Rigor in Riverwood

Classrooms
What are
administrators
looking for when
they visit the
classroom?

Why am I Here?
Im Doing Fine-Leave Me Alone.

Performance Standard 8: Academically Challenging Environment

The teacher creates a student-centered, academic environment in which teaching and

learning occur at high levels and students are self-directed learners.

More Rigorous Assessments

Milestones, SAT, AP, IB

Prepare Students to be able to use and apply information

More fun and engaging for everybody!
The ability to use information is what is needed for the modern workforce

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Get with a partner..

Look at one of the assignments given to students

With your partner discuss the following.

What are the expectations for the student in completing the assignment?

Can you tell anything about the mindset of the teacher?

Be prepared to quickly share the assignment and your thoughts on the questions
above.

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

So what the heck is rigor?

Rigor is creating an environment in which each
student is expected to learn at high levels, each
student is supported so he or she can learn at high
levels, and each student demonstrates learning at
By Ronald Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn Authors
high levels.
of Rigorous Schools & Classrooms: Leading the Way and
The Principalship from A-Z, Published by Eye On
Education.

It is time to expect more from our students. It is time to prepare every child, everywhere in America, to out-compete any worker, anywhere in
the world. It is time to give all Americans a complete and competitive education from the cradle up through a career,
~President Barack Obama

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

So what the heck is rigor?

Students are challenged to process new information deeply

and to apply new concepts in several different contexts.

Because you never really understand something until you

try to teach it to somebody else, lessons are designed to
ensure that the students have many opportunities to
explain their understanding of new concepts and new
information to other people (peers, teachers, etc.).

Lessons are designed so that students are given a

"scaffold" of support until the student is able to
demonstrate learning independently.

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

So what the heck is rigor?

A little simpler is thisWhat are students
supposed to learn?
What are the students
doing to learn it?
How do the teachers know
when they learn it?
What happens with the
kids who dont learn it?
What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

So what the heck is rigor?

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

More Rigorous

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Rigor is not..

More work

The name of the course

The content of the course

Just a Common Core thing

Something only gifted students can do

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Quick Assessment..

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Best Practices

Writing (journals, varied levels of writing, writing across the curriculum, etc.)

Problem-solving (case studies, group activities, essay exams, etc.)

Oral communication (debates w/expert judges, summary presentations, role

playing)

Reading/comprehension (reading and analyzing ie. in-class discussion,

quizzes, summaries, etc)

Collaborative group projects

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

Best Practices

Socratic method/interactive discussion

Knowing your students (contact, interaction, praise, showing interest, meeting

w/students)

Providing a detailed, clear syllabus with expectations of teachers and students;

grading rubric, calendar, etc.

Class size - use technology to enhance efficiency of content delivery, engage

students, dont let tech drive faculty

In-class small group discussion and report findings (think-pair-share )

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

In a Class Visit, How do Visitors see Rigor?

The teacher's explanation of concepts is consistently very logical and
systematic, very explicit with concrete examples, and very clear and
easy to understand.
Students spend some time in every lesson discussing and/or writing
about what they are learning.
Assessments are thought-provoking and challenging. Multiple-choice
format tests are the exception, not the rule. Most assessments are
open-ended, and require a demonstration of deep comprehension.
Worksheets are rare or non-existent. Instead, effective teachers tend
to use journals and open-ended questions to help students organize
and practice what they learn.
BALANCE-What do your kids need? The lesson plan communicates it
and indicates that the teacher has thought/used information to
determine it.
What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

In a Class Visit, How do Visitors see Rigor?

Instructional activities driven by textbooks or programmatic
resources tend to be less rigorous and less effective than
activities driven by the teacher.
Students are able to explain what they are learning, and how
that learning is relevant to them, and they can also articulate
how that learning can be applied in useful ways.
Teachers expect students to reach benchmarks and
demonstrate knowledge and skills that are clearly beyond
"typical" students their age.
Student work is revised and improved several times (with
teacher feedback each time) before the students create a
final draft and receive a grade.

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

In a Class Visit, How do Visitors see Rigor? Higher Level Questioning

When asking students question during lecture/discussion?

What verbs are used in the questioning?
Is there a follow-up?

Tell me more about that

Explain what you mean by.

Couldnt the other side of that statement be.

Who wants to disagree?

Is there wait time?

To the point it is uncomfortable

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

What are administrators looking for when they visit the classroom?

What are students supposed to learn?

How are learning objectives communicated and reinforced
to kids?
What are the students doing to learn it?
Are the kids doing the work? Are they using the
information they are supposed to learn?
How do the teachers know when they learn it?
Assessment-Formative & Summative
What happens with the kids who dont learn it?
What does the teacher do with the information from the
assessment?

Thank you and I hope this was helpful

Happy Summer!