Domain III- Instruction and Assessment
Component 3a- Communication with Students
Students need clear communication in the classroom. I worked very hard at the beginning of the year to set up expectations, procedures, and give clear limits. Throughout the year, I have built on that by consistently using clearly written and understandable oral instructions for my students. I have made sure my discussions about expectations have been consistent with the school policy and I have taken time to build background, use actions and pictures, and break down the vocabulary used during lessons so that all students can access it.
Students need clear communication in the classroom. I worked very hard at the beginning of the year to set up expectations, procedures, and give clear limits. Throughout the year, I have built on that by consistently using clearly written and understandable oral instructions for my students. I have made sure my discussions about expectations have been consistent with the school policy and I have taken time to build background, use actions and pictures, and break down the vocabulary used during lessons so that all students can access it.
Expressive language is one of my passions. I love vocabulary and have tried to entice the students to use the vocabulary we come across during our reading by putting up a vocabulary wall. Students raise their hands during group read-alouds so we can write down and discuss the words they do not know. We then use actions and/or acting to explain the word in our own words. Students are also encouraged to find words in their own reading that we can add to the wall. It always impresses and excites me when I hear my students use the vocabulary we have discovered and that they have retained.
I believe that student reflection is KEY to helping them correct behaviors and grow. We recently, in 6th grade, had some foul language, sassing, and poor attitudes. I had students draft a goal-behavioral, social, or academic- and then sat with them individually throughout the next week to chat about it and plan action steps to achieve that goal. It has been greatly beneficial and I have seen an improvement in all areas in my classroom.
I also ALWAYS have the schedule on the board and deadlines so students know what is expected of them. I make myself available to them to listen, to give feedback, and to help them in their educational endeavors.
I also ALWAYS have the schedule on the board and deadlines so students know what is expected of them. I make myself available to them to listen, to give feedback, and to help them in their educational endeavors.
Component 3b- Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques
The quality of the questions and discussion techniques a teacher uses is the root of whether student participation is high or not. Questions have to be deep enough to promote higher thinking, but still understandable to learners of all backgrounds. Proper wait time, turn and talks, group engagement activities like conga lines, and sentence stems to prompt more meaningful thinking and comments are vital for clear and meaningful discussions.
I recently went to a staff development meeting on thinking about our thinking. I received a free poster, shown below, of some sentence frames that students can use. I created a whole group mini lesson on thinking deeply and using the sentence frames provided during lessons, independent time, and collaboration time. I am amazed at how quickly my students caught on and have continued to develop their higher level thinking skills. The poster on the left shows the math goals we work on. We pick a couple of them every week. For instance, “Solve a problem in more than one way” was one of our goals. When students understood the meaning of our thinking goal, they could connect that to thinking deeper in any subject area.
The quality of the questions and discussion techniques a teacher uses is the root of whether student participation is high or not. Questions have to be deep enough to promote higher thinking, but still understandable to learners of all backgrounds. Proper wait time, turn and talks, group engagement activities like conga lines, and sentence stems to prompt more meaningful thinking and comments are vital for clear and meaningful discussions.
I recently went to a staff development meeting on thinking about our thinking. I received a free poster, shown below, of some sentence frames that students can use. I created a whole group mini lesson on thinking deeply and using the sentence frames provided during lessons, independent time, and collaboration time. I am amazed at how quickly my students caught on and have continued to develop their higher level thinking skills. The poster on the left shows the math goals we work on. We pick a couple of them every week. For instance, “Solve a problem in more than one way” was one of our goals. When students understood the meaning of our thinking goal, they could connect that to thinking deeper in any subject area.
In my classroom, I encourage students to use the depth of knowledge vocabulary in their discussions. I keep words posted in the room and remind students where to look when they are formulating questions and/or responses. Really, CURIOSITY and ENERGY, are the driving forces behind any questioning. By making things engaging, my students naturally want to learn more about any subject, you just have to be excited and curious as a teacher.
Component 3c- Engaging Students in Learning
Like I mentioned above, I use a variety of strategies to engage students. I believe that students should have many opportunities with all the peers in the class. We have discussed that when we work with each other, and learn from one another, our learning deepens and we learn more than we would have alone.
