COLBY COLLEGE
EDUCATION PROGRAM
Initial Teacher Certification Standards
Candidate
David Thomas
Evaluation Type
Classroom observation - Waterville Senior
High School – USA and the World Period 1
P & Period 4 World History Period 2 P
RATING SCALE:
Does Not Meet
1
Partially Meets
2
Date
January 7, 15 & 26 2015
Evaluator
Karen Kusiak
Meets
3
Exceeds
4
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A. Social Justice Competence: Requires a range of awareness, knowledge, and skills: 1) Selfawareness, 2) Understanding and valuing others, 3) Knowledge of societal inequities, 4) Skills to
interact effectively with diverse people in different contexts, and 5) Skills to foster equity and
inclusion.
Rating
Comments
January 7, 2015 David points out unexpected information about the Atlantic slave trade – for
example many more enslaved Africans were sent to Brazil as compared to North America. While
not explicitly an example of teaching for social justice, the comment allows students to anticipate
more learning about the slave trade and outcomes.
January 15, 2015 – The USA in the World class continues with an examination of how slaves
were treated during the Slave Trade voyages. Students explored excerpts from documents –
including visual material – to understand the conditions during the Middle Passage.
January 26, 2015 – Students today are gathering a very broad overview of world religions. David
takes time to explain that the scope of their study is – by necessity – very basic. Yet, he takes
time to tell students that he has studied just small parts of Islam in one full course in college, and
that he has studied the texts used in Judaism (Old Testament) and Christianity (New Testament
& Old Testament) in two full courses.
B.1. Learner Development: The teacher understands how learners grow and develop,
recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the
cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements
developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
2
Rating
Comments:
January 7, 2015 – David pauses several times to provide an opportunity to have students ask
questions. He invites questions by acknowledging that a question that an individual student has is
likely one that others have. He also looks around the room while giving students time to think
about a possible question. (Beginning teachers are often more likely to hurriedly ask, “Any
questions?” and then move right on without giving students an opportunity to ask.)
January 15, 2015 – Today some students either stated that they were hesitant to read aloud
because of fear or, indeed, demonstrated that they are not fluent readers. David does not make it
a problem when students are either reluctant or non-fluent readers. Most of the students in the
class are fluent readers and they assist one another when oral reading is requested. It is good to
have students read short passages/captions/titles orally because there may be students with low
literacy levels (or inattentive students) in the class who will benefit from hearing the material
read aloud.
January 26, 2015 – David monitors students as they work on their assigned readings on specific
world religions. He offers details to help students understand the religion to a greater extent. (e.g.
fasting during Ramadan)
B.2. Learning Differences: The teacher uses understanding of individual differences and
diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each
learner to meet high standards.
Rating
Comments
January 7, 2015 – While it is difficult to determine which students might have learning
differences, David provides time for any student to have a mini-conference with him while the
class is involved with independent work. David makes a point to list names of students who want
him to come to their desk to straighten out an understanding. The practice highlights David’s
concern with student understanding of course materials. He also creates a “class norm” of asking
for additional help.
David quietly talks with a student about her inability to read from the board even though she sits
close to it.
January 15, 2015 – See above – B.1.
B.3. Learning Environments: The teacher works with others to create environments that
support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction,
active engagement in learning, and self motivation.
3
Rating
Comments
January 15, 2015 David monitors the class well while students work in groups. He maintains
good humor when students joke among themselves. Some of the class jokes or chatter cause
minor distractions, but overall the comments are not mean-spirited nor do they interfere with the
objectives of the class. At this point in teaching, it is better to go with the humor than crack down
on students. David offers preventive guidance before students are set to work by reminding them
of expectations. For example, he reminds students to write notes based on the mini-presentations
students make.
David is adept at getting students’ attention at the very end of class when many of them are
happy to pack up. This is often a difficult time for novice teachers to regain students’ attention.
However, David makes good use of the time just before the bell rang to reiterate points about the
mid-year exam and how students should study for it.
