Teaching practices

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10 Things To Look For In A “Perfect” Classroom



The other day, I was sitting around with other education consultants. And, as those who observe classrooms for a living are apt to do, we started discussing what teaching and learning elements illustrate both quality instruction and superior learning environments. What elements might define the “perfect” classroom?

Even though most educators live at “proficient” and only visit “well-developed” practices, for reasons both within and outside one’s locus of control, I believe a conversation on how a utopian classroom might look, in theory, is also worth having here.

The Three Questions That All Instruction Must Address


​All too often, educators get caught up thinking about the activities that students are going to do without first considering if these activities are aligned with learning goals. Stop. Think strategically. Review the basic, ground-level parameters for quality teaching and learning first.

At their core, every lesson must answer three basic questions in this order:

  1. What do I want my students to know and do?
  2. How will I know students know and can do the learning objective of the lesson?
  3. How can I vest students in the process of learning in ways/activities that are aligned with the learning objective?

Once we have a clear understanding that every lesson should answer the above questions, sequentially, we can then consider the elements for what might be the “perfect classroom.” Here are the 10 things that I would want to see in paradise:

1. Clear Classroom Expectations And Procedures


Empty classroom with math written on the chalkboard

Sometimes, I will sit down in a classroom before students arrive back from specials, lunch, recess, their last class, etc. I do this because I want to see if there are clear policies and procedures in place; a well-organized classroom is one where we do not lose one second of teaching time. Is there an introductory activity (“Do Now”) that students must complete as they enter the room? Do students know where in the classroom to pick up their writing journals? Is there a clear format/agenda to how the lesson will proceed—introduction, mini-lecture, student practice, and summary? At the end of class, is there a summary learning activity? A well-ordered classroom is usually a happier one with fewer student behavioral issues.

2. Academic Rigor


Teacher boosts student engagement in her classroom

Every lesson should have a clear learning objective; however, we can’t end the discussion on learning objectives there. Learning objectives must be cognitively complex; that is, they must extend our students’ thinking beyond rote memorization if students are to become critical consumers of information in society as well as problem solvers.

When crafting learning objectives—which teachers should also post and discuss with students—I want teachers to consider the depth of knowledge—mental demand—that they will require of students: the questions they will ask students to answer, tasks they will ask students to complete, etc. For example, we can have high school students memorize tips on writing a business proposal or, better yet, to have cognitive complexity, we can have students write and present their own business proposals.

3. Varied And Ongoing Assessment


Students take a test/quiz or complete a worksheet during class

Assessment does not always have to be a formal paper and pencil test that comes at the end of each unit. In every lesson, every day, I want to see teachers checking on student understanding in both informal and formative ways.

Think about driving for a moment. While one may have driving directions to help them reach their destination, sometimes detours and circle-backs are necessary to ultimately get to where one wants to go. Just like in driving, sometimes student misconceptions will force us as teachers to go slower, model a procedure multiple times, or find another way to present a concept. A teacher can only know if they must pivot through ongoing assessment—questioning/cold calling, signaling, polling, etc.

4. Student Engagement


Students listen to a teacher during a classroom lesson

I once worked with a middle school teacher who had students produce a morning chat show (“Good Morning Athens”) when they were learning about ancient Greece; the students came alive. While standardized paper and pencil tests aren’t going away anytime soon, and students do need to be prepared for this type of assessment, assessing students authentically—project-based learning, applying scientific/math problems to real-world situations, designing models, creating multimedia projects, and engaging students in role-plays/problem of practice consultancies—can help teachers better assess how well students can transfer knowledge to new situations. Such activities can also be designed in ways that are kinesthetic, visual, and auditory in nature, allowing our students the opportunity to practice learning from multiple angles.

If teachers do the above, we should not see students disrupting and/or avoiding tasks but rather students invested in their learning and on-task in their interactions with peers; even better if students are assessing their individual and collective growth and achievement.

5. Use Of Multimodal Resources


Teacher increases student engagement in her classroom

The textbook is not the curriculum. However, I often find myself reminding teachers of this fact. It’s ok to augment textbooks and written curriculum with age-appropriate multimodal resources that may further engage students in learning. Enrich the type of student-facing materials you, as teacher, provide. Have non-print materials such as video clips (not full movies); bring in primary source materials like photographs; use infographics, graphs, charts, maps; integrate audio recordings, podcasts, artifacts; and utilize math manipulatives, etc.

