Blog Archives

11/29/2017 0 Comments

8 Things Principals Want to See In Your ClassroomS

What does “good teaching” look like at Five Keys? This is a tough question to answer – we teach in so many different types of settings here! So before you read on, I want to offer a few disclaimers:

This is not meant to make teachers feel like they have to put on a “dog and pony show” for classroom visitations.
This is not a list of mandates from principals – I went to them and solicited their off-the-top-of-your-head input.
This is not an all-inclusive list written in stone -- it’s a work in progress, and you may need to do a fair amount of exploring how specific expectations would translate into your classroom environment, which brings us to the last point…
This is meant to be the start of a straight-forward conversation that will calibrate what’s expected of teachers -- to get everyone, principals and teachers alike, on the same page – so when phrases like increased engagement, more rigor, more SDAIE strategies, more differentiated, Common Core-aligned, data-driven instruction get thrown around, we all have (roughly) the same picture in our minds.
P.S. This is also meant to be a cheat sheet for teachers if you have any visitors coming around soon. If they’re rounding the corner now, skip ahead to “Things They Don’t Want to See.” :) Happy reading!

Stay tuned for next month's Inside Scoop article: 8 Things Five Keys Employees Need From Their Leaders. Click Here to complete this anonymous, 1 question survey!

1. A posted learning objective

This should…

Be in student-friendly language
Start with a verb that defines what students will be able to do by the end of the lesson
Include a measurable outcome

This may fall under some teachers’ “dog and pony show” lists, but for those who continue to do this when no one is looking, they’d agree that it not only helps keep lessons focused and purposeful, but more importantly, helps motivate adult students, who need to know why they are learning something and what they will get out of it.

Non-examples:

Students will understand how to use trigonometric ratios. (How will you know they have understood this?)
Students will learn about how RJ is used in 4 different cultures. (What should they be able to do with this learning?)

Better examples:

Students will be able to (SWBAT) use trigonometric ratios to find angle measures in right triangles.
SWBAT summarize how RJ is used in 4 different cultures and create a “How-to” plan for repairing harm/relationships using at least 2 RJ principles.

2. A posted Agenda

Ideally, this would follow the standard instructional delivery model, which includes:

Do Now/Warm-up: A short and simple pre-assessment, preview, or review assignment that students can complete with little to no instruction
I Do: The skill(s)/concept(s) the teacher will teach
We Do: A guided practice activity requiring application of new content
You Do: An independent activity requiring application of new content
Exit Ticket: A short and simple post-assessment that lets teacher know whether objective was met or not

Resources: Scroll down to the bottom to download the Lesson Plan Template, Sample Lesson Plan, Do Now/Exit Ticket Ideas, Reading and Discussion Activities, and more!

3. Student-to-student interaction

In other words, discussion driven by students.

Sometimes after a classroom visit, teachers get feedback like, “Try to incorporate more time for discussion.” And the teacher will feel like, “What are they talking about? The whole class was a discussion!” What your observer probably meant was less discussion led by the teacher, more discussion led by the students.

This can be done through pair-shares, circle discussions, socratic seminars, literature circles, reciprocal teaching, and other forms of cooperative learning (a.k.a. group work).

4. Teacher circulating around room, checking in with every student, happy to be there

While you’re teaching a lesson, speak from different points of the room as you move from one point to another – the side, the back, the other side – don’t stay front and center.

While students are working, walk around, provide on-the-spot feedback, try to check in with every single student. This will not only help with classroom management but allows you to conduct an informal assessment; if you’re noticing a pattern of mistakes from student to student, you can stop the class to teach a “mini lesson” that benefits all students.

Don’t feel you have to be fake or overly enthusiastic about it, but show that you enjoy being with them. Greet students as they arrive, give lots of positive reinforcement – your enthusiasm (or lack thereof) is evident and contagious.

5. a welcoming, structured environment

We know some environments will not allow some of these things, but if you're allowed, principals want to see...

Bulletin boards that display current student work and achievements
Colorful, print-rich walls with posters, quotes, and art
An organized classroom set up that is inviting, bright, and clean
In all settings, principals want to see that rules and routines have been established. Examples:
- Systems in place so that students know their TABE scores, deficient units, and where they are at based on their goals
- Students turning down their ringers upon entering, or stepping out to take a call
- Baskets or folders for turning in Form 1s
- A sign-in sheet
- Entry and exit routines

6. multi-modal instruction using multiple learning formats

Basically, present the information in more than one way, and don’t do the same thing the entire time!

