What do I want students to learn? How will I teach so all students learn? How will I know if students have learned? How will I respond if they have or have not learned? Teachers make many decisions each day when they enter a classroom. This professional learning opportunity perennially focuses on the instructional decisions of teachers and applying best practice to impact learning for all students.
Thirty one educators from the Binghamton City School District, The Broome-Tioga BOCES and the Whitney Point Central School District are currently learning together as part of the Fall 2021 cohort. The work defines the teaching as a decision-making model and ties the research meta-analyses of Robert Marzano and John Hattie to principles of learning that increase the probability of learning for all students. Initial work stresses breaking down essential learning from standards and the development of clear learning outcomes and success criteria for learning. Teachers “live” student engagement as part of their learning experience and think together about ongoing engagement of learners and how they are designing and facilitating assessment of student learning to make stronger decisions about where to go next with each learner. As the course progresses, teachers reflect on their designing of effective practice and the ways they are influencing student motivation.
The Fall 2021 course is a hybrid course. Teachers met for two full days of learning with Pat Walsh and Erin Wilday in late August. The group will continue to learn together through a series of afternoon synchronous zoom sessions through mid November. Also during this time, Pat and Erin will personalize the learning by arranging non-evaluative coaching visits to each teacher’s learning space. This is where the instructors are able to more effectively “teach for transfer” by facilitating reflection and feedback opportunities focused on teacher strengths and growth.
