Click here for a Quick Guide for Observing Classroom Content and Practice Content (Math Beginning CCRSAE Levels A and B)
The examples below feature several Indicators from the ABE Professional Standards. These Indicators are just a sampling from the full set of the ABE Professional Standards and were chosen because they create a sequence: the teacher plans a lesson that sets clear and high expectations, the teacher then delivers high quality instruction, and finally the teacher uses a variety of assessments to see if students understand the material or if re-teaching is necessary. These examples highlight teacher and student behaviors aligned to the three Indicators that you can expect to see in a rigorous beginning ABE Math class.
Planning
| PLANNING (Indicators P1.1, P1.2, C1.1) | The teacher plans and implements CCRSAE-aligned, academically rigorous, differentiated lessons that include clear content and language objectives, set high expectations for all learners, cultivate a safe classroom environment, encourage productive struggle, and motivate all students to succeed. |
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| Virtual/Hands-On Tools: a problem/routine to engage students with upon arrival; thinking tools (square inch tiles) and materials (graph paper or strips of colored paper) accessible to students; options for students to process new information (e.g., drawings, visual models). |
| What is the teacher doing? | What are adult learners doing? |
| Providing opportunities to look for generalizations among mathematical representations | Noticing patterns in the number system and in geometric concepts, as well as how they relate |
| Creating or selecting culturally responsive lessons that engage and sustain student attention | Persistently applying mathematical strategies and concepts when engaging with meaningful real-world problems |
| Establishing classroom routines that support students to communicate their thinking | Explaining their thinking using everyday and mathematical language to express their ideas |
| Helping students view mistakes as legitimate steps in the learning process and embracing mistakes so everyone sees mistakes as a learning opportunity | Working diligently and offering solutions without fear of ridicule. Acknowledging that mistakes grow the brain |
Instruction
| INSTRUCTION (Indicators P1.3, P1.4) | The teacher delivers high quality, culturally responsive instruction that meets the diverse needs of all students and engages them with meaningful topics and tasks that develop students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills. |
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| Virtual/ Hands-On Tools: number lines, 1” square tiles, grid paper, sticky notes, area models, bar models, pattern blocks, base 10 blocks. |
| What is the teacher doing? | What are adult learners doing? |
| Selecting meaningful problems that provide students with opportunities to apply their learning and solve problems in collaboration with their peers | Working cooperatively on a shared activity – developing an understanding of why something works or applying knowledge and skills to solve problems |
| Highlighting commonalities, differences, and patterns in students’ ideas | Explaining how multiple representations of numbers, operations, and shapes relate to one another. |
| Providing the time needed to work on, discuss, and solve complex problems. Guiding students who are stuck by posing purposeful questions rather than showing how to proceed or taking away the challenge of the task | Collaborating with peers on a complex problem provided by teacher and when stuck uses the guiding questions and peers to move forward |
Assessment
| ASSESSMENT (Indicators P2.1, P2.2, P2.3) | The teacher uses a variety of formative and summative assessments to measure student learning and understanding, evaluate the effectiveness of instruction, develop differentiated and advanced learning experiences, and inform future instruction. |
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| Virtual/ Hands-On Tools: exit tickets, math journals or logs, My Favorite No, checklists for teacher observation of objectives being demonstrated or evidence of learning. |
| What is the teacher doing? | What are adult learners doing? |
| Prompting students’ reasoning; listening to responses to gauge their understanding | Demonstrating their thinking by drawing, using manipulatives, discussing and sharing their work |
| Conducting frequent checks for understanding and adjusting instruction accordingly | Revising their thinking based on their engagement with peers, the teacher, or the math |