Week 6 Reflection - Danielson Framework and Outdoor School Experience
Two weeks ago, my colleagues and I embarked on our yearly overnight trip for Outdoor School with our sixty 7th graders. Although this was my fourth time chaperoning the field trip, I feel like every time I go, I learn something new about myself, and my students.
In reflecting on this event and my recent studies in grad school, I couldn't help but be reminded of Charlotte Danielson's Framework for evaluating teacher performance. Which aspects of the field trip had I been the most successful at, and which needed improvement? I knew that since our field trip was not traditional classroom teaching, that there would not be direct matches between every aspect of the Framework and my experience, but I thought it might be a good exercise to evaluate what I did do that happened to follow the Framework.
1e. Designing Coherent Instruction
Teachers should carefully plan engaging and challenging instructional activities that conform to the prescribed standards. "The sequence of learning activities follows a coherent sequence, is aligned to instructional goals, and is designed to engage students in high-level cognitive activity" (Danielson 2013). Other districts and schools in my state require all 6th graders to attend outdoor school. My school goes in 7th grade because that is the year that students learn life science and the content of the field trip activities best fits the curriculum presented in that grade. While planning which grade attends outdoor school was not my personal decision, I'm glad that my school actually looked at the science standards before just randomly assigning Outdoor School to any old grade.
2c Managing Classroom Procedures
When teachers create effective procedures for the classroom, students know expectations during transitions and are able to spend more time with the subject matter. "There is little loss of instructional time due to effective classroom routines and procedures. The teacher’s management of instructional groups and transitions, or handling of materials and supplies, or both, are consistently successful" (Danielson 2013). At outdoor school, the students spent about 90 minutes at three stations over several acres of woodlands throughout the day. Students rotated to the stations with their adult chaperones and had to manage their seasonally appropriate outerwear, their hydration, and their behavior for a new instructor at each site. To assist with their transitions, the faculty made name tags that told students what rotation, community service, cabin and chaperone they belonged to. At the end of the field trip, one of the center's staff pulled me aside and thanked me for having such a well-organized and polite group, insinuating that other schools were not as well prepared as we were.
4b Maintaining Accurate Records
According to Charlotte Danielson in 2013, the teacher’s system for maintaining information on student completion of assignments, student progress in learning, and noninstructional records is an integral part of designing a trustworthy learning environment, and Outdoor School is no exception to this. This field trip would not have been as successful as it was if we didn't have accurate records for each child. The permission slip packet included an introductory letter, packing list, and five separate permission slips. Although we could probably attribute having so many permission forms to our litigious society, each form did serve a purpose. Two forms (one from school, one from Outdoor School) gave permission to stay overnight at the site. Two forms indicated medicines and medical contacts. Finally, the last form was filled out by parents/guardians to let faculty know student behaviors, such as fear of the dark and experience sleeping over. Having these records helped teachers divide students into groups and alerted us to any potential foreseeable problems with a child on the trip.
I'm sure that there are probably many more indicators from the Framework that could be observed over that 27-hour block of time that we were at Outdoor School, but these were the ones that stood out to me from my experience. What I can take away from this year's trip is that careful planning, records keeping, and engaging instructional activities can make for an unforgettable learning experience for students and adults alike.
References
Danielson, C. (2013). Rubrics from the Framework for Teaching Evaluation Instrument 2013 Edition. The Danielson Group.
In reflecting on this event and my recent studies in grad school, I couldn't help but be reminded of Charlotte Danielson's Framework for evaluating teacher performance. Which aspects of the field trip had I been the most successful at, and which needed improvement? I knew that since our field trip was not traditional classroom teaching, that there would not be direct matches between every aspect of the Framework and my experience, but I thought it might be a good exercise to evaluate what I did do that happened to follow the Framework.
Teachers should carefully plan engaging and challenging instructional activities that conform to the prescribed standards. "The sequence of learning activities follows a coherent sequence, is aligned to instructional goals, and is designed to engage students in high-level cognitive activity" (Danielson 2013). Other districts and schools in my state require all 6th graders to attend outdoor school. My school goes in 7th grade because that is the year that students learn life science and the content of the field trip activities best fits the curriculum presented in that grade. While planning which grade attends outdoor school was not my personal decision, I'm glad that my school actually looked at the science standards before just randomly assigning Outdoor School to any old grade.
2c Managing Classroom Procedures
When teachers create effective procedures for the classroom, students know expectations during transitions and are able to spend more time with the subject matter. "There is little loss of instructional time due to effective classroom routines and procedures. The teacher’s management of instructional groups and transitions, or handling of materials and supplies, or both, are consistently successful" (Danielson 2013). At outdoor school, the students spent about 90 minutes at three stations over several acres of woodlands throughout the day. Students rotated to the stations with their adult chaperones and had to manage their seasonally appropriate outerwear, their hydration, and their behavior for a new instructor at each site. To assist with their transitions, the faculty made name tags that told students what rotation, community service, cabin and chaperone they belonged to. At the end of the field trip, one of the center's staff pulled me aside and thanked me for having such a well-organized and polite group, insinuating that other schools were not as well prepared as we were.
4b Maintaining Accurate Records
According to Charlotte Danielson in 2013, the teacher’s system for maintaining information on student completion of assignments, student progress in learning, and noninstructional records is an integral part of designing a trustworthy learning environment, and Outdoor School is no exception to this. This field trip would not have been as successful as it was if we didn't have accurate records for each child. The permission slip packet included an introductory letter, packing list, and five separate permission slips. Although we could probably attribute having so many permission forms to our litigious society, each form did serve a purpose. Two forms (one from school, one from Outdoor School) gave permission to stay overnight at the site. Two forms indicated medicines and medical contacts. Finally, the last form was filled out by parents/guardians to let faculty know student behaviors, such as fear of the dark and experience sleeping over. Having these records helped teachers divide students into groups and alerted us to any potential foreseeable problems with a child on the trip.
I'm sure that there are probably many more indicators from the Framework that could be observed over that 27-hour block of time that we were at Outdoor School, but these were the ones that stood out to me from my experience. What I can take away from this year's trip is that careful planning, records keeping, and engaging instructional activities can make for an unforgettable learning experience for students and adults alike.
References
Danielson, C. (2013). Rubrics from the Framework for Teaching Evaluation Instrument 2013 Edition. The Danielson Group.
Comments
Post a Comment