Teacher Evaluation

This is my second year of teaching and every single day seems to me like my first day of teaching. Teachers are no different from students, as we need to learn, grow and improve our teaching career. Teacher evaluation is a one way to measure how well we are doing our job or growing as a professional teacher.
If evaluations are viewed as an opportunity to grow rather than an opportunity to be judged, I think they can have a long-lasting positive impact on the education system.

Many tools are utilized in different school systems to successfully assess and conduct teacher.

The Danielson Teacher Evaluation Model

The Danielson Model focuses on four domains: Planning, Classroom Environment, Instruction, and Professional Responsibilities. Teachers are scored on components and elements found within each domain, from 1 (Needs Improvement) to 4 (Exceptional). Many states have adopted this model or currently using it in their districts.

Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System

Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system is based on multiple measures, including classroom observations (50 percent), student achievement (15 percent) and student growth data /TVAAS (35 percent), and every teacher is evaluated regardless of years of service or tenure status. Evaluation scoring differentiates teachers into five effectiveness levels with the breakdown as follows: 1: Significantly Below Expectations; 2: Below Expectations; 3: Meets Expectations; 4: Above Expectations; and 5: Significantly Above Expectations. All teachers receive feedback based on the evaluator’s observations and, ultimately, the evaluations are designed to inform personnel decisions, including, perhaps most importantly, professional development and assistance to improve the effectiveness of the teacher.

 American School of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

The school, that I am currently teaching, evaluations of teachers are conducted by the principal and assistant principal only. This evaluation includes an observation in which the principal or assistant principal sit in on a class, 20 times altogether during the year, unannounced (teachers are not made aware of the observation time beforehand) and they take notes during the 15-20 minutes period. If teachers want, they give a feedback on the observation. I always get nervous when principal or assistant principal come in to do the observation in my classroom.

Teacher appraisals at my current school focus on the following 6 standards:

Standard 1: Curriculum & Planning for Learning;

Standard 2: Classroom Environment;

Standard 3: Instruction Delivery;

Standard 4: Monitoring & Assessments;

Standard 5: Professional Responsibilities;

Standard 6: Community Contributions & Environment

Each category is scored as: does not meet standards, sometimes meets standards, consistently meets standards, and exceeds standards.

In my opinion, students achievement, students’ surveys, and peer observation feedback should be reflected in teacher evaluation.

Evaluations can be very powerful professional development tools. Principals, with better data, can identify opportunities for improvement and implement interventions and training that will help develop stronger, more effective teachers.

References: 

Danielson Group., (2017), The Framework, retrieved on Jan 13, 2018, from http://www.danielsongroup.org/framework/

Tennessee Department of Education., (2012), Teacher Evaluation in Tennessee,  retrieved on Jan 13, 2018, from https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/reports/rpt_teacher_evaluation_year_1.pdfard

Pre-Assessment for Differentiation

It is critically important for teachers to meet the academic and emotional needs of each student. At the school, I work most of the students are learning English as a second language and they have not only have different levels of subject knowledge but also varying levels of language skills and comprehension. Pre-assessments can be used by teachers to determine whether students are ready to learn new skills and concepts, gain information on their preferred modes of learning, gather information on students’ attitudes toward learning as well as collect information about student interests.
Pre-assessments can be powerful tools for teachers to maximize the limited time with students and can be a valuable resource to assist teachers as they construct differentiated learning tasks for all learners, including the gifted and talented. (Catherine M.)

Unit Name: INTERNET RESEARCH AND CREATIVITY
Subject & Grade Level: ICT/Grade 4
Standard(s) Addressed:
ISTE Standard
3. Research and Information Fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
a. plan strategies to guide inquiry
b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media
c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks
d. process data and report results

Objective(s):

By the end of this unit students will be able to:
• Conduct Internet research
• Process information
• Report the information to the class

With the use of Kahoot!, I will pre-assess my students’ prior knowledge of the Unit “INTERNET RESEARCH AND CREATIVITY”. This quiz contains 18 questions.

https://play.kahoot.it/#/?quizId=9347ac62-b27f-428a-8020-c98fdf0e00cd

Based on the results I will have an idea of what my students know and don’t know.

From the results of this pre-assessment I will break down the class into three groups:
• the 5 students who answered most, including the most difficult, of the pre-assessment questions correctly
• the 12 students who have some knowledge about the topic as shown in their score, but need to develop higher order thinking skills
• the 5 students who appear to have limited knowledge about the topic
From the results of this assessment, I will be able to alter my lesson plans to include differentiation for the three groups of students mentioned earlier. The mind map below contains all the differentiation strategies as well as forms of assessments that I am planning to use with each group of students.

