Student Ownership of Feedback

This week, I want to zoom in on student feedback. The teacher rubric of the MA Educator Evaluation System mentions providing feedback to students at several different points. Standard I, Indicator C asks us to consider how often we provide feedback to students based on assessment results and to think about how this feedback is shared -- I like to think about whether my focus when providing feedback to students is on growth and improvement or on a summative-type grade (and don't we all get frustrated with our students' tendency to focus only on the latter?). Standard II, Indicator B stresses that opportunities should be provided for students to regularly reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses, to goal-set, and to monitor their own progress. Providing such opportunities would definitely help us keep our feedback focus on growth and improvement rather than on just a grade. So, how can we set this up in our classrooms?

It starts with making sure our students know what their learning goals should be for a given lesson or unit. In Robert Marzano's Becoming a Reflective Teacher, he suggests providing students with a proficiency scale (or even having students help construct such a scale) that aligns with the objective(s) of the lesson/unit such that students are aware (ideally with the help of exemplars as well) of what it looks like to have met this objective or to still be working towards meeting the objective.

Once we've enabled students to be fully conscious of what skill or knowledge they are aiming for, we can ask them to keep a running record of their own scores from assessments given throughout the lesson/unit. In addition to keeping track of their scores, we can also ask them to record what it is they currently understand well, what they're getting better at, and what they still need to work on (all based on the objective's proficiency scale). In doing so, we've sent the message that meeting the objective through growth and improvement has been the true learning goal of this lesson/unit (versus getting a particular grade). And we've placed some ownership with the student -- we've created a system in which the student is reflecting and goal-setting based on meeting the objective.

Want to flesh out some specific ways to implement this, like what a proficiency scale with exemplars might look like for a given unit's objective(s), or how to set up a record-keeping tool for students? Let me know -- I'm still pregnant, thus not on leave YET -- I'm happy to help!

Think Pair Share

I know this is an oldie-but-a-goodie. Think Pair Share, also popularly known as Turn & Talk. But, do you ever find, like me, that, though this is a "tried and true" task, it works better in some classes than others? Here's why (at least according to me!):

There are some students who don't need a lot of structure to Turn & Talk. We ask them to do it, and they just swivel right around and start sharing ideas with a partner, while also listening to and remembering their partner's ideas. But there are other students who don't share much of anything with their partner, and tune out while their partner shares with them. We ask these students later to share with the class, and are met with blank stares. Have a class with a lot of students who fall under the latter category, and Turn & Talk is suddenly not so "tried and true" anymore. Want a solution?

Don't hate me for this, but consider ceasing with the Turn & Talk lingo. This implies that students can just immediately jump into a conversation about a topic or a question. Rather, I'd go with Think Pair Share. This task requires students to do some independent thinking before sharing with a partner and later with the whole class. Let's go one step further . . . I hate to add more photocopying and prep to your lives, but I really think students who struggle with Turn & Talk (or who simply do not participate in it) could benefit from having a template that scaffolds their work on this kind of task.

Below, I've included a template I have used in the past -- it's yielded great results from students who are reluctant or non-participatory with Turn & Talk. They are first required to independently jot down three ideas in response to a question or prompt of some sort you pose. Only then do they share with a partner. Then, they are asked to note which ideas of theirs were the same or similar to ideas shared by their partner AND they are also asked to jot down ideas their partner shared that were different than their own. This really scaffolds the partner work for students who may otherwise zone out during this task. Finally, students are asked to jot down some ideas from other classmates during the whole class share. This kind of structure provides students with some very clear expectations for what turning and talking should entail. Perhaps eventually this scaffold could even be removed once students have mastered it and are ready to participate without it.

If you'd like a copy of this template, just let me know -- I'm happy to share! (After I've thought and paired, naturally.  Sorry -- couldn't resist!)



[I should mention this particular template comes from Thinkquiry Toolkit I: Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Development Across the Content Areas (2011), edited by Julie Meltzer and Dennis Jackson and published by Public Consulting Group. There are others like it out there, but this one has worked well for me!]

