Best Practices for Modern Teachers: Strategies for Success Based on Current Research

1. Best Practices What modern teachers do based on current research By Stephanie vasse

2. What makes a best practice? • Research based • Independent of teaching philosophy • Not always intuitive • Good for all students • Learnable and teachable • Functional in the everyday classroom

3. Why learn best practices? • Increase engagement • Reduce teacher talk • Teach students of varying abilities • Maintain classroom management • Increase student success • Improve as a professional • Develop innate knowledge and skills

4. A selection of best practices • Establish a classroom routine • Set high expectations • Make lesson objectives explicit • Question to check understanding • Scaffold activities • Focus on active learning • Use formative assessments • Give detailed feedback

5. Establish a classroom routine Strategies: • Classroom procedures • Hand gestures • Bellwork • English representatives • Rewards • Repeat activities (turn-and-talk, bingo, shiritori, etc.) When and how: • Discuss with OTEs • Plan ahead • Beginning of the year • Every day if possible • Explicit and clear • Flexible to change

6. Set high expectations What: • Expectations: “Implicit, largely subconscious, anticipations of the relative quality of someone’s future performance.” (Strauss 2014) • “Set high standards” myth • Self-fulfilling prophecy • Implicit bias or stereotypes (“low status” students) • Created through acknowledgement and action How: • Find low status students • Remember multiple intelligences • Give appropriate responsibilities or opportunities • Set students up to win • Give REAL feedback • Avoid priming for failure • Reduce competitive evaluation

7. Make lesson objectives explicit Why: • Answer “why do we need this?” • Practice the right skills • Avoid the easy path • Metacognition • Identify activities for beginning and advanced students • How: • Establish routines (structure) • Write it down • Go through objectives with students • Use effective vocabulary • Measurable (NOT “learn”) • Check Bloom’s Taxonomy • Move up Bloom’s Taxonomy for most effective learning • Keep it simple

9. Example lesson objectives Elementary school: • Sing the ABC song (Knowledge ) • Find big and small letters (Comprehension) • Usebig and small letters for Bingo game (Application) • Make name cards using big and small letters (Synthesis) Junior high school: • Repeat warm-up vocabulary (Knowledge) • Review Lesson 7 vocabulary (Comprehension) • Write a new Let’s Talk conversation in small groups (Application) • Perform conversation for small group (Synthesis) • Compare conversations and choose the best one (Evaluation) • Prepare for speaking test next week (Synthesis)

10. Question to check understanding What and how: • ALL. THE. TIME.(~40-50%) • Ask, don’t tell • Establish routines (e.g. hand gestures) • Long pauses • Activate background knowledge • Randomize (with intent) • Turn-and-talk after difficult questions • Yes and corrections, not no • Re-teach as needed

11. Scaffold activities What and how: • “I Do, We Do, You Do” • Show objectives • Model and/or demonstrate • Guided practice • Independent work • Discuss and reflect • Transfer to other areas Strategies: • Think aloud • Technology • Turn-and-talk (discussion) • Graphic organizers • Fill-in-the-blank work • Show finished examples • Plan for the future

14. Focus on active learning How and why: • Step off the stage • Get students talking and moving • Hands-on activities • Frequent pair and small group work • Increase independence and creative thinking • Teach real world skills • Brain-based learning Strategies: • Games YES! • Student teachers • Think-pair-share • Note sharing • Question cards • Jigsaw • Peer teaching • Project-based learning

15. Use formative assessments What: • Assessment as learning • Frequent feedback used to guide students • Graded or not • Incremental steps • Informs teaching day-by-day How: • Exit pass • Daily (weekly) notebook • Pre-quiz and post-quiz • Self-assessment • Four corners • Sticky note observations • Checklists

16. Give detailed feedback Where and when: • Before and after class • During activities • Graded work • Quick speaking or listening tests • Long term projects How: • Task, not student, based • Positive and sincere • Don’t compare • Specific, actionable feedback • Trends over nitpicking • Get help from OTEs

17. Sources • Best practices list • Edutopia.org – 5 Highly Effective Teaching Practices by Rebecca Alberhttps://is.gd/Ji3fSL • Evidencebasedteaching.org.au – Top 10 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies by Shaun Killian https://is.gd/KfHXiQ • Benchmarkeducation.com – How to Effectively Observe Best Practices in the Classroom https://is.gd/RbaxUZ • Ncpublicschools.org – Best Practices: A Resource for Teachers https://is.gd/Kdb5Ne • Establish a classroom routine • Scholastic.com – Creating Classroom Routines & Procedures https://is.gd/ESpots • Edweek.org – First Day of School: Talking Back to Harry Wong by Nancy Flanagan https://is.gd/OxXuHe • Set high expectations • Washingtonpost.com– What ‘setting high expectations’ for all students really means by Valerie Strauss https://wapo.st/2Il07ki • Sagepub.com – Producing Equal-Status Interaction in the Heterogeneous Classroom by Elizabeth G. Cohen and Rachel A. Lotanhttp://is.gd/1JQJYE • Make lesson objectives explicit • Fractuslearning.com – Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs by Nick Grantham https://is.gd/tfC6Rq • Bu.edu – Writing Clear Learning Objectives https://is.gd/prkLtM

18. Sources part 2 • Question to check understanding: • Lamission.edu – Question Types https://is.gd/9wWMPn • Evidencebasedteaching.org.au – Questioning to check understanding by Shaun Killian https://is.gd/NEAlkd • Scaffold activities • Benchmarkeducation.com – How to Effectively Observe Best Practices in the Classroom https://is.gd/RbaxUZ • Edutopia.org – 6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students by Rebecca Alberhttps://is.gd/RskLNc • Evidencebasedteaching.org.au – The I Do, We Do, You Do Model Explained by Shaun Killian https://is.gd/85Gz3b • Focus on active learning • Ncpublicschools.org – Best Practices: A Resource for Teachers https://is.gd/Kdb5Ne • Queensu.ca – Active Learning Strategies https://is.gd/JtMaiJ • Use formative assessments • Wvde.state.wv.us – Examples of Formative Assessment https://is.gd/ohsf9s • Edutopia.org – 56 Examples of Formative Assessment by David Weeshttps://is.gd/CrlbxF • Give detailed feedback • Evidencebasedteaching.org.au – Feedback: The First Secret John Hattie Revealed https://is.gd/LazNY4 • Theguardian.com – 7 Ways to Give Better Feedback to Your Students by Bradley Busch https://is.gd/eLDiy8

19. There are approximately one billion education websites I like these: • Evidencebasedteaching.org.au • Edutopia.org • Teachers.scholastic.com • Readwritethink.org • Edublogs.org • Colorincolorado.org • Readingrockets.org • Abcya.com Beware places that want your money!