January 26, 2015 - See B.1 above
Also, David gives careful directions when students transitions from whole group to partner work
and then back. The transitions happen quickly as a result.
B.4. Content Knowledge: The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and
structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make these
aspects of the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content.
Rating
Comments
January 7, 2015 – Students process information in ways that are likely to develop strong learning
and understanding. For example, students interpret maps (DBQ) for in-class work. Responses to
the map activity are designed to be diverse given the open-ended structure of the prompt.
Students are expected to cite materials in their written responses.
January 15, 2015 – Students again on this day read primary document excerpts and interpret
them.
In an earlier class, David had asked this class of students to prepare debatable questions to spark
discussion about reading students completed independently. He asked the students for their
responses. One student offered an observation based on his reading: “One of the articles I read
talked about before black slaves they used white indentured slaves.” David turns the observation
into a question to consider: “What do you think about that?” David also adds to the information
students had about white indentured slaves by explaining the typical conditions for indenture.
Another student poses a seemingly innocent, or sincere, question about why enslaved Africans in
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America had children because the children would be born into slavery. When the conversation
around this question made students imagine the process of human reproduction, David managed
the discussion by treating his students maturely. Rather than closing off the discussion, he noted
that it is natural for people to want to have other people close to them – a family.
January 26, 2015 – David readily answer students’ questions about or clarifies students’ tentative
understandings of world religions. His study in college has prepared him for teaching the content
today in this World History course.
He begins the class by asking students to make inferences about the spread of various religions
based on a map that indicates where people who practice or follow major religions live today.
Near the end of the class, David provides context for what students are hearing when partners
report out on a particular religion. He made distinctions among how historians, theologians, and
philosophers might view a particular religion or even the role of religion.
B.5. Application of Content: The teacher understands how to connect concepts and use
differing perspectives to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative
problem solving related to authentic local and global issues.
Rating
Comments
January 7, 2015 - David models strategies to use to complete the DBQ Atlantic Rim Slave Trade
Network activity. “This is what I would do…”
January 26, 2015 – The question about the spread of religion throughout the world was helpful to
orient students to the task today. Students might have benefitted from a longer discussion of how
world religions shape identity, or about what students know (or think they know) about
interactions among major religious groups today, or even think about why awareness of major
religions is desirable for students in high school. (What does it mean to be an educated citizen?
Why is it important to know about major religions? What might a follower of a particular
religious practice do to live a “good” life?)
B.6. Assessment: The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage
learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher’s and learner’s
decision making.
Rating
Comments
January 7, 2015 - At the beginning of class students review place names of Atlantic Rim
locations.
5
January 15, 2015 – Students have ahead of them the mid-year exams as school policy requires.
B.7. Planning for Instruction: The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in
meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, crossdisciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Rating
Comments
January 7, 2015 – It is clear that David has planned for time to work with students individually.
January 15, 2015 – David is using materials that had been prepared, or collected, by faculty in
the social studies department over the course of several years. (It seems that one faculty member
who prepared some of the slides has actually retired.) However, David is using the materials in
his own way by pairing students for class work and by asking students to make minipresentations.
B.8. Instructional Strategies: The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional
strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their
connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
Rating
Comments
January 7, 2015 – Students view material on the interactive white board, access maps via laptops
and Moodle, interpret the maps, and write responses to an ill-structured problem. (Ill-structured
is good.) Students also have an opportunity to ask questions of David.
Homework is explained clearly at the beginning of class so that the explanation is not rushed.
B.9. Professional Learning and Ethical Practice: The teacher engages in ongoing professional
learning and uses evidence to continually evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of
his/her choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the
community), and adapts practice to meet the needs of each learner.
Rating
Comments
January 26, 2015 – David is careful to make certain he is fulfilling all of the requirements for
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teacher certification. Indeed, in the real world, teachers are responsible for maintaining their own
teaching certificate, so it is good practice to keep requirements and deadlines in mind.