Time on Task

As educators, we all want our students' time-on-task to be as high as possible. We don't want our students to waste precious learning time! Sometimes our students have other ideas about this, though, and can spend time off-task for a whole boatload of reasons (boredom, anxiety about an issue outside of class, daydreaming, lack of understanding. . . . . ).

While teachers conduct a lesson, check for student understanding, make on-the-spot decisions about objectives and behavioral management, handle interruptions, give directions, etc., etc., etc., however, it can be tricky to factor in a way to document how much time on task (or off!) students are spending.That's where I come in!

As an instructional coach, this is just one of many areas I can help teachers out with by being a second pair of eyes in the classroom. If a teacher has a goal of increasing student time-on-task, it's good to first establish a base-line. How much time, on average, are students already spending on task? As coach, I can come in to observe a lesson and narrow my focus to just recording on- and off-task behavior. Since this is my main focus, I can even narrow my observations further, recording behavior that is on-task, passively off-task, verbally off-task, and actively off-task (all three of these off-task behaviors can benefit from different intervention strategies, so it's important to distinguish among them). Later, I can share my findings with the teacher, presenting him or her with the percentage of time students, on the whole, are off-task during class, and even the percentage of time students are off-task passively, verbally, and/or actively. We can then work together to plan some interventions with the hope of reducing the amount of time off-task. What's great is that I can continue to come in to collect the same data at different intervals, which means the teacher can have very specific data to inform her about how she's doing with her goal, or about how his interventions are working.

Having another set of eyes to collect student data in the classroom can be helpful in a multitude of ways -- this is just one example of the benefits of instructional coaching!

A Mile in Their Shoes

Hello readers!
I just stumbled across a decently cool video that really got me thinking. The video is from Burr and Burton Academy, a high school in Vermont, and it documents the reflections of several staff members who took on the life of a student at their school for one day. Walking a mile in their students' shoes was primarily conducted as part of an ongoing study by the staff on the effectiveness of their school day schedule, but I think this kind of social experiment offers endless possibilities for what we as educators can learn about the experience of school.

Check out the video here, and then I'll share with you my own take-aways:

• I thought it was a great touch to have the students-for-a-day actually do the assigned homework for all the classes they'd be attending. The teachers in the video don't discuss this in depth, but I think it would be fascinating to really experience what this is like: how difficult is it, how much time does it take, how do you balance it with other after-school activities and responsibilities, etc.
• The teachers mostly seemed to agree that, as the school day went on, it became more and more difficult for them to remain focused. I think this is something we all inherently understand, but perhaps actually experiencing it the way a student does would illuminate it even further . . . maybe it would help us think of what would work well for a student towards the latter half of the school day.
• Something I found really interesting was that one of the teachers said he had had a great day and had found himself fascinated by all the subjects. But some of the other teachers admitted to not connecting well with some of the subjects, which made those classes feel very long to them. I think this is pretty reflective of what our students experience. Sure, there are some kids who love every subject. But there are many others who, for many reasons, don't. How do we engage those students?
• A huge take-away for me as a former ELA high school teacher was the reflection shared by several of the teachers that it was an intense experience bouncing from one subject to the next. One of the teachers said it was difficult because he was processing "what I had done in science class and just a few minutes later -- Boom! -- you're into this totally different, new, intense" subject area. Another teacher commented that "there was no unwinding . . . it was stay wound and go from this to that." My work over the past year and a half in a K-12 position has helped me to learn a lot from elementary teachers about this sort of thing. Because they teach numerous subject areas, I've observed lots of elementary teachers who really get the need to transition from one "intense" area to the next. I know that when I taught high school, it was sometimes easy for me to forget that my students had already had 3 or 4 classes before they walked into mine and that their brains weren't necessarily already primed for ELA like mine was (because ELA was the only subject area I had to focus on).

