Time is one of the resources in the classroom that teachers must learn to use masterfully (1.d.). When teachers use time carefully, they enable students to engage in meaningful learning experiences from the first bell to the closing bell. When I wrote this post, I was just beginning to explore methods which help me to make better use of the last few minutes of every class. One of those initial ideas was to implement closing activities that facilitate students’ independent and creative applications of learning. As I’ve written above, these type of independent and creative classroom activities lend themselves well to closing a lesson because each student will accomplish them at different rates and they can be simply assigned to be completed as homework. Since writing this post in mid-October, I’ve learned a few new strategies that help me to ensure maximum, effective utilization of class time. One of those is to include several “optional” activities throughout the lesson plan, which can be executed as needed. For instance, in one of my more diverse classes I often include the option of have students write 2 or 3 comprehension-level questions about a text we’re reading, before a whole class discussion of those questions, which helps to strengthen reading comprehension. I sometimes choose to use this step if there’s evidence that students need additional scaffolding to understand the reading. I gather this evidence informally through observation of the students’ dialogue with peers in think-pair share, observing students’ facial and body language, and by listening to students’ responses to questions about the text. This time-management strategy of planning for optional learning activities is also relevant to the component 1.e., as I work to design series of instructional activities that are aligned with standards and that scaffold the skills and knowledge needed to meet learning objectives. When I include optional activities in lesson plans, such as quick-writes for analysis or think-pair-share for comprehension and application, I assess whether those lesson steps will help students to practice and strengthen the skills and knowledge required for success in the formative assessment of the broader objective of the learning. The decision about whether to include such “optional” activities, or not, is derived from my assessment of student needs in the context of the availability of time.
In the blog above, I discussed some of my preliminary thoughts about using alternative assessments to evaluate students’ developing understanding and abilities (1.f.). When students have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding and skills in creative and authentic ways, they are further motivated to achieve because they recognize and experience the applicability of learning in their own lives. Assessments should be clearly derivative of the standards and learning objectives, providing opportunities for students to display evidence of their development toward those goals. Assessments should be frequent and must be feedback concise and immediate. For these reasons, using assessments to close a learning experience can be a highly effective use of the final few minutes before the bell. One example of such a synthesis that leads students to produce evidence of learning could be an “exit ticket” whereby students write and reflect on the learning. For example, “Write 5-8 sentences in answer to the following question. Do you think that the concept map that you created about _____ today was, or wasn’t helpful in expanding your understanding of _____? Why, or why not?” or, “Consider what you know and what we’ve learned about the historical and social context of the selection we read today. What do you think was the author’s purpose for writing this piece? Was the author effective in accomplishing his or her goal? Why, or why not?”
Students benefit from these opportunities of writing about their learning experiences because it bolsters metacognitive skills. Even strong students need explicit instruction and practice of critical thinking, questioning, and metacognitive awareness while reading, so assessing these skills regularly is important. Having students write about their learning experiences is an excellent tool for assessment of these skills, because it requires synthesis and other higher-order thinking skills.
Throughout this practicum experience, I’ve learned how important it is to plan for flexibility in teaching (3.e.). Even as I become more experienced in teaching, I’ll only ever be able to approximate the length of time or the amount of practice or explanation that students will need to successfully meet an educational objective. It’s so important that I internalize the notion that lesson plans cannot be completed compositions, rigidly imposed and followed. To facilitate genuine learning in every classroom of diverse students, lesson plans must be used as instructional guides, filled with a variety of optional activities and texts that teachers can choose to use in their effort to help every student meet the learning objectives. Moving forward, I continue in my pursuit to accurately assess the strengths and needs of every student, in real time, and adjust instruction accordingly, to maximize the use of every classroom moment, in consideration of time as a vital learning resource.
References
The Danielson Group. (2016). Danielson Group » The Framework. Retrieved October 26, 2016,
from http://www.danielsongroup.org/framework/
In the blog above, I discussed some of my preliminary thoughts about using alternative assessments to evaluate students’ developing understanding and abilities (1.f.). When students have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding and skills in creative and authentic ways, they are further motivated to achieve because they recognize and experience the applicability of learning in their own lives. Assessments should be clearly derivative of the standards and learning objectives, providing opportunities for students to display evidence of their development toward those goals. Assessments should be frequent and must be feedback concise and immediate. For these reasons, using assessments to close a learning experience can be a highly effective use of the final few minutes before the bell. One example of such a synthesis that leads students to produce evidence of learning could be an “exit ticket” whereby students write and reflect on the learning. For example, “Write 5-8 sentences in answer to the following question. Do you think that the concept map that you created about _____ today was, or wasn’t helpful in expanding your understanding of _____? Why, or why not?” or, “Consider what you know and what we’ve learned about the historical and social context of the selection we read today. What do you think was the author’s purpose for writing this piece? Was the author effective in accomplishing his or her goal? Why, or why not?”
Students benefit from these opportunities of writing about their learning experiences because it bolsters metacognitive skills. Even strong students need explicit instruction and practice of critical thinking, questioning, and metacognitive awareness while reading, so assessing these skills regularly is important. Having students write about their learning experiences is an excellent tool for assessment of these skills, because it requires synthesis and other higher-order thinking skills.
Throughout this practicum experience, I’ve learned how important it is to plan for flexibility in teaching (3.e.). Even as I become more experienced in teaching, I’ll only ever be able to approximate the length of time or the amount of practice or explanation that students will need to successfully meet an educational objective. It’s so important that I internalize the notion that lesson plans cannot be completed compositions, rigidly imposed and followed. To facilitate genuine learning in every classroom of diverse students, lesson plans must be used as instructional guides, filled with a variety of optional activities and texts that teachers can choose to use in their effort to help every student meet the learning objectives. Moving forward, I continue in my pursuit to accurately assess the strengths and needs of every student, in real time, and adjust instruction accordingly, to maximize the use of every classroom moment, in consideration of time as a vital learning resource.
References
The Danielson Group. (2016). Danielson Group » The Framework. Retrieved October 26, 2016,
from http://www.danielsongroup.org/framework/