5. High Expectations
The ability to set and hold students to high expectations creates a learning environment in which students understand that their teacher believes in their ability to do challenging things. As a teacher it is necessary that you continuously check your own biases about students to ensure that you are providing support to all students, encouraging each one that the effort they put forth on an assignment will be appreciated and worth it. Motivation of students during the school day can be a difficult task, but when high expectations are established from the start of the year, everyone can walk into the classroom knowing what type of work and effort is needed from them. When teachers do not hold their students to high expectations, they notice. Student will adjust to fit the expectations of a teacher, so when they are lower it establishes a classroom that does not promote academic risk or excitement of learning and students will mold to those standards. When students are in an environment of habitual and appropriate challenge, they are more likely to rise to meet those standards, pushing them to grow and learn.
DESE Proficiency Standards
"Clearly communicates high standards for student work, effort, and behavior, and consistently reinforces the expectation that all students can meet these standards through effective effort, rather than innate ability."
Individual Support
An important aspect of developing high expectations is supporting each students needs to achieve those goals. Each student is an individual who processes and learns information differently. It is important to address each individual's needs and monitor student progress towards the learning goals, to ensure that all students are being reached and given access to achieve these high expectations. It is imperative make sure that students understand that you believe that each one of them can achieve the standards set in your classroom, and that you want to see genuine effort rather than innate ability.
Encouragement to Work Through Challenges
As students were working individually or grouping I would always circulate the classroom to be available to help. However, when a student asked a question or needed assistance I would not provide the answer directly unless necessary. In most cases I would prompt the student with a question or two to help them discover the answer to their own question. If they needed more support I would either provide them with a hint such as the important concept they needed, where to find the information in their notes, or what the first step they needed to do was. Throughout this process I made sure that I maintained a positive and encouraging tone. I Consistently reminded students that they were capable of difficult things and that they were all able to succeed in this class.
Modeling Expectations
It is the teacher's responsibility to create a classroom that encourages taking academic risks and embracing challenge, which is done through consistent modeling and reinforcement. When delivering instructions for an assignment in class, I would complete the first problem with them to show the format and level I expected from the answers. If we were doing an interactive activity, I would practice how I wanted the game to be played with a student in front of the class so they had an example to follow. When we completed the bottle biology, I made one with each class, showing each step as we went along, and making sure each group had a verbal and visual understanding of the task.
Structured Challenges
In creating materials for the class, I made a variety of homework and classwork worksheets that had students use information they learned in different styles of questions. The ordering of these questions was intentional, having students start with the easier problems and work up to writing responses that required deeper explanations. The problems before the conclusion questions had students practice memory, recall, and definitions, whereas the further problems had students critically think about the concepts, summarize in their own words, or analyze information.
At the start of class, students understood the expectation to work on the bellringer in the first 5-10 minutes of class. I would remind them each day that when the time for bell work was done I would be asking a few people to share their answers with the class. The students knew that I would use the card deck of names for a questions or two, so there was incentive to complete the problem. They were allowed to work with their desk partner for the bellringer so it also gave them the opportunity to check in with their neighbor to check their answers and hold each other accountable to complete their morning work.
When answering questions in class I would often hear one word responses or a letter answer for multiple choice. To increase the expectations with questions in class, I would ask a follow up question that had someone in the class explain why an answer was correct. Similarly, when I played a video during class I would have each student close their computer to maximize their focus as well as strategically pausing to ask questions. These questions would have students restate or explain what they had heard to ensure that every student was actively engaged in the material.