To increase the academic rigor of your classroom, you must begin with the end in mind and set a rigorous bar for what your students should know and be able to do. But once you set that bar, how do you get them to meet it? We must ensure that our students are the ones doing the thinking – the talking, the working, and the answering of tough questions – not us. We must take every opportunity to "stretch" our students and push them aggressively toward the rigorous end goal we have in mind.

First up in this course, you'll learn the critical attributes of rigorous instruction. Then, you'll zoom in on five concrete rigorous instructional strategies – "Ratio," "Take a Stand," "Stretch It," Chalk Talk, and Reciprocal Teaching. In your final in-person session, you'll have the opportunity to practice implementing these strategies with your colleagues.