Teaching, in what is probably an over-simiplistic generalization, encompasses four distinct yet intimately connected components:
1. Planning
2. Instruction
3. Assessment
4. Classroom Management
Again, this probably horribly understates all that a teacher does within a classroom while at the same time doing an injustice to any one of the four areas - they are so interconnected that to separate them limits the breadth of what they entail. Furthermore, simply dividing teaching into these four categories does not detail what qualifies as good planning, instruction, assessment or classroom management nor does it explain the components of good teaching.
One must dive deeper then, and analyze the various aspects of the four categories listed above. In addition, teachers within a Catholic, faith-based environment must consider the spiritual development of the student.
As a way to provide an instructional framework for its teachers, Incarnation Catholic School outlined the following AMAZING Teaching Pillars to provide teachers with a "rubric" about the components of good AMAZING teaching.
1. All teachers catechize and evangelize
Indicators of AMAZING catechesis and evangelization:
-Prayer before class and meals
-Catechist training and development
-Participation in liturgical, faith-based and/or service oriented activities
-Knowledge and use of scripture
-Infusion of faith-based values into lesson planning
2. Discipline creates disciples of Christ
As an offshoot of our dual role of catechist and evangelist, Catholic school educators must also see discipline as a way to form young people into disciples of Christ. In this way, discipline must be formative, always maintaining the dignity and worth of the individual and never punitive in purpose. Discipline, then, is yet another educational opportunity in the school setting. Teachers dialogue with students about appropriate behavior, emphasizing growth and development over the course of time. Developmentally, students are treated with respect, worth, and dignity. Redemption, mercy and forgiveness are hallmarks of this disciplinary approach. Prayer is also an essential component. Reflection must also be an aspect of this style - educators must reflect on how to respond while at the same time helping students to reflect on his/her behavior and potential consequences. While guilt may naturally occur, shame is guarded against. Forming students into disciples of Christ remains the focus at all stages of the disciplinary process.
Indicators of AMAZING discipline that creates disciples of Christ:
-Reflecting before making decisions
-Modeling appropriate Christ-like behavior
-Engaging the student to help solve the problem / brainstorm their own consequence
-Dialoguing with the student, colleagues, administration and parents to help support the formation of the child
-Incorporating prayer, scripture, and/or other faith-based aspects into the disciplinary process
3. Parents are the primary educators of their children
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children (2223).As such, we as Catholic educators must honor the primary status of parents as we partner to educate their child(ren). Even though the days of parents and families wholeheartedly and unabashedly supporting teachers and schools are gone, the partnership between home and school must be strong in order to ensure the success of the student(s). Both teachers and parents / families must understand the vital role played by parents in the educational process. This must be honored, recognized, nurtured and utilized.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a4.htm
Indicators of AMAZING partnerships between school and home:
-Frequent communication between home and school including both positive and constructive information-Early intervention concerning academic and/or behavioral issues
-Timely posting / communication of homework, tests, projects
-Detailed feedback on assessments
-Constant focus on the well being and success of the student, lowering defenses and de-emotionalizing communication so as to problem solve, brainstorm and make decisions in the best interest of the student
-Maintenance of professionalism, cordiality and Christian love
4. Social-emotional needs of students must be met to maximize their ability to learn
Everyone is fighting some sort of battle. Whether it is the death of a loved one, a family illness or addiction, a divorce, self-esteem issues, a longing for companionship or just an alarm clock that failed to serve its purpose, everyone is struggling with something. For those issues that are emotionally intense or for those individuals who struggle with managing these stressors, the emotional battle may overshadow any other endeavor throughout the day. Similar to a severe pain that cannot be ignored, our emotions can often inhibit our ability to be logical or rationale. Therefore, the social-emotional needs of our students must be met prior to the delivery of the curriculum.
Indicators of AMAZING social-emotional awareness:
-Create and maintain a safe environment in the classroom setting
-Establish clear and consistent policies, procedures and routines
-Treat all students with respect
-Intentionally get to know all students as individuals
-Frequent communication with the School Counselor about concerns
-Model appropriate social interactions and behaviors
-Use of class meetings to discuss and establish a classroom culture
5. Students are the center of the classroom - instruction must be varied and differentiated
The most important person in the classroom is the student. At Incarnation Catholic School, we believe that each student is a unique child of God, created for a specific purpose and blessed with gifts and talents specific to each individual. In this way, every student will bring to the classroom a different set of skills and abilities. Each student also possesses particular styles of learning, ways in which he/she prefers to take in information or does so most effectively and efficiently. Therefore, instruction must be differentiated based on the skills and abilities of each student in the classroom. Instruction must also be varied; instruction must take on many different forms and approaches (visual, audio, kinesthetic, social, etc.).
In addition, learning must be focused on the student and his/her progress and not on the teacher and his/her delivery of the curriculum. Just because something is taught does not mean that it has been learned. The student must be the focal point of the entire educational process. The student must be the center of all that happens in a classroom.
