Classroom Walkthrough Common Understandings 2014 · PDF fileClassroom Walkthrough Common Understandings 2014-2015 ... Co-Teaching (Models ... without the teacher speaking in-between

Classroom Walkthrough Common

Understandings 2014-2015

Cabarrus County School District

Concord, North Carolina

Updated on August, 7, 2014 2

Table of Contents

I. Focus on Curriculum

Objectives and Standards………………..……………………………………………………………….……………….3

II. Focus on Instruction……………………………………………………………………………………………..….4

Instructional Practices………………………………………………………………….…………………………………4

Release of Responsibility…………………………………………………………………………………………………8

Grouping Format………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9

III. Focus on the Learner……………………………………………………………………………………………...10

Percent of Students Engaged…………………………………………………………………………………………….10

Level of Engagement……………………………………………………………………………………………………11

Level of Student Work (Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy)…………………………………………………………………16

Technology……………………………………………………………………………………………………………....22

IV. Co-Teaching (Models)………………………………………………………………………………...…………...23

V. Mathematics (8 Mathematical Practices)………..………………………………………………………………….24

VI. Reading Writing Workshop……………………………………………………………………………………...26

Reading/Writing Workshop (Student actions)………………………………………………………………………….26

Reading/Writing Workshop (Teacher actions)……………………………………………………………………….....28

Work of the Current Unit………………………………………………………………………………………………..29

Common Understandings: Focus on Curriculum

1. Question 1: Instruction and assessment are focused on objectives based on established standards or outcomes *

It may be beneficial for the observer to speak with students in order to rate this section. Questions to be considered include,

1) What are you working on? 2) Why are you working on this? (Student should be able to paraphrase the content objective, the essential

question, or the enduring understanding) 3) Why is it important that you learn this? 4) How will the teacher know that you have learned this?

Objective Look- Fors Description

No objective(s); or, what is written is not an objective(s)

• No objective posted or verbally stated • Objective posted or stated is an activity, not an objective • The posted or verbally stated objective(s) are not written in an understandable or

“kid-friendly” language • The posted or verbally stated objective(s) does not match what is being taught in the

classroom

Objective(s) have no connection to established curriculum

• The posted or verbally stated objective(s) do not align to the CCS curriculum documents, Common Core State Standards, or North Carolina Essential Standards

The objective(s) is verbally stated or posted

• The posted or verbally stated objective(s) could be from the North Carolina Essential Standards Clarifying Objectives

• The posted or verbally stated objective(s) could be an essential question or enduring understanding from the CCS curriculum documents

• The posted or verbally stated objective(s) could be written in a “student will be able to…” format

• In an E/LA or R/W Workshop class the posted objective(s) may be expressed as the daily teaching point

The students are aware of the objective(s) and they are aligned to the established curriculum

• The posted or verbally stated objective(s) meet the criteria listed above AND • When questioned, students can paraphrase the daily objective(s) AND • When questioned, students demonstrate an understanding of the importance of the

daily objective(s)

The students are aware of the objective(s) (aligned to the established curriculum) and know how their achievement and the objective(s) will be

• The posted or verbally stated objective(s) meet the criteria listed above AND • When questioned, the students demonstrate a knowledge of the manner in which

they will be assessed on the current teaching objective(s)


measured

Common Understandings: Focus on Instruction

2a. Question 1: Identify the instructional practices (* indicates Marzano’s High Yield Instructional Strategies) *

Observers may mark multiple instructional practices.

Instructional Practice Operational definition of instructional practice

Examples

Class discussion or seminar

Teacher facilitated, whole class discussion. Students may talk with one another without the teacher speaking in-between comments or directing the conversation.

ü Socratic Seminar ü Fish Bowl Discussion ü Debate

Composing Students are creating an original work; can be from a teacher created prompt or question.

ü Letter or journal writing ü Writing a poem, story, song, play, etc. ü Creating a political cartoon

Distance Learning The teacher and students are not directly interacting with one another. Typically involves using technology to teach students and disseminate information or assess learning.

ü Teacher-Reach or Rotation Model of teaching (Blended Learning)

ü North Carolina Virtual Public School ü Odyssey Ware ü Apex Learning ü ALEKS ü Web Assign

Hands-On/Experiments/Labs

The students are actively involved in the lesson through manipulative or tactile learning. Students are a part of the “process” and are assuming a role where they “act” like scientists, historians, mathematicians, etc.

ü Science experiment (students completing)

ü Using manipulatives to explore math

Informal Assessing The teacher is assessing student progress for the purpose of providing feedback to students; this may or may not be graded.

