T-TESS Rating Practice

How would you rate Dimension 2.1: Achieving Expectations?

• Distinguished

• Accomplished

• Proficient

• Developing

• Needs Improvement

Answer explanation

The teacher sets academic expectations when she specifies the learning objective for the day. The objective is at grade level.

The teacher ersists with the lesson until there is evidence that most students demonstrate mastery of the objective when she tells students that they retry the lab if they did not follow directions. She also persists in her questioning of students during the lab to ensure that they answer the questions they are asked.

She addresses student mistakes and follows through to ensure student mastery when they do not have the right answers on their papers or make mistakes during the lab. Her questioning during the video and notes reinforced previous concepts (sinking vs. rising) including the examples of the lava lamp and hot air in a two-story house and diagrams using arrows. She anticipates student mistakes in mixing up hot and cold and creates a color scheme for it at the beginning of class. She also anticipated a problem with holding the pipets.

There was no evidence of the teacher documening which students had mastered the lab but the exit ticket did show that 91% got the final question correct.

She provides students opportunities to take initiative of their own learning when she lets them work on their own during the lab.

How would you rate Dimension 2.2: Content Knowledge and Expertise?

• Distinguished

• Accomplished

• Proficient

• Developing

• Needs Improvement

Answer explanation

The sentence used as the definition of convection is more of a description of the lab or an example of convection rather than a definition. A broader definition would avoid confusion about fluids which had to be clarified later in the lesson.

The teacher conveys accurate content knowledge in multiple contexts, including the lab, the video, and the notes.

She integrates learning objectives with other disciplines, such as when she talks about how a lava lamp works and how it relates to chemistry. They use knowledge from social studies to locate the north and south poles. She connects learning about convection to the real-world example of wind or the movement of hot air in a two-story house.

The teacher anticipates possible student misunderstandings which lab procedures and the direction of air movement in the southern hemisphere.

Students were provided opportunities for students to use different types of thinking such as analytical and practical thinking for the lab. They had to create hypotheses and draw conclusions. The multiple-choice question asked the students to make a connection.

The teacher accurately reflects how the lesson fits within the structure of the discipline and the state standards, as she refers to the previous units and their discussion of the Earth.

How would you rate Dimension 2.3: Communication?

• Distinguished

• Accomplished

• Proficient

• Developing

• Needs Improvement

Answer explanation

The lesson is mostly teacher-led with some opportunity for dialogue, clarification or elaboration by the students in the lab portion of the lesson. The dialogue is sometimes prevented because the teacher provides answers before discussion can begin.

She recognizes student misunderstandings because she circulates the room and calls randomly on individual students, but she has a limited ability to respond as there is not a structure to catch and respond to common errors.

The teacher uses verbal and written communication that is generally clear with minor errors of grammar, but she ends up having to repeat her instructions often because she talks over students or fails to get everyone's attention before speaking. Her modeling of the lab started and stopped several times.

Most of the questions she asks are remember- and understand-level questions that focus on the objective of the lesson but do little to amplify discussion.

There is some evidence of the teacher using probing questions to clarify and elaborate learning, especially as she circulates during the lab.

How would you rate Dimension 2.4: Differentiation?

• Distinguished

• Accomplished

• Proficient

• Developing

• Needs Improvement

Answer explanation

The lesson was not obviously adapted to address student needs. There is no evidence of differentating content, process, product, or environment. Every students had the same journal sheets and lab reports and answered the same Plicker question at the end. There was an aide in the room to support particular students.

The teacher sometimes monitors the quality of student participation and performance, as she calls on individual students. However, there is little to no evidence of her using strategies for full class involvement.

The teacher does provide different differentiated instructional methods to encourage mastery including the lab, answering questions, the video, the notes, and a Plicker question.

Sometimes recognizes when students become confused, such as when the students commit errors during the lab, but does not provide additional support, clarification, or guidance when they are allowed to redo the lab.

How would you rate Dimension 2.5: Monitor and Adjust?

• Distinguished

• Accomplished

• Proficient

• Developing

• Needs Improvement

Answer explanation

The teacher asked individual students to respond to questions but no noticeable adjustement was made to instruction or activities. There was no pause or stop to reteach.

She invites input and feedback from the class, yet not everyone participates.

She calls on students individually, but there is no noticeable randomization process or time for everyone to process. There is limited evidence of total response techniques or systematic monitoring of responses.

She monitors student behavior and responses for engagement and understanding by circulating and checking on completion of planned activiites. She had students redo the lab when they did not follow directions. She asked students reflective questions.

How would you rate Dimension 3.1: Classroom Environment, Routines, and Procedures?

• Distinguished

• Accomplished

• Proficient

• Developing

• Needs Improvement

Answer explanation

Most procedures, routines and transitions provide clear direction but others are unclear and inefficient. Most students entered the room, picked up materials, and started the warm-up. However, the lab set-up in particular takes a significant amount of time as the students depended on the teacher to tell them what to do at every step.

The teacher referenced a lab folder that students used to keep their notes. However, there were no procedures established for creating groups (teacher assigned the groups verbally), material distribution, clean-up. Transitions were mainly teacher-directed.

Students carried pipettes back to tables with hot water in them. The hot (on a hot plate) and cold water were located at the front of the room. The students actively participate in groups and manage supplies and equipment

with specific teacher direction. The classroom was safe and organized with materials well prepared for the lesson. Students were given specific duties relating to the experiment duties and conducted with relatively few minor mishaps. State safety procedures were observed and followed by the students.

How would you rate Dimension 3.2: Managing Student Behavior?

• Distinguished

• Accomplished

• Proficient

• Developing

• Needs Improvement

Answer explanation

Students entered the room, picked up materials (except for one), and started the warm-up. Out of 12 pairs, 5 teams were consistently off task. If a student didn’t follow a procedure, the teacher calmly directed them which created a learning environment with little major interruptions.

The aide in the room circulated more than the teacher which may have been part of the teacher's overall system. The aide appeared to be answering questions or taking care of any behaviors along the way. Teacher instructed pairs to manage supplies.

How would you rate Dimension 3.3: Classroom Culture?

• Distinguished

• Accomplished

• Proficient

• Developing

• Needs Improvement

Answer explanation

•When the teacher interacts with an individual students or multiple students she has a kind tone and is encouraging when mistakes happen or one is accurate.

Students respond respectfully to the teacher when asked to do a particular task. When a student gave the “perfect” answer to the warm-up question, the teacher said, “Do you want to teach? Come on up – let’s trade places”.

Before calling on Hailey, she asked, “Are you ready?” When the student answered correctly but timidly, the teacher said, “Good! Be confident!”

Students who did not have materials were treated with respect and given or allowed to get the necessary papers.

The students look to be respectful of one another, in that, they are not yelling out or speaking ill of each other, and there were no observed incidents with disrespectful interactions.