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Sounds like...

Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy

• Teachers’ lesson plans are standards-based.

• Plans start where the students are.

• “Can you explain how today’s activity might help you with our upcoming assessment over Standard: 6.W.3.S

• “How does today’s lesson, assignment connect to what we did yesterday?”

1. What standard is this lesson focused on?

2. How can I turn that into a learning objective to communicate with students?

3. What do I want students to learn? How will the success of the lesson be assessed?

4. Where are my students at right now versus where I want them to be by the end of this lesson? How will I know if I reached that goal?

5. How can I organize this lesson to best promote student engagement and learning based on what I know about them already and the characteristics of other successful lessons?

6. What resources will I need to execute this lesson? Who can I turn to for help should I run into trouble or need advice/bounce ideas off of?

• What should students know and be able to do by the end of the lesson?

• Which standards and learning progressions does this lesson address?

• What prior knowledge do students bring?

• How will I address misconceptions?

• Which research-based strategies best teach this content?

• How will I sequence learning?

• How will I differentiate supports and extensions for diverse learners?

• How will I plan questioning and discussion to encourage student engagement and voice?

• What formative checks will I use during the lesson to monitor understanding and adjust instruction?

• What specific feedback will I give? How will students use the feedback to revise their work?

• What routines, procedures, and groupings will be most effective?

• How will I incorporate academic language and vocabulary supports?

• What opportunities will students have for collaboration?

• How will I provide time for reflection?

• How will this lesson connect to subsequent lessons and the larger unit goals?

Domain 1 in the TESS rubric is all about planning and preparation. When planning a unit, a teacher should always start with the end goal in mind. Then aligning lessons in an order both appropriate to meet the end goal and on the appropriate level for the students. Planning for misconceptions, gaps in knowledge, and exceeding students should take place within each lesson plan. Planning lessons should focus around the student learning targets and how to ensure those targets are met by all students. Teachers should plan questions before the lesson to account for student struggles, misconceptions, and extension thinking. Teachers could also plan for sentence stems for ELL students, IEP students, or struggling students. Assessments should be created at the beginning of the unit plan, when expected outcomes are being discussed. This practice can drive lessons to specifically target the desired learning outcomes.

• What is the desired student learning target for this lesson?

• What misconceptions might a student have during the lesson/activity?

• What activity would best fit this activity in the lesson?

• How should students present their thinking?

• Will students be working alone, in pairs, or in groups?

• How should groups be determined?

• What questions should I have ready for struggling students or to extend student thinking?

• How does this lesson connect to previous lessons and future lessons?

Both the high impact instruction elements and AR TESS focus on intentional, reflective, and student-centered teaching.

1. What is the standard and Objective? What do you want your students to learn?

2. What do students already know?

3. What strategies and materials will support the students during the learning process and encourage critical thinking and discussion?

4. What evidence/data can I collect to evaluate if the objective is met? During and after the lesson.

5. What form of student/personal reflection will I use to improve the lesson?

What worked well in previous lessons and why?

What prior knowledge might students bring?

What misconceptions might students bring?

What examples or visuals will help students understand the standard?

What questions will I ask for higher thinking?

Will students work independently, partners, or groups?

What assessment will be used for proficiency?

• What do I want students to learn by the end of this lesson?

• What is the best way to communicate this goal to the students?

• What do they already know?

• What misconceptions could they have and how will I address them?

• What strategies will I use?

• How will I keep the students actively engaged and on topic?

• How will I differentiate?

• How can I make this lesson relate the them?

• What type of assessment will I use?

Both articulate the teacher's role in planning for learning outcomes over just delivery. A responsive teacher will anticipate outcomes that align with standards while considering the progression of learning targets/timeline for mastery. An effective teacher builds on prior knowledge and aligns instructional practices that support grade level outcomes. Both emphasize that the students should be able to understand/communicate the learning outcome and expectations. Using assessment to drive instruction is a necessary component.