ü Student conferences ü Providing feedback to small groups ü Question and answer during instruction ü Fist to Five indicator ü Thumbs up or thumbs down indicator ü Ticket out the door ü Holding up small white boards

Content Enhancement Routines

Part of the Content Literacy Continuum, teacher and students are using the Content Enhancement Routines in the lesson to explore new content, understand relationships between concepts, or review previous learning. These should be present in all middle school Social Studies and

ü FRAMEs ü LINCing Strategy ü Course and/or Unit Organizers ü Question Exploration strategy ü Concept Comparison strategy


Science classrooms. Certain high schools use these strategies as well, but they are not present in all schools. These are not Xtreme Reading strategies.

Cooperative Learning Students are working together in small groups to achieve a goal. There is an equal sharing of responsibility and an equal level of participation among all group members. All members are engaged in accountable talk and are actively participating in the work.

ü List-Group-Label ü Think-Pair-Share ü Jigsaw activity ü Book Clubs ü Kagan Cooperative Learning Strategies

Group Work Students are working in small groups to complete a task. There are varying degrees of participation from group members; certain members may complete all of the work, while other members are disengaged and uninvolved in the process.

ü Group research projects

Coaching The teacher works with students to teach a skill, technique or strategy. The teacher will model and guide the student(s), but the teacher does not “tell” the student(s) how to complete the assignment or perform the skill. The teacher acts as a guide rather than a director.

ü Exploration of a concept through a “launch”

ü Modeling or scaffolded instruction ü The gradual release phase of guided

instruction, collaborative work and independent practice with teacher feedback and guidance

Lecture The teacher is delivering content to students verbally and in a direct manner.

ü Displaying a PowerPoint or Prezi to the class and explaining the content to the students

Homework/Practice* The teacher assigns work to be done in the classroom or at home that either introduces a new skill or practices a learned skill. The purpose and expectations of the work should be clearly communicated to the students. Feedback on the homework or practice must be provided.

ü Skill practice ü Reflective journals ü The gradual release phase of individual

practice

Cues/Questions/Advance Organizers*

The teacher provides cues or poses questions to the students in order to elicit a specific response or foster thinking along a certain pathway. The teacher uses graphic organizers to focus and manage large amounts of information or aid in the

ü FRAMEs (CER) ü LINCing strategy (CER) ü Foldables ü Cue-do-review sessions ü Fishbowl discussions ü Socratic Seminars


assimilation of knowledge. ü Interviews

Generating/Testing Hypotheses*

Students use both inductive and deductive strategies to create, explain, text and defend hypotheses. The teacher is a facilitator of learning, rather than a director, and will coach and model as needed to foster student understanding and development.

ü Finding an alternate way to solve a problem

ü Questioning the author of a book ü Participating in a student created

experiment

Identifying Similarities/differences*

Students are comparing two or more topics, events, words, ideas, etc. in order to create meaning.

ü Venn Diagram ü Double Bubble ü T-chart

Non-Linguistic Representations*

Students create graphic organizers, models, mental pictures, drawings, pictographs, etc. in order to assimilate knowledge and make connections.

ü Story boards ü Cartoons ü LINCing strategy (CER)

Summarizing/Note Taking*

If summarizing, students are identifying the most salient and important elements of a story or document and rewriting that information into their own words. If note taking, students are identifying the most important or salient elements of a text or document and rewriting that information in an organized format, such as an outline.

ü Affinity diagram ü Collaborative note-taking ü Story summaries ü Outlining text

Setting Objectives/Providing Feedback*

The teacher sets specific, understandable and attainable goals. The teacher provides feedback that is timely, appropriate, corrective and aligned to the criteria and objectives established.

ü Posted daily objectives in the classroom ü Rubrics ü KWL Charts posted in the classroom ü Anchor charts ü Unit Organizer strategy (CER) ü Specific comments about what is good

about a student’s work or what needs improvement

Reinforcing Effort/Recognition*

The teacher praises students and provides non-tangible rewards (not grades) based on the performance standards of that particular lesson or assignment.

ü Student work is displayed in classroom ü Oral feedback and praise ü Non-verbal gestures such as high-fives or

thumbs up signs

Seatwork The student is working quietly and independently to practice a skill or explore a concept. Typically addresses the lower levels of Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy.

ü Worksheets ü Guided reading worksheets ü Vocabulary worksheets or notecards ü Answering questions from the textbook ü Using technology to learn about a


concept or topic and answering questions

Student Presentations Students present information to other students, or the whole class, including the teacher.

