Rosenshine's Principles

CTE Walkthrough Checklist

Throughout the school year, the CTE Team will visit classrooms across our middle and high schools to connect with teachers, recognize the great instruction happening every day, and identify opportunities to provide support.

One of the ways we support teachers is through the continued development of instructional practices that contribute to High-Quality CTE Instruction. Rosenshine's 10 Principles of Instruction provide an evidence-informed foundation for many of these practices, helping students develop the knowledge and skills necessary for success in CTE classrooms.

During our visits, you may receive a brief note using the CTE Classroom Walkthrough Checklist. The purpose of this checklist is to recognize and affirm effective instructional practices, share observations, and offer opportunities for reflection and professional growth.

These walkthroughs are non-evaluative and are not part of the formal teacher evaluation process. They are intended to celebrate instructional strengths, encourage professional conversations, and help us better understand how the CTE Team can support you. When time allows, we welcome the opportunity to discuss what we observed, hear about your instructional decisions, and explore ideas together.

We also use insights from walkthroughs to help identify common instructional interests and professional learning needs across CTE programs.

The CTE Rosenshine Classroom Guide, available on this page, provides a brief explanation of each of the 10 principles, along with examples of what they might look like in different CTE content areas. We encourage you to explore the guide as a resource for lesson planning, instructional reflection, or trying new strategies in your classroom.

The goal is not to see all 10 principles demonstrated during every visit, but to recognize effective instruction and support the continued growth of our CTE teaching community.

Evidence-Informed Instruction

Rosenshine (2012) integrated findings from cognitive science, classroom observations, and research on instructional support to identify 10 principles associated with effective instruction. These principles are interconnected and work together to support student learning.

The instructional examples in the CTE Rosenshine Classroom Guide illustrate how these principles might be applied across different CTE programs. They are intended to provide practical ideas and inspiration, not prescribe a particular way of teaching.

Effective instruction should always reflect the content area, students' learning needs, instructional goals, and the nature of the task. The principles are a resource to support professional judgment, not a rigid checklist of required teaching behaviors.