High school student leader English Language Arts (ELA) observations reportObservations

• Incorporates major content components and aids pupils in applying higher order thinking skills within learning.

• Displays the capability of relating current content to prior experiences, future learning, practical application and other disciplines.

• Displays correct knowledge regarding the topic taught.

• Displays abilities that are pertinent to the lesson.

• Centers teaching on objectives which echo superior expectations and a grasp of the discipline.

• Undertakes realistic time-planning in the areas of pacing, transition and subject mastery.

• Undertakes efficient differentiated instruction planning.

• Ensures pupils' involvement and dynamic learning.

• Builds on pupils' current skills and knowledge.

• Makes use of instructional technology for improving pupils' learning.

• Communicates explicitly and confirms student understanding.

• Applies various valid evaluation tools and approaches relevant to the pupil population and content.

• Employs evaluation tools for summative as well as formative purposes, for informing, adjusting and guiding pupil learning.

• Provides ongoing constructive feedback to pupils with regard to their academic progress.

• Organizes the classroom layout with an aim to maximize pupil learning and fosters a safe classroom climate.

• Lays down well-defined expectations linked to schoolroom norms and practices by encompassing student contribution at the start of the academic year, and applies them regularly and unbiasedly.

• Minimizes disturbances in the lesson and maximizes teaching time.

• Respects pupils coming from diverse linguistic, racial, and cultural backgrounds and treats special needs pupils, boys and girls equally.

• Is a good listener and pays heed to pupils' reactions and requirements.

• Maximizes teaching time by engaging in individual and group-based teaching.

• Integrates learning gleaned from professional development avenues into teaching.

• Establishes goals to improve skills and knowledge.

• Displays consistent mastery over standard written and oral English in every form of communication.

• Displays superior skills in classroom management.

• Familiar with novel common key standards.

• Realizes the demands of the educator's profession.

• The educator was well-prepared, with superior communication skills and...

Therefore, the universal question of whether any child has doubts is hardly likely to glean sufficient information for educators to act on. Rather, a competent educator comes up with approaches for ascertaining individual pupils' levels of comprehension. For instance, pupils' reactions to carefully-constructed questions noted on a whiteboard and presented before the educator offers valuable information to educators regarding how far pupils have understood the lesson taught. Further, if questions are constructed carefully with a view to glean diagnostic information, educators can form a rather specific idea regarding what they must do for ensuring all pupils comprehend the matter taught. Although unable to offer timely information, educators may make use of exit tickets (i.e., answers to a well-designed question submitted by pupils when leaving the classroom) to obtain pupil learning-related information.
A second key tool for guaranteeing pupil success is: providing pupils with timely, clear and precise feedback regarding their learning efforts. This feedback may come from educators as well as peers (who can, respectfully, challenge a child's thinking) and instructional activities. For instance, revisions to any text can confuse readers, instead of explaining its intended meaning. Irrespective of the feedback source, pupils understand that the process of learning involves constant iteration. Effective structuring of instruction time for ensuring group and individual instruction when pupils undertake independent work serves as a good opportunity for instant feedback and targeted diagnostic interrogation, in addition teaching as a response to earlier-obtained evaluation information.

Implications for Teacher Team's Professional Development

Discourse within the classroom ought to be dynamic, involving all pupils in key issues and fostering precise language application for deepening and extending comprehension, and potentially revolving around pupil-constructed questions. Moreover, when educators build on pupils' answers to questions (irrespective of whether the questions are put forward by peers or educators), pupils have to give explanations for their thinking, critique…