Pre-assessment and ongoing assessments throughout the unit are essential to helping students meet learning goals. These assessments assist teachers in identifying their students’ current knowledge as well as their skill sets, and it can also help clarify areas of confusion before teaching occurs. Knowing student interests, as well as their strengths and weaknesses can aid in more effective lesson planning which leads to greater student achievement.

References:

Catherine M., Preassessment: A Differentiation Power Tool, retrieved on Dec 16, 2017 from http://elsbpei.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/67307196/Pre-Assessment%20-%20A%20Differentiation%20Power%20Tool.pdf

High Stakes Assessments

High stakes tests used to make important decisions for students, teachers, and schools. High stakes assessments influence students, teachers, and schools in many ways.
Students: Test results may be used to determine whether students advance to the next grade level or whether they receive a diploma.
Educators: Test results may be used in the job-performance evaluations of teachers or to determine professional compensation.
Schools: Tests results may be used to trigger penalties for schools, including negative public ratings, the replacement of staff members, or even closure. (The Glossary of Education Reform. 2017)

American School of Ulaanbaatar

American School of Ulaanbaatar, I am currently working at, offers AP Exams, assessments like SAT, ACT, and Measure of Academic Progress. Those high stakes tests are used for college entrance, and MAP testing to monitor student’s learning progress.

SAT and ACT are served primary for college credits, as the class grade is not dependent and no punishment for doing poorly. Students are also not required to take SAT and ACT. However, our school does document the scores of students. The majority of the teachers in my school are not teaching to the tests. Teachers are not evaluated based on the test scores of their students. No rewards or bonuses are given as a result.

Also, Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) are applied for all students from grade 2 to 12 twice per year to track students’ progress and to compare it to others elsewhere in the same grade in reading, writing, and math. MAP is often held in the fall and spring. MAP scores are not used for moving up to the next grade level. They are used only to determine intervention and placement.

High stakes testing in Finland Public Schools

In Finland, students don’t take many standardized tests. High school students take one high-stakes standardized test at the end of high school. The only external standardized test is the Matriculation Examination. This high stake test determines college readiness and all students are required to pass in order to graduate high school. However, it takes around 40 hours. Most students and teachers are happy with one exam given at the end of high school rather than more frequent tests.

The Matriculation Examination is administrated by an external board appointed by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The Board has about 40 members consisting of university professors, high school teachers, and education policy-makers. Exams are prepared and marked by separate subject committees that have altogether some 330 associate members. (Valerie Strauss. 2014)

The public school teachers are trained to assess children in classrooms using independent tests they create themselves. All children receive a report card at the end of each semester, but these reports are based on individualized grading by each teacher. Assessments are used as a tool for professional development and to help teachers gauge student growth, never for accountability.

Despite a lack of high stakes assessments practice, when Finnish students do take standardized exams, they tend to excel. The country ranks consistently near the top in math, reading and science in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Finnish universities generally have their own entrance exams.

In conclusion, there are many reasons why some countries have many high stakes testing and why Finland does not. There should be a good balance of teaching and high stakes assessments. Educators should focus more on teaching students inquiry skills, critical thinking skills, and problem-solving skills, than on teaching to the test.

References:

The Glossary of education Reform. (2017), Hihg-Stakes tests., retrieved on Dec 8, 2017 from http://edglossary.org/high-stakes-testing/

Valerie Strauss., (2014), The brainy questions on Finland’s only high-stakes standardized test., retrieved on Dec 8, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/24/the-brainy-questions-on-finlands-only-high-stakes-standardized-test/?utm_term=.1b06d8aea90d

Huffington Post., (2012). Standardized testing a foreign concept In Finland with world’s top students, retrieved on Dec 8, 2017 from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ 2012/11/16/standardized-testing-a-fo_n_2145623.html

Anu Partanen., (2011), What Americans keep ignoring about Finland’s school success., retrieved on Dec 8, 2017  https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011 /12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/

 

 

Incorporating diversity and multiple perspectives into lesson plans

Incorporating multicultural lesson plan into a unit plan is very important for inspiring globally minded students. It provides opportunities for our students learn about many cultures in the world around them. In the elementary school, students are still exploring the world around them. As students move beyond high school and college into the workplace, they will enter jobs that require not only critical thinking skills but also acceptance of others’ differences. According to the research, students who learn to accept others of different cultures will have success in the diverse workforce they will find themselves in as adults. They’ll be open-minded, productive team players.

