BTEOTLSW....

Email Objective: By the end of this email, you will have a deeper understanding of Competency 2.1 of the HSE Teacher Evaluation Rubric, as measured by your responses.

When we moved to Fishers, we became increasingly reliant on our GPS.  In fact, I had to get rid of my trusty Garmin because it wasn’t all that trusty.  The maps were out of date.  Of course, in Fishers I suppose maps go out of date almost daily.  Instead of updating maps, I installed TeleNav on my phone.  I have a nifty holder on the dashboard, and I almost automatically put the phone in the cradle and call up the maps.

At first I used TeleNav regularly to go everywhere.  Now that I know many new locations, I tend to leave TeleNav in map mode to see where I am in the “big picture” and to make connections between the areas I know and those gray areas in between known locations.

The use of TeleNav is a fairly good metaphor for Competency 2.1 in the Instruction Domain of the Teacher Effectiveness Rubric.  The actual document reads like this: “Develop student understanding and mastery of lesson objectives.”  

This competency is all about communicating daily lesson objectives and measuring whether or not students understand what they are learning each day in relationship to where they came from and where they are going.  Emphasis should be placed on the word “daily.”  Using the TeleNav metaphor, the final destination is covered in Domain 1: Planning.  Where your students are on the road right now, and the next turn is covered in Domain 2(Instruction) and Competency 2.1.

So what the heck does 2.1 look like in the classroom? 

Below in italics are the indicators of the “Effective (3)” category, with my commentary thrown in for good measure.  Indicators are what their name implies.  These are possible ways to document evidence of effective teaching. 

·         The lesson objective is specific, measurable, and aligned to standards.  It conveys what students are learning and what they will be able to do by the end of the lesson.  Comments: Notice that this indicator is about the purpose of each day’s lesson.  The objective should not be a secret!  The teacher can’t be the only one in the room who knows what the daily objective is.  The teacher must “convey” to the students what they are to learn by the end of the lesson.  I like the phrasing, “By the end of the lesson, students will….”  (BTEOTLSW… You can even use it in this abbreviated format on the board.)  Notice also that the objective is different than the standard.  The daily objective breaks the standard into lesson-sized chunks.

·         The objective is written in a developmentally appropriate manner and/or explained to students in easy-to-understand terms. Comments: Intuitive students are likely to pick up the lesson’s objective without having it written or explained.  I contend that we have fewer truly intuitive students than we think, and even they can benefit from scaffolding to help clarify the daily objective.

·         The importance of the objective is explained so that students understand why they are learning what they are learning.  Comments: I could repeat the comments from the bullet directly above.  Instead, I ask you to think of classes you have taken.  You do better and are more focused when you understand “why” you are learning something.  We need to make sure our students have this benefit as well.

·         The lesson builds on students’ prior knowledge of key concepts and skills and makes this connection evident to students.  Comments: Start the academic GPS at the beginning of the lesson.  You are essentially saying, “This is where we have been.  This is where we are going.  Today is going to help us make the next step of the journey.”  Check in often during the lesson to make sure the students are on track.

·         The lesson is well-organized to move students towards mastery of the objective.  Comments: The lesson has to actually help the students move down the road in the right direction.  Self-evident perhaps, but it is possible to take a scenic route to nowhere and waste time getting back on track.  This indicator also calls for assessment.  How do you know the students moved towards mastery?  Daily assessments can be formal or informal, but you need to gather formative feedback.  More on this below.

Above are the indicators for the “Effective (3)” rating.  To get to “Highly Effective (4),” much of the “Effective” evidence is observed throughout the year, plus:

·         Students can explain what they are learning and why it is important, beyond repeating the stated objective, and

·         The teacher effectively engages prior knowledge of students in connecting to the lesson.  Students demonstrate through work and comments that they understand this connection.

This is fairly easy to check.  At the end of a lesson, give your students an exit ticket and ask them what they learned (or learned at a deeper level) and why it is important.  See what they say.  During class discussions, ask students to connect what they are learning to past learning, to future learning, to other courses in your content area, to content areas outside your department, and to life.  Avoid the temptation to make the connections for them.  Make them do the thinking.

Side note: You will start to see a pattern in the rubric.  Effective indictors describe solid teaching, but they are often more teacher-directed.  To score 4 or Highly Effective, indicators have students doing most of the thinking and work. 

Student exit ticket responses and verbal answers, whether they are what you hoped for or not, will inform your teaching for the next day.  You will make sure you are navigating on the right road to get to your destination. 

For Competency 2.1, turn on your academic GPS.  Fasten your seat belts.  Check your review mirror, and merge into the flow of traffic.  Check your progress often.

And don’t forget to enjoy the journey.  Have a great week.

Phil

PS: Did I meet the objective for this email?  What did you just learn—besides that guy writes too much?  Hit “Reply” and respond to my exit ticket.