Abstract URL Audio

   Let’s begin our journey towards better grading practices! Grades have remained a fundamental component of our education system for over a century. Yet despite shifts across so many other areas of educational practice, grading practices have seen little, if any, change to match the demands of modern pedagogy. The pandemic revealed stark flaws in traditional grading protocols and simultaneously presented a profound opportunity for actual change. What should educators, families, and society in general consider around why change is needed and where to begin?

2. Assessing Student Work Online

   Nordengren, Chase; Swistak, Derrick; Giardina, Tracey; and Spadin, Melissa.

   Webinar for Learning Forward

   Abstract URL Video

   For this webinar, we will discuss resources and professional learning supports for educators who are engaged in virtual or hybrid teaching and adjusting assessment practices to online learning. We will focus on topics like changes to grading (including not grading); adapting strategies like checks for understanding and exit tickets to the online environment; monitoring/assessing class participation; adjusting rubrics and late policies; and similar issues.

3. Serving Student Needs: The Role of Formative Assessment in Hybrid Learning

   Nordengren, Chase; and Mabry, Brooke.

   Presented at the California Charter Schools Association annual meeting

   Abstract URL Video

   Explore using formative assessment tools to understand what students are ready to learn in constantly evolving educational environments. Drawing on best practices for in-person and hybrid instructional environments, we’ll discuss building scaffolded and differentiated instruction to both meet students where they are and push them to achieve mastery. You will reflect on your context and consider ways to tailor your approach given where your school and community sit in this world of flux.

4. Using Student Goals for Growth and Mastery in the COVID Educational Era

   Nordengren, Chase; and Mabry, Brooke.

   Presented at the California Charter Schools Association annual meeting

   Abstract URL

   It’s never been more important to help students set goals that are meaningful, realistic, and inspire them to own their learning. In this session, we’ll share NWEA tools for setting long-term goals using MAP Growth scores, and how short-term goal setting practices can support robust and authentic learning throughout the school year. You’ll engage in a hands-on experience where you’ll work through exercises and scenarios to prepare you for setting goals with your own students.

5. Student Goal Setting, with Chase Nordengren and Amanda Thornton

   Nordengren, Chase; and Thornton, Amanda.

   Post for The Continuing Educator

   Abstract URL Audio

   For our final episode on student agency, we thought it was time to help our students set some better goals. So, we brought in Chase Nordengren, senior research scientist at NWEA and author of the forthcoming book, Step Into Student Goal Setting (Corwin, Jan 2022). He’s joined by 3rd grade teacher and education innovator Amanda Thornton to discuss how goal setting, with clear learning intentions and plenty of scaffolded support by teachers, can lead to high learning growth and more student agency. As always, there are plenty of tips, actionable strategies, and stories from the classroom. Thank you for joining us this season!

6. Goal Setting: Unlocking Student Ownership with Tools That Empower Learners

   Nordengren, Chase

   Presented at the New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education annual meeting

   Abstract

   A growing body of research shows how setting and working toward individual goals offer students the opportunity to take ownership over their own learning, relate what they’re studying to their long-term ambitions, and experience success regardless of how below or above grade level their current knowledge sits. While mentoring students through setting their own goals is a key practice in 21st century learning, teachers with large class sizes and limited resources can struggle to create opportunities for students to develop the individual learning plans best for them. Educational technologies play a valuable role in goal setting by creating learning environments where students can reflect on their learning, receive scaffolded opportunities for practice, and differentiate learning activities in busy classrooms.

2020

1. A Joint Panel Discussion with Corwin Authors and NWEA Researchers: Leading Instruction and Assessment from a Distance

   Fisher, Douglas; Frey, Nancy; Hattie, John; Nordengren, Chase; and Smith, Dominique.

   Webinar for Corwin

   Abstract URL

   How do we know if students are learning from a distance? Leveraging evidence of learning in meeting every student’s needs during this uncertain time is a critical component to your successful distance learning teaching and learning plan. Corwin and NWEA are proud to present a special panel discussion with Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Hattie, and Chase Nordengren on the school leader’s role in leading instruction and assessment in distance learning. Join moderator Dominique Smith as we discuss how schools can use specific instructional strategies and assessment tools to meet the needs of students and teachers both in the classroom and as part of the remote learning environment to help close learning gaps, restore greater equity, and get all kids back on track towards reaching their highest growth potential. Participants will: - Gain practical strategies for supporting teachers in delivering effective distance learning, including professional learning, instructional supervision, and mindframes for leaders - Understand how remote delivered assessments can be a source of valuable information to inform instruction - Learn the role of assessments in locating students in their learning journey and how goal setting helps them plan where they want to go

2. Making It Work: Formative Assessment in Virtual Instruction

   Nordengren, Chase

   Presented at the New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education annual meeting

   Abstract URL Video

   If teaching is an art, then formative assessment—the planned, ongoing processes used to elicit and use evidence of student learning—is one of its fundamentals. During this singular moment in the lives of students, it has never been more important to understand student learning in the moment and use that understanding to drive instruction. As our research has shown, the learning gaps between students that will emerge during this period will likely be substantial. What we don’t know is how this crisis will affect those students individually: where specifically students may fall behind and the specific content they will need to catch up. Formative assessment can help bridge the gaps in our understanding by going deep into what students know and can do, and providing students the opportunity to collaborate on the next steps in completing their unfinished learning.