One of the best platforms to bring excellences in education is information and communication technology. The use of technology in multicultural education provides opportunities for students to learn in many different ways. Technology allows more students to be involved, enhance the learning experience, and met diversity needs. When students understand one another’s culture they would feel more comfortable work and talk together, and it will reduce social conflicts.

Students learn better when they feel connected to the content. By connecting classroom content to our students’ cultures teachers will make learning more meaningful and relevant. As an ICT teacher, I let my students do a lot of research on the variety of the cultures and my students enjoy those activities.

Teachers should actively demonstrate to their students that they genuinely care about their cultural, emotional, and intellectual needs. One of the basic approaches to finding out my students’ cultural competence is hearing their thoughts. Teacher and students need to trust each other, and the teacher has to facilitate a safe place for honest opinion.

Compare and contrast other cultures with their own culture is an effective way to learn cultures. As a formative assessment students can create a Venn diagram.

I will know if my students are developing cultural competence when I see them

• Working together across racial, ethnic, and language differences.
• Recognise and acknowledge that others are different than themselves.
• Become aware of fairness.
• Become socially responsible and show respect for the environment.

Differentiating for and Anticipating Student Needs

One of the biggest challenges of educators is meeting the needs of their students. As classrooms become more diverse, it is imperative that teachers plan instruction aimed at meeting the diverse needs of each student.  Differentiated instruction is the most effective way to meet this need. This type of instruction will enable students to reach their greatest potential and ensure success. It is important for teachers to be deliberate in how they plan instruction, use curriculum, create assignments and utilize the space in their classroom. Teachers must also consider how content, process, product and learning environment match the learning styles, readiness, and interests of the students in the class.  The goal is to design learning activities that cater to student’s individual strengths while guiding the whole class toward the same learning objectives. In designing these activities a teacher should keep in mind the students’ interests, as this a powerful motivator for student learning. Once armed with this knowledge, an instructor can plan lessons that will keep students engaged in learning and on course to meeting end goals.

Getting to know our students is the first step, students’ learning profiles and interests can help us with our lesson planning and class activity designing that will effectively engage students in the learning process. The students’ learning profile could be the data collected from the previous year, talking with the student’s homeroom teacher and different subject teachers, student performance observation in class, or talking directly with the student and having a personal conversation. All of this information could be collected at the beginning of the year.

Communicating with your students constantly, knowing their learning styles and keeping a positive relationship with your students is important.  

It is also very important to know what the students’ readiness levels are before planning a new lesson, we need to make sure if the students are ready for the next step, that their ability levels and current needs match. It requires an assessment to determine students’ readiness level and gathering of information and feedback on student readiness, such as diagnostic and/or formative assessments. In addition, pre-assessment questions/tasks, exit cards, brainstorming activities, clicker/student response activities are other good ways of gathering information.

I just realized that how formative assessment is crucial for differentiating instruction. Teachers should check students’ learning process as often as possible in a variety of ways to accommodate different students’ learning conditions. If a teacher finds some students are not understanding the content and others are grasping the material quickly, the teacher needs to analyze the possible problems, as well as reflecting instructions.

Our school has a limited accommodation for students with learning disabilities and I have a very little experience with students who have physical disabilities. However, I have recognized and known some students who have learning disabilities such as ADHD and dyslexia. Although there is a benchmark for English language level for admission, our school still admits some students who only speak a few words of English.

I will take a closer look at English Language Learners, as 85% of my students are ELLs, and students with ADHD. Also, It is important to have resources to help support ELL and ADHD students.

ELL:

• I would spend more time one-on-one with them.
• I will allow those students use a Google Dictionary that is in English and in their native language.
• ELL can be paired with another bilingual student.
• I will use audio and visual supports, Audio (Talking Text).
• I will give the students options for activities .
• I will speak to them using shorter sentences and simpler languages.
• Deliver the content in “chunks”, so ELL students can digest a little at a time, and then continue to build their knowledge and understanding of the material.
• I will use visuals, sketches, gestures, intonation, and other non-verbal cues to make both language and content more accessible to students.

ADHD:

Students with ADHD may be hyperactive and unable control their impulses. Or they may have trouble paying attention.

• Conscious seat placement; use a timer to guide the lesson; quick/silent transitions
• They should have the ability to move around during the day.
• Students with ADHD benefit when verbal and textual input can be supplemented with visual reinforcement by video or images.
• Lesson content should be divided or chunked into meaningful units
• Explain lesson objectives and outcomes clearly to avoid confusion
• Guide the students where necessary and provide feedback
• Praise can be an incredible motivator to help students focus and pay attention.
• Incentives often work well with ADD/ADHD students. These students are often very competitive and incentives can help to motivate them.

