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When trying to assess student comprehension, one thing we tend to often do as teachers is provide a text to students and have them answer a series of questions afterward to show their understanding. Another way for us to show student understanding of the material, or to identify areas of growth, is to have students come up with question themselves that relate to the material. Now, I don't mean just come up with questions out of nowhere, but to be intentional. For example, let's say you give your students a text about the differences between private and public universities. Your assignment could be for students to create a Costa's Level 1, 2 and 3 question that may appear on an exam. Once students have read the text, they can create their questions,a and they can quiz their partners or groups afterwards to show gaps of understanding or to demonstrate their reading comprehension with one another. This serves as a best practice because it allows student to work with the material in a way that they have to recall, process, and apply the information they learned in a small, quick task.

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Jennifer Gill, Superintendent 1900 West Monroe Street Springfield, IL 62704 217/525-3000

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Working hand in hand with AVID's Focused Note-taking strategy, Writing in the Margins provides multiple ways for readers to understand the content given to them in a text. As educators, it is important for us to provide students with the opportunity to do more than just read a text, for doing so does not truly guarantee understanding of the material. This strategy allows the teachers to pick and choose in which ways do they want students to work with the text. Maybe you're trying to explain how the author uses "imagery" so you ask students to write or draw what the author is trying to describe through their words. Maybe you're teaching students about Newton's laws, and how one action has an equal and opposite, simultaneous reaction. One can ask students to connect with the material by asking them, "How does this relate to sports, or an event in your life where you saw this happen?" By having students interact with the text, they can think about the material in different ways that allows for maximum comprehension and also can help identify gaps in learning.

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AVID's Focused Note-taking (FNT) is a great way strategy to allow students to do more than just read a text and answer questions to show "understanding" of the material. If you want students to be well prepared to show comprehension of a text, using the FNT process allows students to interact with the material in multiple ways before being assessed through an assignment or quiz. Yes, there is still some basics, like asking students to take notes and highlighting important parts, but it forces the teacher to be more intentional in their practices. If a student receives and article, the teacher may asks students to "take notes" by annotating in the margin. They then will "process their notes" by highlighting the main claims throughout the text. Afterwards, students will connect their thoughts by writing questions in the margin, identifying where the passage gets confusing, and how it related to their life. In the end, students can be asked to summarize the text and to share their thoughts on it, did they agree with the author? Why or why not? These phases allow students to work with the text in different ways and to go back to the original source multiple times, before showing their comprehension in the last phase, "Applying Learning." Focused Note-taking carefully lays out a path for students to follow and the teacher guides them through their journey, with the students paving the road itself with their own thoughts and ideas.

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Using student voices during class is important for our children to feel engaged and important while learning. It is also important for us, as teachers, to educate our students of the best ways to engage in a discussion with another person. Philosophical chairs allows for just that, along with practicing reading comprehension. This activity allows teachers to have their students focus on a topic, read articles "for" and/or "against" said topic, and use them as a way to defend or attack either side. The topic chosen should be one that engages the students' interest, such as "All cell phones should be banned from schools" or, "Teachers should be allowed to carry guns on campus." One can also adapt this technique to their specific subject, and the more you relate it to real life the more students will see the importance of learning your content. This is especially important in today's day and age with "fake news" and online discussions happening left and right. It is important for us to equip our students with the proper tools for discussion of any kind.

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Preinstructional Planning
Students will:

Analyze points of debate around censorship

Choose and support a stand on the issue of censorship

Chart paper, chalkboard, or whiteboard

Markers or chalk for discussion board

Philosophical Chairs Reflection Sheet printable

Copies of the Parental Advisory text that appears on music labels, one per student

Post-It notes or scrap paper

Pencils

Philosophical Chairs Discussion Assessment Chart printable

Optional: Computers for online research

1. Set up your classroom for the "Philosophical Chairs" discussion. Have one designated area for students who agree with the topic. Directly across from the "agree" area should be a "disagree" area. In between the two should be a section for students who are neutral on the issue.

2. Write the topic/issue on a piece of chart paper or the chalkboard/whiteboard you are planning to use during the discussion.

3. Make a class set of the Philosophical Chairs Reflection Sheet printable.

4. Print a copy of the Philosophical Chairs Discussion Assessment Chart printable for your own use. Note: The chart has rows for 19 students. You may need a second copy if your class is larger.

