All teachers are expected to have a classroom management philosophy, but what does this actually mean (and what should it look like in a 21st-century classroom)? The answer to that question depends on three things: the teacher’s purpose, the learners’ needs, and a good understanding of how young people develop in a digital age. In … Read more
The best part about teaching primary school students is that for those first years, so many of them are excited about learning. Every day is a new adventure and it isn’t as difficult to get student buy-in for whatever silly lesson you have planned for that day. This doesn’t mean that lesson planning for the … Read more
Utilizing small group instruction is not a new concept in education. However, in terms of student learning, there is often a grey area about what the best practices are for making this education model effective for individual students and lesson objectives. Using small group planning and instruction consistently serves a bit of a different purpose … Read more
As time marches forward in education, we are finding that students are becoming micromanaged to a fault. Whereas teachers have the responsibility of making sure that their students learn the specific curriculum and content material, it is creating a generation of students who don’t know how to take initiative and find out the answers to … Read more
Listen to Episode 13 of the Student-Centered World Podcast above, “What Do You Do With a Toxic School?” I once saw on Facebook the plight of a teacher who had a total administrative, unannounced observation the morning after returning from winter break. This is the stuff of school culture nightmares. That first day back from … Read more
AI for Education is revolutionizing the way we learn and teach. There is a lot of fear on behalf of those in education in regard to how this will affect the learning experience for our students. The use of artificial intelligence in the classroom, or even the potential of AI interference in learning, is a … Read more
ChatGPT is a new artificial intelligence software that will answer a prompt with a detailed response. This program from OpenAI does require registering for an account (including using a valid phone number) but has no cost associated with it. Once you register, you can ask it anything you would like and it will give you … Read more
The Expanded ADEPT Support and Evaluation System is used in South Carolina for teacher observation and evaluations. ADEPT Observations are conducted by principals, instructional coaches, or other trained evaluators. Teachers are rated in each of five performance categories on a scale of 1 to 4. The evaluation system was designed with the belief that teachers possess … Read more
The Danielson Framework for teacher observations has become increasingly popular in school districts around the country. What sets the Danielson Framework apart from other teacher evaluation systems is the level of specificity used to construct teacher observation rubrics. By breaking down teaching into parts and providing a clear description for each, the Danielson Framework provides educators with … Read more
Many school districts have implemented the Marzano observation model of teacher evaluation. The Marzano Focused Teacher Evaluation Model was one of the first formal observations to be implemented in schools across the country. It was created to address concerns with teacher evaluations and provide specific criteria for what should be observed during an evaluation. The … Read more
Over time, teacher observation models have changed the landscape of classroom observations. We wanted to provide a tool for teachers and their mentors that can be used when creating OTES 2.0 goals examples so they may examine the effectiveness of their instruction. The online tool, Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES), was created in 2011 by … Read more
There are specific elements to keep in mind when preparing for a NIET Observation. The NIET Teaching Standards Rubric, based on research-based criteria, makes it easy to give feedback regarding a teacher’s instruction and encourages collaboration around a shared goal that corresponds with student performance. NIET Observation criteria aim to produce a concise, accurate, and … Read more