2a - Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport

Looks like:

Every student is respected and valued, regardless of whether they have demonstrated respect

Every student is viewed as having something to contribute and is given the opportunity to do so

Interactions between teacher/student are polite and respectful. When respect or impoliteness is not shown, redirection and modeling of correct behavior by teacher is seen

Sounds like:

Allowing every student to participate in the lesson and activities regardless of skill level

Modeling of respectful interactions between teacher-teachers and teacher-students

Students self-correct disrespectful or negative behaviors

Students respectfully correct each other so that the classroom environment is maintained and high expectations are continued

What do my students already know?

What standards does the lesson address?

What are the anticipated learning outcomes?

How will I measure student progress/understanding?

What level will be considered proficient?

How will I differentiate?

What materials will I need?

What expectations will I need to articulate to students?

What routines and procedures will need to be in place for instruction to be successful?

What are my next steps if students outcomes are not realized?

What do the students already know?

How do I connect what the students already know to what they need to know? How do I build the bridge from prior knowledge to the acquisition of new knowledge?

What do the students need to know for mastery of this standard?

Why is this skill relevant to the students' lives after school?

How am I going to effectively transfer knowledge of this skill from me to my students?

How am I going to assess the students on skill acquisition? Informally? Formally?

When a student does not successfully acquire the knowledge, how will I reteach to move the student towards mastery?

The TESS rubric descriptors are spelling out the elements that make instruction high quality.

A teacher plans a lesson that is aligned to standards and creates appropriate learning objectives. That objective is communicated to students and is measurable.

High impact teachers plan for higher order thinking questions and tasks, while utilizing resources for appropriate scaffolds and differentiation to meet the needs of all students.

The TESS rubric also encourages responsive teaching during the lesson and after the lesson delivery. These are the same processes in the high impact instruction elements.

Small formative assessments can be made mid-lesson and a teacher responds immediately. Exit tickets can be given at the end of the lesson and the teacher can collect data to inform future instruction.

1.What background knowledge do the students have about the subject?

2. What is my objective?

3. What is my assessment tool?

3. Are my activities engaging?

4. Are my materials HQIM?

5. What activities do I have to check for understanding?

• What learning objectives are in this particular standard?

• How will students be able to show mastery of this standard?

• What strategies and resources do I have to help each student have an access point to the content?

• What are the small steps I need to plan to scaffold for students to meet the overall objective?

• Where in the lesson will I plan for processing time and reflection for the student?

• What data will I collect to inform future instruction?

• How will students be grouped?

• What misconceptions might students have and how will I address them?

2. How do my students learn best?

3. What motivates my students?

4. What do I want my students to learn?

5. Are my goals challenging, but attainable?

6. What resources/materials/technology do I need?

7. How do I need to structure this lesson? What strategies?

8. How do I make this lesson relevant?

9. How will I assess student learning?

10. How do I monitor student progress and give proper feedback?

Both the high impact instruction elements and the Arkansas TESS Rubric Descriptors for Teachers center around clear, standards-based instruction. Knowledge of content is essential for both scaffolding, differentiation, and communicating clear objectives to students. There is also an emphasis on student-centered learning, which reminds me of the horizontal leadership we discussed earlier. Both focus on collaboration and clear communication of objectives, expectations, and learning goals. Overall, both seem to suggest that there needs to be a sense of respect and some flexibility to promote high student achievement.

In order to meet the Effective range on the TESS Rubric a teacher must be utilizing the high impact instructional elements. They both focus on going above the lower levels of teaching and learning. They are also both support through effective data collection and analysis.

1. What do my students already know/ what have they mastered?

2. What is the end goal? What skills/standards am I trying to help students develop/master?

3. What activities/materials can I use that will be beneficial and engaging?

4. How should the instruction be structured (scaffolded) to best support student engagement and understanding?

5. What differentiation might be needed? (supports, extensions, acceleration, etc.)

6. How will I know when students have achieved mastery? What is the best way for them to prove they have mastered these concepts/skills/standards?

*What do students already know?

*How can I make this work for everyone,what modifications or accommodations will be needed?

 *What materials will work best?

*What are my students' roles?

*How will I know what my students have learned, and how will they know what they have accomplished?

*Am I prepared?

There are many connections between high-impact instruction elements and TESS: - Both reflect on data and standards

• Both are centered around the students' achievement and needs

• A need for engagement in learning

• A push for higher-order thinking and discussion

• Planning for the outcome

* Standards for that concept

• Students' levels of prior knowledge

• Students' interests and current events

• What resources and time are available?

