OTES Checklist
FOCUS FOR LEARNING
 Establish challenging and measurable goals
 Align goals to Ohio standards and reflects range of learner needs
 Demonstrate how goal(s) fit into the broader unit, course, and school goals
ASSESSMENT DATA
 Plan assessments purposefully
 Differentiate assessments to match the full range of student needs, abilities, and learning styles
 Create and use diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments
 Analyze student data to identify student learning needs
 Use assessment data to identify student strengths and areas for student growth
PRIOR CONTENT KNOWLEDGE / SEQUENCE /CONNECTIONS
 Use input and contributions of families, colleagues, and other professionals in understanding each student’s
prior knowledge and supporting their development
 Make meaningful and relevant connections between content and other disciplines, real-world experiences,
and careers
 Give opportunities for student to apply learning from different content areas to solve problems
 Plan or sequence instruction to reflect an understanding of relationships among the important content,
concepts, and processes in school/district curriculum priorities, state standards, and multiple pathways for
learning depending on student need
 Provide accurate explanations to show how each lesson fits within the structure of the discipline
KNOWLEDGE OF STUDENTS
 Complete an analysis of student data, student development, student learning, preferred learning styles, and
student backgrounds/prior experiences
 Connect data accurately to specific instructional strategies and plans
 Make plans for specific strategies, content, and delivery to individual students and groups of students
LESSON DELIVERY
 Use explanations that are clear, coherent, and precise
 Use questions and discussion techniques that are well-timed, individualized, and developmentally
appropriate and use language designed to encourage independent, creative, and critical thinking
 Anticipate confusion by presenting information in multiple formats and clarify content before students ask
questions
 Develop a high-level understanding through effective uses of varied levels of questions
 Use lessons that are student-led with the teacher in the role of facilitator
DIFFERENTIATION
 Match strategies and materials and/or pacing to students’ individual needs to make learning accessible and
challenging for all students in the classroom
 Use independent, collaborative whole-class instruction effectively to support individual learning goals and
provide varied options for how students will demonstrate mastery
RESOURCES
 Use instructional materials and resources that are aligned to instructional purposes, are varied and
appropriate to ability levels, and actively engage students in ownership of learning
CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
 Develop a positive rapport with students and demonstrate a respect for and interest in students’
experiences, thoughts, and opinions (for example, the teacher responds quietly, individually, and sensitively
to student confusion or distress)
 Create routines that are well-established, orderly, and that enables students to initiate responsibility for the
efficient operation of the classroom
 Use transitions that are seamless and maximize instructional time and combine independent, collaborative,
and whole-class learning situations
 Establish ongoing, two-way communication with families that result in active volunteer, community, and
family partnerships which contribute to student learning and development
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING
 Use assessment data to identify students’ strengths and needs to modify and differentiate instruction
accordingly and examine classroom assessment results to reveal trends and patterns in individual and group
progress and to anticipate learning obstacles
 Make checks for understanding continually and make adjustments quickly and seamlessly within the lesson
accordingly with individual students as well as the whole class
 Use alternative ways to explain concepts to students who do not understand the content
 Adapt instructional methods, materials, and pacing of learning activities appropriately to meet the needs of
individual students as well as the whole class
 Provide substantive, specific, and timely feedback to students, families, and other school personnel while
maintaining confidentiality
 Provide opportunities for students to engage in self-assessment and show awareness of their own strengths
and weaknesses
 Use student assessment results to reflect on teaching and to monitor teaching strategies and behaviors in
relation to student success
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
 Maintain effective communication with students, families, and colleagues
 Demonstrate collaboration with colleagues to improve personal and team practices by facilitating
professional dialogue, peer observation, feedback, peer coaching, and other collegial learning activities
 Meet ethical and professional responsibilities and help colleagues access and interpret laws and policies and
understand their implications in the classroom
 Regularly set and modify short-term and long term professional goals based on self-assessment and analysis
of student learning evidence