6. Purposeful Use Of Classroom Space


Empty school classroom

Teachers need to be mindful of how much space their desk and personal effects are taking up within a classroom. I distinctly remember working with one teacher whose room was covered by Denver Broncos memorabilia. Yes, educators, show your personalities but in a confined way.

In so doing, teachers may find that they have the floor space to divide their classroom into learning “zones” for individual, small group, and whole group student learning. Classroom walls are also a precious gift if they are used to reinforce literacy (word walls), exhibit student work that demonstrates mastery of standards (portfolio assessment), post directions/steps to common math problems, and display anchor charts such as reading annotation codes as well as performance rubrics, etc. Configurable ergonomic furniture can also allow for maximum student mobility while smaller teacher desks with wheels can be positioned next to students.

7. Personalization Of Learning


Student does his homework

Struggling students and, on the other end of the spectrum, bored students are both a recipe for disengagement from school. When I observe a classroom, I like to ask students what they are doing. When students show me their work, I can see if this work is differentiated—meaning are high-interest/low-level reading texts offered and scaffolds provided to help struggling students meet grade-appropriate learning objectives? Are multiple resources and/or is text being provided at a higher reading level to students who have already met the objective? While some teachers may say that personalization of learning takes too much effort, we need to invest the time if we want to ensure that all our students have an equitable opportunity to learn.

8. Literacy Connections


Teacher reads an assignment to the class

The reality is that we must be mindful that we are all literacy teachers. If students don’t understand what they are reading, they will not understand the subject-specific content. In lower elementary school, I look to see both the teaching of phonics AND whole language explicitly. In upper elementary through high school, literacy should be weaved into content/subject-specific learning using learning tools such as Cornell Notes, annotations while reading, and other content-specific vocabulary development activities. This is critically important if we are serving struggling readers, students with special needs, and/or multi-lingual learners.

9. Social-Emotional Connections


We all know that, in the wake of the pandemic, students are struggling with their mental health. We also know that bullying that starts online often finds its way into our schools. In a post-pandemic classroom, we should see teachers developing multi-layered lessons and activities where students can develop the self-awareness that leads to strong self-identity, establish interpersonal skills that nurture positive social relationships, and demonstrate intentional decision-making skills.

The above can come in the form of activities that ask students to self- and peer-assess as well as through more extended student-informed portfolio assessment and student conferencing activities. Teachers and students also can shout out positive student behavior when they see it, particularly during lesson summary activities.

10. Purposeful Use Of EdTech


Students in a classroom with laptops take advantage of EdTech

Let’s remain calm over the advent of AI. While AI comes with risks, it also provides teachers with, for example, the opportunity to develop differentiated lessons more efficiently and can help students research answers to questions they may pose across the depth of knowledge continuum. AI can even help us adjust the reading level of texts for students. The uses are almost endless.

Although AI has captured our attention as educators, EdTech is more than just AI. Many 21st-century schools, for instance, use Google Classrooms to organize learning digitally. Within moderation, EdTech—digital gamification in particular—also can increase student engagement through both cooperation and competition. Consider then the diverse needs of students when integrating EdTech. EdTech should be a value-add not just a mindless distraction. Make learning equitable, efficient, effective, and/or engaging through its use—think “4Es.”

Choose What Works For Students


Happy students and teacher celebrate in the classroom

Schools and teachers have constraints; so, don’t fret about doing everything all at once. Still, knowing the different elements of good practice can only further our mission to help all students grow and achieve; teachers should make a conscious effort to infuse their classrooms with as many of these elements at one time that make sense and all over time.

John Schembari is a school improvement coach. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn.

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6 Things To Do To Prepare For Your Classroom Observation



Is it spring yet? Just observe any school hallway to figure this out. Each spring, there is usually a flurry of activity among school administrators as they hurriedly shuffle from one classroom to the next desperately trying to record/file all their required observations by their state deadline.

In New Jersey public district schools, for example, untenured teachers are evaluated formally at least three times a year with tenured teachers being observed at least once each year. This is a similar practice in other states as well.