5. Instruct students to read the Parental Advisory text that appears on music labels prior to conducting the discussion.

Step 1: Inform students that they will discuss the assigned reading with an activity called Philosophical Chairs. Essentially, Philosophical Chairs is a means of debating an issue. Students will respond to a question and be divided into groups based on their responses. They will then discuss their reasons for their answers.

Step 2: Reveal the topic to students: Music that may be considered offensive should contain warning labels.

Step 3: Provide each student with a Post-it Note or small piece of paper and instruct them to write down their name followed by their stance on the issue. They should write "agree," "disagree," or "neutral."

Step 4: Collect student slips and position students in their chosen areas (agree, disagree, or neutral).

Step 5: Select one student to start the discussion by stating why they chose their particular stance on the issue.

Note: Throughout the discussion, take notes on students' participation using the Philosophical Chairs Discussion Assessment Chart printable.

Step 6: Continue with a detailed debate with students explaining why they have taken one of the three positions.

Step 7: At the conclusion of the discussion, have students complete the Philosophical Chairs Reflection Sheet printable.

You may want to review the Parental Advisory text with your struggling students prior to the Philosophical Chairs discussion. Nonetheless, because this activity is strongly based on voicing opinions and listening actively, it is accessible to all learners.

Ask students to conduct online research to find texts and examples that either support their position on the issue or bring new information to the discussion.

Have students get the perspective of their parents on the topic discussed in class in order to prepare for writing their position papers.

Students will complete the Philosophical Chairs Reflection Sheet printable.

Review your discussion assessment chart and student reflection sheets to evaluate the effectiveness of the selected topic.

Use the Philosophical Chairs Discussion Assessment Chart to rate the quality and quantity of each students' contribution to the discussion.

Review students' completed Philosophical Chairs Reflection Sheet printable.

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Philosophical Chairs Discussion | Scholastic

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Preinstructional Planning Students will: Analyze points of debate around censorship Choose and support a stand on the issue of censorship Chart paper, chalkboard, or whiteboard Markers or chalk for discussion board Philosophical Chairs Reflection Sheet printable Copies of the Parental Advisory text that appears on music labels, one per student Post-It notes or scrap paper Pencils Philosophical Chairs Discussion Assessment Chart printable Optional: Computers for online research Set up your classroom for the "Philosophical Chairs" discussion.

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One of the things I share in common with my middle school students is our love music genres. Coming from a people of color neighborhood, and a "minority-majority" school, my students and I share our love for many of the same artists and songs we will play on our computers or phones in our free time. With that being said, I try to include music in science whenever possible and this is where Flocabulary comes into play. Flocabulary is a website that provides videos and activities to strengthen the knowledge of subject-specific vocabulary in different areas K-12. The website does so by showcasing the material using hip-hop and raps to make the material more engaging. I use these videos when possible, and it comes with lyrics captioned so students can follow along. Flocabulary has proven to be successful as a way to access prior knowledge, but also provide an introduction to many terms they will be seeing throughout our different units.

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Socratic Seminar - Strategy within Critical thinking book

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Socratic Seminar - Strategy within Critical thinking book

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Socratic Seminars provide an space for students to have a healthy dialogue about a specific topic brought up by an article or two. This strategy requires that teacher select a text or two for students to critically read and is framed by an Essential Question or Objective that scaffolds students in discussing their ideas as a group. There are many ways one can do Socratic Seminars, such as a "Fishbowl", where half of the students are in the circle acting as student participants, creating dialogue, asking questions, etc. The rest of the class is on the outside of the circle, taking notes, listening and continuing the conversations once it's their turn to be inside the circle.

I have used Socratic Seminars with my students multiple times, grades 6-8th, and it has worked fantastically. We have had conversations about what it means to be responsible, on cell phones in school, on college, and more. I truly gives the opportunity for students to use their voice and to learn how to share ideas in a brave space.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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If you are a science teacher who has access to technology, but not many physical materials for demonstrations of scientific phenomena, then this is the website for you. I have been using this website for my last two years and it has proven to be a life saver. PhET is a website delivered by the University of Colorado, Boulder. Here, you'll find a series of Java and Flash simulations that demonstrate different phenomena in Physical, Life and Earth sciences. This website will allow your students to experience the focus of your content first hand and gives room for exploration, and experimentation. Most of the simulations are meant for Secondary grades, but can also be applied to Elementary students.

A great way to use these simulations is to have your students experience the simulation first and have them create questions on what is happening, or you could guide them with scaffolded question as well to help push for inquiry.