I don't have all the answers to some of the questions I began to pose in these take-aways. But I do think this social experiment is a very valid one that the staff at any grade level could really learn from. The key is to really try and do something with what people learn from the experience. Are there some new instructional moves teachers can make with the student perspective in mind? Is there a need to try something different? What's working? What's not?


And finally, readers, Happy Holidays! My blogging will resume with the new year, so I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a lovely and well-deserved break. Enjoy!

What's The Message?

There’s an important lesson I learned while taking a Research for Better Teaching Course. RBT (which heads up The Skillful Teacher course – highly recommended if you’ve never taken it!) believes there are a few key messages we must deliver to our students:

This is important.

You can do this.

I’m not giving up on you.

Sounds simple, right? But so, so powerful.

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I were listening to some TED talks on NPR centered around education (yes, I’ve turned my husband into an education junkie like myself – he was the one who actually suggested we listen!). Two of these stories in particular really struck me because they reminded me of the above messages and just how powerful they can be.

Here’s a summary of the first:

An education scholar in India was conducting a study on just how much children will teach themselves when presented with a challenge (you’re going to have to forgive my lack of specifics here – we listened to this in the car, and I only had a napkin to jot my notes down on!). After he plunked down a computer in the middle of a remote Indian village and discovered that children were teaching themselves English just to be able to use the computer, he began adding challenges. At one point, he asked the children (we’re talking elementary school-aged) to research and make some conclusions about some pretty complicated aspects of DNA (and trust me, he was not “dumbing” anything down; he was using what seemed to me to be college-level language and questions with these kids). Once he presented them with this challenge, they were on their own. After seeing that they immediately dug in, he soon asked a local 20 year old girl – with no background or interest in DNA – to just hang out with them while they worked on their research. She wasn’t to guide or teach them in anyway, but was to act, as the scholar put it, as “the Granny” – simply standing behind or beside the children and making statements like, “Wow! You know how to do that?,” “You can do that type of research on this computer?,” “I’m so impressed,” etc. What the scholar found was that this worked! Although she wasn’t able to provide any sort of instruction or help, just her words of praise and encouragement allowed the children to move further along with their research and findings.

[Note: In NO WAY I am suggesting that students don’t need us to teach them. I’m merely pointing out what a long way certain messages can go to help our students achieve.]

Here’s story #2:

You may have seen video footage of this TED talk before. A beautifully sweet, instantly likeable, grandmotherly teacher speaks about some of her approaches in the classroom through her years in education, the message always that she is not giving up on her students and will not allow them to give up on themselves.

My favorite part of her talk is when she describes how she marks a grade on a 20 question quiz. One of her students got 18 of the 20 questions wrong. But, on his paper, instead of writing -18, she wrote +2. Why?

Because -18 is insurmountable. Any student looking at that would instantly feel hopeless and may very likely just give up. But +2 gives some hope. At least that student is now presented with something positive; at least the focus is now on the fact that he got 2 right.

She describes how the student would ask, “Is this an F?,” to which she would reply that yes, it was. But her ability to get the student to focus on the +2 as a starting place for improvement instead of on the -18 as a starting place for giving up is noteworthy. And, I’d say, effective.

As educators, we hold a lot of power. What we say, how we say it, what we write on students’ papers and quizzes and tests – all of this can have a huge impact on our students. We need to consider our messages carefully, and be sure they have a positive impact on the growth of our students and their learning.

Write On

     Remember the days when your punishment for misbehaving in class might be to write "I will not ______" statements over and over and over again, ad infinitum? (No? Me neither. I was a pretty good kid. But bear with me here. I'm making a point...)

     Although it seems like these types of punishments are behind us (which is good, since Bart never really seemed to learn his lesson, now did he?), there's another type of repercussion for bad classroom behavior I'd like to discuss that also involves writing.

