When discussing the teacher evaluation process, it is rather easy to brainstorm comprehensive, Steven Spielberg-like projects that integrate numerous content standards while achieving the highest ratings on your District’s teacher evaluation rubric. But what about those everyday mundane concepts found in ELA and math that are often relegated to flash card or exit ticket status? How can a teacher achieve a rating in the Effective/Proficient or Highly Effective/Distinguished zone if the targeted content standard(s) do not readily lend themselves to the pomp and circumstance found in other content standards offering more “real world” problem solving opportunities?
Yesterday, while conducting a teacher evaluation workshop based on the LoTi Teacher Evaluation System in Harrison, New Jersey, a group of my talented colleagues were voicing their concern about how a teacher and specifically a kindergarten teacher might score on the teacher evaluation rubric regardless of the system used (e.g., LoTi, Danielson, Marzano, McREL) for a fundamental math content standard involving counting (CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.A.1).
By mining the internet for about one hour, I found a couple examples of ways of achieving the highest ratings on any teacher evaluation rubric as well as on the LoTi and H.E.A.T. Frameworks involving kindergarten students counting numbers. In this instance, counting numbers 0 to 10.
Monster Math
http://www.education.com/activity/article/build-a-monster/
Kindergarten students practice counting 1 to 10 as they count dots on the dice and apply that number to the drawing. The activity promotes student’s creative thinking as they design multi-limbed, double-headed colorful monster drawings.
H.E.A.T. Levels
Higher order Thinking: 4
Student learning/questioning at Applying level
Engaged Learning: 4
Students collaborate to solve a teacher-directed problem with possible options
Authentic Connections: 4
The learning experience focuses on students exploring/discussing real-world content connections
Technology Use: 4
Students use teacher-directed digital and/or environmental resources to accomplish learning outcomes
LoTi Level: 3 (Teacher Evaluation Rating: Effective)
At a Level 3 (Infusion), the instructional focus emphasizes student higher order thinking (e.g., Bloom Levels – analyzing, evaluating, creating; Webb’s Levels – short-term strategic thinking) and teacher-directed problems. Though specific learning activities may lack authenticity, the instructional emphasis is, nonetheless, placed on higher levels of cognitive processing and in-depth treatment of the content using a variety of thinking skill strategies (e.g., problem-solving, decision-making). The concept attainment, inductive thinking, and scientific inquiry models of teaching are the norm and guide the types of products generated by students.
Digital and/or environmental resources are used by students and/or the teacher to execute teacher-directed tasks that emphasize higher levels of student cognitive processing relating to the content standards.
Citizenship Math
This learning episode is an adaptation of the Citizenship’s Five Themes (http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr008.shtml#kindergarten) activity based on the five themes of citizenship – honesty, compassion, respect, responsibility, and courage. Kindergarten students brainstorm categories representing ways of being a good citizen or helper in class. Some of these categories might include Telling the Truth, Respecting Others, and Being Brave (to do the right thing).
Students add a marker or sticker to their individual Citizenship Pictograph that includes the numbers 0 to 10 along the vertical axis of the graph. Each week, they update their Citizenship Pictograph based on what they did at school yesterday and practice counting the number of stickers on their graph for each of the student-generated categories along with brainstorming ways of increasing their citizenship behavior for any category where they are scoring lower than the others. This activity reinforces students counting 0 to 10 as well as promotes positive student citizenship (a 21st Century Skill) as part of the socialization process. It eventually reinforces students counting up to 100 over time.
H.E.A.T. Levels
Higher order Thinking: 5
Student learning/questioning at Analyzing level
Engaged Learning: 5
Students collaborate to define the task, the process, and/or the solution
Authentic Connections: 5
The learning experience provides opportunity for students to apply their content understanding to a real world situation
Technology Use: 4
Students use teacher-directed digital and/or environmental resources to accomplish learning outcomes
LoTi Level: 4b (Teacher Evaluation Rating: Highly Effective)
At a Level 4b (Integration: Routine) students are fully engaged in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using the available digital and/or environmental resources. The teacher is within his/her comfort level with promoting
an inquiry-based model of teaching that involves students applying their learning to the real world (e.g., Webb’s Levels
– extended strategic thinking). Emphasis is placed on learner-centered strategies and the constructivist, problem-based models of teaching that promote personal goal setting and self-monitoring, student action, and issues resolution.
Students use of digital and/or environmental resources is inherent and motivated by the drive to answer student- generated questions that dictate the content, process, and products embedded in the learning experience.
The above examples illustrate how fundamental math concepts can be contextualized to bring about greater meaning to students while reinforcing foundational math building blocks.
