White Papers for Our World

Cartoon image of Professor Bill with magic wand

Welcome to the Castle Learning Online “White Papers page.” We educators deal with fundamental educational principles that guide our teaching every day. As president of Castle Software and a retired educator who has met you in the field and shared experiences with you, I have created a series of "White Papers," each designed to focus on a key issue engaging the educator and the education community. Our goal at Castle Software is to partner with educators as they face the challenges of today's education.
   –Professor Bill

Click on each title to explore a fundamental educational principle or key issues.

 Formative Assessment & Castle Learning Online
 Formative assessment is not an “event,” but a “process.”

Mastery Learning & Castle Learning Online
 Students have a higher level of achievement by using mastery learning techniques.

Response to Intervention, Universal Screening, and Student Progress Monitoring & Castle Learning Online
 Children can be given a chance to grow into successful students.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) & Castle Learning Online
 Setting challenging content can impact performance standards that raise achievement levels.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) & Castle Learning Online
 In the process of defining AYPs, progress for specified subgroups of students must be met.

Benchmarks & Castle Learning Online
 Benchmarks, also known as standards, define the levels students should demonstrate.

Credit Recovery & Castle Learning Online
 Credit recovery programs are being used as to address at-risk students and dropout rates.

Teaching for Understanding & Castle Learning Online
 Teaching for understanding can produce a wonderful experience for the student.

Scaffolding, Meta-cognition & Castle Learning Online
 It is a teacher’s dream to observe as students take on the responsibility of learning.

Team Teaching & Castle Learning Online
 Teams form within a single discipline, as interdisciplinary teams or as a school-within-a-school.

Interdisciplinary Curriculum & Castle Learning Online
 Interdisciplinary curriculum or integrated learning asks students to see connections among disciplines.

Best (and Effective) Practices & Castle Learning Online
 Exploring a variety of strategies and sharing the best with colleagues for excellence in the classroom.

Differentiating Instruction & Castle Learning Online
 Teachers who can educate with differentiating instruction leave the one-size-fits-all classroom behind.

The IEP (Individual Education Plan) & Castle Learning Online
 Teachers use CLO as an important component in writing an IEP and monitoring each student's progress toward learning the content for the academic year.

Elementary School Reading, ELA & Castle Learning Online
 English Language Arts skills, heavily tested by standardized exams, lay the foundation for middle school.

Elementary Math Education & Castle Learning Online
 Curriculum that engages students is a key to solving the nation's mathematics education problem.

Criterion- and Norm-Referenced Assessment & Castle Learning Online
 Teachers use CLO to constantly evaluate how well each student understands course content and to design effective remediation.

Teacher Certification & Castle Learning Online
 A tool designed to supplement the classroom experience for students has now been redefined by the adult users to help them achieve growth in their profession.

The Early College HS and Castle Learning Online
 Castle Learning Online provides innovative ways to deliver curriculum content that is a good fit with those who seek Early College experience.

The Lifelong Parent as Educator and Castle Learning Online
 Parents can make a positive contribution in their child's academic achievement when caring teachers and supportive administrators share Castle Learning Online with them.

The Critical “Basics” in the Classroom & Castle Learning Online
 Castle Learning Online is a quality learning tool boasting features that reinforce course content and engage students in the critical building blocks of learning.

Student Accountability, Classroom Behavior and Castle Learning Online
 The simplicity and structure of Castle Learning assignments engages students and helps them set goals that can be realistically achieved.

Gaming in Education and Castle Learning Online
 Castle’s carefully designed and powerful reviewing and assessment tools for educators. The results are measurable mastery of subject content, improved skills in reading and mathematics.