Teacher Learning Community

Fall 2017 TLC: High Expectations and the Thinking Classroom - Activity 1 Resources

Course leader:
SEED Team

Teacher Quality Standards

  • QS III: Teachers plan and deliver effective instruction and create an environment that facilitates learning for their students.
    • Element D: Teachers establish and communicate high expectations and use processes to support the development of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.

Imagining the Ideal - Setting a Focus

Guiding Question: What does a classroom culture of high expectations look and feel like?  What things might I need to consider to make such a culture reality for my students?

The purpose of this activity is to reflect on the critical elements of the face-to-face day as you consider how to intentionally create a culture of high expectations in your classroom.  Through this activity you will imagine what your ideal might look and feel like and set a focus for your work in this course in order to bring those ideas to reality. Additionally this activity is meant to help you become familiar with the schoology platform and course expectations.

 

Resources

Ratio: All Students Thinking Hard

This video offers a different way to look at student engagement, by thinking about ratio. Ratio is described as the proportion of teacher participation and thinking to student participation and thinking.

 

How Academic Risk-Taking Dies in the Classroom

In these two blog posts, teacher Chase Mielke explores the reasons that our students learn to avoid academic risk-taking and what we might do about it.

The Power of Yet

Short article with included links, discussing the power of yet verses the use of can't. Whitman discusses what the world, or our classrooms, could be like if we only talked in powers of yet? Suzy can't add two digit numbers...yet. The football team won't win this year's championship...yet. Think of all the things we or our students could do with the mindset of yet.