E D U C A T I O N A LL E A D E R S H I P 5 Dimensions of Teaching and Learning UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

College of Education

Dimawsjon I Criteria Gufdfng Quest-tens

Assessmentof StudentLearning

& Culture

Instruction creates opportunities for students to demonstrate learning inrelation to lesson objectives, specific content demands, and transferableskills.

The teacher strategically assesses the learning of each student during thelesson and overtime.

Assessment methods include a variety of tools and approaches to gathercomprehensive and quality information about the learning styles andneeds of each student (e.g., anecdotal notes, conferring, student worksamples, etc.).

The teacher makes instructional decisions based on ongoing assessmentand an understanding of students, standards, texts, tasks, and pedagogicalcontent knowledge.

The teacher utilizes observable systems & routines for recording and usingstudent assessment data (e.g., charts, conferring records, portfolios, rubrics).

Assessment criteria, methods, and purposes are transparent and studentshave a role in their own assessment to promote learning.

How does the instruction provide opportunities for all students to -demonstrate learning and how does the teacher capitalize on thoseopportunities for the purposes of assessment?

How does the teacher gather information about student learning and howcomprehensive are the sources of data from which he/she draws?

How does assessment inform the teacher's instruction and decision-making?

How purposeful is the assessment that occurs? How does it help students tobecome more meta-cognitive and to have ownership in their learning?

The physical arrangement of the room (e.g., meeting area, resources,student seating, etc.) is conducive to student learning.

Resources in the classroom (e.g., libraries, materials, charts, technology, etc.)are used strategically to scaffold, support and assess student learning.

The teacher utilizes the physical space of the classroom to assess studentunderstanding and support learning (e.g., teacher moves around the roomto observe and confer with students).

Students use resources in the physical environment to support learningand independence (e.g., referring to charts, accessing materials, etc.).

Classroom systems and routines facilitate student ownership, andindependence.

Available time is maximized in service of learning.

Classroom discourse and interactions reflect high expectations and beliefsabout students'intellectual capabilities and create a culture of inclusivity,equity and accountability for learning.

• How does the physical arrangement of the classroom and the teacherand student use of resources and space purposefully support and scaffoldstudent learning?

• How do the discourse and interactions of the classroom create a cultureof learning, and how would you characterize the nature of that classroomculture?

• How and to what extent do the systems and routines of the classroomfacilitate student ownership and independence?

• How and to what extent do the systems, routines, and practices of theclassroom reflect or enact values of inclusivity, equity, and accountability forlearning?

Copyright ©2008 University of Washington, Center for Educational Leadership. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, emai! edlead(5>u.washinqton.edu. call the Center for Educational Leadership at 206-221-6881, or go to www.k-12leadership.org.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without permission of the Center for Educational Leadershio.

E D U C A T I O N A LL J L E A D E R S H I P 5 Dimensions of Teaching and Learning

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTONCollege of Education

Purpose

Dimension \a

The purpose and teaching point are clearly articulated, connected tostandards, embedded in instruction, and understood by students.

Instruction is assessment-driven, based on knowledge of students'learningneeds, standards, and texts.

Instruction helps students learn and apply transferable knowledge andskills, allows for inquiry, and is meaningful and relevant beyond the taskat hand (e.g., relates to a broader purpose such as problem-solving,citizenship, etc.).

The teacher makes decisions and utilizes instructional approaches in waysthat intentionally support his/her instructional purposes.

The lesson links purposefully to other lessons (previous and future) insupport of students meeting standard.

Guiding Questions

What is the purpose of the lesson and how does it relate to contentknowledge, habits of thinking in the discipline, transferable skills, andstudents'assessed needs as learners?If students were to accomplish the purpose set by the teacher, what wouldstudents know and be able to do?What evidence do you observe of students'learning in relation to the lessonpurpose (vs. accomplishing a task)?

How does this lesson link to a broader purpose such as problem-solving,citizenship, etc?

How does this lesson relate meaningfully to the ongoing work of theclassroom?

StudentEngagement

Students'classroom talk reflects substantive intellectual work (reading,thinking, writing, problem-solving, and meaning making).

Students take ownership of their learning to develop, test, and refine theirthinking.

Instruction capitalizes on, builds upon, and connects student backgroundknowledge, experience and responses to support rigorous and culturallyrelevant learning.Instructional strategies encourage equitable and purposeful studentparticipation and ensure that all students have access to, and are expectedto participate in, learning.

Student talk reflects discipline-specific habits of thinking and ways ofcommunicating.

What is the frequency of teacher talk; teacher-initiated questions; student-initiated questions; student-to-student interaction; student presentation ofwork?

Where is the locus of control over learning in the classroom? Is it primarilywith the teacher or with the students?

What evidence do you observe of student engagement in intellectual,academic work? What is the nature of that work?

What specific strategies and structures are in place to facilitate participationand meaning making by all students (e.g. small group work, partner talk,writing, etc)?

Instructional materials (e.g., texts, tasks, etc.) are appropriately challengingand supportive for all students; aligned with the lesson purpose andcontent area standards; culturally and academically relevant.

The lesson is related to a larger unit and to the sequence and developmentof conceptual understanding over time.

Instruction and use of materials reflects and is consistent with pedagogicalcontent knowledge.The teacher's use of instructional approaches balances the interplay ofexplicit teaching, scaffolding for the gradual release of responsibility, andstudent choice/ownership.

Teacher moves and decision-making engage students in disciplinary habitsof thinking.

How does the learning in the classroom reflect the authentic ways of reading,writing, thinking and reasoning in the discipline under study? (e.g., Howdoes the work reflect what mathematicians do and how they think?)

What is the level and quality of the intellectual work in which students areengaged (e.g. factual recall, procedure, inference, analysis, meta-cognition)?

What does the instruction reveal about the teacher's understanding of howstudents learn, of disciplinary habits of thinking, and of content knowledge?

How is students'learning of content and transferable skil ls supportedthrough the teacher's intentional use of instructional strategies andmaterials?

Copyright 62008 University of Washington, Center for Educational Leadership. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, email edleadiau.washinaton.edu. call the Center for Educational Leadership at 206-221-6881, or go to www.k-12leadership.org.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without permission of the Center for Educational Leadership.