“Teachers do not cause students achievement, students cause student achievement” Steve Barkley

“Teachers do not cause students

achievement, students cause student achievement”

Steve Barkley

Framework for TeachingEvidence: What it Looks Like

Prince George’s County Public Schools Office of Talent Development

Objectives

• Identify evidence to be included in the FfT Descriptors of Practice.

• Identify and collect non-bias and factual evidence from on stage and off stage

• Analyze a completed Descriptors of Practice

Agenda

Part I: • Warm Up• What is evidence ?

Part II: • Collecting off-stage Evidence Domain 1 • Identify Evidence for Domains 1, 2 and 3

Part III: • Looking at a completed D.O.P.

Closure• What are the implications for you as a teacher?

Part I

What is evidence?

Quick WriteWhat is evidence?

EVIDENCE

Evidence is a factual reporting of events.

It may include teacher and student actions and/or behaviors. It may also include artifacts prepared by the teacher, students, or others.

It is not clouded with personal opinion or biases. It is selected using professional judgment by the observer and/or the teacher.

Types of Observation Evidence

• Verbatim scripting of teacher or student comments: “Could one person from each table collect materials?”

• Non-evaluative statements of observed teacher or student behavior:The teacher stands by the door, greeting students as they enter.

• Numeric information about time, student participation, resource use, etc.:Three students of the eighteen offer nearly all of the comments during discussion.

• An observed aspect of the environment:The assignment is on the board for students to do while roll is taken.

BIAS

When making judgments based on evidence, we draw conclusions from what we see and hear. And, while it is human nature to attach positive or negative “meaning” to elements in our environment, it is inappropriate in a professional observation to allow our personal associations – our biases – to affect our judgment.

Exploring the nature of bias:

Bias, both personal and societal, can influence judgment in many ways. None of these influences, it should be noted, are directly related to the teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom, but they can affect the observer’s judgment.

Bias is both possible and important to understand.

Threats to evaluator accuracy:

• Assessor bias• Leniency• Central Tendency• “Halo” or “Horns” Effect• Comparison

4 o’clock appt.

On the Line • You will view pieces of statement and determine if the evidence is

evidence or an opinion. • If the statement is evidence step forward, if opinion then step

backward, and if you are not certain, then stay on the line.

Evidence or Opinion?

The pacing of the lesson was slow, allowing for student restlessness, disengagement, and disruptive behavior.


The teacher says today’s activities are an extension of the math unit.


The pacing of the lesson was slow, allowing for student restlessness, disengagement, and disruptive behavior.


The new table arrangement encourages concentration and controlled interaction with neighbor.

Review - What is Evidence?

• Actions, by teacher or students

• Statements or questions, by teacher or students

• Observable features of the classroom

• Captured not remembered

Domain 1: Planning and Preparation

1c: Establishing Instructional Outcomes

1e: Designing Coherent Instruction

Domain 2: Classroom Environment

2b: Establishing a Culture for Learning

2d: Managing Student Behavior

Domain 4:

Professional Responsibility

4a: Reflecting on Teaching

4c: Communicating with Families

Domain 3:

Instruction

3b: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques

3c: Engaging Student in Learning

The 8 Essential Components

Pieces of the Lesson

• Value, Sequence, & Alignment• Aligned to standards • Part of a bigger picture, previous lesson, beginning

lesson, etc.• Represents high expectations & intellectual rigor (higher order thinking)

• Clarity • Objectives use measurable verbs• Clearly stated as a learning goal & can be assessed• Teacher states outcome as learning not just as an activity• Outcomes can be assessed/tested


Balance:•Balance represent factual knowledge and procedural skills as well as thinking and reasoning, conceptual understanding and skills in collaboration. •Among different types of learning (may represent listening, discussion, writing, drawing, presenting, groupings, etc.)

How is it related to the learning outcome?•Integrated with other content areas/technology•Instruction is adjusted to accommodate diverse learners •Differentiating the Process/Activities

o Differentiating the processes means varying learning activities or strategies to provide appropriate methods for students to explore the concepts.

1e: Designing Coherent Instruction

Requires teachers’ knowledge of the content, students, resources and clarity of instructional outcomes that come together, resulting in a plan of action.


Learning Activities

•Are suitable for students.

•Support the Instructional Outcomes in 1c.

•Engage students in meaningful learning via approved textbooks, technology, websites, and resources from www.mdk12.org.

•Reflect appropriate text complexity.

Materials and Resources

•Are suitable for students.

•Support the Instructional Outcomes in 1c.