     Throughout my career in education, I've witnessed the following type of scenario many times. Young Bob or Sue acts up in class. Young Bob or Sue gets several warnings from the teacher. Young Bob or Sue continues to act up in class. Teacher pulls young Bob or Sue aside and delivers the repercussion: you must write a letter of apology (a paragraph about what you did wrong, an explanation of your behavior and how you will improve, etc.). Now I am all for setting behavioral expectations in our classrooms, and following through with students when they are not meeting those expectations yet. But fellow teachers, I must implore you: Don't make writing a punishment. The underlying, hidden message this sends to the misbehaving student (and to his or her peers looking on, as well) is "You've done something wrong and the best way I can punish you for this is to make you -- gasp -- write a paragraph! Because we all know that writing is a horrible, awful task that no one would ever want to do, so that's what you get for acting up." 

     Please understand. I know that no teacher actually thinks that writing is a punishment. And any teacher who requires a student to write as a consequence for misbehaving does not actually have the above thought process. But we have to be careful in thinking about how our messages may be received (consciously or subconsciously) by our students. And none of us want them to associate the act of writing with something negative. Let's vow not to do this and to make it as antiquated a notion as poor Bart writing all those "I will not ____" statements up on the chalkboard. Let's explore other ways to set behavioral expectations and to work with students who don't meet those expectations in our classrooms.

Tyler, Jimmy. "Bart writing on chalkboard." Photo. Flickriver.com 17 Apr. 2012. 15 March 2013. <http://www.flickriver.com/photos/14531705@N00/4529445838/>.

Double Dipping

     Normally I hate double dipping. You know, when you're at a cocktail party having a lovely, sophisticated time, and you sample the to-die-for hummus or salsa or buffalo chicken dip (whatever floats your boat, readers) and then someone comes along, dips their chip in, takes a bite, then goes in for more. The double dip. I believe there's a Seinfeld episode devoted to this travesty.
   
     Thankfully, I'm not about to commit that kind of double dip. No, no, no. I just want to share with you all a resource I typed up for a few teachers I'm working with as instructional coach. It's a bunch of tips for calling on students (especially those reluctant participators) that can help alleviate the anxiety many teachers have about calling on students who aren't raising their hands. After typing it up, I realized -- hey, I bet my blog readers might want to check this out, too. (Be warned, though...some of the items on the resource are also things I've already blogged about on here. Repeat alert!)

     So, I'm double dipping -- using a blog post to share something I had compiled for a different audience. (But, hey, at least I didn't totally cheat and post this as my only blog entry this week, right?)

     Enjoy!

    

Tips for Calling on Students

(especially those who aren’t raising their hands…)

Compiled by Elizabeth Bettencourt, Sharon Public Schools

·      Foster “accountable talk” in your classroom. Model for students what this looks like by using the following examples, and also expect your students to adhere to “accountable talk” when interacting with their peers in a class discussion:

o   Press for clarification & explanation: “Could you describe what you mean?”

o   Require justification of proposals & challenges: “Where did you find that information?”

o   Demand evidence for claims & arguments: “Can you give me an example?”

o   Interpret & use each other’s statements: “David suggested . . .” (Fisher & Frey, 2007, p. 23).

·      Use value lineups. Ask students to evaluate a statement (“I fully understood last night’s homework,” “I will use this tool in the ‘real world,’” “I think this battle was the most significant in WWI,” etc.) and to line up according to their degree of agreement or disagreement with the statement.

o   After forming a single line, you can ask students to “fold” the line in half so that the students who most strongly agreed and disagreed are now partners, ready to discuss the reasons for their positions with one another (Fisher & Frey, p.25).

o   You’ve given students a chance now to think through their ideas, thus building their confidence before “putting” them “on the spot.” Now’s the time to “cold call” on students to either share why they stood where they stood in the line, or to share what their partner’s ideas were.