Part of this goes back to the instructional delivery model reviewed in item #2 – a posted agenda. After the Do Now activity, the lesson should be chunked into smaller pieces that include some direct instruction, some small group or partner work, and some independent work.

Sometimes a concept can’t be covered in neat little boxes like that, and that’s okay. In those cases, a good rule of thumb is to change things up every 15 minutes – with a Pair-Share, a Whip Around, a Quick Write, or some other quick comprehension check where you’re turning the floor over to the students and giving them a chance to digest what they’re learning.

The other part of this, which is about presenting the information in more than one way, refers to combining visual, auditory, and kinesthetic supports. If you’re speaking, have a handout or PowerPoint; if they’re listening to or viewing something, accompany it with a worksheet to complete; if you’re reading, provide the text for them to annotate; if you’ve given them written instructions, explain it verbally, etc.

Resources: Scroll down to the bottom to download How to Get All Students to Participate, ELL/SDAIE Activities, and more!

7. all students are included, encouraged to participate, and doing something at all times

This overlaps a bit with previous points but basically, lecture and large group discussions should be limited.

A best practice is 80% student talk, 20% teacher talk.

There should be something for students to do from the moment they enter your room to the moment they leave (this is where a Do Now activity and Exit Ticket come in handy).

Another way to approach this is to offer multiple ways for students to participate, including differentiated assessments. Lesson plans and activities should consider that some students like to talk, some like to draw, some like to write, some like to live it out – and some don’t like any of those things. So what options can you create for those students? How can you make them feel safe to talk, draw, write, or act, if they’re feeling insecure? The key is to make intentional efforts to pull those students in; once they see that you’re okay with them not participating, they’ll begin to detach. We must make it clear that we fully expect everyone to participate in some way at all times, and that if they’re having trouble, we’ll find a way to make it happen.

Resources: Scroll down to the bottom to download How to Get All Students to Participate, Do Now/Exit Ticket Ideas, Classroom Discussion Activities, and more!

8. Use of restorative practices in classroom management

Remember that your class is a community. When one person is hurt, whether by someone in the community or something going on within them or outside of class, it affects everyone. Here are a few ways this can be carried out, with examples of what this might sound like.

If a student is being disruptive or uncooperative, correction should be as private as possible and should come from a place of wanting the student to be a part of the community (vs. wanting to punish them for violating the norms of the community) – Why don’t you come join your group instead of working by yourself?
Remember that misbehavior is most likely a symptom of a larger issue the student is dealing with – ask questions/use caring statements that demonstrate empathy and get to the root of the issue – How’s your day going? What’s going on? Is everything okay?
Affirm their importance to the community and their identity as a positive contributor to the community. – I know you have some valuable input you could offer to your group and that this isn’t how you’d normally react.
Allow students to save face; give the student a way out through choices and processing time – If you don’t want to work with your group, I can create a writing assignment for you to complete on your own. I’ll give you a few minutes to think about it and you can let me know what you decide.
Invite them to think about how their actions may have affected their community and how they can correct any harm done. – How do you think the class was affected when this happened? How do you think your group might have felt?
Be willing to own up to any harm you may have caused. -- I’m sorry that my tone seemed harsh, I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was judging you.

Invite them back into the community and allow them to correct any harm that may have been caused -- Hey guys, John has decided he wants to work with the group, can someone explain what you have been working on and let him know what he can contribute? This may also include initiating a private conversation between two students who have had a disagreement.

For more guidance through this discussion or for students who prefer to process through writing rather than talking, use the Thinking Report.

THINGS PRINCIPALS DON'T WANT TO SEE:

The teacher sitting at their desk
Films shown without an assignment or without pausing to explain or have a discussion
The teacher doing more work than students (example: talking for longer than 15 minutes at a time without student-to-student interaction, a comprehension check, or activity)
Using the same format the whole time (example: teacher-directed discussion)
Any behavior that intimidates, shames, ridicules, or embarrasses the student