The resources we can find to help modify instruction are endless and below are a few that have helped me modify my lesson for different learners.

• Google Translate is a free text-to-speech translator.
• Do’s & Don’ts for Teaching English-Language Learners by Larry Ferlazz
• Teaching Students with ADHD

References:

Technology Tips for Differentiated Instruction, RTEC, retrieved on Nov 10, 2017, from,  https://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/file/view/NewTThandout.pdf

Grace E. Smith and Stephanie Throne, (2007), Differentiating Instruction with Technology in K–5 Classrooms, retrieved on Nov 10, 2017, from,  http://www.iste.org/images/excerpts/diffk5-excerpt.pdf

Strategies for Students with ADHD, (2014), Education.com, retrieved on Nov 10, 2017, from, https://www.education.com/reference/article/add-adhd-strategies-tips/

 

Articulating Outcomes: Thinking like an Assessor

Assessment is key for teachers to know if students are mastering learning standards. Assessment can be of two types: formative or summative. The goal of formative assessment is to monitor student learning by providing ongoing feedback that can be used by students to improve their learning.  On the contrary, summative assessment is undertaken only at the end of the course or unit and is intended to evaluate if the standards and objectives have been reached.  

Here is the standard that I have used for this Unit:

ISTE Standard

3. Research and Information Fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:

1. plan strategies to guide inquiry
2. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media
3. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks
4. process data and report results

Learning objectives (Grade 3, ICT)

• Students will use the Internet to locate and record given information on their chosen Olympic sport
• Students will demonstrate their ability to evaluate the reliability of websites by choosing 3 websites that give information about their topic.
• Students will be able to synthesize their information in their own words on a Google Slide presentation.
• Students will be able to create a Google Slide presentation that creatively shows what they have learned.
• Students will demonstrate their understanding of their Olympic sport by presenting and answering questions on their topic.

Formative assessment

Some strategies I would use for Formative assessment:

Anecdotal Observation: Walking around and observing when students are working on individual assignment is a quick way to know their level of understanding regarding their assignment.

Hand signals to check for understanding: I will assess student learning by requesting that they use a hand signal to demonstrate understanding. If they do not understand steps, they will show thumbs down, but if they understand, they will show thumbs down.

Peer assessment: Require a group to check another group’s slide for misspelled words and grammatical errors.

Reliable Website: Students must locate and send one reliable website they find on their topic through their Gmail accounts so that I can assess if they understand how to evaluate a website.

Above listed formative assessments are great tools and benefits to help a teacher identify learning needs and modify their teaching approach. Also, those assessments help students learn their strength and weaknesses, actively participate the lesson with confidence.   

Summative assessment

• Conduct Internet research: Students will be given an Olympic Sport Research Worksheet. Students will write the name of their sport, the year it was first introduced in the Olympics, a well-known athlete that participated in that sport, 3 interesting facts, and 3 websites. Research worksheet will be evaluated based on the extent of the completion.

• Process information: Check slides they created and grade on successful rewording and insertion of the required information.

• Report the information to the class: Students will present to the class and I will use the Presentation Grading Rubric Sheet to assess students during and after presentations. Also, students participation during the lesson as well as behavior during the presentation will be considered in the grading.

The principal difference between these two assessment procedures is that, while the formative assessment is a part of the instructional process, summative assessment is a part of the grading process. A balanced assessment is based on both of the two, that provides necessary information about the next steps of the teachers and to measure student’s learning regarding the content standard.

The use of formative and summative assessments will help me figure out where the students need more work and where they excel.

References:

Tracy, D. (2015), Formative vs. Summative Assessment: What’s the Difference?, Intercontinental University, retrieved on Nov 3, 2017, from https://www.aiuniv.edu/blog/ 2015/june/formative-vs-summative.

Surbhi, S. (2016), Difference Between Formative and Summative Assessment, retrieved on Nov 3, 2017, from http://keydifferences.com/difference-between-formative-and-summative-assessment.html#ixzz4xOFlpnzx.

 

Understanding and Applying Standards

For the past few months, I have learned countless strategies, skills, and concepts. Among these units we have studied, the current unit “Standards” has been the most challenging and useful unit for me in the program. I realized how little I understand about standards. Having no experience and formal education training, word “standard” seemed to me like big, scary concept that only experienced teachers know about it and use it in their teaching practices.

Unpacking a Standard

Unpacking a standard allows teachers to see what students will know and be able to do, and helps them develop appropriate and effective learning objectives and lesson plans. Also, it helps teachers become effective as they think more strategically about how they teach and learning activities they use, how they select learning activities to make sure these activities are well-matched to the expectations and to students’ individual needs. After doing “Unpacking a Standard” assignment, I have got clear guidelines how to carry out this method and instruct my students and it helped me see standards as a tool to support my teaching.

