Educational Book – Softening the Edges by Katie White
July 2018
Educational Book – Softening the Edges by Katie White
All Maple Lane teaching staff will be reading a copy of Katie Whites book called Softening the Edges. Softening the Edges is a book that prompts educators to take a hard look at how they view and use assessment. Katie encourages teachers to use assessment strategies in a formative manner as they look at their students’ learning. She suggests educators start to plan for student learning in their classroom by first recognizing the strengths of individual students and the class as a whole. Once a teacher knows what students can do and where they are in their learning journey, the students and teacher can make a plan for learning. Formative assessment is ongoing in a classroom. The students and teacher are continuously examining what students understand. Together, they set goals and make plans about what a student or a class will learn and improve upon, then they identify how they will achieve these goals. The path towards these goals is not always straightforward and easy, so continual formative assessment is needed by the teacher and the students. Maple Lane teachers will be using the ideas in Katie White’s book to inform their practice in the 2018/2019 school year. Katie White’s book is timely for teachers at Maple Lane, as it connects well to our focus on ePortfolios and to our overall goal of developing a Growth Mindset in our students. A mindset in our students that reminds them their progress and learning is a journey - and that with hard work, determination and a solid understanding of where they are on their journey, they can achieve their goals.