So, what can you as a teacher do to prepare for formal observations besides downing an entire bottle of Maalox antacid tablets?

Announced Observations


Teacher gets evaluated before a classroom observation

If the observation is announced in advance, teachers can sit down with their evaluator to discuss the upcoming observation and review both their upcoming lesson plan as well as any student assessment data that will impact the amount of student differentiation and/or scaffolding of learning. Whether announced or unannounced, teachers should also be provided the opportunity to debrief their observations afterward so as to improve teaching practice moving forward.

Unannounced Observations


School files for teacher observations

The process for conducting announced observations is straightforward and often provides teachers with an opportunity to prepare a lesson to the best of their ability—i.e., “the dog and pony show”—since they know when their administrator will be coming to observe and might also know what the observer wants to see.

However, it also is important for administrators to assess the quality of everyday teaching and learning; hence why many observations of teacher practice are unannounced. While unannounced observations preclude the opportunity to discuss evaluator expectations for the lesson upfront, teachers need not lose sleep over not knowing what to expect in terms of administrator expectations.

As a former administrator who regularly evaluated teaching practice, here are six things that I looked for when observing teaching practice and that you might keep in mind when preparing for an unannounced classroom observation:

Teach Bell To Bell


Teacher calls on a student in her classroom

I can tell you that one of my biggest pet peeves when observing instruction was lost instructional time. I hate when students enter a classroom where there is no introductory task posted on the board (The Do Now); I also become frustrated when class ends early and students are milling around waiting for the end bell to ring. This lost instructional time compounds when added up across classrooms/periods each day.

Instead, plan with timing and transitions in mind. Have students enter and complete an introductory task (5 minutes). Then, engage in a mini-lecture—usually the new information and/or directions for the upcoming student activity (no more than 10-15 minutes). After this, allow the bulk of class time to be used for student practice/peer discussion (20-25 minutes) and then follow up with a culminating/summary activity (10 minutes). To help yourself, set a timer for each section and consider posting the agenda/flow for the class from section to section on the board. Before long, students will come to recognize where they should be within the flow of the lesson and, often, will let you know if you are running behind.

Know What You Want Students To Know And Do


Empty classroom with math written on the chalkboard

Every teacher and student action within the lesson should be driven by the learning objective—i.e., what we want students to know and be able to do at the end of the lesson. This needs to be made clear to students at the beginning of the lesson. Have the learning objective posted on the board when students enter. Discuss the learning objective with students at the beginning of the lesson. Also, consider having students reflect on whether the objective was met during the lesson summary/closure such as by engaging in a brief popcorn discussion and/or in writing through an exit ticket activity.

Even when teachers are mindful in posting and discussing learning objectives, they might not consider the cognitive lift in which they are asking students to engage. Consider using the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix when designing learning objectives/activities that have students both deepening their depth of knowledge as well as synthesizing, evaluating, and creating knowledge as opposed to merely identifying it; Bloom’s Taxonomy meets Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Theory.

For students not academically ready to meet the demands of such a heavy cognitive ask, do not “dumb down” the expectation for these students. Instead, provide scaffolds and supports so students can meet the expectation.

Check For Student Understanding


Students take a test/quiz or complete a worksheet during class

Assessment is much more than quizzes and tests that come at the end of learning. Show your administrator that you are constantly taking the pulse of student retention of learning using ongoing checks on student understanding—i.e., cold calling, signaling, and/or choral response. Equally important, when students demonstrate a lack of understanding, do not charge on with the delivery of instruction. Stop. Reteach that point. In other words, show your administrator that you can pivot in the moment to meet immediate student needs.

Anticipate what you will do when students fail these checks on understanding. Again, do not just push on. Instead, ask a few students until you get the correct response and then have those who did not know the answer repeat the response of peers who did. Have confused students “call on a friend” to help them respond. Checks on understanding are particularly important to implement before students are released to practice their new learning—in other words, during the introduction as well as the mini-lecture phase of a lesson.