·      Ask students to share a partner’s idea. The above example is only one of many opportunities where you can help out a reluctant participator by asking him to share someone else’s ideas (this alleviates the concern some students may have about the accuracy of their own ideas, but doesn’t let them off the hook of participating in class). Using Think, Pair, Share is another easy-to-facilitate way to build students’ confidence about their ideas enough to share them, or to give them the opportunity to share a peer’s ideas. Here, students think and/or write a response to a question you’ve provided, then pair with a peer to discuss their ideas, and then share with the whole class. The teacher can circulate during the “Pair” portion of the activity, listening in to students’ conversations. If you hear a student – especially if he or she is a reluctant participator – share an idea you’d like the whole class to hear, you can give that student a “heads up” that you’ll call on them in a little bit to share that idea with the whole class. You’ve boosted their confidence to share because now they know their ideas are valid, and you’ve given them some time to get ready.

·      Try out the Whip Around. At the end of a period of instruction, the teacher poses a question or a task, asking students to make a list of at least three items (“List three things you struggled with today,” “List three traits of this character,” etc.). When students are done with their list, ask all students to stand. Then, randomly call on a student to share one of his or her ideas. Students should check off any items on their list that are shared by other students (this eliminates repetition) and sit down when all of their ideas have been shared, either by themselves or by a peer. Continue to call on students until all are seated (Fisher & Frey, p.34).

·      Determine the response format of a question and who will provide it before asking the question. “Will it be a choral answer, where all students respond together? Is it a partner discussion question? If so, the teacher should preface the question itself with information about the response format so that students know what they will do with the question before it is asked. If it is to be answered by an individual student, teachers should announce the student’s name before asking the question. This alerts the learner to the expected response. . .” (Fisher & Frey, p. 39).

·      Provide “wait time,” or as others call it, “think time.” Three to five seconds is commonly accepted as the amount of time students need to digest the question and to think of their answer.

·      If a student is unable to answer a question, stick with him or her! Use the following types of question scaffolding to help the student get to a response (Fisher & Frey, pp. 39-40):

o   Reception scaffolding – direct a student to the information necessary to answer the question (“Look at the graph on page 252 of your textbook”).

o   Transformation scaffolding – provide a way of structuring the information to help the student develop an answer (“How does the largest bar on the graph on page 252 of your textbook help you to find your answer?”).

o   Production scaffolding – provide the student with a way of producing an answer (“Use the largest and the smallest bars from the graph on page 252 of your textbook to compare the amounts used”).

o   Use a combination of all three types of scaffolds in succession if needed! Stick with that student!

·      Hold students accountable for participating in class. If a student responds to a question incorrectly or incompletely, check back with the student later to make sure he or she now has the correct answer. If students are “going around the room,” each sharing something (their thesis statement from a first draft, their opinion on last night’s assigned chapter, their idea for a marketing product, etc.), and a student does not share (this could be due to a lack of confidence, an incomplete homework assignment, etc.), ask that student to continue listening as his or her peers share. Let that student know that you will be coming back to them later to share something they heard a peer say that they liked or agreed with and why. Set the expectation that everyone’s voice in this class will be heard.

·      Use response cards. These can be pre-printed or write-on.

o   Pre-printed response cards already have responses written on them. These responses could be as simple as “yes” and “no,” that students hold up in response to questions from the teacher. Or they could be more specific, such as “potential energy” and “kinetic energy,” that students hold up in response to examples of energy provided by the teacher. In this format, all students respond, and the teacher can ask follow-up questions to a student based on his or her response. Again, the student’s confidence has been built prior to being called on, and he or she has had time to think through his or her answer.

o   Write-on response cards are blank (mini white boards work well), and students write a quick response on them to a teacher’s question. For example, a teacher could ask his third grade students to write three-letter words using a particular set of letters. As with the pre-printed response card examples above, the teacher can ask follow-up questions to a student based on his or her response (Fisher & Frey, pp. 46-48).

·      Use audience response systems. These new technologies can be utilized in the same ways response cards are used as questioning techniques (see above).

·      NOTE: All of the above tips for calling on students are not only great ways to set the expectation that every student’s voice should be heard, but they are also excellent tools to check for understanding with every student!

