High Expectations
About This Element
Why is this essential?
There are natural expectations in a classroom setting: the teacher is expected to lead class, organize a lesson, and attend to students as they have questions; the students are expected to be prepared for class, show respect to their peers, teacher, and environment, and participate in the lesson. These are required as a bare minimum for a functioning classroom. More is achieved by setting higher expectations. Teachers should be proficient in the seven essential elements of CAP, provide challenges which are difficult but attainable, and be timely with grading and email correspondence. Students should give their full effort and attention during class, submit their work on-time, and communicate to the teacher their academic needs or circumstances. By setting high expectations, students have an opportunity to grow as learners and as future professionals.
My Experience
In my classroom, many expectations were set by routine. When students arrived, a recurring slide from the first day of the year would be projected on the board:
When the starting bell rang, I would remind students to set up for class by taking out their notebooks and pencils. I would begin class by walking to the front of the room, which cued the students to bring their attention forward. During each lesson, students were expected to engage in the learning activities and ask questions when they didn't understand. After practicing a new skill, I would share a variation or more challenging example for students to try, but I would make sure to present it with encouragement and an offer to assist with guidance. This way, students knew to expect to be challenged while also having trust in their teacher that the problem was doable and worthwhile. The students were also expected to wait for me to end the lesson before packing up and leaving the classroom. Altogether, these classroom expectations ensured that lessons ran smoothly and professionally.
For assignments, I maintained that submitted work would be graded and returned before the next day's class. With this, I held high expectations for the students: all work must be submitted on-time; if an assignment is resubmitted or uploaded late due to an absence, the student needs to send an email or notify me in-person after class so that I can regrade; any assignment submitted without work attached does not receive credit. Many of these expectations were set for the class by my mentor teacher at the beginning of the year, so it was important for me to continue to hold myself and the students accountable to these standards. The expectations are professional but reasonable, and they prepare the students to meet high expectations in future careers or further education after they graduate high school.
"Ben has shown tremendous growth in setting high expectations for all learners. Through his sincere delivery of content, the implied message is that all students, with practice, can achieve success with his lessons. Ben consistently offered supportive feedback and helped students with their understanding as needed. Ben also improved in asking leading questions that helped challenge all levels of learners."
Summative assessment evidence of proficiency