Google Image

There are two types of learning goals that are implied in any standards. The first goal is a content goal and the second one is a process goal.  Unpacking a Standard asks teachers to look for keywords within the standard to help us know what students are being asked to do, know, understand, learn and master. The verbs within the standard are usually skills a student will need to meet the standard and the nouns can reveal big idea or what should be lesson objectives.

For example: 

3-5.CAS.c.7. Identify the impact of social media and cyberbullying on individuals, families, and society 

Content goal: impact of social media and cyberbullying on individuals, families, and society 

Process goal: Identify

Students have to understand what they will be expected to know and be able to do by the end of the year. I have started to understand how the language we use to express our objectives for our students is critical.

Backward Mapping

There are three stages of backward mapping:

1. Identify the results desired (big ideas and skills)
   • What should the students know, understand, and be able to do?
   • Consider the goals and curriculum expectations
   • Focus on the “big ideas” (principles, theories, concepts, point of views, or themes)
2. Determine acceptable levels of evidence that support that the desired results have occurred (culminating assessment tasks)
   • What will teachers accept as evidence that student understanding took place?
   • Consider culminating assessment tasks and a range of assessment methods (observations, tests, projects, etc.)
3. Design activities that will make desired results happen (learning events)
   • What knowledge and skills will students need to achieve the desired results?
   • Consider teaching methods, sequence of lessons, and resource materials  (Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe)

Google Image

I found the backward mapping is extremely useful which is results driven and helps us to set high expectations, and prepare our students for success at the same time. It helped me to understand how to ensure I include all required skills when developing learning activities. I started looking at the activities from different angles. I used to assign activities without having my students on my mind. Although some of these activities were engaging, they were not requiring higher order thinking skills.

Conclusion

Understanding how to unpack, use, apply and deliver standards is the key success for teachers. It helps teachers to align with school standards, ensure the continuity of learning and teaching, and provide engaging, meaningful learning activities which relevant and necessary to students’ future careers.

This module was the one I was most looking forward to because I think it is the area of my teaching, where I have the most room for growth and improvement. I am sure my growth in this area will have the most direct impact on my students.

References:

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design, retrieved on Oct 28, 2017,  from https://www.fitnyc.edu/files/pdfs/Backward_design.pdf

Michael Schrimpf (2016), Unpacking standards to improve instruction, retrieved on Oct 28, 2017, http://www.kappancommoncore.org/unpacking-standards-to-improve-instruction/

 

Standards and Backwards Mapping

The American School of Ulaanbaatar (my school) offers a dynamic, progressive and balanced academic program aligned with the Massachusetts curriculum in a student-centered learning environment.

I am currently teaching ICT (Information Communications Technology) for Kindergarten to Grade 5 students according to the Massachusetts Digital Literacy and Computer Science (DLCS) Curriculum Framework. The DLCS include core concepts in 4 strands: 

– Computing and society
– Digital Tools and Collaboration
– Computing Systems
– Computational Thinking  

Each strand within the curriculum has a list of standards, which the students should master during that stage of the curriculum. The standard I chose to develop a unit is from Computing and Society strand.

3-5.CAS.c.7. Identify the impact of social media and cyberbullying on individuals, families, and society 

I chose this standard because computing impacts all people and has global consequences on such things as communications, assistive technology, social networking, and the economy. 

In the past, children were often physically bullied at school or in their neighborhood. Today, with the increased use of the Internet, children are now being bullied in all locations and at all times. Many underage students have a social media account and cyberbullying is a growing problem in our school. 

I will examine learning proficiencies that students are expecting to achieve, assessments for how students will be evaluated, and learning experiences for achieving mastering.

3 Proficiencies

– Students will be able to describe social media and cyberbullying;

-Students know the legal age to open the social media account;

– Students will be able to identify the impact of social media on individuals, families, and society; 

– Students will be able to identify the impact of cyberbullying on individuals, families, and society; 

– Students will know how to prevent them from cyberbullying;

-Participate respectfully and responsibly in an online community;

3 Assessments

Research: Students will do individual research on the Internet on Social media and cyberbullying: What is Social media; popular social media sites; legal age to have a social media account, what is cyberbullying; what can you do prevent yourself from cyberbullying happening to you;

Quiz: As students learn about the social media and cyberbullyig, and their impact on society, students can challenge their knowledge and understanding with Kahoot!

