Increasing Rigor

On this page, share your experiences using Objectives, Do Nows, Questioning, Differentiated Learning, Peer-to-Peer Support, Self-Assessment and Exit Tickets to increase rigor.

-The following are the group responses from the all staff training exit ticket survey:

 

Objectives

• Using better objectives
• Be more specific with objectives and lessons
• I will not dummy objectives down, but instead will break them down into step by step
• I will work to make sure that I give consistent opportunities for pre and post knowledge and make sure that the students know the goal for the day.
• Clear goals at the beginning of each session
• My goal is tie Big Ideas with Big Picture with objectives from Goalbook to use a common language that we are using on ILP forms.  Then I will use those to direct students during the session to help them especially understand that mastery is critical for student achievement
• I will begin by adding the how to my student friendly objectives.
• Use terminology in Bloom's to set objectives.

Do Nows

• Implement engaging anticipation activities.
• Reviewing we what we did last week each class.
• Repeat question the next day.

Questioning

• Add more progressively harder activities on practice activities.
  Encourage students to speak more in class with their microphones.
• Using more challenging questions/review in ClassConnect
• Use challenging questions, mix-up the format for answering questions, review what they need help in and review it at another date.
• I will use higher level questioning that and have students evaluate other student's answers.
• Having students stretch their answers. Open ended question.
• I would like to ask why and how questions.  I think this will be particularly useful when preparing for the ACT. 
• I will write questions into my lesson plans that scaffold rigorous critical thinking within my lessons.
• During classes I will not allow students to “coast” or “slide by” by using TLaC strategies such as "No Opt Out" and "Do it Again"
• I would like to vary my question asking more.  For instance, I tend to just use multiple choice questions and I feel like I need to include more short answer.  I have been hesitant to do this for time reasons, however, I feel this will make the students think more about the content they are learning. 
• I need to take another look at blooms and really started apply some of the higher thinking strategies to my sessions.  A goal for me would be to make sure and include lessons from each level during all of my large group sessions. 
• By observing use of Bloom's in informal and formal student questioning.
• By observing use of time on task incorporated with student questioning.
• I will increase rigor by expecting all students to participate in the higher level questions.
• I will try to ask higher level questions, i.e. scaffolding.
• Scaffold my teaching to dig more deeply into the standard. 

Differentiated Learning

• I need to differentiate in my classroom more this year.
• Scaffolding
• Using data to increase skills taught during my lessons
• Create additional differentiated options for one of my classes.
• I want to teach rigor by teaching my students where and when in life they will be using the skills/concepts I am asking them to master.  I think relevance is a key issue to helping them understanding the why!!  Basic life skills are huge...Application in life is the measure of true mastery!
• try to get the students more and more engaged...use the timer in class and see if that makes a difference
• try to implement the new non chat form of submitting answers to see who is doing them correctly
• First, I will use data driven instruction by using MAP assessments to see where my students fall and where they need extra assistance.
• Continue to engage all students in my classrooms.
• I will help my students manage knowledge. 
• I will work to incorporate more PBL

Peer-to-Peer Support

• I will have more small groups to accommodate for individual learning
• Implement student group projects.
• Have students connect with a partner in discussions to support each other when they have difficulty with a program.
• Create more peer-to-peer activities.
• I would like to have more peer support. I will allow students to help grade their own work as well as others and allow more opportunities where they can be the teacher.

Self-Assessment

• Have the students share experiences of solving technical issues and how they solved the problems themselves when working with programs in my classes.
• I am going to add more self-questioning for students.
• I have added goal writing for writing.
• I will use higher level questioning that and have students evaluate other student's answers.
• Teach them to ask questions about their learning.  Have a Why question.
• By June 3, 2016 I will use the least dangerous assumption by Anne Donnellan, when working with all students, which is "in the absence of absolute evidence, it is essential {I} make the assumption that, if proven to be false, would be least dangerous to the individual." to make the next level of independence in the service times available for each individual goal.
• I will also help my students learn how to problem solve, try new approaches, communicate effectively and think creatively.
• I will increase rigor in my classroom by allowing students more time and opportunity to think through problem solving situations.
• I will do more assessment to get a better understanding of how much they retained from the classroom discussion.

Exit Tickets

• Use exit tickets that are not completely multiple choice.
• I will also work to ensure that students get exit tickets at the end of the sessions that will verify that they have learned the lesson of the day.
• I would like to start using exit tickets more as assessments then immediately follow up.
• Exit tickets that ask participants to apply what they learned to a new situation
• By June 3, 2016 I will use an exit ticket to assess learning for all of my classroom students for 80% of classroom connects.
• I will add higher level thinking questions to my assessments or exit tickets, and will continue to have high expectations during class connect sessions, striving for 100% participation and continuing to use no opt out strategies.
• I will look unit objectives and use those objectives as a 1:1 exit ticket.  If the student cannot master the unit objectives, I know that I need to go back and reteach.
• Continue with quality exit tickets.
• I will make sure I utilize exit tickets in every class at the end of each lesson.
• Use exit tickets.