Author | Lightnews

Rhonda Hewer

@rhondahewer.bsky.social

350 followers 1.1K following 55 posts

MEd, Lecturer @WLU, Math Consultant @WRDSB, Learner, @LeadandDesign Fellow, Master of Creative Disobedience and Disruption, Adventure Seeker, Hiker, Kayaker

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Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jan 30

Exciting news! @wrdsb.bsky.social #mathfacilitators have revamped math long range plans for a tiered approach throughout the school year. Check out the updated plans here, full of useful resources: sites.google.com/wrdsb.ca/math-… and learn more about the tiered approach in this vide#EDUskyky

WRDSB Tiered Approach In Mathematics

YouTube video by Rhonda Hewer

www.youtube.com

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Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Sep 20

Just finished watching the Lilith Fair documentary on CBC Gem, what a beautiful tribute to women’s talent, artistry, and courage. 💜✨
It captured how music became a supportive space to break barriers, lift each other up, and change the industry. Truly inspiring. #LilithFair #WomenInMusic

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Sep 4

Thank you to @wr-dsb.bsky.social #MathFacilitators for this gr8 idea. Ss in random groups of 4 got to know each other by creating a WODB about themselves.
1 thing unique to you
1 thing unique to two of you
1 thing unique to three of you
1 thing that all 4 of you have in common
#mtbos #edusky

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Sep 4

Started Day 1 in a sharing circle. As I suspected, Ss were shy to share. It became more of a community circle and allowed them to ask qs about a new school and being in Gr 7.
Tomorrow I am going to focus on talking about intelligent failure and psychological safety.
#edusky #eduskychat #mtbos

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Sep 3

Here we go! Day 1 of the school year. Leaning into the discomfort of starting the year with blank walls and no desks! New school = construction zone and limited supplies - kind of forces you to rethink how we can do this differently!
#edusky #mtbos #eduskychat

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Sep 1

🧵4/4
As coaches, we can make the biggest impact not by giving teachers everything at once, but by breaking "all things" into manageable steps, focusing only on 1 or 2 areas at a time and providing detailed year, unit, and/or lesson samples.

#SoMuchToLearn #EduSky #EduCoach #EduSkyChat

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Sep 1

🧵3/4
This experience has been a powerful reminder: when we coach, we sometimes forget just how many moving parts teachers are juggling, especially when they’re new to a subject or grade.

#EduSky #EduCoach #EduSkyChat

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Sep 1

🧵2/4
I have spent my summer immersed in research, resources, and planning. But the sheer amount of “what to know” is overwhelming: curriculum expectations, essential skills, success criteria, quality texts, assessment plans… the list goes on.

#EduSky #EduCoach #EduSkyChat

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Sep 1

🧵1/4
This goes out to my fellow instructional coaches: I’m teaching Intermediate Language this year for the first time in my career.

Even with years of experience in coaching, I’ve been reminded how it feels to be new to a subject, a grade, or even to teaching.

#EduSky #EduCoach #EduSkyChat

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jul 2

How did all this fit in a cubicle?! 11 years of collecting ideas, books, tools, and treasures. Grateful for all I’ve learned from brilliant educators. Headed back to the classroom to explore cross-curricular learning + assessment in the messy middle years.
#edusky
#eduskychat
#eduskyAU
#mtbos

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 26

These two educators are so amazing.
They continue to inspire me by the opportunities they provide students to flourish while learning and practicing #transferableskills

#EduSky
#EduSkyChat
#EduSkyChatAU

Creative Disruptors Edu @creativedisruptors.bsky.social · Jun 26

G7 @GrohPS Collaborated with artist Sandra Dunn on a #designthinking journey exploring:
“How might we tell the stories of our community through public art?”

From empathy to ideation to Forging Legacies this final piece is a celebration of voices made visible.

sites.google.com/u/0/d/1362Lj...

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 20

It’s Friday.

5 days to go.

Every kid walking through our classroom door is carrying a story—unfinished, evolving, worthy.

Let’s meet them with eyes that see growth, not grades.

Let’s end the year the way we hope they begin the next:
Confident. Curious. Connected.

#EduSky
#EndStrong

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Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 19

"He just needs to try harder."

Or maybe... he just needs the right access point.

#EduSky
#mtbos
#iteachmath
#TieredSupport
#MathForAll

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 19

One assessment. Many ways to show thinking.

Access ≠ lowering the bar.

#EduSky
#EquitableAssessment
#mtbos
#iteachmath

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 10

Sounds lovely

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 9

Right. And that is the point I would like to dive deeper into.
Don’t get me wrong, I would love to live in a world where grades and marks are not necessary. I am just wondering if, given the current system we have that demands grades, is there a better way to make them work for learning? 🤷‍♀️

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 9

Totally hear that. But I wonder what the instructional moves were after the students received the mark. In transparent, iterative systems, could grades land differently? Also, aside from the Gr6 study Boaler cites, is there newer research involving progressive classrooms that explores this nuance?

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 9

11/🧵
I don’t know… it’s a morning rant about one of the things I want to explore when I return to the classroom in September
But am super curious about what others in the education world are thinking/doing…!

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 9

10/🧵
Unfortunately, grades are a true reality of our current system and society. We need to provide them twice a year and parents and post secondary rely on them. Until the system changes, I am curious if there is a way to use them productively.

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 9

9/🧵
So maybe the question isn’t: Should we go gradeless?
Maybe it’s: Should we build transparent, flexible systems where grades inform learning, not end it?

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 9

8/🧵
In the traditional model, a grade feels like a black box. Students don’t know how it was calculated or if it’s even changeable. It’s static. Final. That’s the problem.

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 9

7/🧵
What if the real issue isn’t the grade itself… but the lack of transparency around it? If students clearly understand:
✅ How they got the grade
✅ What they can do to change it
✅ How it fits into the overall grade
✅ That they can try again
Would that shift the impact?

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 9

6/🧵
But in a progressive classroom, where students get multiple opportunities to revisit and grow, does the grade still carry the same weight? Or could it actually support the learning if handled right?

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 9

5/🧵
That research often looked at traditional models where a grade = final judgment. One chance. One shot. The mark is a dead end, not a launchpad. That is demotivating.

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 9

4/🧵
Now… I know the research. Grades alone don’t drive learning. Feedback without grades? Much more effective. But I wonder… if that research would be different in a more progressive model of instruction

Rhonda Hewer @rhondahewer.bsky.social · Jun 9

3/🧵
Parents who aren’t educators might not understand what “developing” means. If their child isn’t “proficient” yet, they may not know how to help. Or even realize their child can improve. That’s a big risk.