3. Survey Methods to Measure Professional Learning’s Impact

   Nordengren, Chase

   Presented at the Learning Forward annual meeting

   Abstract URL Video

   Surveys are one of the most common tools available to measure the impacts of professional learning, but haphazard survey design can render their data inaccurate or misleading. This session focuses on best practices for designing a survey using Guskey’s model of PL effectiveness, presenting a validated measure of knowledge, skills and attitudes changed by professional learning. Participants will leave with an itemized set of outcomes to focus their own surveys.

2018

1. Assessing Social-Emotional Learning: A Guide for the Perplexed

   Nordengren, Chase

   Presented at the Schools of the Future annual meeting

   Abstract URL Video

   A growing movement among educators, policymakers, and researchers seeks to better understand social-emotional learning (SEL): the inter- and intra-personal skills, mindsets, and dispositions that influence how students learn. NWEA has pioneered unique research in this space, including an assessment measuring how students’ relationships and mindsets support their learning. This session will discuss what NWEA has learned through use of this instrument , how teachers and administrators use SEL data, and what is coming next in SEL assessment. You’ll leave the session with a clear understanding of where the field is headed, and how to best work with students now to improve their attitudes toward learning.

2014

1. Preparing School Leaders for Every Student’s Learning

   Bellamy, G. Thomas; Crockett, Jean B.; and Nordengren, Chase

   Interview with
2. Identification of School Leaders in Small-n Cases Using Qualitative and Quantitative Network Analysis

   Nordengren, Chase

   In American Educational Research Association

   Abstract

   Social network analysis’ concern with describing interdependent ties and constraints among individuals is promising for studying distributed leadership in schools. Network data can be analyzed qualitatively, quantitatively, or both. This paper examines a set of network data collected in a qualitative study on leadership in a dual language elementary school through qualitative analysis, principal selection, indegree centrality, and betweenness. It finds divergence between qualitative and quantitative analytic techniques, suggesting the need for strong theoretical support for particular analytic techniques.

2013

1. What Internship Experiences Support Principal-Candidate Learning?

   Bellamy, G. Thomas; Nordengren, Chase; Portin, Bradley S.; and Hopkins, Pam.

   In University Council for Educational Administration Annual Convention

   Abstract

   Purpose and Rationale: School-based internships are typically rated by principal candidates among the most helpful aspects of their preparation programs, but often also considered the least well developed. Despite some consensus about important features of the internship, the field lacks significant empirically supported knowledge about specific practical experiences and performance contexts that support candidate learning in their internship assignments. Working within skill-based conceptions of leadership, which assume that critical capabilities can be learned, researchers outside of education address similar questions under the broad topic of job- based leadership development and leadership self-development. This paper integrates literature from this job-based leadership development research tradition with previous studies of principal internships to frame a set of questions and propose methods for in-depth research on the responsibilities, contexts, and supports associated with principal internships and related school- based leadership development Methods and Data Sources: Four consecutive cohorts of candidates (48 students) in the University of Washington Bothell’s principal preparation program completed a questionnaire at the conclusion of their program. The questionnaire asked candidates to identify specific responsibilities in their internship that were particularly important in contributing to their leadership development and a set of responsibilities that were less helpful. Candidates were then asked to select one responsibility from each list and answer a set of questions related to that responsibility. Questions were adapted from existing measures of job-based leadership challenges, with additional project-developed questions about relationship to the academic program Findings: Quantitative data suggests strong positive relationships between the developmental value of an experience and degree of both challenge and feedback. Qualitative data analysis focuses on the characteristics of responsibilities identified as more and less developmental by candidates, providing both validation and caveats for familiar recommendations about the content of internship assignments. Conclusions: Much current discussion of internship activities focuses on whether intern assignments are authentically related to principal leadership, rather than more routine managerial tasks. Our research suggests a more nuanced view of what activities support leadership development. While content of the activity is important, emerging leaders also identify other aspects of activities as important to their learning, including the level of challenge the activity provides for the individual and the extent to which feedback is available.

2. Connecting Culture and Collective Leadership: Examining the Current Literature

   Nordengren, Chase

   In American Educational Research Association
3. Models of Organizational Culture: Markets, Hierarchies and Networks in the Educational Leadership Case Literature

   Nordengren, Chase

   In University Council for Educational Administration

2012

1. Collective Leadership Models in Educational Research: Towards a Focus on Theories of Action

   Nordengren, Chase

   In University Council for Educational Administration Annual Convention

   Abstract

   Background: Many models of educational leadership share a focus on collective action, in which teams of leaders utilize regular practices and routines to improve student outcomes. While consensus is forming in the research community around the use of collective models of leadership as a lens, researchers frequently cite a disconnect between leadership practices as studied and school improvement. Methodology: This literature review seeks to examine how quantitative and qualitative studies on collective leadership models conceptualize leadership influence on student outcomes. An inclusive approach gathered 73 relevant studies from 2000 to the present. A subgroup of 27 studies, containing both multiple leaders and a direct or indirect link to student outcomes, are analyzed in greater detail. Findings: Studies which identified a clear theory of action, resulting in improved student outcomes, produced the strongest findings. Three general theories of action are considered: leadership which enhances a school’s ability to improve, leadership which creates shared school culture and leadership which re-designs teachers’ work. These theories of action share three common features: the development of a common language, employing multiple levers of simultaneous change and promoting a collective focus on instruction. Conclusion: In keeping with other work, this review finds that relatively few studies in the field connect leadership activities with student outcomes and, of those that do, wide variation exists in leadership effects, in part based on how researchers understand leadership activities.

2009

1. Social Capital in Urban Public Schools Leadership

   Nordengren, Chase

   The Dialectics