Ask The Right Questions The Right Way


Teacher asks questions while being observed by an administrator

Too often, teachers do not plan, in advance, the questions that they will ask students and, as a result, questions rarely require students to engage in heavy cognitive lift. Administrators observing your lessons will want to see that you prepared your student-facing questions to engage students in both discussion and/or debate as well as to assess overall student learning. During the introductory and/or mini-lecture portion of a lesson, it is acceptable that questions be more factual and/or convergent as these types of questions will help teachers to ascertain student basic knowledge and understanding of key concepts and task directions. Once students are released to practice/engage in their learning, however, teachers will want students to reflect upon more divergent and/or evaluative type questions.

Another way that teachers can get into trouble with questioning is not allowing students enough “think time” to ponder the questions being asked of them before answering the questions themselves on behalf of the students. Embed “wait time” of 3-5 seconds after asking students a question so that students can reflect more deeply upon what is being asked of them. This should improve the quality of student responses. Also, allow wait time after a student speaks and before a follow-up question is asked.

Engage Students Throughout The Lesson


Students pay attention to the teacher in the classroom

As an administrator observing teachers, another area of concern for me was when teachers never released students to practice their learning and, instead, held students hostage to a never-ending whole class mini-lecture. If I was bored, I could leave. Students, however, could not. Another missed opportunity for student engagement that I have seen repeated is when teachers release students to independently complete worksheets, during the student practice phase of a lesson, which are then reviewed as a whole class with the teacher leading the discussion one problem/question at a time.

There indeed are times when students will need to learn independently before engaging with peers. However, administrators observing lessons also will want to see how teachers have planned out student pair and small group work as a means through which students can discuss learning collaboratively. I often suggest to teachers that they adapt the National School Reform Faculty Protocols, meant for teacher collaboration, to be student facing. As students work in pairs or small groups, the teacher can/should be walking around the classroom addressing any misconceptions and taking anecdotal notes that the teacher might then want to address with students after the pair or group activity concludes. Administrators also would be excited to see how teachers have planned out student rotation work.

Scaffold And/Or Extend The Learning


Teacher helps a student in his classroom

During the observed lesson, teachers may notice administrators asking students about what they are doing. Administrators are doing this to gain a sense of how well teachers have used student achievement data to place students in groups and how the learning process, product, and/or content is being adjusted, or differentiated, for students with different needs.

Teachers often get scared when they hear the word “differentiation” because they think this means that they need to show their administrator a separate instructional plan for each student in their class. This is not the case. Rather, most administrators observing instruction are looking to see if teachers have considered the needs of the different instructional GROUPINGS in the classroom—i.e., those below readiness, at readiness, and above readiness to meet the posted lesson objective and/or unit of study standards. This last sentence is important—per posted lesson learning objective and/or unit standards. Administrators want to see that you are routinely considering the needs/supports required by students and then equally considering when students no longer need those supports.

If your school is not already using some sort of formal common diagnostic assessment, such as i-Ready or NWEA MAP, you can determine if your students are ready to meet the learning objective and/or unit standards by giving a brief pre-assessment before the lesson or the unit of study. Then, use that pre-assessment data to place students within their appropriate group and determine how you will adjust content, process, and /or product for each group of learners. At the end of the lesson/unit, you can then reassess students—conduct a post-assessment which can be as simple as an exit ticket—to see if and how instructional groupings have shifted; hopefully, there will be increased student growth and achievement after the lesson.

Other Helpful Tips


Teacher looks at her lesson plan during an observation

If teachers really want to impress administrators observing their classroom instruction, consider placing copies of your lesson plans in a folder attached to the wall outside/just inside your classroom that the administrator can pick up without disturbing you/your instruction. Administrators also like to see the literacy connections that students are making, across content areas, as well as how teachers are considering student cultural and background knowledge in their lesson planning. I enjoyed seeing/hearing when teachers were able to make real-world connections in what students were learning.

John Schembari is a school improvement coach. If you would like additional ideas on how to impact student lives without sacrificing your own, and have a life teaching, check out his quick hack teaching courses here. You can also reach out to him on LinkedIn.

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6 Things To Do To Prepare For …

5 Common Teaching Mistakes That Stunt Student Growth



As an education consultant observing instruction across content areas, grade bands, and schools, I have seen A LOT of instruction, both good and bad. While most teachers teach from a place of caring and compassion, the simple mistakes that I see teachers repeatedly making are undermining the overall impact that they could be having on learning especially when one considers the cumulative effect of poor teaching practices, across multiple teachers, on any one student.

