That's what I would feel when I walked into Mrs. Stewart's kinder class. Sometimes I didn't even know where the teacher was... she was sitting on the floor next to a student group.
Or there is the time when I walked into Mrs. Robert's class and heard a debate- in 2nd grade- on whether the kid should step on the ant or not...
Or there is the time when I walked into Dr. Classen's counseling office and watched a smile grow on the face of one of our most troubled young men as he was playing a game of mini-pool and discussing how to deescalate.
Everywhere I go- I can find it. A classroom that has conditions that create student joy and ownership.
One way to grow student performance is to develop your relationships. Can they feel like they are a part of the system? Do they have a meaningful voice? Are they important? Do they get more stage time- more opportunities to shine than the teacher?
Some ideas I have seen:
- A Class Mission developed with students- reviewed each morning by student leaders
- A Class Dashboard with data marking the main things (Math, Reading) so everyone buys in
- A meeting where the goals and strategies are developed collaboratively
- Daily review of the class's ability to work towards the goals (led by students)
- Student-created lessons on a standard
- Student-led vocabulary activities (groups create the most sophisticated sentence with the word)
- Choice boards/ student data folders (Hope Folders)
You want to see the achievement gap disappear? Build a strong shared classroom where students are looking at the data- setting goals - helping design the pathways for work- and reflecting on their progress. YOU will see results. I have.
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