Indicators of AMAZING student-centered approaches:
-Present information in various formats and teach using various styles
-Differentiate instruction based on student ability
-Use of various assessment types to promote engagement - providing clear expectations, allowing for personal responses, ensuring emotional / intellectual safety, participating in learning communities, performing for an audience, offering choices, and affording assessments that are authentic in their adherence to standards
-Adapt instruction based on student feedback - remediate, refine, extend
6. An interdisciplinary approach, incorporating collaboration across subject areas, deepens student understandings
Constructivism, a theory of how we acquire new knowledge, states that the learner associates new knowledge with existing knowledge and either assimilates the two together or disregards the prior for the depth, detail or accuracy of the latter. In this way, all of our learning is connected to things that we already know. Furthermore, we are more likely to retain a concept or skill based on the number of associations we have constructed to that new knowledge. Similar to the memory technique of using an acronym - Roy G. Biv, FOIL (First, Outsides, Insides, Last) or a mnemonic device - My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune), or Every Good Boy Does Fine (E, G, B, D, F - notes on the Treble Clef lines), an interdisciplinary approach helps students to see the connections between and among the various disciplines of study. This approach more readily answers the question, "Why do we have to know this?" asked by students of all ages - subject matter and skills are applicable to so many more areas than one isolated area of study.An interdisciplinary approach also helps to create an atmosphere of greater collegiality between and among faculty members. Teachers look for ways to incorporate the concepts / skills being covered in one subject or classroom with others; this team approach provides great synergy to the planning, instruction and assessment processes. Colleagues build off of one another's ideas, they offer constructive feedback to all involved and the end result is typically enhanced enormously.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/61189156/chapters/The-Growing-Need-for-Interdisciplinary-Curriculum-Content.aspx
Indicators of an AMAZING interdisciplinary approach:
-Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions that clearly articulate the relevance of the unit of study to broader themes, skills and understandings
-Collaboration with other teachers
-Intentionally connect concepts and skills between and among subject areas
-Application / Transfer of knowledge is the goal in any course of study
-Infusion of lessons with values, scripture, and Church teachings
-Focus on literacy, regardless of subject area
7. Planning answers the questions:
a. What will students know or be able to do (objectives)?
b. How will you know they know or can do that (assessment)?
c. How will you get them to know or do those things (instruction)?Planning must drive instruction and must be driven by assessment. Planning must clearly dictate a purpose for learning, or objective. Planning must clearly articulate the assessment or way to measure whether or not learning has occurred. Finally, planning must clearly state the instructional methods that will be used to help students arrive at this new knowledge. Planning must account for the three stages of learning - acquisition, meaning, and transfer - and must be scaffolded appropriately so that students can arrive at these high levels of understanding.
http://www.grantwiggins.org/documents/UbDQuikvue1005.pdf
Indicators of AMAZING planning for instruction and assessment:
-Use of Wiggins and McTighe's Understanding by Design planning model so as to begin with the "end in mind"
-Incorporation of Bloom's taxonomy into daily objectives that are specific, student-centered and measurable
-Scaffolding of skills from lower to higher order thinking skills
-Construction of assessments, specifically summative assessments, at the beginning of the course of study
-Planning that details an emphasis on maximizing instructional minutes and promoting student time-on-task
-Focus on accomplishing course standards (CCSS) and use of standards based assessments
-Design assessments, both formative and summative, that measure student progress and performance
-Formulation of and reliance upon rubrics to fairly, consistently and reliably supply feedback to students about their progress and performance
-Tight alignment among and between objectives, instruction and assessment
8. Passion and playfulness are ingredients to engaging, motivating and encouraging students to learn
Passion is contagious. As educators, students definitely feed off of our passion, or lack thereof, for the content of our classes. Furthermore, passion that involves playfulness - play, laughter, discovery, inquiry, risk-taking - more easily engages, motivates and encourages students to learn. Think about any endeavor you undertake. Your productivity and satisfaction in any task are intimately linked to how passionate you are about it and how much fun you had while doing it. Teachers must create environments of learning that are infused with passion for the material and playfulness in the process of learning. This does not mean that the classroom becomes a playground and that learning is uprooted for recess. It does mean, though, that the serious work of education is most effectively done when it is driven by passionate educators who use play as a means to educate. http://www.blcelmhurst.org/blcseriousneedforplay1011.pdf
Indicators of AMAZING passion and playfulness:
-Student-centered classrooms - group work, hands-on and minds-on activities, inquiry based approaches
-Activation of prior knowledge, especially using non-academic knowledge to help students construct new knowledge
-High regard for creativity in both teacher instruction and assessment as well as student performance
-High regard for academic risk-taking and the assurance of a supportive classroom environment to safely allow for failure and mistakes
-Energized teaching that utilizes movement, tone, pace and positive body language that conveys passion for the subject
9. Technology is a tool, not a subject, that is to be used by both teachers and students
At this time, it is paramount that teachers utilize technology in the educational process. Technology must be used by both the teacher and the student and it must be approached as a tool, not a subject. Of course, students must be given appropriate instruction on how to use applicable technologies, but it should never be approached as a separate subject void of any other interdisciplinary connections. Teachers should use every opportunity possible to use technological media for instructional purposes. Similarly, teachers should utilize every opportunity possible to have students use technology throughout the learning process.