I use conga lines, pair and shares, and drawing names as ways to mix up groups. I also put students in strategic as well as random small groups to have them work together as a team. I have had students do activities like creating and presenting posters for different names for numbers or explaining vocabulary terms (as shown in the picture below), discuss/write/show games, and assigning jobs to students within the small groups and having them collaborate that way.
To engage students while at the carpet, I make sure all students have time to answer by using “thinker fingers.” Students show me they are thinking by putting their finger to their heads and I can see they are at least trying to answer the question or problem posed. This is an excellent way for them to concentrate on thinking deeply.
Like I mentioned above, I use a variety of strategies to engage students. I believe that students should have many opportunities with all the peers in the class. We have discussed that when we work with each other, and learn from one another, our learning deepens and we learn more than we would have alone.
I use conga lines, pair and shares, and drawing names as ways to mix up groups. I also put students in strategic as well as random small groups to have them work together as a team. I have had students do activities like creating and presenting posters for different names for numbers or explaining vocabulary terms (as shown in the picture below), discuss/write/show games, and assigning jobs to students within the small groups and having them collaborate that way.
To engage students while at the carpet, I make sure all students have time to answer by using “thinker fingers.” Students show me they are thinking by putting their finger to their heads and I can see they are at least trying to answer the question or problem posed. This is an excellent way for them to concentrate on thinking deeply.
I also include a lot of songs, movement, and brain breaks to engage students. I have found that learning a concept through song can be very successful. Below is a picture of a math song we learned paired to the “I’m a Little Teapot,” tune. My class got a kick out of it and it has stuck with them ever since. We even sang it to the music teacher for fun.
6th Grade
I still use a lot of music, movement, and brain breaks in 6th grade, just at a different maturity level. I use YouTube, poems, pictures, life stories, anything I can to try and engage my students. My life stories, as they are the most asked for, really shapes my teaching. I have been so very lucky to travel around so much and do a lot of things at a young age. This has given me perspective, fun stories, facts, and other things that help bring my teaching to life. To me, education is a way of life, not just something you do to get a job.
Component 3d- Using Assessment in Instruction
Assessment is the key to seeing how students are retaining what they learn. As an instructor, I assess my students in both informal and formal ways on the standards we are working one. I use those assessments, along with school and state assessments, to inform my instruction, build groups and lessons, and better teach students where they are at in their education.
For example, once in a while during math, students have the ability when working on math pages to go to their desks if they fully comprehend what we are working on and can complete it independently, or come to the carpet for more guidance. Right there I have the chance to see who understands the topic we are working on and who may need a little more support. That gives me the chance to slow down with the ones who need more support, build them up, and guide them.
Assessment is the key to seeing how students are retaining what they learn. As an instructor, I assess my students in both informal and formal ways on the standards we are working one. I use those assessments, along with school and state assessments, to inform my instruction, build groups and lessons, and better teach students where they are at in their education.
For example, once in a while during math, students have the ability when working on math pages to go to their desks if they fully comprehend what we are working on and can complete it independently, or come to the carpet for more guidance. Right there I have the chance to see who understands the topic we are working on and who may need a little more support. That gives me the chance to slow down with the ones who need more support, build them up, and guide them.
6th Grade
Have you ever been in a classroom where you felt like you had to know everything and you could never ask questions? I have, and that is not how I teach. I want to know if my students are grasping concepts AS WE GO, not later. I do turn and talks, tickets out the door, stop and jots, "digest" moments (where students have to pause and think deeply about what they are actually reading), thumbs up/down, and many other ways to assess whether or not my students understand the material being presented. Not only do I use summative assessments, but formative ones as well.
Component 3e- Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness
Teachers must be flexible and responsive. When times for deeper discussions, bathroom breaks, teeth falling out, bloody noses, behavior issues, birthdays, and a variety of other things come up, teachers have to be flexible. They have to be prepared, know their students on a personal level, and know their students’ needs.
One lesson in particular comes to mind when I think about flexibility and adjusting on the fly. We were talking about place value and I could see my students did not understand. I came up with the idea to pretend I was calling a bakery and ordering 21 cookies for my students. I “called” and placed my order using my hand as my phone. I explained that when the order came, the baker did not know the difference between 21 and 12 and he accidentally gave me 12! We talked about how important it is to know place value and how to write numbers correctly. I then had them get out their whiteboards and markers. We took turns “calling” each other and placing orders. When the orders were placed- 14 eggs, 46 worms, 26 roses- they had to write the number on their whiteboards along with the base ten blocks for that number. It was an incredibly successful adjustment to a lesson I had previously written.
