Today's Assignment

Task:

In an essay (suggested length of 1–2 pages):

A. List at least five standards you feel would positively communicate to your students your expectations for high academic performance. Identify the grade level and/or subject area of the students for whom these standards are intended.

B. Explain how each of these standards would communicate your expectations for high academic performance.

C. Explain how you would implement one of these standards in the classroom.

Introduction

As a student, I know that the teachers for whom I have done my best work have been those who expected the most of me. As a teacher, I understand the necessity of helping students to achieve the highest level of academic success possible. As a secondary teacher in the sciences, part of my job will be to help students to be successful in a discipline that is frequently challenging to young people. If my students are to be successful, it will be in part because I will set high standards for academic achievement for them. There are five standards I feel would positively communicate to my students my expectations for high academic achievement. These standards are regularly attending and participating in class, turning in assignments on time, showing work on problem-solving assignments, completing written assignments using proper mechanics, and following a code of academic honesty.

Standards

The first standard for high academic performance is regular classroom attendance and participation. Students simply cannot learn if they are not in class. However, regular classroom attendance, while essential, is not sufficient to ensure effective learning. Students must become actively involved in the learning process. Students will be expected not only to be in class, but to participate in learning activities. They will be expected to answer questions when called upon, to ask questions when they don't understand a concept or topic, and to work collaboratively with their classmates on projects and experiments. By requiring regular attendance and meaningful classroom participation, I hope to communicate to my students that they are accountable for their own learning. The more the students are involved in the learning process, the more successful they will be.

The second standard is that assignments will be turned in on time. The study of science is cumulative by nature. Basic concepts, principles, and techniques must be mastered before more advanced material is introduced. Learning in the sciences is also experiential. Students master skills and techniques by doing them frequently. Consequently, assignments outside the classroom are essential to learning, and doing these assignments in a timely manner will help the students master the current subject matter they will need as a foundation for the material that will follow. By requiring assignments to be turned in on time, I will reinforce the idea that what the students learn today will serve as a foundation for what they will be asked to learn tomorrow.

A third standard that will promote high academic achievement is that students will be expected to show all work on problem-solving assignments. Today's academic climate, with increased emphasis on standardized testing, often teaches students that getting the right answer is the paramount concern in education. But true learning is as much about the process as the result. Requiring students to demonstrate how they arrive at a solution to a problem allows teachers both to reinforce effective problem solving skills and to correct mistaken impressions or techniques. By requiring students to show their work, I intend to demonstrate that I am as interested in how they arrive at an answer as I am in the answer itself.

The fourth standard is that students will complete written assignments requiring the use of proper spelling, grammar, and mechanics. Effective communication skills are essential in all academic disciplines and in all occupations. Students may not feel that language skills are essential to mastering scientific concepts. However, it is impossible to communicate such mastery effectively without a similar mastery of language. Writing helps students master difficult or abstract concepts by allowing them to put those concepts into their own words. Requiring proper mechanics on written assignments reinforces language skills learned in other classes. By assigning written assignments requiring proper mechanics, I will teach my students that it is important not only to learn scientific principles, but to be able to communicate those principles to others clearly and effectively.

The final standard that will promote high academic achievement is that students will understand and follow a code of academic honesty. As noted above, students learn by doing. By working through problems or assignments themselves, students gain experience vital to the learning process. Such experience is not gained when students rely on the work of others. Consequently, students will be told at the beginning of the term that they will be expected to do their own work on all tests, quizzes, and individual assignments. Additionally, when students reference any work that is not their own on a written assignment, they will be instructed how to document all referenced work and will be expected to do so properly. By emphasizing the importance of academic honesty, I hope to communicate to my students the importance of their own efforts in the learning process.

Implementation

A respectful and interactive classroom is essential to student participation. Implementation of the first standard, regular classroom attendance and participation, will require setting a respectful tone that both encourages students to get involved and rewards them for doing so. Asking appropriate questions is an effective first step in encouraging student participation in the classroom. Students' responses to the teacher's questions must be treated respectfully whether they are correct or not. Correct answers should be praised; incorrect answers can be followed by clarifying questions that help students arrive at the correct answers. Students' questions should also be answered appropriately. Some students will, of course, try to derail the conversation if possible. Politely but firmly steering irrelevant questions or comments back in the direction of the desired conversation will be essential. Finally, an effective teacher will strive to get all students involved in the conversation, not just the ones who always raise their hands. Patience, persistence, and persuasion are necessary if reticent or uncooperative students are to be included effectively.

Conclusion

In order to promote outstanding student achievement, teachers must set high standards for their students. By identifying, communicating, and reinforcing specific expectations for student behavior and achievement, teachers can help their students to reach and even to exceed their academic goals.