​​​​Janine Baur

Across all aspects of student learning, I believe it is essential to tailor my practice to encourage my students’ acquisition of autonomy, competence, and relatedness connected with the Self-Determination Theory. The choices I make with instruction, assessment, and management are visible in our learning community’s everyday activities and routines.

Autonomy

At the heart of autonomy are choice, voice, and self-regulation.

• Inquiry-based learning is inspired by student-generated questions.

• Assignments are regularly open-ended.

• Students often choose groups to join based on interests.

• Questionnaires and reflections allow students to assess their contributions, as well as group behavior during for collaborative activities.

• Checklists and rubrics allow students to manage their work.

• Students use self and peer editing sheets during Writer’s Workshop.

• Students help set their own learning and social goals each semester.

• Students collaboratively establish a set of classroom rules.

Competence

While maintaining high expectations, it is important that learning opportunities are optimally challenging and accessible to all students.

• Information is presented to students in multiple ways.

• Materials with varying readability levels are available.

• Assistive technology is used to accommodate students’ needs.

• Graphic organizers and notebooks are maintained by students to record, organize, and analyze information.

• Manipulatives and other hands-on supports are available to meet students’ needs.

• Tiered activities are designed for students to work with the same content and skills with differing levels of support and challenge.

• Multiple representations of students’ outcomes are considered when evaluating progress.

• Alternative assessments provide multiple ways for students to show what they know and can do.

• The classroom layout has designated spaces for quiet individual work as well as places encouraging peer collaboration.

• Thoughtful quotes that students say about learning content or strategies are printed, laminated and prominently displayed on a Notable Quotable Wall along side quotes from famous scholars.

• Students collectively create anchor posters and other reference materials.

Relatedness

I place a great deal of effort to promote classroom relationships built upon trust, caring, and connectedness.

• Student interviews are conducted at the beginning of each school year to establish rapport and grasp their funds of knowledge.

• Students’ background knowledge is valued and shared with the learning community.

• Regular learning activities involve collaboration.

• Dialogue is central to instruction including methods such as Questioning the Author and Think, Pair, Share.

• Risk-taking is encouraged and celebrated.

• Instructional reading methods such as literature circles, reading buddies, and Readers Theatre are employed.

• Writing Workshop implements planning and editing buddies, peer feedback, shared writing (pair, small group, and whole class), and performance.

• Role-play is encouraged to enhance academic and social objectives.

• Read Alouds are supplemented with interactive discussion.

• Shared resources and materials are kept in baskets for easy access.

• Genuine class jobs are assigned on a weekly rotation to encourage students to become empowered, able, and active members of the learning community.