TCs: IDEAS FOR GETTING TO KNOW THE SUPPORT AT YOUR SCHOOL
Getting to know the varied professionals at your school who support both students and teachers is an ongoing process! Start by finding out what roles exist at your school and who serves them—ask your mentor, look at your school’s website, and visit the offices of the school. Make a plan to talk with colleagues about their roles at the school. You can go by their office, email them, or set up an appointment to talk. Download PDF > Getting to Know Support Staff at Your School Download Word doc > Getting to Know Support Staff at Your School ...
GOALS/FEEDBACK INDEX CARDS
During busy days, goals/feedback index cards can provide a quick way for mentors and TCs to interact around something the TC is intentionally working on. These index cards can be used anytime, and can but need not go along with formal observations. Try this out with your mentor, it is a quick way to get targeted feedback on teaching episodes...
TC practice: Getting to know your students as learners
Getting to know your students as learners is more than formally assessing students’ content knowledge. It requires a targeted and systematic inquiry into your students’ ways of thinking, how they “do school” and how they understand the subjects you are teaching. This includes knowing about your students’ prior learning experiences and resulting habits of mind, their cultural norms and social status within the class, their self-esteem and sense of efficacy, and also their dispositions and attitudes — and goes hand in hand with getting to know students as individuals. The accompanying tool helps the TC understand a particular student as a learner in the classroom. It poses questions like: What is working well for this student: strengths & interests? (e.g., likes to work alone, with a friend, in groups; fast in answering questions vs. mulling over ideas; likes to doodle, to move around, to help others; etc.). What is this student avoiding or needing help with in class: struggles & dislikes? (e.g., sharing ideas publicly, reading long paragraphs, listening to other’s ideas, etc.). This sketch of one learner allows the TC to ask effective questions and allow them insights about how to serve them better. ______________________________________________________________ Download PDF > TC Guide: Getting to know your students as learners Download PDF > Tool- Structured reflection on student as learner Download Word version > Tool- Structured reflection on student as learner...
Introducing students to the discipline they’ll study
Students can start studying ideas in science, math, social studies, etc., without really knowing about the disciplines that underlie these subjects. One way to start the school year is to do an activity that introduces students to these discipline(s), helps them understand the different branches of inquiry that advance knowledge in the discipline(s), and how these areas of study relate to their everyday lives. The links below provide an example from Chemistry (a PPT and a lesson guide), but these resources could be adapted to any subject. Download PPT > What is chemistry and how does it connect to my life? Download Word version of lesson plan >What is chemistry and how does it connect to my life? ...
Connecting with Teacher Colleagues and Staff
What is this about? The school community encompasses students, teachers, education (ELL, SpEd, STEM, etc.) specialists, administrative staff, nurses, security and cafeteria personnel, maintenance experts, volunteers, and others. Every one of them is there to support students’ well-being and learning. Connecting with teaching colleagues and other school employees is a good way for you to find out more about the culture and workings of your school community, and about the families and neighborhoods it serves. Tips for doing this When it comes to supporting your students, the staff and fellow teachers can offer important resources. When choosing with whom to connect, make sure you include ELL and special education specialists, counselors, and instructional coaches. They are all part of the ecosystem. Prepare a brief introduction about yourself and your role as a TC and use this prepared “quick-intro” whenever you meet someone new at your school. Of course, it is common sense to use courtesy and a professional demeanor when interacting with other adults at the school (as it is when interacting with students). More...
Tool for analyzing student work
This easy-to-use tool helps you to use different lenses in examining student responses and considering implications/next steps. You can use this together to group responses or items of work from students, like models, whiteboard recordings, exit slips, etc. We include a Word version here so you can make changes in this tool. __________________ Download PDF > Mentor-TC tool for analyzing student responses Download Word version > Mentor_TC tool for analyzing student responses...
Resource: Formative Assessment
There are legitimate concerns about the way tests are being misused, and those need to be addressed. But let’s not be distracted from the big picture: The wise and effective use of assessments is essential to solving inequities within and among our schools. Used well, assessments help teachers improve learning in real time, keep educators and students focused on where they are within a coherent K-12 curriculum, and shift the daily instructional conversation to results. Used well, assessments foster a growth mindset, generate helpful data displays, and get students to take responsibility for their own learning. Used well, assessments are the key to effective teacher collaboration, allow principals to supervise with a constant eye on student learning, and fuel a process of continuous improvement. More...
Science lesson planning checkpoints
Tasks that prompt students to show their reasoning are great for formative assessment purposes, but only if they help you delve deeply into what students are thinking! This planning tool provides useful checkpoints for designing tasks that ask students to write evidence-based explanations in science. (Recommendations based on analysis of 76 assessment tasks and 707 samples of student work.[1]) [1] Kang, H., Thompson, J., & Windschitl, M. (2014). Creating opportunities for students to show what they know: The role of scaffolding in assessment tasks. Science Education, 98(4), 674-704. __________________________________________________ Download PDF > Planning checkpoints...
Leadership compass self-assessment
This tool helps with the following: Gives us a vocabulary and a way of thinking about working with each other in our teams Deepen our appreciation of everyone’s different work styles Understand the need for a variety of work styles Reflect on our own individual work styles and identify areas for growth Understand the negative and positive impacts of each style taken to excess Helps us learn the qualities we can develop to become better leaders Basic Assumptions We will categorize ourselves into the work style that fits us best at work No one is purely one style, rather everyone typically has portions of all styles For this discussion we will pick one that fits us best at work All comments will be directed towards a work style, not a person with the qualities of that direction more...
Work styles as teaching partners
This document serves as a quick primer for using the self-assessment as part of your “Professional Roommate Conversation.” We have found the Leadership Compass Self-Assessment to be useful for identifying work style tendencies – how we make decisions, take action, interact with others, etc. Download PDF > Work-styles-as-teaching-partners...