Don’t get tangled up in this trap. Start upping your teaching game by canceling the following five teaching practices:

Using The Standard As The Lesson Objective


Student does his homework

I sometimes see teachers using specific Common Core State Standards as the learning objective for an entire unit of study. For example, I once saw a fourth-grade teacher use “Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning (CCSS ELA-LITERACY L.4.5)" as the learning objective across many days of learning. This is an academically rigorous standard to be sure. However, as there are many types of figurative language, how does the teacher know they are meeting the precise intent of this standard unless they break down this standard into its component parts? Could each part then be a lesson/daily objective?

To answer, I suggest teachers draw upon the work of Larry Ainsworth in unwrapping standards. In a nutshell, Ainsworth’s model for deconstructing standards has educators identifying each concept (nouns) and skill (verbs) embedded within each standard to ensure that the complete intent of the standard is understood. More about the model can be found here.

Dumbing Down Objectives


Math teacher lectures his students

My blood boiled over one day when a teacher told me that his students could not possibly meet learning objectives and/or success criteria that asked students to synthesize, evaluate, and/or create since his students were lower functioning. I have no doubt that this teacher was correct in saying that some of his students would, indeed, struggle in meeting higher-level success criteria. However, what then was this teacher doing to scaffold the learning so his lower-functioning students could succeed in meeting such objectives? First, develop lesson objectives with high achievement in mind so that high-performing students are not held back by low-performing students. Then, consider the scaffolds—such as one-on-one and small group direct instruction—that will be provided to lower-achieving students so they, too, can achieve rigorous objectives.

In developing rigorous learning objectives, those that place the cognitive lift on students, I recommend teachers use two tools—a Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Wheel and Hess’ Cognitive Rigor Matrix. The DOK Wheel will help educators to craft learning objectives inclusive of increasing levels of student challenge from a DOK Level One (Student Recall) through to a DOK Level Four (Extended Student Thinking). The Matrix will help teachers to compare their learning objectives, as currently written, to examples of those at varying levels of cognitive complexity so that these objectives may be rewritten to reflect higher levels of cognitive complexity. The Matrix is available for both humanities and math/science content areas.

Bonus Hack for Writing Objectives: When teachers write the learning objective into their guided practice slide decks, it is often only on the front slide. How can students refer to it/follow along if they can’t see it? Instead, include the objective on all slides or, better yet, write it on the class board.

Talking Non-Stop


Teacher leads a class discussion

Less is more. If a teacher’s guided practice drones on and on, as their coach, I sometimes ask if the teacher can call on a student to repeat and/or summarize what was said. Sometimes the student can but, other times, as the student begins to explain, they become confused. This is precisely why I ask this of teachers. If students are to retain information, research shows that there need to be breaks in long lectures. Chunk the learning. Allow a quick turn and talk so students can process learning before proceeding to ask students to repeat and/or summarize information.

On a related note, teachers should stop asking “Any questions?” as a matter of pro forma politeness before speeding along on the bullet train that is their lecture. Most students will not admit that they do not understand something unless it is teased from them. Instead, cold call and use other strategies such as polling, individual whiteboards, and signaling cards. And, when teachers do stop talking to ask questions of students, they can ensure that those questions are cognitively rigorous using this question stem tool.

Telling Students To Take Notes Instead Of Showing Them How


Student takes notes during class

If I had a quarter for each time I heard “take notes.” What does this mean? One of the practices in which I engage when observing classes is to look over at what students are doing and the notes they are taking; the level of detail and amount of relevant information can vary widely. Instead, a good practice is to adopt a standard note-taking format like Cornell Notes. In adopting a standard format, teachers can scaffold notes, build in essential questions, and have students summarize their learning—all best practices discussed in this article. Further, students can assess the quality of not only their notes but that of peers and use these notes in the development of student-generated study guides.