ü Student research projects with created PowerPoints or Prezis

ü Jigsaw activity ü Teach-Share (student led) ü Fishbowl activities

Video Students are watching a video either as a whole class, in small groups or as individuals.

ü Viewing a movie related to the content ü Watching short, informational videos

from Discovery Education

Learning Stations Students are working in small groups in various spaces with different tasks and/or goals. Students may rotate through these stations as they complete certain tasks or as time elapses. The teacher may facilitate learning at all stations, or work with one specific station.

ü Rotational model of teaching (Blended Learning)

ü Math work stations ü Physical education warm-up or aerobic

stations

Question and Answer The teacher leads the class by asking questions to the class in order to focus thinking and/or elicit responses. Typically involves only one student at a time answering a question.

ü Choral questioning ü Test review session with rapid fire

questioning

Reading and Responding The students read a text or document and create a written, verbal, or non-linguistic response to what they have read. This differs from seatwork in that the student response focuses on the higher levels of Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and allows for student choice and creativity. It is not simply reading and answering prefabricated questions.

ü Fishbowl discussions ü Socratic Seminars ü Reading and responding with

accountable talk ü Opinionares ü What would you do scenarios ü Reading and annotating a story or

primary source document ü Stop and Jot ü Turn and Talk

Self-Evaluation/Reflection

The students engage in deliberate thought and reflection about what they are learning or what they have learned in order to understand why they are learning it and/or evaluate how well they have learned the information.

ü Student constructed portfolios of work ü Reflective journals ü Comparison of work to the rubric

Modeling Part of gradual release, the teacher is showing the students how to perform a skill or solve a problem by demonstrating

ü “I do, We do, You do” progressions ü Scaffolded instruction ü The gradual release phase of guided


the skill to the class. The teacher breaks a concept or skill into manageable steps or “chunks” and makes his or her thought process visible throughout the lesson.

instruction ü Science experiment demonstrations ü Mini-lesson

Peer Evaluation Students provide feedback and constructive comments to other students in small groups, pairs or in a one-on-one setting.

ü Peer conferences ü Peer grading ü Peer evaluations on student presentations ü Conferring with peers (Reader/Writer

Workshop) ü Peer revising or peer editing

Providing Directions/Instructions

The teacher is explaining how to complete an assignment or perform a skill. The teacher tells the students what to do or how to do something.

ü Reading instructions for project or assignment to the class

Researching Students are exploring a topic individually or in a group setting. A variety of sources should be available to and be used by the students.

ü Students are working on technology to complete a research project or paper

ü Students are using a variety of sources, books, documents, the Internet to explore content and find information

Reading Students are engaged in active reading, either individually or in groups.

ü Reading the textbook ü Reading novels, poems, short stories, etc. ü Jigsaw activity where each group

member reads a certain section of a written document

Testing The students are taking a formal assessment for the purpose of grading and measure student progress.

ü Unit tests ü Quizzes

2b. Question 2: Identify release of responsibility *

Release of Responsibility Description of Teacher/Student Actions

Teacher is disengaged; students may or may not be engaged

The teacher is not addressing or interacting with the students. The teacher is involved or completing work separate from what the students are completing (checking email, grading papers, etc.) The students may or may not be working on the current assignment. It may be difficult to determine in this setting if there is a specified assignment or objective for the day.

Teacher tells, shows how to do it; students listen, observe, minimally

The teacher uses direct instruction to provide instruction or direction to the students. The teacher may be lecturing or explaining how to complete an assignment or perform


participate a skill.

Teacher leads, negotiates, suggests; students question, collaborate, respond, read or write

The teacher uses direct instruction to provide instruction or direction to the students. The teacher may be asking questions and responding to student answers, providing cues to focus student learning and discussion or providing specific texts, prompts or passages for the students to read and then respond to. The teacher provides time for the students to answer questions or collaborate with each other to formulate answers and responses.

Students take charge, approximate, practice; teacher encourages, clarifies, confirms

The students are working independently or in small groups to develop responses, explore topics or create meaning. The teacher has provided the initial direction and rotates around the classroom monitoring student work and providing feedback through clarification, coaching and/or modeling.

Students initiate, self-direct, self-evaluate; teacher affirms, coaches

The students have been given choice regarding the work they are currently engaged in and have developed personal and individual approaches to learning and methods of displaying learning. The students self-assess their work, possibly by creating rubrics, or developing a portfolio of their work. The teacher circulates throughout the room monitoring student work, asking questions, possibly coaching, and/or providing feedback.

2c. Question 3: Identify grouping format *

Observers may mark multiple grouping formats in this section.

