Focus Lessons

The teacher establishes the purpose of the lesson.

The teachers uses “I” statements to model thinking.

The teacher uses questioning to scaffold instruction, not to quiz students.

The lesson includes a decision frame for when to use the skill or strategy.

The lesson builds metacognitive awareness, especially of indicators of success

Focus lessons move to guided instruction, not immediately to independent learning.

Technology: podcasts, howcast, video tutorials, recorded lectures, demos

Guided Instruction

The teacher uses small-group arrangements

Grouping changes throughout the semester

The teacher has an active role in guided instruction, not merely circulating and assisting individual students.

There is dialogue between learners and the teacher as they begin to apply the skill or strategy.

The teacher uses cues and prompts to scaffold understanding when a student makes an error, and does not immediately tell the correct answer.

Technology: Texting cues like re-read, embedded cues

Productive Group Work

The teacher uses small-group arrangement.

Grouping changes throughout the semester.

The teacher has modeled the concepts students need to understand to complete collaborative tasks.

Students have received guided instruction in the concepts they need to understand to complete collaborative tasks.

Students are individually accountable for their contributions to the group.

The task provides students with an opportunity for interaction.

The task is a novel application of a concept or skill (not an exact duplication of what the teacher has modeled.)

Technology: wikis, Googlesites/docs, project-based, Skype, videoconference

Independent Learning

Students have received modeled, guided, and collaborative learning experiences related to the concepts they need to understand to complete independent tasks.

Independent tasks extend beyond practice to application and extension of new knowledge.

The teacher meets with individual students for conferencing about the independent learning tasks.

Technology: podcasts, prezis, quickwrites, flipped classroom