Examining Student Engagement and Authority: Developing Learning Relationships in the Middle Grades

Protocol for the Assessment of Common Core Teaching: the Impact of Instructional Inclusion on Students with Special Needs

“…These dimensions of quality teaching are represented in the three circles of the Venn diagram: (a) the ability to create a classroom culture centered on substantive, active learning (Dooner et al 2010;Lounsbury et al 1990;Sternberg 2003;Tishman et al 1995), (b) deep knowledge of content and curriculum (Grossman et al 2004;Hill et al 2005;Krauss et al 2008;Porter 2002), and (c) strong pedagogical skills that promote authentic student interaction with the content (Bowen 2003;Corno and Mandinach 1983;Delpit 1988;Kong and Hoare 2011;Tyler and Boelter 2008).…”

“…These variables are depicted in the overlapping areas of the Venn diagram. Rigorous instruction is created when a teacher's content knowledge interacts with effective pedagogical skills and results in tasks that challenge students to think creatively and solve complex problems (Bowen 2003;Bransford et al 1999;Dooner et al 2010;Resnick and Hall 2001;Smith and Geller 2004). Relevance is present when the teacher uses his or her knowledge of students along with his or her knowledge of content and curriculum to craft tasks students understand, enjoy, are interested in, and take seriously (Bowen 2003;Costa et al 2008).…”

“…Active participation is a measure of the level at which students do what the teacher expects. When students participate actively in the learning process, it reflects the teacher's ability to motivate and communicate with students, create an environment where students feel safe and respected, and organize the classroom for positive student interaction and learning (Boettcher 2007;Dooner et al 2010;Flynt and Brozo 2009;Graff 2009;Hiebert and Grouws 2007;Matsumura et al 2008;Schacter and Thum 2004).…”

“…A teacher's deep and broad content-area expertise enables the teacher to design developmentally appropriate learning tasks, set challenging and differentiated instructional outcomes, effectively use and integrate a variety of resources, and represent concepts in a variety of ways (Bowen 2003;Dooner et al 2010;Krauss et al 2008;Nasstrom 2009). Teachers with expert content knowledge are able to use research-based instructional strategies to develop students' academic competence and critical thinking about the subject matter (Perkins et al 1993;Cohen et al 2003).…”