Poster: Student will form pairs. As a team will do online research and create a Canva poster on the impact of social media and cyberbullying on individuals, families, and society.

3 Learning Experiences or Activities

1. Students will do individual research on the Internet on Social media and cyberbullying: What is Social media; popular social media sites; legal age to have a social media account, what is cyberbullying; what can you do prevent yourself from cyberbullying happening to you;

2. Have a class discussion on cyberbullying and have students share their personal experience.

3. Students will watch the video: “Social media advantages and disadvantages” and inspirational videos on cyberbullying.

4. Students will be divided into smaller groups with one leader in each group and discuss following questions.

A. What is a bystander?

B. Do you think bystanders can be neutral when they see others being cyberbullied?

C. How do you feel when you see others cyberbullied? What do you usually do?

D. What are some things bystanders can do to stop cyberbullying?

5. Student will form pairs. As a team will do online research and create a Canva poster on the impact of social media and cyberbullying on individuals, families, and society.

References:

American School of Ulaanbaatar (2017.), Academic Program, retrieved on 27 Oct, 2017, from http://www.asu.edu.mn

Massachusetts Digital Literacy and Computer Science (DLCS) Curriculum Framework (2016),retrieved on 27 Oct, 2017, fromhttp://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/dlcs.pdf 

 

Applying Classroom Rules and Procedures

An important part of classroom management is how and when the teacher will provide positive reinforcement for students following the rules and what consequences there will be when problematic behavior arises. The positive and negative consequences need to be established at the beginning of the school year and addressed routinely and frequently during the school year. Having clear consequences that are discussed at the beginning of the school year allows students to know and understand what will happen when they follow the rules and what will happen when they don’t. Being consistent with maintaining rules and procedures and applying consequences can create a safe learning environment in which students know what is expected from them, learn to take responsibility for their action. Fair and consistent classroom management are also important in developing relationships with students.

Marzano, in chapter 7 of The Art and Science of Teaching, organizes student behavior into two categories: those that “acknowledge rules and procedures” and those that “acknowledge lack of adherence to rules and procedures”.

Adherence to Rules and Procedures

Action Step 1: Use Simple Verbal and Nonverbal Acknowledgment

A teacher should acknowledge a student’s positive behavior verbally and nonverbally.  This can be carried out individually or as a whole class for following rules. In my class, I will praise students for following procedures regarding sitting on the carpet. I might say something to an individual student like “I really like how you are sitting on the carpet quietly, legs crossed and hands in your lap”.

Action Step 2: Use Tangible Recognition When Appropriate

Tangible recognition happens when students adhere to rules and procedures. In this strategy, a teacher uses a token economy to assign points to students that follow the rules. I planning to use the ClassDojo for this purpose. Students can earn points for things like helping a friend, leaving their workstations neat for the next class and completing all assigned classwork. They can also lose points for things like using bad or hurtful language, leaving their workstations dirty or trash around them.

Action Step 3: Involve the Home in Recognition of Positive Student Behavior

Often parents are called for negative behavior, however, this method can also be used to recognize students’ positive behaviors. This can also be done through email and notes sent home. When a student has shown good behavior in my classes, I will send home a certificate that has the specific reason the child is being rewarded and words of appreciation. This personalization means a lot to both the student and parents.

Lack of Adherence to Rules and Procedures

Action Step 4: Withitness

The Marzano Center describes “withitness” as a teacher’s continual awareness of all that is going on in the classroom at all times. Withitness involves fully occupying the classroom space, keeping a constant awareness of what is happening in the classroom, and proactively responding to situations before problems arise. In other words, withitness is the state of staying on top of your classroom management situation, and much of what it involves is preventative.

Withitness teachers are proactive, can reach the entire class, identify a potential problem, and apply effective strategies to manage negative behavior.

I will try to be proactive and occupy the entire classroom to see who is on or off the task, who is doing what, and prevent any misbehavior and incident. When I catch someone off task, trying to start a conversation with someone or playing with a pen I will keep an eye contact with the student while carrying on with my lesson. If the student doesn’t improve his or her behavior I will use the proximity strategy and approach the student while carrying on with my lesson. If the student still does not stop misbehaving I will talk quietly to him or her and remind the rules and procedures. If this still does not help student change behavior I will stop my lesson and confront the student. I will remind the consequences and the choices can make.

