Instruction and Work

Competency 2.6

This competency is one that we very easily could spend the entire year exploring.  It is packed full of information and possibilities.  I stood in my office looking through the bookshelves for resources and became almost immobilized.  How do I get a handle on this topic?  People much smarter than I am have written entire books and built entire careers around high-level work and rigorous instruction.

Rather than give up completely, I will leave you with three points and add the Effective and Highly Effective Indicators at the bottom of the page.  This is, I know, inadequate, but I hope it will help you understand a bit more about this competency in the Teacher Effectiveness Rubric.

1.      Class SLOs Help: You are just finishing the process of developing Class Student Learning Objectives (SLOs).  During this past few weeks, you created an assessment which covered all the key standards for the first semester for one course and were asked to examine closely the Depth of Knowledge of each question using four levels: Recall, Skill/Concept, Strategic Thinking, or Extended Thinking.  The point of creating a class SLO is that you should know exactly what you want students to know and be able to do and at what level of understanding.  Paul Bambrick-Soto says, “Standards are meaningless until you define how you will assess them.”  He goes on to make the argument that assessments are not the end of the learning process.  They are where you start—which is exactly what you are doing with SLOs.  Look over your class SLO.  What instruction will you provide and what work will you assign in order to have students to master the material to the depth you are assessing?  If you assess at higher levels, students need to learn how to do the work at higher levels.  Observers will see this in your lessons.

2.      Assignments Matter: This extends my first point about the work you have students do and at what level they complete it.  Think about the rhythm and patterns you have in teaching.  It often follows the “I Do, We Do, You Do” pattern.  You introduce the new learning, show students how and why, help them practice, have them practice with each other, and then have them practice on their own.  Every lesson should include higher level thinking (for example, through questioning or problem-solving) but at certain points in the unit, students need to have opportunities to go beyond and extend.  Eleanor Dougherty, among others, talks about “anchor” assignments in courses.  These aren’t every day assignments.  They are assignments that require application of concepts to new situations.  These are the assignments that will prepare students for Common Core assessments.  These are the assignments that engage students and push them to the next level.  If you have these assignments, they are the times you look forward to with your students because you know it will be great and students will perform at high levels. It is worth looking to see where your anchor assignments are and spending time making these assignments even better. 

3.      Look for Repeats (Power Indicators): I have said this before, but it is worth mentioning again: When a lesson starts “hitting” in one competency, it often picks up many others.  You will find repeats from other competencies in the Effective and Highly Effective indicators listed below.  When you differentiate and give students choices, when you ask probing questions and make students defend their answers, when you give meaningful practice and have them read and write, when you provide exemplars or samples of quality work, and when you can use student interest to engage them in the work, you are “hitting” the power indicators on this competency—and in many others.  Rigorous work and instruction is all about best practice teaching and pushing students to maximize their understanding and achievement.

Here are the indicators for 2.6:

Effective

·         The lesson is accessible and challenging to almost all students.

·         Teacher frequently develops higher-level understanding through effective questioning.

·         Lesson pushes almost all students forward due to differentiation of instruction based on each student’s level of understanding.

·         Students have opportunities to meaningfully practice, apply, and demonstrate that they are learning through assigned work that requires the use of academic skills in relation to course content (critical reading, writing process, or critical thinking).

·         Teacher helps students to persevere even when faced with difficult tasks.

Highly Effective

·         Lesson is accessible and challenging to all students.

·         Students are able to answer higher-level questions with meaningful responses.

·         Students pose higher-level questions to the teacher and to each other.

·         Students are required to form and support arguments through application and evaluation of course content.

·         Teacher highlights student work that meets high expectations.

·         Teacher expects students to resubmit work that does not meet high standards.

·         Teacher encourages students’ interests in learning by providing students with additional opportunities to apply and build skills beyond expected lesson elements.

I am reminded again of Phillip Schlechty, who said that the most important work a teacher does is to design lessons that engage students.  Students do not fully engage until they are given opportunities to rise to a challenge.  They engage when you devise meaningful instruction and work that deepens their understanding and mastery of important ideas and skills. 

Have a great week, Southeastern.

Phil