Clarity for Learning: Five Essential Practices That Empower Students and Teachers

About John T. AlmarodeKara L. Vandas

Dr. John Almarode is a bestselling author and an Associate Professor of Education at James Madison University. He was awarded the inaugural Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship in 2015 and received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia in 2021. Before his academic career John started as a mathematics and science teacher in Augusta County Virginia. As an author John has written multiple educational books focusing on science and mathematics and he has co-created a new framework for developing implementing and sustaining professional learning communities called PLC+. Dr. Almarodes work has been presented to the US Congress the Virginia Senate and the US Department of Education. One of his recent projects includes developing the Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.Continuing his collaborative work with colleagues on what works best in teaching and learning How Tutoring Works Visible Learning in Early Childhood and How Learning Works all with Corwin Press were released in 2021. Kara Vandas is an educator with an enduring passion for empowering learners. She began her career in education at an alternative school for youth at-risk. Kara spent several more years in the classroom in public education as a middle and high school educator and then transitioned to coaching and professional learning positions that allowed her to support teachers and leaders. Her current role as an author and consultant takes her around the world to partner with schools and school districts.  She also presents nationally and internationally at conferences with a focus on learner agency and efficacy. Kara is the co-author of Partnering with Students: Building Ownership of Learning and holds a Masters degree of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Regis University. She has worked in K-12 education for nearly 20 years with a focus in instruction curriculum design using data to drive instruction science education learning environments formative assessment Visible Learning and more. She also volunteers as a board member at her childs local school where she and her family live in Castle Rock Colorado. She loves the outdoors and spends much of her free time with family and friends.