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Questions to Guide Effective Teaching

The following questions, adapted from the California Standards for the Teaching Profession, were developed to help faculty as they continuously improve their teaching. We have found it useful to focus on one or two questions at the beginning of each semester. - The Faculty Mentoring Committee

Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning

Connecting students prior knowledge, life experience, and interests with learning goals.

As a faculty member, How do I...

• Help students to see the connections between what they already know and the course content?
• Help students connect classroom learning to their life experiences and cultural understanding?
• Build on students comments and questions during a lesson to extend their understanding?

Promoting self-directed, reflective learning for all students.

• Motivate students to initiate their own learning and to strive for challenging learning goals?
• Help all students to develop and use strategies for knowing about, reflecting on, and monitoring their own learning?
• Help all students to develop and use strategies for accessing knowledge and information?
• Support and monitor student collaboration during learning activities?

Using a variety of instructional strategies and resources to respond to students diverse needs.

• engage students in a variety of learning experiences to address the different ways they learn?
• use a variety of strategies to introduce, explain, and restate course concepts and processes so that ALL students understand?
• vary my instructional strategies to increase students active participation in learning?
• & recognize when a lesson is falling apart and figure out what to do about it?

 Engaging students in problem solving, critical thinking, and other activities that make subject matter meaningful.

• provide opportunities for students to think, discuss, interact, reflect, and evaluate content?
• help students to learn, practice, internalize, and apply subject-specific, learning strategies and procedures?
• support all students in critically investigating course concepts and questions?
• engage all students in problem solving activities and encourage multiple approaches and solutions?
• encourage all students to ask critical questions and consider diverse perspectives about course material?
• provide opportunities for students to learn and practice skills in meaningful contexts?

Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning

As a faculty member, How do I...

• arrange and adapt classroom seating to accommodate individual and group learning needs?
• pace and adjust instructional time so that students remain engaged?
• provide time for students to reflect on their learning and process of instruction?
• develop classroom procedures and routines that promote and maintain a climate of fairness and respect?
• model and promote fairness, equity, and respect in the classroom?
• encourage students to take risks and be creative?
• understand and respond to inappropriate behaviors in a fair, equitable way?
• promote social development and responsibility?
• help all students accept and respect different experiences, ideas,backgrounds, feelings, and points of view?
• create opportunities for students to communicate and work with one another?
• facilitate student participation in classroom decision-making?

Understanding and Organizing Subject Matter for Student Learning

Demonstrating knowledge of subject matter content and student development.

• ensure that my knowledge of the subject matter incorporates  different perspectives?
• continue to keep my subject matter knowledge current?
• ensure that my subject matter knowledge is sufficient to support student learning?

Using materials, resources, and technologies to make subject matter accessible to students.

• use subject matter resources, materials, and technologies to organize the course content
• select and use learning materials and resources that reflect the diversity in my course?
• use technologies to convey key concepts in the subject area?

Organizing curriculum to support student understanding of subject matter.

• use my subject matter knowledge to organize and sequence course content in order to increase student understanding?
• use my knowledge of the subject to plan units and instructional activities that demonstrate key concepts and their interrelationships?
• organize course content effectively to reveal and value different cultural perspectives?
• help all students to relate subject matter concepts to previous lessons and their own lives?
• help all students to see the relationships and connections across subject matter areas?
• help all students to apply learning from different curricular areas to solve problems?

Developing student understanding through instructional strategies that are appropriate to course content

• develop and use a repertoire of instructional strategies that are well suited to particular course concepts?
• use my knowledge of course content to help students construct their own knowledge?
• challenge all students to think critically about each concept?
• build on student life experience, prior knowledge, and interests to make the content relevant and meaningful to them?
• use a variety of instructional strategies and approaches to illustrate a concept and its connections within and across subject areas?
• help all students develop enthusiasm for and a deep knowledge of the subject matter?

Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students

As a faculty member, How do I...

• use knowledge about students lives and their families and communities to inform my planning of instruction?
• recognize and incorporate student diversity as an integral part of my planning?

Modifying instructional plans to adjust for student needs.

• revise plans based on formal and informal student assessment?
• adjust my plans to allow enough time for student learning?
• reflect on my teaching to inform short-term and long-term planning?

Establishing and articulating goals for student learning.

• ensure that each instructional activity is related to learning goals?
• design instructional activities so that all students participate in setting and achieving learning goals?

Developing and sequencing instructional activities and materials for student learning.

• use formal and informal student assessment in short-term and long-term planning?
• plan to use instructional strategies appropriate to the complexity of the particular concept and student learning needs?

Designing short-term and long-term plans to foster student learning.

• develop short-term and long-term plans that build on and extend students understanding of subject matter?
• make decisions about organizing course design to allow enough time for student learning, review, and assessment?
• think ahead toward long-term goals for student learning?
• plan to ensure access to challenging, diverse, academic content for all students?

Assessing Student Learning

Establishing and communicating learning goals for all students.

As a faculty member, How do I...

• ensure that student learning goals reflect the key course concepts, skills, and applications?
• work with other educators to establish learning goals and assessment tools that promote
• student learning?

Collecting and using multiple sources of information to assess student learning.

• use a variety of assessments to determine what students know and are able to do?
• know that the assessment tools I use are matched to and support my goals for student learning?
• collect, select, and reflect upon evidence of student learning?
• ensure that my grades are based on multiple sources of information?

Involving and guiding all students in assessing their own learning.

• make assessment integral to the learning process?
• model assessment strategies for all students?
• development and use tools and guidelines that help all students assess their own work?
• help all students to build their skills in self-reflection?
• help all students to understand and monitor their own learning goals?
• provide opportunities for all students to demonstrate and reflection their learning inside and outside
• of the classroom?

Using the results of assessments to guide instruction.

• use assessment to guide my planning?
• use assessment data to plan more effective ways of teaching subject matter concepts and processes?
• use assessment information to determine when and how to revisit content that has been taught?

Developing as a Professional Educator

Reflecting on teaching practice and planning professional development.

As a faculty member, How do I...

• assess my growth as a teacher over time?
• learn about teaching as I observe and interact with my students?
• reflect on my instructional successes and dilemmas to move my practice forward?
• analyze my teaching to understand what contributes to student learning?
• formulate professional development plans that are based on my reflection and analysis?

Working with communities to improve professional practice.

• value and respect the students community and appreciate its role in student learning?
• increase my understanding of the cultures and dynamics of my students communities?
• provide my students with community-based experiences that support their learning?

Working with colleagues to improve professional practice.

• create opportunities to collaborate with my colleagues?
• engage in thoughtful dialogue and reflection with colleagues to solve teaching-related problems?
• use observations of colleagues to improve my teaching?

[1] California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and California Department of Education, Sacramento, CA, 1997