Grouping Format Description of Grouping Format

Whole Group All students are receiving the same instruction at the same time from the teacher. Also known as “whole class” instruction.

Small Group A small group of students (three or more) are working together with or without teacher support or instruction.

Paired Two students are working together with or without teacher support or instruction.

Individual Students are working independently with or without teacher support or instruction.

Common Understandings: Focus on the Learner

3a. Question 1: Percent of Students Engaged *

Behavioral engagement is aimed at measuring the extent to which students conform to classroom norms and expectations and participate in the classroom process (Fredricks, Blemenfeld, & Paris, 2004; Harris, 2008). This measure specifically quantifies behavior. It is defined at the minimum level by conformity to the classroom’s norms and expectations, including following the rules, attending school, answering questions when prompted, and paying attention to the teacher (Finn, 1993).

Level of Engagement Description of Level

Disengaged Less than 50% of students are behaviorally engaged in the learning experience.

Low Between 50 – 74% of students are behaviorally engaged in the learning experience.

Moderate Between 75 – 89% of students are behaviorally engaged in the learning experience.

High Above 90% of students are behaviorally engaged in the learning experience.

3b. Question 2: What is the students’ level of cognitive engagement? * (What are 75% or more of the students doing?)

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Level of Engagement

Teacher Student

Authentic Engagement

Class Context:

• Works with students to establish standards and expectations for the classroom/activity that are understandable and attainable

• Emphasizes growth and learning (rather than grades) as the goal for the course, and/or activities

Instructional Design:

• Designs lessons that are student-centered, student-led, and student-driven

• Designs lessons that have real-world implications and relevance

• Uses the essential questions and enduring understandings to shape lessons and activities based on inquiry and exploration

Instructional Delivery:

• Acts as a facilitator and a coach • Challenges students to think “outside the box” • Meets students at their current level of knowledge and works

to move them forward through personalized instruction • Prioritizes student discourse over teacher delivery • Uses a variety of instructional methods to create novelty and

variety

Class Context:

• Finds personal meaning and value in the task • Sees the task as responding to motives and values he or she

brings to the work • Demonstrates commitment to the work with a moral value

placed on its completion • Volunteers his/her time, effort, and attention to the task • Believes something worthwhile is be accomplished by

completing the task • Persists in the face of difficulty and finds the task sufficiently

challenging • Places emphasis on optimum performance rather than on a

“grade”

Student Behavior:

• Attentive • Eye contact • Sitting up straight or leaning forward • Accountable talk • Much effort • Work and play are intertwined • Much enthusiasm or energy • Volunteer thoughtful ideas/questions


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Level of Engagement

Teacher Student

Strategic Compliance Class Context:

• Establishes standards and expectations for the classroom and the activity that are understandable and attainable for most students

• Emphasizes completion and grades as the final goals for the course and/or activities


• Designs lessons that are a mixture of student-led and teacher-led activity

• Designs lessons that have real-world implications to some students in the classroom

• Includes the essential questions and enduring understandings in lessons and activities as an end goal that is to be met and answered for a grade


• Facilitates and directs during instruction and classroom activities

• Chooses the proper style of instruction for the lesson/activity at hand

Class Context:

• Believes there is an extrinsic reward for completion of the work, such as grades, class rank, graduation, etc.

• Persists only up to the point where the desired reward is ensured • Allocates enough time, effort, and attention as are required to

get the reward offered

Student Behavior:

• Attentive • Eye contact • Sitting up or leaning forward • Accountable talk • Much effort • Some enthusiasm or energy • Contribute ideas/questions


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Level of Engagement

Teacher Student

Ritual Compliance Class Context:

• Establishes standards and expectations for the classroom that are not driven by student needs and expectations


• Plans lessons that are primarily teacher-led and teacher-driven activities

• Plans lessons that have little real-world relevance or implication to the majority of the students

• Plans activities that involve rote memorization and “busy work” for students to complete


• Disseminates most information to students either through lecture or seatwork

• Provides students with the answers to the essential questions, rather than allowing them to discover the answer through inquiry

Class Context:

• Finds no personal meaning or connection to the work • Avoids certain tasks and seeks alternate activities to pursue • Emphasizes the minimum amount of work required to pass and

“get it over with”

Student Behavior:

• No enthusiasm or energy • Slouching or sitting back • Little or no eye contact • Inattentive • Little effort • May contribute if asked


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Level of Engagement

Teacher Student

Retreatism Class Context:

