Our Statewide Inservice this year focused on Diverse Learners and Struggling Students at Marist.

Resources from this day can be found here:
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KEY QUESTION:  ​What skills and/or concepts are my students learning at the end of the lesson/segment/unit and how do I communicate that?

Research* indicates that there are noticeable achievement gains in classrooms where students know and understand what they are learning and why.  Communicating clearly and frequently learning goals or objectives with students is a key strategy in helping students connect the What and the Why.

Some questions for reflection:

• Are learning goals posted so that all students can see them?
• Are the learning goals clear statements of knowledge or skills as opposed to an activity or assignment? 
• Are the learning goals referred to throughout the lesson and unit?
• Has a scale or rubric that relates to the learning goal(s) been shared with students in advance?
• Is the scale or rubric referred to throughout the lesson? 

When asked can students:

• Explain the learning goal(s) for the lesson?
• Explain how their current activities relate to the learning goal?
• Explain the levels of performance indicated in the scale or rubric?

​Two Resources
Website
Handout

*Research Citations
1.  Wise, K.C. & Okey, J.R. (1983). A meta-analysis of the effects of various science teaching strategies on achievement. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20(5), 419-435.
2.  Lipsey, M. W., & Wilson, D. B. (1993). The efficacy of psychological, educational, and behavioral treatment. American Psychologist, 48(12), 1181–1209.
3.  Walberg, H. J. (1999). Productive teaching. In H. C. Waxman & H. J. Walberg (Eds.), New directions for teaching practice research, 75–104. Berkeley, CA: McCutchen.
 

At our beginning of year inservice, I shared some assumptions I formed as a result of researching teacher growth and improvement over the summer.

• Good Teaching REALLY Matters
• Teaching is an Incredibly Complex Activity (It is an Art and a Science)
• Good Teachers are Already Looking to Improve
• Some Practices are Better and More Effective Than Others

5 domains were introduced as a way of thinking about the art and science of teaching at Marist.  They can also help serve as a shared language of teaching and learning.

Future posts will look more closely at the categories and elements of the Instructional Methods and Practices Domain.