http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-research-learning-outcomes
Indicators of AMAZING integration of technology:
-Use available technology - projector, SMART Board, classroom computers, Media Lab, Computer Lab, Laptop Cart - by both teachers and students
-Connect classroom activities to the outside world
-Both teachers and students create electronic products
-Critically analyze media messages
-Employ educational software to assist in data driven decisions
10. Formative feedback impacts instruction and planning
Two types of assessment exist: formative and summative. Research demonstrates that of the two, formative feedback is more effective at enhancing student learning. In order for it to be effective, though, formative assessments must be linked to the objectives of the lesson and stem from the instruction flowing from that objective. Furthermore, and perhaps more important, feedback given to the student about his/her performance on that formative assessment must be timely, informative, positive (especially as it pertains to effort) and specific. Formative assessment and its accompanying feedback that fails to meet all four of those aspects falls short of the maximum effect that it can have. Additionally, formative assessment and its feedback that fails to impact teacher planning and instruction also impedes maximum learning. Teachers must use formative feedback as a way to inform their teaching, making necessary changes and adjustments based on student progress.http://ati.pearson.com/downloads/chapters/7%20Strats%20Ch%201.pdf
Indicators of AMAZING formative assessment and feedback:
-Feedback given to students is timely, informative, positive and specific
-Formative assessment is tied to objectives and a natural end based on the instruction for those particular objectives
-Analyze formative assessment so as to impact further instruction
-Use formative assessment as a way to help students arrive at the end goal of the unit, not punish them for slow progress
11. Procedures, routines, and structures maximize student learning time and make expectations clearly known
In many ways, classroom management trumps planning, instruction and assessment as the most important component of teaching. Design dynamic instruction with an engaging assessment that aligns to the objectives for the lesson but fail to manage the classroom and one's efforts are done in vain. Similarly, slack on something like tight transitions from one activity to another and time quickly slips away - time that students will not get back for any particular grade level. AMAZING teachers organize their classrooms in ways to ensure that instructional time is maximized and that it is effectively used to engage students in learning. Furthermore, AMAZING classroom management does not assume that students can put away their math books, stand up, push in their chairs, walk to the door, and stand silently in line unless those instructions are clearly articulated, modeled and reinforced (and probably chunked for something as multi-step as the above scenario). AMAZING classroom management should give students a consistent structure within which to behave, positive reinforcement when students meet those expectations, and appropriate formation or remediation when students fail to execute the procedures. Every moment in the classroom bears immense significance and time possesses an annual deadline; organize and structure the classroom so that students can maximize their time to learn.
Indicators of AMAZING classroom management:
-Bell-to-bell teaching
-Clear expectations are given to students in manageable chunks
-Students are asked to reiterate and/or demonstrate the expectations
-Post expectations in written form
-Verbally remind students of procedures
-Praise compliance with expectations - positive reinforcement
-Consistent enforcement of the policies and procedures
-Anticipate potential problems inherent in any activity and take preventative action
-Corrective action is taken when expectations are not met in accordance with the established policies and procedures
-Bell-to-bell teaching
-Clear expectations are given to students in manageable chunks
-Students are asked to reiterate and/or demonstrate the expectations
-Post expectations in written form
-Verbally remind students of procedures
-Praise compliance with expectations - positive reinforcement
-Consistent enforcement of the policies and procedures
-Anticipate potential problems inherent in any activity and take preventative action
-Corrective action is taken when expectations are not met in accordance with the established policies and procedures
12. Self-awareness and reflection occur organically
Teachers must be awake, alert and oriented times four at all times (knowledge of persons, places, time and events). Oftentimes, a teacher's workload can be so overwhelming and externally focused that they can easily overlook his/her own performance. Teachers can be so worried about what the students are doing that teachers can lack awareness about what they themselves are doing. Teachers must intentionally take time to reflect on their practice. Ideally, this happens organically. Self-aware teachers will sense their emotions swelling inside of them. They will notice a pace that is too fast or an explanation that has gone awry in the moment and self-adjust in real time. Minimally, teachers must dedicate themselves to reflecting on their teaching at least at the end of each day. This could be through journaling, discussion with a mentor or trusted colleague, or during prayer.This condition of self-awareness and habit of self-reflection can even take verbal form in the classroom, helping to promote the metacognition of students. Similarly, teachers that constantly self-assess can work to instill this important learning to learn skill in their pupils.
http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/metacognition/
http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/assessing-student-learning/self-assessment.html
Indicators of AMAZING self-awareness and reflection:
-Active reflection after the completion of the unit
-Proactively ask questions of administrators and colleagues about development
-Change approach (more planning, different instruction, revised assessment) throughout a lesson / unit so as to meet demonstrated needs of students
-Verbally "thinking out loud" so as to reflect in the classroom setting, helping to promote metacognition and self-assessment in students
-Provide students with opportunities to reflect on and assess behavior and/or academic progress
-Pray regularly