• Establishes rules and regulations that govern the classroom environment


• Plans lessons that allow for little inquiry, discussion, or exploration

• Plans lessons that are teacher-led and teacher-directed


• Acts as a director during lessons and classroom activities • Disseminates most information to students through seatwork

and/or lecture • Provides little opportunity for student discourse and

collaboration

Class Context:

• Finds little relevance between academic task and real life • Feels unable to complete the work • Feels uncertain about what is being asked • Withdraws emotionally from work • Disengages from current classroom activities • Rejects both the official goals and official means of achieving

those goals

Student Behavior:

• Sleeping or head down • Inattentive • Non-productive • No effort • Non-responsive


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Level of Engagement

Teacher Student

Rebellion Class Context:

• Fails to establish clear and understandable rules, regulations, standards and/or expectations for students

• Lacks consistency in methods of enforcement


• Fails to design, implement or enforce instructional plan • Lacks a clear cut vision of the standards, expectations, and

goals of the course


• Disengages from current classroom activities and goals • Disseminates most information to students through seatwork

Class Context:

• Disengages from current classroom activities and goals • Actively engages in another agenda or activity • Creates his/her own activities and goals • Acts out and is distracting to others • Refuses to comply with classroom regulations and requirements

of the activity

Student Behavior:

• Disruptive • Hostile • Refusal to comply • Negativity • Substitutes other tasks

3c. Question 3: Determine level(s) of student work (Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy) L

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Level Teacher Student

Remembering Class Context:

• Emphasizes completion of work in order to obtain a grade or pass a quiz or test


• Designs lessons that ask students to tell the who, what, where, when, and why of specific topic and remember previously learned information

• Designs lessons that are focused on individual student work


• Disseminates information through lecture or seatwork such as worksheets, vocabulary lists, or guided notes

• Acts as a director of instruction by providing directions and answering questions

Verbs:

• Recognize, recall, name, recite, repeat, arrange, identify, memorize, list, label, illustrate, define, match, write, find, tell

Activities:

• Recalls elements and details of story structure, such as sequence of events, character, plot, and setting

• Conducts basic mathematical calculations • Labels locations on a map • Performs routine procedures like measuring length or using

punctuation marks correctly • Makes a list of the main events • Recites a poem • Makes a timeline of events


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Understanding Class Context:

• Emphasizes completion of work in order to obtain a grade or pass a quiz or test


• Designs lessons ask students to tell the who, what, where, when, and why of a specific topic or demonstrate an understanding of the facts

• Designs lessons that focus on either individual student work or group work assignments that require surface level research


• Disseminates information through lecture or seatwork such as worksheets, vocabulary lists, or guided notes

• Acts as a director of instruction by providing directions and answering questions

Verbs:

• Describe, explain, calculate, classify, convert, discuss, review, revise, summarize, paraphrase, estimate, interpret, outline, compare

Activities:

• Represents in words or diagrams a scientific concept or relationship

• Describes the features of a place or people • Summarizes or paraphrases a novel, primary source document,

or other written work • Illustrates the main idea of a story • Makes a cartoon strip showing the sequence of events • Writes or perform a play based on a story or event • Retells the story or event in your own words • Prepares a flow chart to show a sequence of events


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Applying Class Context:

• Emphasizes completion of work in order to develop skills needed to solve a problem


• Designs lessons that require students to apply previously learned knowledge to new and concrete situations

• Designs lessons that engage mental process beyond habitual response using information or conceptual knowledge


• Provides students with the opportunity to explore and experiment

• Acts as both a facilitator and director of instruction

Verbs:

• Solve, show, use, illustrate, construct, apply, classify, compare, compute, find, interpret, simplify, sort, represent, modify

Activities:

• Identifies and summarizes the major events in a narrative • Uses context clues to identify the meaning of unfamiliar words • Solves routine multiple-step problems • Identifies patterns in events or behavior • Describes the causes and effects of an event • Organizes, represents, and interprets data • Constructs a model to demonstrate how it will work • Designs a market strategy for your product using a known

strategy as the model


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Analyzing Class Context:

• Emphasizes completion of work in order to develop skills needed to break down material into component parts in order to understand it’s organizational structure


• Designs lessons that require students break information into parts in order to explore understanding and relationship

• Designs lessons that engage the mental processes of reasoning and sequencing


• Provides students with the opportunity to formulate and test hypotheses

• Asks students to explain phenomena in terms of concepts • Acts as both a facilitator and director of instruction

Verbs:

• Analyze, distinguish, examine, differentiate, hypothesize, investigate, argue, assess, critique, advertise, separate, contrast

Activities:

• Designs a questionnaire to gather evidence • Conducts an investigation to identify information to support a

position or viewpoint • Identifies research questions and designs investigations for a

scientific problem • Applies a concept to other contexts • Determines the author’s purpose and describes how it affects the

interpretation of a reading selection


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Evaluating Class Context:

• Emphasizes completion of work in order to develop skills needed to make judgments based on criteria and standards


• Designs lessons that require students to make judgments based on criteria and standards

• Designs lessons that engage the mental processes of evaluating, synthesizing, and complex reasoning


• Provides students with the opportunity to formulate opinions based on research, prior knowledge, personal beliefs, and experiences

• Acts primarily as a facilitator and a coach

Verbs:

• Appraise, judge, critique, prove, justify, design, evaluate, connect, report, synthesize

Activities:

• Critiques a book, event, experimental design, design, etc. • Prepares a list of criteria that will be used to judge something • Forms a panel to discuss views • Conducts a debate about an issue of special or personal interest • Writes a letter to a company advising them on changes needed

to a specific product • Determines what would happen if… • Supports opinion with evidence


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Creating Class Context:

• Emphasizes completion of work in order to develop skills to put elements together to form a coherent or functional whole

• Emphasizes the creation of a unique product, idea, design, etc. of the student’s choice


• Designs lessons that require students to reorganize elements into a new pattern or structure through generating, planning, or producing

• Designs lessons that engage mental processes of investigation, planning, reasoning, developing, and critical thinking


• Provides students with the opportunity to investigate, plan, develop, and use complex reasoning

• Acts primarily as a facilitator and coach

Verbs:

• Create, invent, compose, predict, plan, construct, design, imagine, propose, devise, formulate, synthesize

Activities:

• Invents a machine to do a specific task • Designs and conducts an experiment that requires specifying a

problem; report results/solutions • Designs a mathematical model to inform and solve a practical or

abstract situation • Creates a new product; names it and plans a marketing

campaign • Rewrites the ending to a story or historical event

3d. Question 4: Technology *

Use of Technology Description of Usage

No use of technology is evident

There is no technology being used during the lesson observed.

Teacher uses technology to disseminate information

The teacher uses technology, such as a SmartBoard, to share information with students. Other occasions to mark this component include the use of document cameras, televisions, DVD players, or radios. Students are not interacting with the technology as they learn. Technology is used to enhance lesson delivery.

Students use technology to explore content

The students use technology of part of their instruction. They may be interacting with the Smartboard to solve problems or record answers. Other occasions to mark this component include students solving problems with calculators, completing research on digital devices, being assessed in an online program, or using word processing programs to complete assignments.

Teacher and students seamlessly integrate technology with a focus on the learner

Students employ technology in the classroom using a variety of tools to complete assignments and create projects that show a deep understanding of content. The teacher and students use technology to create a collaborative online classroom community, focused on the development of course knowledge and 21st Century Skills. Technology is utilized as an instructional tool that helps students learn and express their learning.

Common Understandings: Co-Teaching

This is only reported if a co-teaching classroom is being observed. If the class being observed is not a co-teaching classroom please skip this section and do not mark anything, including NONE, for this section.

Co-Teaching Method Description of Co-Teaching Method

One teach, one assist • One teacher is leading instruction, while one teacher is monitoring behavior, taking anecdotal notes, or circulating around the room

• One teacher is leading instruction, while the other teacher is assisting students with certain tasks or elements of the lesson

• There is a clear distinction between the roles of the two teachers present in the classroom

Alternative teaching

• One teacher leads a large group of students • One teacher leads a small, strategic “pull out” group of students, possibly for the

purpose of re-teaching or remediation, providing required modifications or adding enrichment or acceleration for AIG students

Parallel teaching • Both teachers are teaching half the class simultaneously • Both teachers could be teaching the same concept in two different ways OR • Both teachers could be teaching two different concepts • Teachers may switch groups during the lesson

Station teaching • At least three (3) different stations are present within the classroom • Both teachers move around the classroom monitoring student work and behavior

at each station OR • Both teachers work with a specific station, while the other stations are student

led, independent work stations

Team teaching • Both teachers are involved in the learning process and have an equal voice in the lesson

• Both teachers interject ideas during instruction for clarification of the lesson content

• Both teachers provide feedback to students • Both teachers are actively involved in the lesson presentation • Both teachers move around the classroom assisting students and monitoring

behavior

None This is only to be marked if observing a co-teaching classroom and none of the above methods are present. If you are not observing a co-teaching classroom do not mark anything for this section.