Action Step 5. Direct-Cost Consequences

When withitness is not working to correct an inappropriate behavior, clear and explicit consequences should be given. Two such consequences are addressed in this action step:

1. TIme-Out: In my school, if a student is given two warnings for their negative behavior and when the third occurrence takes place, that student is escorted by a teaching assistant to another classroom, which is already predetermined, and instructed to fill out a Think Time sheet. At the end of that period, the classroom teacher who is hosting the student will address what happened, go over the Think Time sheet with him/her and come up with a solution with that student. Once this is done the student will be sent back to their homeroom. If the student returns from Think Time and the negative behavior continues, the next steps are to send/walk the student down to the Assistant Principal’s Office for further intervention, or suspension.
2. Overcorrection: This step has the students participating in activities that overcompensate for the inappropriate behavior they have displayed. For example, if a student has destroyed or damaged school property they are directed to work off or pay for the object they have destroyed or return it to its original state.

Action Step 6. Group Contingency

There are times when a whole class needs to be held responsible for negative behavior. There are two types of group contingency that consist of interdependent and dependent. This strategy can punish through examples such as keeping students in the classroom during recess or getting rid of fun class activities for a day. Essentially,in this strategy a teacher uses peer pressure to influence a student to exhibit a desired behavior.  

Action Step 7. Use Home Contingency

With home contingency, parent and teacher work together in having student behave. The actions in the classroom affect the privileges at home, and when behavior is bad in the class, items at home are taken away, such as Ipad, phone or fun home activities.  

Action Step 8. Have a Strategy for High-Intensity Situations

High-intensity situations occur when a student is out of control and threatens the safety of others.  A classroom teacher should avoid these situations and immediately involve administration. In a high-intensity situation first I will have to recognize that the student is out of control, try to keep myself calm and step back from the student. This can signal to the student that I don’t intend any harm to the student and can increase the student’s safety as well as mine. I will listen actively to the student and make understand that his/her feelings are not discounted and they are considered important. I will plan my next actions, whether I will try to remove the student from the room or the rest of the class. When the student is calm I will repeat a simple verbal request and ask to leave the room with me. I will ask the student to go to the assistant principal’s office to further discuss what has happened in the class and what made him or her so upset.

Action Step 9: Create an Overall Plan for Disciplinary Problems

An overall plan to manage behavioral conflicts should be designed for the teacher’s reference.  

Below is my flowchart for applying reinforcement and consequences.

In conclusion, any approach to manage student behavior should be well balanced. A teacher should not only address negative behavior but should recognize the positive behavior as well. The ways in which behavioral management can be approached include verbal and non-verbal acknowledgment, tangible recognition, and involvement from those in the child’s home. It is also important for an instructor to be proactive in their classroom by being with-it, engaging in direct cost and using group contingency. Also, a teacher should have a contingency plan in the case of high-intensity students as well as an overall, outlined plan for discipline. I feel the best way to implement these strategies is to attempt to understand each student and figure out what would work best.

References:

Robert J. Marzano (2007). The Art and Science of Teaching. Chapter 7. Retrieved from https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/platform-user-content/prod-copy/get_help_resources/activity_resources/module4/The_Art_and_Science_of_Teaching.pdf 

 

Creating High Performance Learning Environments

Our learning styles, as well as the environment in which this learning takes place, play an important role in a student’s achievement. It is advantageous for educators to look at how we manage our classrooms and the teaching strategies we use to educate our students. We should set high expectations for our students within an environment where they feel safe and valued.

Roller Coaster Lesson

Academic Expectations

In this video, Ms.Migdol values her students, both in the way she fosters an environment where expectations are high and also how she gives them the tools and support needed to meet those expectations. Ms.Migdol’s academic expectations are evident in how she communicates with her students. According to the teaching strategy, “Right is Right”, a teacher should use technical/high academic language with students in order to reinforce necessary vocabulary related to subjects being learned. Ms.Migdol encourages students to use this language by asking them questions individually and providing group and collaborative time in which students must use the technical language to discuss, plan and make decisions.

Behavior Expectations

She lets them work in groups without supervision speaks to her trust in the proper behavior of her students. In the first scenario, making the roller coaster, they are able to stay on task without deviating. The second scenario, sketching designs, is a strict design that takes advantage of the knowledge they have already learned and put it to use in the activity. Each student has individual roles that all depend on the other members of the group. The lesson is designed in such a way that without the participation of all group members final objectives cannot be met. The concept of “chiming in” allows free-form discussion and critical collaboration. This creates a climate in which students honor each other, promoting behavior the teacher desires for her students to exhibit.