Teachers must be flexible and responsive. When times for deeper discussions, bathroom breaks, teeth falling out, bloody noses, behavior issues, birthdays, and a variety of other things come up, teachers have to be flexible. They have to be prepared, know their students on a personal level, and know their students’ needs.
One lesson in particular comes to mind when I think about flexibility and adjusting on the fly. We were talking about place value and I could see my students did not understand. I came up with the idea to pretend I was calling a bakery and ordering 21 cookies for my students. I “called” and placed my order using my hand as my phone. I explained that when the order came, the baker did not know the difference between 21 and 12 and he accidentally gave me 12! We talked about how important it is to know place value and how to write numbers correctly. I then had them get out their whiteboards and markers. We took turns “calling” each other and placing orders. When the orders were placed- 14 eggs, 46 worms, 26 roses- they had to write the number on their whiteboards along with the base ten blocks for that number. It was an incredibly successful adjustment to a lesson I had previously written.
6th Grade
Does it get any better in 6th grade in terms of a consistent schedule? Not always. Some days I still have to stop and wait. I believe that being flexible is actually one the the characteristics teachers need to possess them most. Schedule changes, curriculum map schedule changes, slowing it down when students need more time, speeding it up when they get it, etc. I try to be perseptive and not only look at the data, but discern when I think my students need to adjust how I think I am teaching. I am not perfect and realize there are plently of areas I can grow in. Being repsonsive to that is hard, especially when students want to point out imperfections, but I have learned more from humbling myself in those situations and listening than in just plowing ahead in what I think is right.
Students have a "parking lot" on my wall where they can leave me notes that they may feel too nervous to tell me in person. It could either be about something in the lesson or about a concern they're having as an individual or with peers.
Students have a "parking lot" on my wall where they can leave me notes that they may feel too nervous to tell me in person. It could either be about something in the lesson or about a concern they're having as an individual or with peers.
Two Goals for Continued Learning
1) I want to continue to incorporate higher level thinking questions for my students to answer. I have learned the more they hear it, the more they understand and use it. I want to make it a part of my every day instruction. While in discussions, I want to have sentence stems for my students to use while answering higher level thinking questions. That way, learners from all diverse backgrounds can feel comfortable answering the questions posed.
2) I want to include iPads more into my rotation times during math and reading. Technology is incredibly important and our future generations need to be comfortable using all types of electronic devices. I plan on using a variety of apps for math and reading practice. I believe that it will not only engage students more, but also help them learn math facts and sight words.
Two Practical Alternatives
1) An alternative for the vocabulary wall on my whiteboard, in section 3a, could be a student vocabulary journal. Students could keep track of vocabulary words and definitions in their own journal and keep that journal in their desk. Those words could then be more personal to them and ready to use. I could see that being very successful with any grade level.
2) For component 3d, I could incorporate exit tickets for the skills we are working on and still meet with the students that need extra support. Our main math time is right before lunch. It would be the perfect opportunity to do a quick assessment as their ticket out the door. I could then correct them and know what needed to be retaught or built on in future lessons.
1) I want to continue to incorporate higher level thinking questions for my students to answer. I have learned the more they hear it, the more they understand and use it. I want to make it a part of my every day instruction. While in discussions, I want to have sentence stems for my students to use while answering higher level thinking questions. That way, learners from all diverse backgrounds can feel comfortable answering the questions posed.
2) I want to include iPads more into my rotation times during math and reading. Technology is incredibly important and our future generations need to be comfortable using all types of electronic devices. I plan on using a variety of apps for math and reading practice. I believe that it will not only engage students more, but also help them learn math facts and sight words.
Two Practical Alternatives
1) An alternative for the vocabulary wall on my whiteboard, in section 3a, could be a student vocabulary journal. Students could keep track of vocabulary words and definitions in their own journal and keep that journal in their desk. Those words could then be more personal to them and ready to use. I could see that being very successful with any grade level.
2) For component 3d, I could incorporate exit tickets for the skills we are working on and still meet with the students that need extra support. Our main math time is right before lunch. It would be the perfect opportunity to do a quick assessment as their ticket out the door. I could then correct them and know what needed to be retaught or built on in future lessons.