• What is the activity or unit going to look like (step by step)?

• What is the assessment going to address, and what is the rigor?

• How will I scaffold the materials and activities to meet the needs of my students?

-Lessons have a clear objective/purpose

-Lesson and Assessment should be aligned to standards

-The goal of the lesson should be understood by students

-Provide differentation to support all students

-Structure and organization of classroom and routines helps set a classroom environment that supports learning

In short, these connections help foster support to ensure students are a part of an environment that is conducive to their learning. These connections are continously repeated which emphases a need to provide quality and engaging lessons, thus promoting student learning. Also, these connections help identify ways to prevent stagnation in student learning by using the best approaches to teaching.

-What do I want students to know and be able to do?(Objective)

-How will I know students have learned it?(assessment)

-What will I do if they did not learn it? (Differentiation & Scaffold)

-How will we respond when students know it?(choices & challenge)

These questions help the instructor as he/she plans for high qulaity instruction by ensuring the focus is on student leanring and achievement.

Creating/planning lessons that provides high quality instruction to ensure all students needs are met.

What students need to know/be able to do at the end of the lesson?

What misconceptions students may have?

What prior knowledge is needed?

Is grouping needed?

How to keep students engaged?

What type of higher thinking questions will be provided?

What type of assessment will be used?

The Arkansas TESS Rubric and the high impact instruction elements both emphasize standards-based instruction that is also differentiated for every student. Careful planning, rigor, and clear objectives for students are necessary.

What have I done in the past that worked well or didn't work well?

What struggles might the students have with this topic? What prior knowledge do they have in this area?

Will this be interesting to students? Will I hold their attention?

What resources do I have available to me that we can use to reach our learning goals?

Is this activity aligned with our instructional goals and standards?

How can I adjust this activity to reach all learners?

• What is the specific standard target of the lesson?

• How will I measure mastery of the target?

• What scaffolding is needed for the various students?

• What prior knowledge will students need? How will I know the students have the necessary "pre-knowledge"?

• Are there "micro-steps" on the way to the target?

• When will CFAs happen to determine student learning?

• What resources do we have? Web site? Textbook? Prior learning activity?

• What is final/summative activity to capture student learning?

High-Impact Instruction simply means a teacher uses proven techniques that the research shows works best to help all students learn quickly and deeply. This kind of effective teaching is what the TESS Rubric (a tool used to evaluate teachers) looks for. High-impact teachers constantly aim to achieve the top scores on the TESS indicators by doing things like setting clear learning goals (TESS: Domain 1, Planning and Preparation), keeping students actively involved in learning rather than just sitting and listening (TESS: Domain 3, Instruction), giving students specific feedback on how to improve (TESS: Domain 3), and making sure the classroom is an organized, respectful place where learning is the priority (TESS: Domain 2, The Classroom Environment). In short, the TESS Rubric provides a structured way to confirm that a teacher is consistently using those powerful, research-backed instructional methods that lead to better student achievement.

Defining the Goal (What should students learn?)

• What is the specific skill or knowledge students must master today? (The main objective)

• Why is this important? (How does it connect to the big picture or real life?)

• What do students already know about this topic? (Activating prior knowledge)

Designing the Instruction (How will I teach it?)

• How will I introduce the new material clearly? (Modeling/Explicit Instruction)

• What are the key steps or examples I need to show students?

• How will students practice this skill with my support? (Guided Practice)

• How will they practice it on their own? (Independent Practice)

• What materials, tools, or technology will make the lesson clear and engaging?

Assessing Understanding (How will I know they learned it?)

• What will students do or say that shows they understand the objective? (Evidence of learning)

• What quick checks will I use during the lesson to see if I need to re-teach anything? (Formative Assessment)

• What kind of feedback can I give right away to help students correct mistakes?

Addressing Diverse Needs (How will I help everyone succeed?)

• Which students might struggle, and what supports or simpler steps do they need? (Scaffolding)

• Which students already know this, and what challenging activity can I offer them? (Enrichment/Differentiation)

• How can I make sure all students participate and feel successful?