Common Understandings: Mathematics

This is only reported if a mathematics classroom is being observed. If the class being observed is not a mathematics classroom, please skip this section and do not mark anything for this section. These eight practices are derived from the Common Core State Standards for mathematics.

Eight Mathematical Practices

Look Fors

Makes sense of problems and perseveres in solving them

The students are:

• Actively engaged in solving problems and thinking is visible • Analyzing givens, constraints, relationships, and goals • Discussing with one another, making conjectures, planning a solution pathway • Relating the current “situation” to concept or skill previously learned • Checking answers using different methods • Continually reflecting and asking themselves, “does this make sense?”

Reason abstractly and quantitatively

The students are:

• Using varied representations and approaches when solving problems • Making sense of quantities and their relationships in problem situations • Decontextualizing and contextualizing information to create a coherent

representation of the problem at hand

Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

The students are:

• Making conjectures and exploring the truth of their conjectures • Recognizing and using counterexamples • Justifying and defending all conclusions • Communicating their conclusions to others • Recognizing and explaining flaws in arguments • Elementary students are constructing arguments using concrete referents such as

objects, drawings, diagrams, and actions

Model with mathematics The students are:

• Applying the mathematics they know to everyday life, society, and the workplace • Writing equations to describe situations • Comfortable in making assumptions and approximations to simplify complicated

situations • Analyzing relationships and drawing conclusions • Improving on models as needed

Use appropriate tools strategically

The students are:

• Considering the available tools and determining which tool to use


Attend to precision The students are:

• Using and clarifying mathematical definitions in discussions and in their own reasoning

• Using, understanding, and stating the meanings of mathematical symbols • Expressing numerical answers with a determined degree of accuracy

Look for and make use of structure

The students are:

• Discerning patterns or structure • Associating patterns with properties of operations and their relationships • Reevaluating perspectives

Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

The students are:

• Noticing patterns and sequences in equations • Discovering shortcuts for solving equations • Creating generalizations regarding mathematics based on patterns and

regularities • Continually evaluating the reasonableness of immediate results and the process

of solving a problem

Common Understandings: Reader/Writer Workshop

This is only reported if a middle school E/LA classroom is being observed. If the class being observed is not an E/LA classroom, please skip this section and do not mark anything, including none of the above, for this section. 6a. Question 1: Reader/Writer Workshop

Workshop Component

Definition Look-Fors Listen-Fors

Participating in a read- aloud with accountable talk

Teacher reading aloud and modeling his/her thinking

• Meeting space • Large group • Opportunities for student

feedback

Example:

“How does Walter Dean Myers create a setting that is powerful and significant in the story?”

Participating in a mini-lesson

Brief, focused instruction on a generalizable strategy

• Students have heard/read text before (in the Read Aloud)

• Students have visual access to text (through handouts, document camera)

• Opportunities for student feedbacks

• Ends by connecting strategy to student’s independent text

Example:

“Notice two kinds of settings in this section: the overall setting (the world of the story) and the smaller settings within the world of the story.”

Conferring with partners

Student-led conversations around text

• Students refer directly to text/annotations

• Students follow clear discussion norms

ü “Show me where it says…”

ü “What makes you think that?

ü I agree/disagree because…”

Participating in a strategy group

Small group of students working on the same strategy in different texts

• Students in different texts • Teacher-led

ü “Yesterday, we talked about…”

ü “Let’s try to…” ü “Show me in your

text…” Participating in a guided reading group

Teacher-led group providing focused instruction designed to move students to a higher reading level

• Students holding the same text

• Teacher providing clear, explicit instruction on a specific aspect of reading

ü “Readers use ___ strategy when they read in order to…”

ü “Try that again… ü You’ve done an

excellent job using that strategy…”

Participating in book club conversations

Groups of students working around the same text

• Discussion • Hands-on tasks that

encourage discussion • Students referring to

texts, notebooks, etc.

ü “Mark a quote that reflects the theme in your text and trade books with another club member.”


• Anchor charts with ways to foster club talk

ü “Select your best Post-It (or annotation)…”

Participating in a seminar

Whole class discussion of a topic • Desks in a circle • Teacher outside of the

circle (not leading) • Questions that force

students to rely on text to provide support for their answers

ü “ I disagree with… because the text says…”

ü “This reminds me of … in what we read last week…”

Conferencing with teacher

Teacher-led conversation included highly specific, focused instruction

• Teacher informally reviewing student’s notebook

• Teacher brings own text and uses to model

• Questions about what’s going on in the student’s head – NOT what’s going on in the book

ü “Tell me what you’re thinking about this book.”

