Planned Teaching Practices
In December 2015, the United States Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act through a law known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Designed to increase flexibility for state and local school systems, ESSA provides schools with new opportunities for innovation and school improvement.​​ ​One requirement under ESSA is that school improvement efforts be rooted in "evidence-based activities, strategies, or interventions". While the term evidence-based has been in other areas of the law for many years, ESSA is the first federal law to define and identify levels of evidence for educational purposes. ESSA breaks intervention categories down into four levels: Strong Evidence, Moderate Evidence, Promising Evidence, and Demonstrates a Rationale.
Students need understand essential vocabulary in any lesson. We cannot assume or presume students know and understand the essential vocabulary. Especially when English Language Learning students.
Part of our professional responsibility is to give constant constructive feedback and persistently communicate student performance. Providing regular IC entries will help teachers, students and parents monitor success and identify needed areas of growth. We can avoid the common pitfalls of waiting until the grading period is almost over before making IC entries, students not knowing what they have completed or not completed, students assuming all is well because the teacher hasn't said anything and students guessing their grade average. IC is necessary because it is our official way of quantifying and communicating student achievement in our classrooms. Even when students and parents are not using the IC portal it is our responsibility to post. Teachers may even want to consider making portal checks a routine classroom activity. We must help students learn how to be better students and self monitor. These are skills that may not be taught anywhere else. We recommend posting completed three week unit plans for students to see so they can know what's exptected and allow them to learn how to plan ahead.
Inclusion of Special Populations Accommodations
We need to be ready to explain where and how accommodations will be used. Teachers should collaborate with special education professionals when planning specially designed instruction. Regular education teachers are required to offer accommodations in accordance to student IEP's. It is not the sole responsibility of the special education teacher to provide accommodations. A collective effort with an intentional focus will effect improvement. Students with IEP's need to be included in regular classroom instruction and held to high expectations.
English Language Learners Accommodations
We also need to be able to explain where and how ESL accommodations will be used. Teachers should collaborate with the district ESL coordinator. Regular education teachers are required to offer accommodations in accordance to student PSP's. It is not the sole responsibility of the EL teacher to provide accommodations. A collective effort with an intentional focus will effect improvement. Students with PSP's need to be included in regular classroom instruction and held to high expectations.
Mrs. Venegas ESL Diverse Language Resources Blog
ELL 2.0 Resources
Gifted and Talented Activities
As mentioned above, gifted and talented activities are also the responsibility of the regular classroom teacher. The G/T coordinator is to monitor these plans and activities to ensure this is happening. It's not the G/T coordinator's sole responsibility to pull students and provide G/T activities. We must be intentional about creating activities that challenge our students capabilities beyond proficiency. Not just our G/T students but especially our G/T students. This is as simple as providing opportunities for all students to choose more challenging activities over the "normal assignments." Allow for student creativity and choice. This can build a culture of inspired learning over time. It can also give students more ownership of their learning.
Assessments should directly align with standards and reflect the terminology used in the standards. Proper alignment will allow teachers to use assessment data and determine current mastery of the standards. Teachers/schools should also be able to collect quality longitudinal data showing growth in student achievement over a period of time. There are a great number of assessment strategies. Many formative assessments can be very brief. Teachers should provide timely feedback so student learning will continue. Summative assessments measure student learning in the end of a unit. Summative data should be used to determine possible changes in curriculum or instructional strategies.
Cross Curricular Activities
Reading, writing, science and math skills are essential in all aspects of life long learning. All elective and special subjects include some of the skills. When possible, it's a best practice to intentionally reinforce core skills in all classrooms regardless of the content being taught. Intentional efforts create an emphasis on very important basic core skills. Students may also be more engaged in elective or special subject areas.
Social/Emotional Strategies & Leader in Me Habits
Children face many stressors that can have a life-long impact on their ability to thrive. Yet it is possible to foster resilience, equipping people with the tools to effectively respond to adversity and bounce back.
Summative assessment results should be recorded with each unit plan. Without results that plans are incomplete. Results give evidence to the effectiveness of the unit plan. We should constantly perfecting our craft in an effort to experience the greatest levels achievement.
Intervention/Re-teaching Response for Students not Reaching Proficiency
Learning should not stop when the unit is over. There needs to be a plan for students that did not reach proficiency. Unit plans are not complete without this component as well. If all learning is aligned with the standards then there should be a high priority placed on intervention efforts. In most cases, the content standards are in a progression and when students have not mastered a link in the progression then the learning is inhibited.