One scaffolding technique that I suggest teachers use with Cornell Notes is to include unit-related vocabulary with which students may be struggling and/or may not yet have been exposed. Often, when students leave questions blank on assessments, it can be because students do not understand what is being asked of them because of the vocabulary being used. In addition to highlighting key vocabulary on Cornell Notes, consider expanding a student’s knowledge of related vocabulary through the use of varied Vocabulary CODE activities as well as tiered vocabulary in each content area.

Taking Class Time To Have Students Complete Worksheets


Students complete a worksheet during class

A standard practice that I have seen, when teachers are afraid to release control, is for students to complete worksheets independently and silently in class. First, teachers should consider if work needs to be done in class or, after modeling one or two examples of what students are to do, the rest of the worksheet can be done at home so that class time can be used for discussion of the work. Learning together builds creativity, blends individual strengths, and enhances the sense of collective ownership.

However, teachers are wise in anticipating where learning can go wrong, and there can be many reasons why students may not be focused during student-to-student-based activities. Still, the solution for most attention problems resides with the teacher. If students are unfocused and discussing unrelated matters during group work, give them the questions to discuss up front. If students can’t engage in discussions with one another appropriately, give them discussion/accountable talking stems. If some students are doing all the work while their teammates stand about idly, assign individual roles within each group as well as have students self-assess their level of contribution as well as peer assess that of their teammates. Also, provide exemplars of quality work and allow students some choice in how they demonstrate proficiency (the product) beyond that of a worksheet. There are also varied discussion protocols that can be used to differentiate the process through which students talk collaboratively about the content.

Word To The Wise


Teacher helps a student with an assignment

These are, without a doubt, some of the most common mistakes that I have seen educators make regardless of the amount of time that they have been in the profession. I, myself, was not immune from making these same missteps in the classroom. Still, being forewarned is forearmed and hopefully an awareness of these common pratfalls, along with a knowledge of the tools that can be used to navigate around them, will help ensure that not a moment of class time is wasted to inefficiency.

Please feel free to reach out to the author at John Schembari, Ed.D. | LinkedIn.

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4 Essential Strategies Mindful Educators Are Using To Revolutionize Teaching



My first teaching job was that of a 6th-grade teacher in a stand-alone classroom. As a new teacher independently teaching all four core content areas, it sometimes was a struggle in knowing both what to teach (the content) and how to teach (the teaching moves). I had a mentor, but they were busy teaching their own class. While we conferred, we never co-taught. This was a shame as I could have exponentially increased my teaching game through this type of live, in-the-moment coaching while my students would have had better continuity in their instruction.

Today, as a teaching consultant myself, I am happy to say that I routinely see and participate in co-taught instruction. This got me thinking. In general, how have teaching practices changed in the last decade? Here are four game-changing practices, within teaching, that are raising the bar on inclusivity, attentiveness, and compassion in education:

1. Cross-Curricular Instruction And Co-Teaching


Students learning outside

While deep knowledge of discrete subjects remains important for those interested in specializing within a particular subject area, we also have seen a shift in teaching towards the inclusion of cross-content and topic-based instruction. Cross-curriculum brings together different aspects of learning that represent the interactivity of the real world. Further, such interconnectedness of learning may better stimulate student-driven questioning and engagement, creativity, and fun in learning. In scientific learning, for example, we now commonly see and hear references to STEAM education—integration of the arts into traditional STEM instruction. An example in the humanities would be when two or three high school teachers (ELA/Social Studies/Science) co-teach around, for example, a non-fiction text that integrates themes such as medical ethics, family, and race.

Also of note is the growing integration of 21st-century life skills such as cooperation, perseverance, and the use of technology as success criteria in learning alongside that of content-specific goals; think of this as the how/process to the what of learning. COVID-19 also has sped up the desire to include SEL and trauma-informed practices, like restorative justice practices, within content-based teaching. If students are fearful or distracted, they cannot learn. Check out these resources for integrating social-emotional learning in mathematics, science, as well as core curricula.

2.  Focus On Student Assets And Abilities


Student receives an award at school

In my coaching work, I sometimes am told by teachers that student engagement strategies I recommend will not work with “these (their) students.” These students may be of color, SPED, ELLs, or really any other student that a teacher might feel is less than/at a deficit because of the challenges and inequities that student faces and for which that student, the teacher might believe, is responsible. In these situations, rarely does this teacher ask what they can do instructionally to help students embrace new learning nor determine what that student already might know about a topic. While not every student will become the next Mark Bezos or Oprah Winfrey, student promise should not be stunted simply because others had low expectations of them and taught accordingly.

