- Report Cards are due to Team Leaders next Tuesday and to administration next Thursday.
- PLCs are scheduled for next Thursday afternoon at 2:00.
- 3rd Quarter Honor Roll names are due to Mrs. Tusa next Friday. Terrific Kids' names are due to me on the same day.
- Check out this great resource - Class Dojo (Thank you Mrs. Ryan for sharing).
Quote of the Week - Not a quote, but something from another Principal's blog regarding how teachers ensure that students understand what they have been taught:
Closure and Learning – The focus of instruction is not what teacher teaches but what the students learn. The close of every lesson should focus on what the learner has learned not what the teacher has taught. The question is how does the teacher know that the students have learned and mastered the lesson unless there is some type of formative assessment–quiz, test, or activity.
Remembering – The only evidence of learning is remembering. When observing a lesson ask yourself how does the teacher know that students will remember what they just learned?
Checks for Understanding – Teachers should pause frequently during a lesson to check for understanding. How frequently? As a rule of thumb, teachers should check students understanding approximately every fifteen minutes, which approximates the attention span of the average adolescent. According to the Science study, one of the most effective checks for understanding is the quiz used as a formative assessment. Teachers can pause and ask students to write a summary or take a brief quiz on what they just learned. Immediately re-teaching a concept to a classmate may also be used to test practice retrieval.
Timing is critical - When it comes to recall, tomorrow is too late. Teachers need to check for student understanding before students leave the classroom each day.
Feedback – "Feedback is the breakfast of champions." Unless students practice recall (retrieval) and get immediate feedback they will not remember.