B.10. Leadership and Collaboration: The teacher seeks appropriate leadership roles and
opportunities to take responsibility for student learning, to collaborate with learners, families,
colleagues, other school professionals, and community members to ensure learner growth, and to
advance the profession.
Rating
Comments
January 7, 2015 – David takes time to ask his teacher – Mr. Ashton – about upcoming lesson
activities in the World History class. He asks about the purpose of the activity and what the
expectations of students are. He shares ideas with Mr. Ashton.
C. Educational Technology Competence: Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity,
design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments, model digital-age work and
learning, promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility, and engage in professional
growth and leadership.
Rating
Comments
January 7, 2015 – Materials are prepared on the course Moodle. Students and teachers use
Google Docs to share materials. An in-class computer is projected in the room for reference.
Students at WSHS use shared laptops – or Computers on Wheels (COWs.) Care is taken to be
sure laptops from one cart are returned to that cart. While students at WSHS do not have one-toone access, it appears that these shared laptops work well and connect easily to the network.
David takes time to be sure students label their work accurately so that it may be found in
Google Doc.
January 15, 2015 – Students will complete their mid-year exam via the Moodle “quiz” feature.
Students have access to the bank of questions from which actual questions will be drawn. While
this exam will by necessity be multiple-choice or matching, more often students in the class
construct their own written responses as a means to manipulate the content to deepen their
learning. An automated exam at a time when grades need to be determined and reported quickly
is in some ways a wise thing to use.
January 26, 2015 – David makes use of digital materials so that students will not fall behind in
the course should school be closed for more than a day due to an impending storm.
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Additional Comments:
January 7, 2015 - At the beginning of class students are handed copies of Bloom’s Taxonomy. At
the time, Mr. Ashton and David indicate that students have worked with the taxonomy
previously. I was not sure, though, that students understood completely how the taxonomy might
be useful for them as they complete the reading for homework and form debatable questions.
David did take time to distinguish between a factual question and a question that inspires
conversation. Students’ responses will inform David about whether more time was needed for
them to understand how to form a question that requires analysis, synthesis, or critical
evaluation.
See also memo written about this class observation.
January 15, 2015 – After class today David and I talked about a student or two who created mild
distractions in the class. None of the student behavior is malicious, mean, or disrespectful, yet
the students are distracting. Yet one of the students who had been making jokes and asking
unnecessary questions made a model presentation when she and her partner explained their
document. She spoke clearly and with emphasis, she pointed to the image, and she explained
why the image was significant. When moments like that happen, this particular student would
benefit from hearing that her teachers appreciate her academic work or her understanding. Thus
ignoring for the most part the small antics and jokes she made was good (David did this), but
then a comment when she did something that was on target would be have been powerful. I am
not suggesting that meaningless praise be offered. Rather, a comment such as, “You presented
that very clearly, K, thank you!” or “Thanks for pointing out the details in that diagram. Good to
notice them because they are important and you will likely see diagrams like this in other
material as you continue your education or read for your own interest.” or “You mentioned
everything I was expecting you to….great.”
(I didn’t mention this next point when we spoke after class, but another good practice you use is
to move toward the students who are being a little chatty or distracted. Educators call this
“proximity control.” It works very well for minor behavioral concerns.)
January 26, 2015 – In relation to comments above about proximity control, I noticed today that
David stopped at a student’s desk and put his hand on the desk to gain a distracted student’s
attention. He did not have to say anything to the student.
After class we talked about the practice of offering what Wiggins and McTighe would call “Big
Ideas” or “Essential Questions.” Indeed, David had big ideas in the lesson today, but they
happened in the moment rather than as planned ahead of time, as it appears. Thus, discussing
how historians and theologians study central religious leaders (or “founders) in different ways
and for different purposes is an important idea for students to grapple with. Similarly, noting that
philosophers differ from theologians and that they ask different questions about life are big ideas.