Arrange room. Instructors should optimize the space in their classrooms so that students/groups can interact and move about the room easily. It is essential that a group’s seats face one another.
This is another important factor. If a teacher is going to do group projects often than the room should be setup in a way that supports the groups. For example have four desks together so you can have easy groups of two or four at any given desk island.
Determine Group Size and Assign Students to Groups.
I think this group size section is very important. If a group is too large or too small for a project that could place issues on the project itself. So the group size here does matter and it should be taken into account given the needs of the project.
whereas only 20–30 percent lead students to explain, clarify, expand, generalize or infer
I would say here that there should be more questions that promote students to think deeper into the meaning of the question. I do not think questions should simply lead to cough out answers of solutions, the students should have to think.
challenge
I think the word "challenge" here is very important. In history or social studies classes I think one of the main goals that should be pushed is the idea of critical thinking. If a student is challenged on any given history topic it will make them think. In my view that is very important and should be something that is pushed in the classroom.
Define the Performance Levels
I think this part is very important because every student might be on a different level. So having these laid out on a rubric could be useful when going through and grading student performance and so on.
The Analytic rubric is perhaps the one most commonly used by teachers. It features a grid of criteria (columns) and “levels” of achievement (rows).
I feel like this style of rubric is the best. So I can see why it is the most used by teachers. I think it helps place all of the information needed in front of the teacher when going through to see if the student is hitting the marks that need to be hit.
acknowledging positive behavior
I think this can be a very important tool even with students who might be seen as "bad" if one of those students does something well point it out so the student knows that you care about the actions.
A lot of misbehaviors are not important or frequent enough to deserve any response at all.
This is another good point. Find out when something needs to be called or pointed out and if it does not meet that need of action then let it go.
the challenge is not about long-term planning but about making appropriate, prompt responses
I think this part is very important. For example if I am doing a lecture with my class I need to remain focused on the whole class as well as giving the lecture.
So if there is a student who is causing some form of trouble it should be pointed out and handled in a way that does not take much focus away from the rest of the class or the lecture itself.
If students cannot answer a question, the teacher may need to rephrase the question,
This is another important factor. A assessment might make total sense to you, but if the students cannot understand the assessment than it needs to be changed so they can better understand what the goal is.
Recognizing what type of practice you are requiring students to engage in
I think this helps to also see the success of the students as they walk through the assessment. Even things like body language can help a teacher see if a student is understanding content. Another reason it is important for the teacher to move around the classroom during the course of the class instead of staying in one spot during the whole class period.
The first two, equivalent and analogous, are forms of appropriate practice, meaning they align with the learning objective
I think this sentence is very important because any assessment needs to line up with the objective that you are trying to teach at the time. So if the assessment cannot match up with the adjective than another assessment needs to be made that can better address the needs of the class during the objective.
Scan
I think scanning is a very important tool. I did this even while walking around during my lesson for pre-II. So even while I was in another part of the classroom I will still able to have sight on other parts of the room to make sure that students were engaged and taking notes.
Moving away from the front of the room also helps prevent behavioral issues from building, especially if we make it a regular routine, not just when things are getting out of hand
I did my first lesson for pre-II this past week. In my first hour I made the mistake of not moving around much. So I had a few students who were not following along and taking notes. But I noticed that in the hours after this when I fixed this mistake and moved around the classroom the students were all working on notes while I was going through the lecture. So I see the movement as a sign that students will pay more attention since they know the teacher is not just in a corner of the room.
All classrooms have walls, of course, and how you fill them can affect the mood or feeling of a classroom
I think this is very important for the "energy" of the room. If the walls are blank it looks like a blank canvas which is boring. But if a teacher fills the wallks with posters or pictures that relate to the class it can help with the energy of the room and even provide information that might be useful for assignments or tests.
Should social skills or effort be included?
Class participation in history classes is important. So, I would say yes to this question. I think working in groups and asking questions during class (being involved) is important and I would have some form of class participation grade in my classroom.
Should zeros or penalties be assigned for missing and late work?
I think this should be up to the assignment and the situation. For example if a student fails to hand in a test on time should it be a zero? I would say no if they turn in the test. But I do believe that late work should have points taken off. So if its one day like 5 points taken away and you go from there.
Deciding how to weight assignments should be done carefully, as it communicates to students and parents what teachers believe is important, and also may be used to decide how much effort students will exert
I think this is important because every teacher will have a different view on what is important. So finding a good middle ground for grades is a good idea in my view. On a personal level I think the highest weighted assignments should always be weekly quizzes of some sort.
Provide information to students for self-reflection
I think this is important because grades should not be viewed as a simple A-F. I think grades can be used as building blocks to help see where the students need more help. For example if a class fails on a test about the civil war than the teacher can see that it might be a good idea to go back and cover some important points for the topic.
Grading can be frustrating for teachers
I think this statement alone is very important. In the course of my Pre-I and Pre-II internships I have helped my CTs grade assignment. Two weeks ago I helped grade some HS history tests and some of the responses were literal memes. So I think situations like that where students are not actually taking the assignments or test seriously when the teacher has to grade so many assignments can be very frustrating.
State when students should be able to demonstrate skill
Knowing what the students should be able to know at the end of the lesson is important. this helps the teacher to understand if these points are being hit during the course of the lesson. If they are not than the teacher can take a step back to make sure the students are understanding what needs to be understood before they move forward to another lesson.
This step requires that you understand a variety of assessment types and their pros and cons in order to select the best format for your assessment
Having different types of assessments in place can help the teacher see if the students are hitting the benchmarks that were set for the lesson. The goal should be to see if the students are hitting these makes during the course of the lesson to make sure that the information is being taken in by the students and understood. If it is being taken in than the students will be able to use the information in order to answer questions down the line.
Successful teachers are diligent in their planning efforts, specifically when it comes to articulating the results they desire for their students.
I think this is important. this phase of the planning can be used by the teacher in order to set up steps to where they want the students to end up when the lesson is over. Plus if the lesson is planned out well than more info can be taken in by the students easier during the course of the lesson itself.
Concrete: Provide clear actionable steps.
This is important. If the rules are solid and easy to understand than it will make for a easier class and experience overall for both the students and the teacher.
Do Not Talk Over: “Self-interrupt” to wait for students to listen.
Another good point. The students do not decide when it is time to listen that is the goal of the teacher. Get the students back in focus and move forward.
Use Formal Register: Speak and stand with a purpose.
I like the focus on "purpose" here. A teacher who understands the "purpose" of the moment will be stronger in the moment. Words and physical traits need to be appear strong and focused.
Consequences are the result of an action. Therefore, consequences could result in a positive or negative outcome.
When creating rules I would want to make sure that the rules do not get in the way of learning or the class period. Students should not be blocked by less time if rules get in the way. So they rules should be well structured and easy to understand so students know what to expect so major disruptions do not get in the way of the class period.
Rules defined by the teacher may be more efficient and consistent, and in this sense fairer, but rules influenced by the students may be supported more fully by the students.
I think this could be a good pathway. The teacher (me) should have a base set of rules but the students should have some say, as long as that say does not lead to the teacher (me) losing control of the class. For example one of these "rules" could be if students finish their assignments in class on time they could have the rest of the class period free to work on other things or have some form of free time if the time allows for it.
The classroom is a complex environment, and any number of things could potentially disrupt student learning
I would say that this first sentence alone is very important. Day by day a teacher can't know every single thing that is going to happen within the classroom. Which is why it is important to have some plan in place in order to be able to tackle anything that might come up within the class. The "plan" might not solve every issue but it can help create a path to solving the issue.