Social Studies Middle School Guide

Canyons School District

Instructional Supports Department

TEACHER CLARITY

Effect Size 0.84

Implementation Tools

Critical Actions for Educators ------------------------------- ● Read Standard ● Identify concepts & skills ● Sequence learning progressions ● Elaborate learning intentions ● Craft success criteria ● Modify for language form & function ● Determine Relevance ● Design Assessment ● Create meaningful learning experiences ● Establish mastery ● Utilize the CSD lesson planning template. ● Consider the 3 elements of TPACK when planning, and align your learning

When teachers are clear in the expectations and instruction, students learn more. Fedick (1990) defned teacher clarity as “a measure of the clarity of communication between teachers and students in both directions” and further described it across four dimensions: 1. Clarity of organization, such that lesson tasks, assignments, and activities include links to the objectives and outcomes of learning. 2. Clarity of explanation, such that information is relevant, accurate, and comprehensible to students. 3. Clarity of examples and guided practice, such that the lesson, such that the lesson includes information that is illustrative and illuminating as students gradually move to independence, making progress with less support from the teacher. 4. Clarity of assessment of student learning, such that the teacher is regularly seeking out the acting upon the feedback he or she receives from student, especially through their verbal and written responses. Teacher Expectations have a powerful infuence on student achievement, with an effect size of 0.43 (Hattie 2009). Establishing and communicating learning intentions is an important way that teachers share their expectations with students. Analyzing Success Criteria is another way of determining the expectations a teacher has for students. A given learning intention could have multiple success criteria. Additionally, teachers that plan and create assessments also communicate expectations to students. Teachers with higher expectations tend to talk less, supporting students to talk more and allow for assessing students at deeper levels of understanding.

intentions and success criteria with the three types of knowledge.

An effcient and effective way to plan for teacher clarity is within an IPLC. Each of the 4 questions of an IPLC is answered as teachers engage in work around Teacher Clarity. The fgure below provides an overview of how teacher clarity is linked within an IPLC. What is it we expect our students to learn? How will we know if they have learned it? How will we respond when some students do not learn/learn? Teachers analyze standards to

Teachers are focused on how they will know if students are successful in learning. This requires that teachers frst identify what success looks like, and identify summative assessment tools that can be used to determine mastery of the standard. Key components include:

Teachers must identify monitoring tools that can be used to adjust instruction and provide supplemental support for students. In addition, teachers need to create meaningful learning experiences for students to help them practice new skills. Key components include: ● Design assessment ● Create meaningful learning experiences

determine what students need to know and sequence learning such that it is logical and allows for both content and language development. Key components include: ● Identify concepts & skills ● Sequence learning progressions ● Identify learning intentions ● Include language expectations

● Craft success criteria ● Establish mastery of standards