Reference

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. Checking for understanding: Formative assessment techniques for your    

     classroom. ASCD: Alexandria, VA.

To Ask or Not to Ask: That is the Question

     Lately, in my role as an instructional coach, I've been fielding a lot of questions about . . . well, questions. Allow me to explain: most teachers (myself most certainly included) have the common experience of having allowed a class to get sort of "taken over" by a handful of student voices. It happens without us even fully realizing it at first. We ask a question, and see hands raised. Gasp! Every teacher's dream! But over time, we notice that those raised hands are always attached to the same students. And now we've gotten into the easy-to-get-into habit of only calling on those students, since -- let's face it -- it's so much easier to just call on a student whose hand is up, a student who is confident and won't feel put on the spot, etc., etc. 

     BUT -- then it appears. That nagging teacher voice inside our heads, reminding us that this is not the way to run a classroom. That we want to hear from all our students, that we need to check for understanding from all our students. And so, we start asking each other questions about questions. 

     The questions about questions I've been fielding mostly involve the following: How do I ask questions that really check for understanding? How do I call on all students without putting a non-volunteering student on the spot, making them feel uncomfortable, nervous, scared, terrified?

     Here are some of the answers I've been giving. First, I say -- it's sort of our job to put students on the spot. I don't mean that in a bad way or with the negative connotation that accompanies the phrase. I just mean that we need to check for student understanding, we need to send the message that, in this class, every students' voice is expected and is valued. So, how do we do it comfortably? I believe it has a lot to do with setting our students up for success when asking questions. Here are my ideas:

• I think one thing that's really important is that, in addition to asking a student for an answer, we ask him or her to also explain the answer, to explain the thinking behind the answer. Isn't that a better way to truly check for understanding? And here's a bonus I'll throw in for ya: you can use this opportunity to gently call on one of those more reluctant-to-participate students. Here's how. Ask the class a question, and go ahead and take it easy on yourself -- call on one of those frequent flyers to give an answer. Ok? Here comes the twist. Then ask the entire class who agrees with this answer. You'll most likely get more hands raised -- students are feeling more confident now, they're thinking, "Hey -- that was my answer, too! I must be onto something!" Now, call on one of those agree-ers (preferably a student who is a less frequent participator) and ask them to explain why they believe that is the correct answer. Bingo. You've got some good checking-for-understanding going on, along with the added benefit of making it easier for that more reluctant student to get his or her voice heard.

 (Another questioning strategy that I really like for checking for understanding is reflected in the following scenario: A student asks a question of you during a lesson. Instead of answering it yourself, use this opportunity to your advantage, and open the question up to the class. What a great opportunity to check for understanding!)

• These last two are more ideas on how to ease our reluctant participators into participating. If students have all been working on a task, call on the entire class to share, NO exceptions. Here's a blast from my own classroom past to illustrate: For a homework assignment, I would ask all students to choose three quotes from an assigned reading that they found to be significant and to explain why. In class the next day, I would ask all students to choose one of their quotes (the other two can serve as back-ups should another student share the same quote) to share with the class, along with their explanation of its significance. We'd proceed right along until, inevitably, a student would not participate. This would either be due to a lack of confidence or due to the students' incomplete homework assignment. Here's the key: I would not let this student off the participation hook. Instead, I'd give them an "in," all the while reinforcing my message that everyone's voice will be heard in this class. I'd say, "Ok. There are eight more students who will be sharing. I'd like you to listen to what they have to say. Then I'm going to come back to you and ask you who you agree with most and why." I haven't let my student off the hook, but I haven't crudely put her on the spot, either. Instead, I'm giving her a way in to the discussion with a very specific task. 

