Teaching Strategies and Student Engagement

The teacher reflects on classroom routines aimed at enhancing student engagement and learning. Initial challenges included students' lack of awareness of daily activities. The teacher developed routines like TMTO, 'Did You Know', and agenda annotations to encourage students to connect with prior content. While some routines like Concept Cards failed, others provided insights into student thinking. Adjustments were made to improve effectiveness, and future plans involve refining these routines to better support student learning.

What was the teacher's main concern at the beginning of the school year?

• Students not completing their homework

• Students not understanding the course material

• Students not knowing what to do each day

• Students not participating in class discussions

Which routine involves students writing three takeaways, a question, and a prediction?

• Did You Know

• Two-minute Think Over

• Agenda Annotations

• Concept Cards

Why did the concept cards not work as intended?

• Students found them too difficult

• They resulted in shallow understanding

• They were too time-consuming

• They were not visually appealing

What was the purpose of the 'Did You Know' activity?

• To improve students' test scores

• To encourage students to share weekly discoveries with family

• To help students memorize facts

• To assess students' writing skills

What change did the teacher make to the agenda annotations?

• Removed them entirely

• Used them only for final exams

• Replaced them with daily quizzes

• Incorporated takeaways from the two-minute think over

What did the teacher find surprising about the academic writing in unit five?

• All students struggled with the topic

• Stronger students used less prior course content

• Weaker students synthesized information better

• Stronger students used more prior course content

In which activity did students first successfully link prior course content?

• Did You Know

• Small group conversations

• Two-minute Think Over

• Agenda Annotations

What was a key takeaway regarding the timing of connecting prior knowledge?

• It is most effective after several units

• It should be done at the start of the year

• It is not necessary for student success

• It should be done weekly

What did the teacher realize about the routines as the year progressed?

• They were too flexible

• They were perfect as they were

• They needed to be more structured

• They needed to evolve and open up

What is the teacher's main goal for future routine adjustments?

• To eliminate routines altogether

• To ensure routines are consistent throughout the year

• To make routines more challenging

• To allow routines to adapt as students grow