- Anticipating the return soon to the classroom, I review some research and push myself to hold to these standards. In this Aspen Institute white paper, teacher evaluation expert Rachel Curtis describes the performance management system used by Achievement First charter schools. Of particular interest are Achievement First’s Essentials of Effective Instruction, which are used by administrators and coaches when they observe classrooms and plan professional development and support. Note that there are a number of references to techniques from Doug Lemov’s book, Teach Like a Champion (Jossey-Bass, 2010).
• Great
aims: Rigorous, bite-sized, measurable, standards-based aims are written on
the board and reviewed with students. The aims clearly drive the activities,
not vice-versa.
“WALT…” – We Are
Learning To…
Preamble to a lesson learning
objective spotted in a New York City classroom
(as contrasted to the more common SWBAT – Students Will Be Able To…)
• Exit
ticket/assessment of student mastery of the aims:
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There is
a systematic way at the end of class to assess every student’s mastery of the
aim(s) and to diagnose areas of student misunderstanding. Most of the time,
assessment is through an exit ticket.
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At least
85% of students master the aim.
• The
most effective and efficient strategies to reach the aim:
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Content
knowledge/right strategy – The teacher demonstrates strong knowledge of the
relevant standards and concepts and uses the most effective and efficient
strategy to guide students to mastery.
-
Pacing
and urgency – The teacher moves students briskly from one part of the agenda to
the next; there is a palpable sense of urgency and purpose in the room. Time is
held sacred; the teacher spends the appropriate amount of time on each activity
and maximizes each minute spent. The teacher sets clear guidelines for how long
activities should take and uses timers, time reminders, and countdowns
effectively. The class is set up to maximize efficiency, and the teacher is
fully prepared to maximize each moment.
• Modeling/guided
practice (I/WE or WE):
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Mini-lesson
– The lesson includes a clear “think aloud”, explicit modeling, heavily guided
practice or other form of clear mini-lesson; examples and step-by-step
processes are thoughtfully planned and tightly delivered.
-
The
teacher may sometimes start a lesson with a YOU activity: short discovery
activity, activation of prior knowledge, or some other strategy to lay a
conceptual foundation.
-
Guided
practice/declining scaffolding and guidance – The teacher then leads students
through guided practice with declining scaffolding/guidance so that students
eventually provide both the answers and the thought process.
-
Visual
anchor – The mini-lesson is captured (on a whiteboard, butcher paper, overhead,
and/or scaffolded notes) so that students can reference it during independent
practice.
-
Check
for understanding – The teacher regularly checks for understanding during
guided practice so that students transition to independent practice when they
are ready. A small number of students may need more guided support during
independent practice, and this should not hold up the entire class.
• Sustained,
successful independent practice (YOU, at least 15-20 minutes):
-
Many
successful “at bats” – Students have ample, successful opportunities for active
learning so that they get to practice the aim independently. The YOU activity
should be at the same difficulty level as the WE activity so that complexity
doesn’t increase while support decreases. The teacher moves around the
classroom constantly during independent practice to assess mastery and provide
individual help.
-
Read,
baby, read! In reading classes, teachers make sure that “nose in text” time is
very high and that independent work time has at least a 7:2 ratio of reading to
activity/ writing/discussing.
• Classroom
culture:
-
High
expectations, clear routines – The teacher sets (with clear What To Do statements)
and reinforces clear expectations and routines for high standards of behavior.
With a Strong Voice, the teacher sweats the small stuff, including no
call-outs, no laughing at other students’ mistakes, and insists students Do It
Again if not great.
-
Joy
factor – The class is a fun, joyful place where kids are enthusiastic and
excited about learning.
-
Positive-corrective
ratio – The teacher uses Positive Framing to correct behavior and narrate class
activity; there is a high ratio of positive to corrective comments. The
classroom feels like a place where students want to be. Students are nice and
respectful to each other, and the teacher is nice and respectful to the
students.
-
Students
own it – Students are given the responsibility, tools, and strategies to fix
problems they have or created. The teacher resists the temptation to be the
sole problem-solver; students who make mistakes must own and fix them.
-
Teachable
character moments – The teacher uses key moments in class to explicitly talk
about, celebrate, and reinforce character skills; these moments flow naturally
from the lesson and are quick and high-impact; the teacher strategically picks
examples, texts, and activities that, when appropriate, reinforce the key
messages (e.g., going to college).
• Student
engagement:
-
100
percent – The teacher insists on 100% of students on task with hands
consistently in the air; students are either asking or answering questions.
-
Engagement
strategies – The teacher uses high-engagement strategies (e.g., cold-calling,
rapid-fire call-and-response, mini-whiteboards, frequent choral responses,
and/or “everyone writes”) to ensure that all students are accountable for
engagement. The teacher makes it impossible for students to be desk potatoes
and simply copy from the board. The teacher limits use of round-robin reading
or questioning strategies that engage only one student at a time.
• Academic
rigor:
-
Teacher-talk-to-student-work
– There is a high ratio of student work to teacher talk with students doing
most of the “heavy lifting” of doing the work and explaining their thinking.
-
Planned,
rigorous questioning – The teacher plans his/her key questions in advance with
a range of questioning, both lower-level knowledge (recall and basic
comprehension), and higher-level (application, analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation). The teacher regularly uses the Stretch It technique: Why? What
does that relate to? How would you apply it?
-
Top-quality
oral responses – The teacher knows that Right Is Right and refuses to accept
low-quality student responses. That means insisting on correct grammar,
complete sentences, use of appropriate vocabulary and sufficient
detail/rationale and not settling for so-so. The teacher is a No Opt Out
champion – no student is allowed to opt out because the teacher cycles back to
students who didn’t answer.
-
Top-quality
student work – The teacher sets clear expectations and has an accountability
mechanism for ensuring all students complete top-quality work. Examples of this
kind of work are posted for reference and to celebrate great student work.
• Cumulative
review – As a part of the lesson and homework routine, students get fast,
fun opportunities to systematically and successfully review and practice skills
that they have already mastered. Standards included in cumulative review are
truly review, and the teacher has a clear method of using data to inform which
standards to review.
• Differentiation
– The teacher works to ensure that the needs of every student are met.
Especially during independent practice, the teacher can work with some students
to provide extra support or enrichment and/or can otherwise vary the volume,
rate, or complexity of work that students are asked to complete. In classes
that are grouped homogeneously by skill level, pronounced differentiation may
be less necessary.
