What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Rigor in Riverwood Classrooms

1Performance Standard 8: Academically Challenging Environment The teacher creates a student-centered, academic environment in which teaching and learning occur at high levels and students are self-directed learners. More Rigorous AssessmentsMilestones, SAT, AP, IBPrepare Students to be able to use and apply informationMore fun and engaging for everybody!The ability to use information is what is needed for the modern workforce

Why am I Here?Im Doing Fine-Leave Me Alone.What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Look at one of the assignments given to studentsWith your partner discuss the following.What are the expectations for the student in completing the assignment?Can you tell anything about the mindset of the teacher?Be prepared to quickly share the assignment and your thoughts on the questions above.

Get with a partner..What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

So what the heck is rigor?What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

It is time to expect more from our students. It is time to prepare every child, everywhere in America, to out-compete any worker, anywhere in the world. It is time to give all Americans a complete and competitive education from the cradle up through a career, ~President Barack ObamaRigor is creating an environment in which each student is expected to learn at high levels, each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels, and each student demonstrates learning at high levels.

By Ronald Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn Authors of Rigorous Schools & Classrooms: Leading the Way and The Principalship from A-Z, Published by Eye On Education.So what the heck is rigor?What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Students are challenged to process new information deeply and to apply new concepts in several different contexts. Because you never really understand something until you try to teach it to somebody else, lessons are designed to ensure that the students have many opportunities to explain their understanding of new concepts and new information to other people (peers, teachers, etc.).Lessons are designed so that students are given a "scaffold" of support until the student is able to demonstrate learning independently.

So what the heck is rigor?What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

A little simpler is this-

What are students supposed to learn?What are the students doing to learn it?How do the teachers know when they learn it?What happens with the kids who dont learn it?

So what the heck is rigor?What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

More Rigorous

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Rigor is not..More workThe name of the course The content of the courseJust a Common Core thingSomething only gifted students can do

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Quick Assessment..

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Best PracticesWriting (journals, varied levels of writing, writing across the curriculum, etc.)

Problem-solving (case studies, group activities, essay exams, etc.)

Oral communication (debates w/expert judges, summary presentations, role playing)

Reading/comprehension (reading and analyzing ie. in-class discussion, quizzes, summaries, etc)

Collaborative group projects

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Best PracticesSocratic method/interactive discussion

Knowing your students (contact, interaction, praise, showing interest, meeting w/students)

Providing a detailed, clear syllabus with expectations of teachers and students; grading rubric, calendar, etc.

Class size - use technology to enhance efficiency of content delivery, engage students, dont let tech drive faculty

In-class small group discussion and report findings (think-pair-share)

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

In a Class Visit, How do Visitors see Rigor?The teacher's explanation of concepts is consistently very logical and systematic, very explicit with concrete examples, and very clear and easy to understand. Students spend some time in every lesson discussing and/or writing about what they are learning. Assessments are thought-provoking and challenging. Multiple-choice format tests are the exception, not the rule. Most assessments are open-ended, and require a demonstration of deep comprehension. Worksheets are rare or non-existent. Instead, effective teachers tend to use journals and open-ended questions to help students organize and practice what they learn. BALANCE-What do your kids need? The lesson plan communicates it and indicates that the teacher has thought/used information to determine it.

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

In a Class Visit, How do Visitors see Rigor?Instructional activities driven by textbooks or programmatic resources tend to be less rigorous and less effective than activities driven by the teacher. Students are able to explain what they are learning, and how that learning is relevant to them, and they can also articulate how that learning can be applied in useful ways. Teachers expect students to reach benchmarks and demonstrate knowledge and skills that are clearly beyond "typical" students their age. Student work is revised and improved several times (with teacher feedback each time) before the students create a final draft and receive a grade.

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

In a Class Visit, How do Visitors see Rigor? Higher Level QuestioningWhen asking students question during lecture/discussion?What verbs are used in the questioning?Is there a follow-up?Tell me more about thatExplain what you mean by.Couldnt the other side of that statement be.Who wants to disagree?Is there wait time?To the point it is uncomfortable

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

What are students supposed to learn?How are learning objectives communicated and reinforced to kids?What are the students doing to learn it?Are the kids doing the work? Are they using the information they are supposed to learn?How do the teachers know when they learn it?Assessment-Formative & SummativeWhat happens with the kids who dont learn it?What does the teacher do with the information from the assessment?Thank you and I hope this was helpful

Happy Summer!