National Center for Urban School Transformation
Strengthening Instruction in
Urban Schools
National Center for Urban School Transformation
San Diego State University
2011
http://www.ncust.org
National Center for Urban School Transformation
Dedicated to identifying, studying, and promoting the
best practices of America’s highest achieving urban
schools in a manner that supports urban districts in
transforming teaching and learning
http://www.ncust.org
Learn more at the Annual Symposium on High-Performing Urban
Schools in San Diego, CA – May, 2012
In high-performing schools,
instruction is focused upon
generating student mastery
Instruction in High-Performing Schools:
Focusing on Mastery
In excellent lessons, educators:
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Create clarity and specificity about what students
are expected to learn
Minimize transitions, wait time, and time off task
Focus persistently on the objective to be mastered
Focus on generating substantial depth of
understanding (higher-order thinking)
Strive to get every student to demonstrate mastery
of the objective
Instruction in High-Performing Schools:
Acquiring Evidence of Understanding
In excellent lessons, educators:
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Do not “chicken feed” (simply toss out information
and hope students digest it)
Engage all students in demonstrating their levels of
understanding throughout the lesson
Attend carefully to evidence of student
understanding throughout the lesson
Adapt instruction when student mastery is not
evidenced
Conclude by checking student understanding
Instruction in High-Performing Schools:
Presenting Information
In excellent lessons, educators:
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Know the content they intend to teach
Present key concepts in an organized manner,
based on a logical task analysis
Teach strategies so students can acquire
information on their own
Keep presentations of information brief
Wait to present a second concept until students
demonstrate that they understand the first concept
Instruction in High-Performing Schools:
Connecting with Students
In excellent lessons, educators:
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Present key concepts in ways that build upon
students’ background, culture, and interests
Present key concepts in ways that build upon
students’ prior knowledge
Recognize when students are not understanding
and find other ways to explain concepts when
necessary
Scaffold down and enrich upward based on levels
of student understanding
Instruction in High-Performing Schools:
Building Critical Vocabulary
In excellent lessons, educators:
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Pre-identify key vocabulary that influences
understanding of the lesson content
Provide multiple opportunities for all students to
practice using key lesson vocabulary in their own
spoken language
Instruction in High-Performing Schools:
Promoting Successful Practice
In excellent lessons, educators:
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Allow students to practice independently only when
there is substantial evidence that independent
practice will be meaningful and successful
Monitor independent practice (and/or give students
ways to monitor their own practice) and intervene
when necessary
Instruction in High-Performing Schools:
Making Students Feel Valued
In excellent lessons, educators:
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Maintain a clean, attractive classroom
Express a genuine interest in each student’s ideas
Demonstrate courtesy and respect in all interactions
Provide specific, meaningful praise in response to
student effort
Post high-quality student work frequently
Give students the tools needed to evaluate the
quality of their work (rubrics)
Provide visual aids that can help students succeed
Instruction in High-Performing Schools:
Leading Students to Love Learning
In excellent lessons, educators:
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Help students understand the importance of the
content to be learned
Demonstrate enthusiasm for the content
Provide opportunities for students to use technology
and/or manipulate objects in ways that reinforce
lesson objectives
Integrate material from other disciplines in teaching
lesson objectives
Provide students leadership opportunities
Encourage student-to-student interaction
How Do High-Performing Schools Build
and Sustain Instructional Effectiveness?
1. Leaders pay close attention to instructional
quality.
Leaders visit classrooms frequently to gauge
student learning. They constantly seek
evidence that students are learning what their
teachers are teaching. Regularly, leaders
share this evidence in ways that build the
capacity of teachers from day to day, creating
a culture of professional growth.
How Do High-Performing Schools Build
and Sustain Instructional Effectiveness?
2. Leaders help educators support each other
in learning how to teach students more
effectively and efficiently.
Leaders provide time and support in a
manner that helps educators learn that one
of their primary roles is to support the
ongoing learning of their colleagues.
How Do High-Performing Schools Build
and Sustain Instructional Effectiveness?
3. Leaders help educators focus on one or two
instructional issues at a time.
Leaders don’t ask educators to do everything
at once. They work with their teachers to
develop mastery on one or two practices at a
time. They don’t shift focus until a high rate
of mastery has been achieved.
How Do High-Performing Schools Build
and Sustain Instructional Effectiveness?
4. Leaders help everyone remember that
learning should be interesting and exciting.
Leaders help educators teach in ways that
students like to learn. They encourage
teachers to build upon students interests,
backgrounds, cultures, and prior knowledge.
They help educators consider how they can
make learning enjoyable.
How Do High-Performing Schools Build
and Sustain Instructional Effectiveness?
5. Improvement is rewarded. Lack of
improvement is not. Lack of effort is not
tolerated.
Leaders communicate their passion to
transform relationships, teaching, and
learning through their actions. They reward
improvement efforts and they make clear that
a lack of effort is unacceptable.