What Great Teachers Do

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What Great Teachers Do

• Mike Miles
• Aug 06

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Objectives

• Discuss the actions great teachers take

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GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT.
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Key finding

• Its not that educators do not know what to do
  its that we dont do what we already know.

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19 actions good teachers take
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1 Instruct directly

• Direct instruction instruction in which both
  the teacher and the students are actively engaged
  in instruction
• The difference between telling someone the way,
  showing someone the way, guiding someone along
  the way

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2 Teach bell to bell

• Sense of urgency
• An expectation
• Procedure bell work
• Purpose
• 2-5 minutes
• Review or preview
• Focused, specific

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3 Teach an aligned curriculum
1. What students have to know and be able to do.
2. How you know students have learned what you
have asked them to know (demonstration of
understanding).
3. Using effective instructional strategies to
teach the objectives.
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Know what students have to know

• Standards based curriculum
• Use assessment frameworks
• Use instructional calendars or quarterly
  objectives

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Know the daily lesson objective

• Share with students
• Should be specific
• not what you are doing, but what the student will
  learn
• (Makes principal happy ?)

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Create the assessment prior to the start of the
unit

• Expect students to demonstrate knowledge
• Keeps the instruction focused and aligned
• Maintains integrity of the schedule

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4 Use data to improve instruction

• Analyze scores and performance on assessments
• Establish measurable goals related to academic
  achievement

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5 Monitor progress

• Continually assess student strengths and areas
  for improvement with regard to the curriculum
• Assess the effectiveness of instructional
  strategies and track students responses to
  interventions

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6 Use research-based and effective
instructional strategies

• Is this the best strategy to use to teach this
  concept?
• Will this activity teach what I have asked
  students to know?

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Strategies that affect achievement

• Identifying similarities and differences
• Summarizing and note taking
• Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
• Homework and practice
• Nonlinguistic representations
• Cooperative learning

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Strategies that affect achievement

• Setting objectives and providing feedback
• Generating and testing hypotheses
• Questions, cues, and advance organizers

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7 Ensure everyone is engaged in the lesson

• How do you know when a student is learning?
• Demonstration of knowledge
• Check for understanding
• Individual and class
• Wait for more hands
• Ask students to write

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8 Minimize down time

• Smooth transitions preparation
• Good procedures
• Other examples
• How to pass back papers
• Recording scores or grading papers
• Copying notes

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9 Monitor constantly

• Keep students on task
• Even with seat work
• Physically
• Not just to watch
• Shows you are engaged

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10 Make their class rigorous

• Challenging content
• Good pace

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11 Teach students how to think

• How to think vs. what to think
• Examples compare, infer, predict, understand
  metaphors

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12 Give homework

• What is the purpose?
• Provide feedback
• Expand time
• Dont chase paper
• Hold students accountable for knowledge, not
  pieces of paper

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13 Provide models

• Perfect examples
• Student work

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14 Use rubrics

• Helps students clearly understand proficient
  criteria

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15 Take advantage of multiple intelligences

• Visual aids
• Music
• Clapping
• emotional

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16 Make things relevant

• Continually asks and answers the question so
  what?

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17 Base grades on student proficiency

• Grades provide feedback of academic proficiency
• Grades are based on clear criteria of proficiency

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18 Use positive reinforcement

• 5 times as many positives as negatives
• Positive parent phone calls
• Habits of mind tickets

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19 Collaborate with peers

• Seeks out best practices