CTESS ebook

Grouping •

Whole Group Learning - Whole group is defined as students being expected to participate in an activity that involves the majority of students or the entire class and in which the teacher is providing the students with instruction. • Partner/Pair-Share Learning - Partner or Pair-Share learning is defined as students being expected to work with a paired partner (with one other student) to discuss a concept or work on a task together. • Independent Work - Independent work is defined as students being directed to work alone. This may include reading, completing worksheets, taking a test, etc. • No Grouping - No grouping is defined as an occasion when students have not been given a direction by the teacher to work in any particular grouping structure (e.g. transition times, classroom interruptions, unstructured recess (Elementary), class party, etc.) with or without an adult. PLC Notes Instructional Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are set up in every school in Canyons School District. Teachers use non-instructional time to collaborate and problem-solve using current classroom and/ or District data. Teachers meet in “like” teams, such as grade level, ELA, Math, PE, to consider what instructional practices are working and what might change in order to produce better student outcomes. Some teachers also meet in interdisciplinary teams to problem solve issues with students they commonly teach. The requirements for PLC meetings are: • Agendas and norms are followed • Educators bring data to discuss (e.g., student samples, CFAs, observations) • Problem solving results in action steps • Action steps drive the next meeting • “Business” items are discussed only if time allows Consistent use of formative assessment - Lesson plan (sections 9 & 16 in the District Lesson Plan Template available on the CTESS Dashboard under resources) indicates how formative assessment was used to check for understanding, monitor student learning, and guide instruction. May include use of formative assessment techniques such as quick writes, clicker quizzes, dry erase boards, objective trackers such as “I Can” statements, bell ringers, exit tickets, and various other teacher, school, or District initiated formative assessments. • Culminating Projects (Interdisciplinary) - A student-developed product (e.g. research paper, experiment, simulation, performance, capstone) that reflects learning resulting from the integration and connection of multiple disciplines. General examples are: • Students answer questions about key details from a text about weather (reading, science standards), then draw and write (fine arts, language standards) about those details in a self-made book. • Students conduct research (language arts standard) by reading informational text (reading standard) to discover a variety of songs, instruments, and music from the cultures in the history of Utah (fine arts music standards) to produce an informational poster (writing standard). • Students use a rubric to determine the accuracy, relevance, appropriateness, comprehensiveness and bias of web sources (educational technology standard), collect appropriate sources and write a report (writing and reading standards) that includes graphs and charts (math standards) to explain how technology helps and hinders the life of a student (educational technology standard). • Students write a persuasive essay (writing standard) on a content specific topic (standard in science, math, social studies, psychology, etc.) that requires research (language arts, educational Lesson Planning Evidence •

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