IIA - Instruction
Uses instructional practices that reflect high expectations regarding content and quality of effort and work; engage all students; and are personalized to accommodate diverse learning styles, needs, interests, and levels of readiness.
OVERVIEW:
Every day in the classroom, I follow a very specific methodology and philosophy that has served me well for the last decade or so: preparation, energetic engagement, and flexibility. Each element makes the following one possible and each is essential for success.
PREPARATION includes my own personal mastery of the content I must teach, which I continuously refresh, reevaluate, and hone every year, both with personal development and continual learning and with more formal coursework and professional development. This element also includes a careful preparation of my lesson plans and materials, which I also fine tune every year to continuously improve my instruction and to meet the needs of a specific class. Simply put, no lesson is ever finished - it just continues to evolve. It is this careful planning that gives me the confidence to meet each day's class period with purpose and with the ability to improvise when necessary.
The element of ENERGETIC ENGAGEMENT necessitates that I come to class with a passion and energy for what I must teach. Obviously, some days are more difficult than others in this regard, but I firmly believe that if I am to ask students to focus on content, I must inspire the interest and engagement necessary for them to do so. If I don't seem to care deeply about a topic, how can I ask them to care even peripherally about it? This element also requires me to perform, engage, and (dare I say) even entertain - whatever it takes to hold their interest.
Finally, even with a firm plan of action and a passion to fuel it, I must maintain a certain level of FLEXIBILITY, turning on a dime, if necessary, to meet the needs of the students and situation in front of me. Things rarely go exactly as planned, but it is that very careful preparation that allows me the confidence and surety to improvise and adjust in the moment, reacting to visual cues and the products of comprehension checks and informal assessment.
Every day in the classroom, I follow a very specific methodology and philosophy that has served me well for the last decade or so: preparation, energetic engagement, and flexibility. Each element makes the following one possible and each is essential for success.
PREPARATION includes my own personal mastery of the content I must teach, which I continuously refresh, reevaluate, and hone every year, both with personal development and continual learning and with more formal coursework and professional development. This element also includes a careful preparation of my lesson plans and materials, which I also fine tune every year to continuously improve my instruction and to meet the needs of a specific class. Simply put, no lesson is ever finished - it just continues to evolve. It is this careful planning that gives me the confidence to meet each day's class period with purpose and with the ability to improvise when necessary.
The element of ENERGETIC ENGAGEMENT necessitates that I come to class with a passion and energy for what I must teach. Obviously, some days are more difficult than others in this regard, but I firmly believe that if I am to ask students to focus on content, I must inspire the interest and engagement necessary for them to do so. If I don't seem to care deeply about a topic, how can I ask them to care even peripherally about it? This element also requires me to perform, engage, and (dare I say) even entertain - whatever it takes to hold their interest.
Finally, even with a firm plan of action and a passion to fuel it, I must maintain a certain level of FLEXIBILITY, turning on a dime, if necessary, to meet the needs of the students and situation in front of me. Things rarely go exactly as planned, but it is that very careful preparation that allows me the confidence and surety to improvise and adjust in the moment, reacting to visual cues and the products of comprehension checks and informal assessment.
EVIDENCE:
Below are some quotes from formal observations by my primary evaluators that speak to many of the points above: "Mr. Silva masterfully engaged his class in what was initially a teacher facilitated conversation but soon became a student directed discussion. The class was deeply involved in a complex discussion of Kite Runner, with a particular focus on Baba's challenging and tragic journey from being an elite Afghani to being a lower class American. The discussion and questions quickly revealed poignant, significant, and relevant events, themes, symbols, and human truths. The students demonstrated complex thinking about a complex text." (11/5/21, Dr. Edward Doucette, ELA Content Coordinator) . . . "Mr. Silva effectively responded to the students' fears and smoothly segued into providing both independent and group support for students as they read Titus Andronicus. The before, during and after reading support was in the form of a Graphic Organizer called the Arsenal Chart. This chart could be used independently and in groups to analyze the play in a methodical and direct way (Attached). Mr. Silva modeled the use of the Arsenal Chart for Titus Andronicus while providing more background information specific to this play." (11/17/20, Dr. Edward Doucette, ELA Content Coordinator) |
EVIDENCE (II-A-3: Meeting Diverse Needs):
Each student is often in a completely different place in terms of academic ability, especially when it comes to essay-writing. One strategy I use to combat this is individualized essay feedback, standards-based, with guiding questions and comments that lead to rewriting. |
**MODELING NOTES:
- This "Arsenal Chart" approach to text analysis and thought organization has been shared and modeled to Ben Chase and Christina Burgmyer in AP LIT common planning sessions.
- The individualized essay feedback and year-long re-write option was modelled with both the AP LIT teachers and my AIC colleagues in the Teacher Evaluation course.