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Over 1.1 billion simulations delivered

160interactive simulations

97language translations

3001teacher-submitted lessons

Founded in 2002 by Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman, the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder creates free interactive math and science simulations. PhET sims are based on extensive education research and engage students through an intuitive, game-like environment where students learn through exploration and discovery.

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Founded in 2002 by Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman, the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder creates free interactive math and science simulations. PhET sims are based on extensive education research and engage students through an intuitive, game-like environment where students learn through exploration and discovery.

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AVID Critical Thinking and Engagement: A Schoolwide Approach

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AVID Critical Thinking and Engagement: A Schoolwide Approach

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This PDF is meant to target the following areas for student development: Relational Capacity, Metacognition, Collaboration, Inquiry, and Leadership Development. This book is a collection of strategies that can be implemented across all grade levels and subjects.

Relational Capacity focuses on the ability to build strong peer-to-peer relationships, which have been proven have an effect in student's growth.

Metacognition is the ability for students to provide personal feedback to themselves and reflect on their learning.

Collaboration, one again, focuses on peer-to-peer interactions, which allow for better learning in the upper grades.

Inquiry pushes students to think critically and beyond just what is presented to them. Through these activities, students must ask how does the material connect to them, in which ways can they apply it to other situations, and more!

Lastly, this document also includes leadership development activities that are meant to focus students in being the best peer influence on others.

All of these contribute to Socioemotional and content learning areas, based on a collection of best practices as implemented by the AVID Curriculum.

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Google has come up with a plethora of tools that have allowed us to move away from having to carry everything around on a CD, Floppy Disk, or USB, and allow it to live safely in the "cloud". With that being said, Google has also brought out a great tool that works both for providing student/teacher feedback as well as for formative assessments.

Google Forms is an online platform that allows one to create (you guessed it) forms for people to fill out for any setting. Creating a pot luck? Use a Google Form to keep track of what people are bringing. Want students to give you feedback on a certain unit? Use a Form so students enter their thoughts and even share it with the class. Want to quiz students on their latest English novel? You can use Google Form to create a multiple choice, matching, free response question or a combination of the three to evaluate your students. You can also set so that questions grade themselves or you can grade them manually! It also keeps track of which questions students struggled with and more

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Teach Like A Chamption Videos - Kaizen Teaching

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Teach Like A Chamption Videos - Kaizen Teaching

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Kaizen Teaching is a YouTube channel that focuses on a variety of teaching strategies based on Lemov's book Teach Like a Champion. Kaizen uts them in small videos that best explains each technique. Some of the strategies work for classroom management, others for providing feedback or encouraging peer-to-peer learning. All in all, every teacher is bound to find one or two things in this playlist that will help in their

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Teach Like a Champion Technique 16 - Break it Down

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Hey y'all!

My name is Hector and I am a 6-8th Grade AVID Teacher at The O'Farrell Charter Middle School in Southeast San Diego. I began my teaching career as soon as I finished college at UCLA in 2016 with a B.A. in Anthropology and a Minor in Theater. I entered my education pathway through Teach For America - San Diego, a non-profit organization which mission is to "One Day" provide all students with the education they deserve.

Driven by my passion for equity among intersectional communities, I use my ability to create intentional programming and relational capacity to empower individuals of color.

The purpose of this website is to act as a toolbox of teaching best practices, which will be a collection of  resources such as websites, videos, and more.

Always, in solidarity,

Hector L.

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Education is a career field that is most successful when educators of all types work together to share out strategies and techniques that best help our students succeed. Through teacher training and professional development sessions, it is common to hear the good old phrase, "do not reinvent the wheel". Part of our lifeline in this hard work is that we have others to count on when we are struggling, and  we (I'd like to think) pay back this loyalty by offering our assistance if the case arises. As we share our techniques and strategies with one another, we also ask for feedback and listen to those who tried said strategies to find out what worked and what did not.

This is where "Best Practices" come into play. As Hattie mentions in his lectures, we should see ourselves as more than just teachers delivering content by reciting the material via Google Slides. We should strive to evaluate our students as a means to evaluate ourselves and our own strategies put in place in our classrooms. If something is working, and you have evidence of student learning, then share it! Best Practices are formed when a teacher shares how they work in the classroom, why it works and provides evidence of so. As evaluators, as teachers, and mentors of each other, we must work collectively to share these Best Practices so that every student can strive for success.