Norms, Rules, and Procedures

Norms, rules, and procedures are also incorporated into Mis. Migdol’s class. Students are required to submit a group sketch of their roller coaster at some point in the project. In my observation of the video, students were able to complete this portion of the lesson through knowing the expectations of how to express their opinions and ideas as well as problem solving in a systematic way. In the last part of the video, students are asked to do a simulation of their roller coaster. In this process, when they fail, they write it down and why they think it happened and include one modification. They do this process over again until they get the desired result. This not only develops systematic thinking but also gives students guidelines in which enable them to problem solve as a group.

 3rd Grade Chinese Math Class

Academic Expectations

This video and article show extremely high academic expectations. Students are expected to contribute to the lesson by repeating chants and solving math problems together. Wie (2014) explains that students are exposed to math at a very young age and concepts are repeated, layered, and built upon throughout the school years. Math lessons are taught by specialized teachers and extra hours are allocated to Math in these schools. I can see why this style is very successful for an average student and China consistently does well on international math tests. It makes sense that early exposure and more hours of learning would help students excel.

I can see in this video that the teacher is very interactive and she requests chants and responses from the whole class. The students seem very focused and have a high level of participation. The facts cannot be denied, math scores and abilities are very impressive because of the education Chinese students receive, however, I believe that other elements could be added to this model to develop 21st-century learning skills. For instance, projects, group work, and other activities for students to connect Math to their everyday lives.

Behavior Expectations, Norms and procedures

This style seems rigid in terms of behavior and procedures. The students are expected to behave in the same way and all follow the same directions, which can simplify classroom management as the rules and expectations are clear.

Whole Brain Teaching

In the last video, Ms.Shayne uses Whole Brain Teaching to instruct a high school geography class about latitude and longitude.

Academic Expectations

Like the Chinese teacher in the previous lesson, the academic expectations for these students are high and shown by the teacher’s expectation that students can follow and execute the classroom management rules that have been previously established.

Behavior Expectations

Behaviorally, students were expected to be on task, both as a whole class and in individual settings. They followed directions explicitly and paid attention fully to Ms. Shayne’s instructions and responded accordingly. The pace of the tasks was quick and students were able to meet the objectives the teacher gave them.

Norms, rules, and procedures

It was clear students were aware of the norms, policies, and procedures set in their class. Ms.Shayne would cue the students to what outcome she wanted, and the students would respond as a whole class with the same reply: a chant and some kind of hand motion. During one part of the video, a female student entered the class at an inappropriate time and the other students immediately chanted a rehearsed rule, as a reminder of what that rule was for her.

Summary

Roller coaster

There are many techniques that I can implement from Ms. Migdol’s lesson on roller coasters. The first technique which grabbed my eye was the way in which she used technical/academic language with her students. Though the language was very advanced, her students were able to meet her expectations. It is easy to simplify our language but watching this video has motivated me to speak using vocabulary levels greater than I normally use with my students. I would also like to incorporate more group activities and projects into class time. I see how beneficial it is for students to learn from each other, both academically and behaviorally. Also, within group activities, assigning specific jobs and responsibilities will be possible, if simplified. These jobs can rotate so students can learn the responsibility of each position.

Chinese Math

This classroom was very well structured, in that each student knew what was expected of them and were able to follow the memorization very well through the chants. I felt the video itself was hard to follow without reading the article, which gave a lot more insight to what was going on in the classroom. In my opinion, definitely requires other types of teaching strategies with it, as I feel it is almost too teacher-centered. For example, PBL, group work, and other activities could be added to the lesson. Obviously, this method appears to be working in this specific culture, however, I have to wonder how much it would translate to a different culture where less pressure is put on students by parents and teachers.

Also, it gave some important takeaway. When a student is exposed to a subject at a young age and given opportunities to see that subject expand, they are more likely to carry the information on.

Whole Brain Teaching

I thought the whole mind approach is a very interesting one that appears to be working well in this classroom. In the Whole Brain Teaching strategy, the chanting of rules is something that would work well with my students. This could be done at the beginning of each class, where students can recite basic classroom rules to reinforce what the expectations are before class starts.

References: 

Channel, T. (2012) Roller coaster physics: STEM in action. Available at:https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/teaching-stem-strategies (Accessed: 27 Sep 2017).

Crystal Chen (2011) 3rd grade Chinese–math class.avi. Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7LseF6Db5g (Accessed: 27 Sep 2017).

J, R. (2007) ‘Teaching of MARZANO A COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORK FOR EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION’, and Science.

roxishayne (2011) Whole brain teaching Richwood high – the basics. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iXTtR7lfWU&feature=youtu.be(Accessed: 27 Sep 2017).

Wei, K. (2014) Explainer: What makes Chinese maths lessons so good? Available at: http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-makes-chinese-maths-lessons-so-good-24380 (Accessed: 27 Sep 2017).