•Engage students in meaningful learning via approved textbooks, technology, websites, and resources from www.mdk12.org.

•Reflect appropriate text complexity.


Instructional Groups

•Groups are varied as appropriate, based on needs of students and instructional outcomes.

•Student choice is incorporated in grouping decisions.

Lesson and Unit Structure

•Clearly defined structure•Activities designed to support lesson structure & are coherent•Time allocations are reasonable•Topics are connected•Time for closure and student reflection •Options are provided for diverse student needs.

2b. Establishing a Culture for Learning

The culture for learning refers to the atmosphere

and energy level in a classroom, where

students are engaged in

important work.


Importance of Content

Atmosphere in class reflects importance of work

Everyone engaged in pursuits of value

Norms that govern interaction among individuals

Students demonstrate curiosity and taking initiative

High energy

Expectations for Learning & Achievement

•High expectations of Teacher•Teacher has confidence in their abilities•Effort is rewarded•Good ideas are valued (Good job, you have two more sentences to go”)•Students put forth effort•Being “smart” is cool•Safe environment for taking risks


Student Pride in Work

Student work is displayed

Accountable talk (students & teachers)

Students explain work to others

Students value learning and hard work

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2d. Managing Student Behavior

• Expectations

• Monitoring of Student Behavior

• Response to Student Misbehavior


Expectations

Standards of conduct set/posted

Clear consequences

Consistently applied (no favorites)

Routines/procedures established

Teachers refrain from losing temper

Monitoring of Student Behavior

•Self monitoring by students•Teacher aware of what is going on “eyes in the back of the head”

Response to Misbehavior

•Reflects established behavior plan•Proximity of teacher•Consequences based on student behavior, not on the student


Quality of Questions

Invite students to formulate hypotheses

Make connections

Challenge previously held views

Promote student thinking/teachers probe student responses

High level rather than low level

Discussion Techniques

•Discussion student led•Teacher not the center of the discussion “sage on the stage”•Requires student analytical thinking •Teacher encourages comments on others answers and requests further elaboration


Student Participation in the Discussion

All students are engaged

All students are drawn into the conversation

Students themselves ensure high levels of participation


Activities ad Assignments• Large (whole class), small,

pairs, triads, etc.• Should reflect what teacher is

trying to accomplish and should serve that purpose

• Heterogeneous/Homogeneous

Grouping of Students• Active student learning-mental

engagement• Students making contributions• Students are intellectually

engaged• Students challenged to think

broadly & deeply• Students solve problems


Instructional Materials & Resources•Suitable and enhances learning for all students•Needed for outcome/engaging for students in meaningful learning•Supported the instructional outcomes

Structure and Pacing•Students know where they are in the structure•The structure guided the lesson (warm up, beginning, middle, end, and closure)•Pacing is appropriate to students and content•Students don’t feel rushed or too much lag time

4a: Reflection on Teaching (page 92-94)

Accuracy• Teacher prompts students to reflect on learning

and uses the reflections to assess lesson’s effectiveness.

• Teacher identifies specific learning outcomes that students mastered and those that will need to be reinforced with additional instruction.

• Teacher reflects on the effectiveness of instructional groups by assigning student monitors in each group to collect data about the participation of each group member. In addition, all students participate in a reflection activity in which they make connections between group participation and learning.

4a: Reflection on Teaching

Use in Future Teaching• Teacher provides several alternate resources for students, including options for students of varying levels of readiness and learning style.

• Based on student reflections, the teacher regroups student for the next lesson according to their area of interest in the topic.

• After examining student work, the teacher develops a series of milestones, sequenced and differentiated according to needs indicated by student work.


Information about the Instructional Program

Informs families how class is runUses a communication strategy: web page, newsletter, back-to-school night, email, etc.


Information about Individual Students

Parents should feel invited and encouraged to contact the teacher any timeInform parents of academic & social progressCommunicates honestly with parentsResponds to parent concerns

Part IICollecting off-stage Evidence Domain 1 Identifying Evidence for Domains 1, 2 and 3

Domain 1 • Collecting off-stage Evidence Domain 1

• Review the sample lesson plan• Record evidence from the sample lesson plan for

Domain 1• Have a discussion with a partner or group about the

evidence collected.

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D.O.P

Examining a completed Descriptors of Practice

Take a moment to read through the completed D.O.P.•What do you notice?•Fact or Opinion•Levels of Performance

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Closure

What are the implications for you as a teacher?

“The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think - rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves,

than to load the memory with thoughts of other men.” ~Bill Beattie ~

Quote

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“Teachers do not cause students achievement, students cause student achievement” Steve Barkley