Gauge Understanding (Monday)

Stop at any point during instruction and ask students to gauge their understanding of the concept. Ask them to indicate how much they understand on a scale of one to five using the fingers on one hand. Five fingers indicates full understanding and one finger shows there is frustration or confusion. Quickly scan the classroom and pinpoint whether a full class re-teach is necessary or perhaps some individual or small group intervention would be more efficient. Using the five-finger scale is most effective in classrooms where students are self-assured and able to reasonably gauge their understanding.

Status of the Class (Tuesday)

Elicit comments from your students through a “status of the class” evaluation. Comprehensive student feedback is a wonderful gauge of effective instruction. Instructors should peruse status of the class forms carefully. If these are administered anonymously, students are more likely to be honest. Instructors should note any patterns that seem to emerge, such as general misunderstanding of a concept or negative interpretation of teacher behaviors, and monitor accordingly. This form can be revised and completed by parents as well.

Monitor Teacher-Student Interaction (Wednesday)

Teacher-student interaction is an important feature of effective instruction. Ask a colleague to monitor the frequency with which you interact with each student by tallying one-on-one interactions (use a seating chart or a running dialogue chart). Student-teacher interaction can also be monitored by placing a poker chip on a student’s desk each time you interact, then tally the chips at the end of the class. Both techniques provide information concerning the balance of teacher and student direction of the classroom.

Invite a Videographer (Thursday)

Invite a school media student or willing colleague to videotape your class. Instruct the videographer what to focus on. Perhaps you would like the entire tape to reflect your movement during the class session, or you may wish to document student behavior during direct instruction. Be certain to obtain written parental permission before recording student faces or other identifying information. A series of videos can also be used to document progress toward an instructional goal. This technique is very revealing and unforgiving; it is not for the overly critical or faint-hearted!

Teaching Improvement Checklist (Friday)

Use a checklist to focus your attention on areas you wish to improve. Effective instructors know that developing learning objectives for their students improves instruction. Similarly, developing professional goals and writing them on a checklist will increase your focus on weak areas and remind you to seek staff development opportunities and professional reading materials to help you reach your goals for improvement.