As teachers it is vital that we are communicating with our students. We need to convey that teaching and learning are purposeful activities. We need to provide clear and specific directions for classroom activities. We need to present concepts and information with accuracy, clarity, and imagination. We should be able to expand upon the topic and embellish our explanations, linking them to students’ interests and prior knowledge. We should occasionally withhold information to encourage to think on their own. Our language would be vivid, rich, and error free, students’ vocabularies should grow throughout our lessons.
There are four elements of component 3a. Expectations for learning, the goals for learning are communicated clearly to students. Directions and procedures, students clearly understand what they are expected to do during a lesson. Explanations of content, teachers use vivid language, imaginative analogies, and metaphors, connecting explanations to students’ lives beyond school. Use of oral and written language, our language should be both accurate syntax and contain a rich vocabulary. Our students should be able to emulate this language. There are many indicators to a teacher who demonstrates component 3a. Such as, clarity of the purpose of the lesson, clear directions and procedures, no content errors, and correct use of language. |
Questioning and discussion should be used as techniques to deepen student understanding, using divergent and convergent questions to invite students to hypotheses, make connections, and challenge views. Students’ responses to questions and in discussion are valued, teachers should be adept at responding and building upon their responses. High quality questions encourage students to make connections, arrive at new understandings, and dive into complex material. It is important to engage all students, using their own language to deepen and extend their understanding. Not all questions must be at a higher cognitive level in order for students to gain knowledge. A teacher might ask questions at a lower cognitive level in order to review with the class or allow more students to participate. Teachers must be able to teach their students how to answer a higher level of questions to have a higher cognitive discussion.
There are three elements to component 3b. Quality of questions/prompts, questions of high-quality cause students to think and reflect, deepen their understanding, and test their ideas. Students should only be asked a few questions and be given sufficient time to think about their responses. Discussion techniques, teachers should promote learning through discussion. Student participation, teachers should use a range of techniques to ensure that all students are contributing to the discussion. Indicators of component 3b are questions of high cognitive challenge, questions with multiple correct answers, effective use of student response, discussion in which the teacher mediates, and high levels of student participation in discussions. |
Student engagement in learning is the centerpiece of the framework for teaching, and as teachers it is important that we utilize it. When students are engaged in learning they are intellectually active in learning the content. We can see if students are engaged and understanding through what they do. Are they engaged in discussion? Debating? Answering “what if?” questions? Discovering patterns? We should have activities that promote engagement so that students can be participating in class. We need to make sure our lessons have a discernible structure: a beginning, a middle and an end, there should be scaffolding as well. We need to organize student tasks to provide cognitive challenges and encourage students to reflect on what they have done and what they have learned. This provides the lesson with closure; students can learn from their own reflections.
There are four elements that divide up component 3c. Activities and assignments, these should promote learning that is aligned with the goals of the lesson. They should require student thinking that emphasizes depth and allows for student choice. Grouping of students, you can group students based on similar background, skill, randomly, or let the students choose. Whatever works best for your students to stay engaged. Instruction materials and resources, teachers should use their schools officially sanction and materials, along with materials of their choosing that allow students to engage students in deeper learning. Structure and pacing, it is important to keep things moving with a well-define structure. The goal is to have time at the end for a reflection and closure. A teacher with good use of component 3c has activities aligned with the goal of the lesson, has student enthusiasm and interest, has learning tasks that require high-level student thinking, uses different tool techs, students are actively working, and have suitable pacing of the lesson. |
Assessment of student learning plays a huge role in instruction, as teachers it is our job to implement it. Assessment is important because teachers need to know if their students learned what was intended, they need to be able to monitor student understanding and offer feedback. Monitoring behavior and monitoring student learning is two different things. When teachers monitor student behavior, they are alert to students who may be cause disruptions. When teachers monitor student learning, they are carefully looking at what students are writing and listen carefully to their questions, to gauge whether they require extra help or explanation. Questions asked of students for the purpose of monitoring learning are different from those used to build understanding. Teachers should be alert to students’ misconceptions through learning questions. While understanding questions are designed to explore relationships and deepen understanding. Many teachers create questions specifically to determine the extent of student understanding and use of different techniques to ascertain the degree of understanding. We should encourage students to monitor their own learning against clear standards given by us, the teacher.
There are four elements to component 3d. Assessment criteria, all students must know the criteria for each assignment. Monitoring of student learning, a teacher’s skill in eliciting evidence of student understanding, this should be planned. Feedback to students, this is essential for a rich instructional environment. Feedback should be timely, constructive, substantive, and provide guidance for improvement. Student self-assessment and monitoring of progress, the culmination of students’ assuming responsibility of their learning through monitoring and taking appropriate action. A teacher who demonstrates 3d should be paying close attention to evidence of student understanding, using specifically create questions, circulating to monitor student learning, and offering feedback. |
This component refers to a teacher’s skill in making adjustments in a lesson in response to changing conditions. A well planned lesson may not need to be changed for the content itself, however, teacher may need to shift the approach or pacing of the lesson based off student response. Sometimes there are outside factors such as many students being out sick or a surprise presentation where you must quickly adapt your lesson plan. Teachers should be able to pay attention to their students and adjust their lessons based on their responses and environmental influences.
There are three elements of component 3e. Lesson adjustment, teachers are able to make minor and major adjustments to a lesson, a mid-course correction. Response to students, teachers should take advantage of teachable moments and other opportunities. Persistence, teachers should not give up easily when students encounter difficulty in learning. Teachers should be able to seek alternative approaches to aid their students. Indicators of component 3e are incorporation of student interests and events of the day into the lesson, visible adjustments to the lesson when students lack comprehension, and teachers acting upon a teachable moment. |