Luckily, most educators have come round to the notion that every student has strengths and knowledge that can help them access and retain new information. Culturally responsive teaching, in particular, “creates student-centered learning environments that affirm racial, linguistic, and cultural identities” which, in turn, “elevate historically marginalized voices, develop students’ abilities to connect across difference, and empower students as agents of social change” says Maria Underwood, CEO of M Ideas Consulting Services, Inc. Jeanette Simonson-Gurolnick, who serves as Program Management Director for Thrively, a company that has developed a personalized learning platform that uncovers students' strengths, adds, “A strength-based approach is important because it gives students greater confidence to tackle challenges and it increases motivation and engagement. When students and staff are known for strengths, schools can create a culture that nurtures a positive learning identity and activates chemicals in the brain that bring joy back to learning.”

3. Multiple Access Points Into Learning


Students learn by playing esports at school

“Research encourages us to ensure that we provide mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors for our students,” says equity consultant, Underwood. Indeed, multiple entry points are important for engaging students in learning as students learn differently and can benefit from accessing different pathways through which to process information. Through outdoor learning, for instance, participants learn through what they do, what they encounter, and what they discover. Additionally, hybrid/digital learning provides unlimited opportunities for flipped learning, student digital collaboration, and access to online learning resources such as an open curriculum. We also see high school networks such as Cristo Rey incorporating student work-study as part of its college and career readiness programs and other high school networks, like Bard Early College High School, expanding the definition of who earns college credit, where, how, and when.

Esports (electronic sports), a term used to describe competitive video gaming, also is gaining traction within schools as a pathway through which to increase student engagement. John Widlund, field director at the Center for Educational Innovation, directs the Center’s esports programs across 20 New York City schools. He becomes noticeably charged when explaining the benefits that come with the gamification of learning. “There is no putting the genie back in the bottle as this new generation was quite literally raised on a computer screen. Hopefully, the excitement surrounding esports will be integrated into academic classes and technology education. Organizations have developed school curriculum that teaches the ins and outs of the gaming industry. There are jobs for coders, marketing specialists, artists, YouTube content creators, and finance professionals. The road ahead will be a wild ride.”

4. Authentic And Systemic Assessment


Student gives a presentation during class

A few decades ago, the main source of assessment data on what students knew and could do came from in-class paper and pencil tests as well as through end-of-year state assessments. While these assessments remain important, we see a push for diagnostic formative assessment in education—assessment given to all students systemically across a school and/or district two to three times a year—so that individual teachers, grade teams, schools, and districts can measure, compare, and contrast not only student achievement but also growth at different points in time and levels of hierarchy within a school system; when I served as an NWEA MAP Growth facilitator, I always stressed the point that this data could then be used in designing responsive and differentiated lessons that targeted the specific academic readiness levels of students and in evaluating the efficacy of any academic interventions and/or instructional strategies being employed between test administrations and year over year.

Assessment is also becoming more authentic in that student mastery of content and skills is becoming increasingly measured through the completion of rigorous learning tasks as opposed to using multiple-choice standardized tests. Authentic assessment can be devised by the teacher, and/or determined in collaboration with learners, by engaging student voice and choice. Some examples of authentic assessment might include writing a research report, engaging in formal student discussions, creating posters and/or websites to demonstrate knowledge on a particular topic, student self/portfolio assessment, presenting, etc. Teachers at the Bronx School for Law, Government, and Justice, as a case in point, routinely assess student performance through formal student-led discussions where small student groups get to choose the specific discussion protocol they will use, thus developing not only opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know but also instructional tasks that prioritize the values of the school such as student liberation, genius, and joy. BLGJ Teacher Christopher Connelly adds, “As a teacher, I feel it is my responsibility to make sure students aren’t confused, but it's easier to understand where that confusion comes from if students are open as shareholders in the lesson.”

What do you think is an important practice in teaching today?

Please feel free to reach out to the author at John Schembari, Ed.D. | LinkedIn.

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