"I make it a habit to be clear about expectations for transitions and other routines."
Creating a classroom culture that is both supportive and predictable is a priority for excellent teachers. Great teachers take the time to think through in advance, and clearly communicate to students, the expectations for movements between activities, actions, and daily routines.
Emphasis on clarity of routines, and even practice of the routines, early in the school year is a characteristic of well-managed classrooms. The goal is to create a classroom where the focus is on learning and where that very precious resource--time--is used most effectively.
Some characteristics of effective classrooms:
-Students are ready when the lesson starts
-Quick transitions
-Routines are completed independently without distracting other students
-Succinct, consistent instructions
Some characteristics of less effective classrooms:
-Students are dependent on the teacher for repeated routines
-The teacher often reminds
-Teaching without attention
-'What do I do now?’ is heard frequently in the classroom from students
Here again are the Four Foundations Top Ten Habits:
I make it a habit to...
...plan unit and daily lesson learning targets before planning activities
...write clear, student-learning-focused learning targets
...share the learning targets with students
...plan frequent formative assessments to check for understanding during lessons
...be sure that formative assessments are involuntary and all-inclusive
...give frequent feedback to students that is specific and descriptive
...plan activities that require full involvement of all students
...use models of strong and weak work frequently
...make sure that students talk more than I do
...be clear about expectations for transitions and other routines
For more on the 'Four Foundations', see The Four Foundations of Great Teaching booklet.
For more on the 'Four Foundations', see The Four Foundations of Great Teaching booklet.