ü “Show me a part where…”

ü “I see that you are doing __ well…”

ü “The next strategy I’d like to try together is…”

Reading independently AND responding orally or in writing

Students analyzing sections of a familiar text in their Reader’s Notebooks and/or in conversation with other student

• Students writing in their notebooks, using a variety of self-selected formats

• Students refer to their notebooks during conversation

• Conversation goes beyond what students think about the text; instead, they are analyzing author’s craft, character motivations, etc.

ü “I think the author used the flashbacks and flashforwards to create a sense of urgency in the reader because…”

ü “Writing this narrative in poetic form draws my attention to the dialogue. I think the author did that because..”

Reflecting during the teach-share at the end of the class

Closure/ wrap-up of the day’s work

• Students referring back to their notebooks/annotations

• Teacher pointing out how the day’s work connects to the bigger ideas of the unit

ü “___’s group discussed an interesting point. ___, why don’t you share with the class?”

ü “Tomorrow, we’ll continue this work by…”

Summarizing, analyzing, and/ or synthesizing, their reading to daily teaching point

Teacher or student-led conversation directly related to the posted teaching point (typically at the end of class)

• Teacher/students drawing connections between the day’s lesson and lifelong reading skills

ü “We used context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words today, and I see how I can use that in my reading in Social Studies.”


6b. Question 2: Reader/Writer Workshop: Teacher Actions

Workshop Component

Definition Look-Fors Listen-Fors

Conducting a read- aloud with accountable talk

Teacher reading aloud and modeling his/her thinking

• Meeting space • Large group • Opportunities for

student feedback

Example:

“How does Walter Dean Myers create a setting that is powerful and significant in the story?”

Conducting a mini-lesson

Brief, focused instruction on a generalizable strategy

• Students have heard/read text before (in the Read Aloud)

• Students have visual access to text (through handouts, document camera)

• Opportunities for student feedbacks

• Ends by connecting strategy to student’s independent text

Example:

“Notice two kinds of settings in this section: the overall setting (the world of the story) and the smaller settings within the world of the story.”

Leading a strategy group

Small group of students working on the same strategy in different texts

• Students in different texts

• Teacher-led

ü “Yesterday, we talked about…”

ü “Let’s try to…” ü “Show me in

your text…” Leading a guided reading group

Teacher-led group providing focused instruction designed to move students to a higher reading level

• Students holding the same text

• Teacher providing clear, explicit instruction on a specific aspect of reading

ü “Readers use ___ strategy when they read in order to…”

ü “Try that again…

ü You’ve done an excellent job using that strategy…”

Facilitating/ participating in a seminar

Whole class discussion of a topic • Desks in a circle • Teacher outside of

the circle (not leading)

• Questions that force students to rely on text to provide support for their answers

ü “ I disagree with… because the text says…”

ü “This reminds me of … in what we read last week…”


Conferring with individual students

Teacher-led conversation included highly specific, focused instruction

• Teacher informally reviewing student’s notebook

• Teacher brings own text and uses to model

• Questions about what’s going on in the student’s head – NOT what’s going on in the book

ü “Tell me what you’re thinking about this book.”

ü “Show me a part where…”

ü “I see that you are doing __ well…”

ü “The next strategy I’d like to try together is…”

Leading a teach-share at the end of the class

Closure/ wrap-up of the day’s work

• Students referring back to their notebooks/annotations

• Teacher pointing out how the day’s work connects to the bigger ideas of the unit

ü “___’s group discussed an interesting point. ___, why don’t you share with the class?”

ü “Tomorrow, we’ll continue this work by…”

6c. Question 3: The work of the current unit is visible in the classroom through

Component Look-Fors Example

Teaching Point (on board)

• The what and why of the day’s lesson in student-friendly language

“Today, we’ll be learning a new way to create discussion in our book clubs called ‘Play Your Post-It’ to make our discussions even richer and help us analyze texts more critically.”

Classroom Library

• Bins of books organized/labeled by theme, concepts (not just reading level)

• Covers facing out (for easy accessibility)

http://bit.ly/cwtlibrary

Anchor Charts • Cover a range of previously taught strategies/topics

• Student-friendly language

http://bit.ly/cwtcharts

Post-It notes (annotation system)

• System of annotating texts (doesn’t necessarily have to be Post-Its)

http://bit.ly/cwtstudentwriting

Student Notebooks

• Place to record students’ responses to text, chart reading growth, and develop personality/voice in writing

Documents

Classroom Walkthrough Common Understandings 2014 · PDF fileClassroom Walkthrough Common Understandings 2014-2015 ... Co-Teaching (Models ... without the teacher speaking in-between