• If students are working on a task during class, you're most likely circulating the room and checking in with them, right? Well, while you're doing so, keep an eye out for student work that you can highlight later when the class meets back up as a whole. If you see an answer (or a drawing, or a sentence, or a mathematical solution, etc., etc.) on the paper of one of your more reluctant participators, point out to them that you really like what they've done. Then -- and this is key -- give them a heads-up that, when the whole class meets back up in a little bit, you're going to ask them to share that particular thing you've just commented on with the class. Again, you're inviting them in without putting them harshly on the spot -- you've given them an "in" to the class discussion by building their confidence and by being explicit about how they will participate.

 So, there you have it. To ask or not to ask? I think we've got the answer!

When the Teacher Sneezes

     I've been reading a book by Todd Whitaker lately entitled What Great Teachers Do Differently: 14 Things That Matter Most. It's an easy little read that (unfortunately at times) doesn't delve into too many specifics, but does offer a nice educational philosophy. Whitaker has conducted several studies on great teaching, theorizing to his readers that there are certain things that great teachers consistently do as part of their practices that set them apart from their colleagues. I thought I'd share some of these with you this week:

• Great teachers set -- and stick to -- expectations. Whitaker explains that establishing expectations is vastly different from establishing rules. He claims that "great teachers don't focus on 'What am I going to do if students misbehave?' They expect good behavior -- and generally that's what they get" (2004, p.18). (Remember I warned you about the lack of specifics?? Whitaker doesn't go into much detail about how great teachers expect good behavior -- about what that looks like and sounds like, etc. But his philosophy is a nice starting point for us all to start thinking about what that might look like for us.)
• Great teachers have a bag of classroom management tricks, like using eye contact or proximity. Great teachers know that a teacher never wins an argument with a student: "As soon as it starts, we have lost. If their peers are watching, they cannot afford to give in" (p. 26). And great teachers recognize that yelling doesn't work. (I learned this last lesson the hard way when I first started teaching. During my very first year, I yelled full volume at a very talkative class. It resulted in pin-drop silence . . . for about five minutes. I had lost my cool, my control. My students had won. They had been able to do that to me. I never yelled at a class again because I knew it didn't work.)
• Great teachers know that they want all students on their side. Whitaker offers this scenario: It's the first day of school. There are 25 students in a class and 24 of them are on their best first-day-of-school behavior. But #25 is not. As Whitaker insists, and I agree, right now the remaining 24 students are on the teacher's side. They want the teacher to take steps so that #25 will stop misbehaving. However, because #25 is one of them, they want the teacher to deal with #25 in a professional and respectful way. If the teacher does so, he's got the class on his side. If he does not, other students will begin to shift their allegiance to #25, and now the teacher has several #25s on his hands. Whoops. Whitaker claims that great teachers demonstrate respect for their students.
• Great teachers have high expectations of their students, but even higher expectations of themselves, says Whitaker. As a former high school ELA teacher, my expectations of my students and of myself were tested each time I assigned a major essay. I knew that if I expected my students to be able to complete this essay within a certain time frame, that I also had to be able to assess the essays within a certain time frame in order to provide feedback to my students. My expectations for my students kept my own expectations for myself in check.
• And, finally, when the teacher sneezes, the whole class gets a cold. As Whitaker says, "Our impact is significant; our focus becomes the student's focus" (p. 56). We as teachers set the tone for our classes each day. The teacher is the variable in her classroom. Whose behavior can she control? Her own. Whitaker recognizes that how teachers respond (to misbehavior, to a majority of a class failing a quiz, etc.) is the variable. "Good teachers consistently strive to improve, and they focus on something they can control -- their own performance" (p. 38).

     Now, I fear at times Whitaker might get a little "preachy" or a little simplistic -- and I've already remonstrated the poor man for his lack of specificity (give us some examples -- jeesh!) -- but all in all I enjoyed his common sense approach to what great teachers are doing in their classrooms every day that sets them apart as "great." I like that the above (though abridged) list is full of attainable mindsets and ways of thinking about teacher ownership over what occurs in a classroom. I hope this list sparks some thought and reflection -- I know it did for me!