Teaching Excellence Model

What it looks like: A safe, orderly, identity-affirming space where every student is known, expectations are clear, and mistakes are treated as part of learning.

Look-fors:

• Warm, respectful teacher-student and peer interactions
• Smooth transitions and established routines
• Visible norms; high expectations communicated consistently

Common pitfalls:

• Confusing compliance and quiet with engagement
• Inconsistent or reactive management that erodes trust

Growth strategies:

• Co-create norms; teach and rehearse routines explicitly
• Build relational capital with brief, intentional check-ins

What it looks like: Students are doing the cognitive work — talking, thinking, producing — with high participation ratios rather than passively receiving.

Look-fors:

• All students accountable to think (cold call, think-pair-share, whiteboards)
• Productive struggle and on-task student talk
• Students can explain what they are learning and why

Common pitfalls:

• "Engagement" that is busy but low in rigor (entertainment, not thinking)
• A few voices carrying the room while others disengage

Growth strategies:

• Raise the participation ratio with total-response techniques
• Design tasks at the right level of challenge to sustain effort

What it looks like: Lessons are planned backward from clear, standards-aligned outcomes, sequenced so each step builds toward mastery.

Look-fors:

• Objectives, tasks, and assessment are tightly aligned
• Logical chunking with checks for understanding built in
• Anticipation of misconceptions in the plan

Common pitfalls:

• Planning activities instead of learning outcomes
• Coverage at the expense of mastery

Growth strategies:

• Start from the assessment; design the path to it
• Internalize and adapt strong curriculum rather than rebuild from scratch

What it looks like: Questions are purposeful and sequenced, moving from recall to analysis and evaluation, with wait time that invites real thinking.

Look-fors:

• A mix of question types; planned higher-order questions
• Wait time and "say more" probes
• Student-to-student discourse, not just teacher-student ping-pong

Common pitfalls:

• Rapid-fire recall questions only; answering one's own questions
• Insufficient wait time

Growth strategies:

• Script 2–3 key higher-order questions per lesson
• Use discussion protocols and talk moves to distribute thinking

What it looks like: Instruction is adjusted in content, process, or product so every learner — including multilingual learners and students with IEPs — can access grade-level work.

Look-fors:

• Targeted scaffolds and flexible grouping
• Multiple ways to engage with and demonstrate learning
• Real-time adjustment based on student response

Common pitfalls:

• Lowering rigor instead of increasing support
• One-size-fits-all pacing that loses students at both ends

Growth strategies:

• Plan scaffolds that fade toward independence
• Use formative data to form responsive small groups

What it looks like: The teacher continuously gathers evidence of learning during instruction and acts on it — re-teaching, adjusting pace, or extending.

Look-fors:

• Frequent, low-stakes checks for understanding
• Visible evidence of all students' thinking
• Instruction adjusts based on what the evidence shows

Common pitfalls:

• Checking only with the students most likely to know
• Collecting data but not responding to it

Growth strategies:

• Plan checkpoints with planned responses for "got it / not yet"
• Make student thinking visible with all-student response routines

What it looks like: Technology is used intentionally to deepen learning — to create, analyze, or personalize — not as a substitute for thinking.

Look-fors:

• Tools chosen to serve a clear learning goal
• Students create and analyze, not just consume
• Smooth digital routines that preserve instructional time

Common pitfalls:

• Technology for novelty; substitution without added value
• Tools that fragment attention or add friction

Growth strategies:

• Ask "what does the tool let students do that they couldn't otherwise?"
• Use adaptive tools to free teacher time for small-group instruction

What it looks like: The teacher routinely examines the impact of their practice on learning and adjusts — treating teaching as ongoing inquiry.

Look-fors:

• Analyzing student work and data to inform next steps
• Seeking and acting on feedback; trying and refining moves
• Naming what worked, what didn't, and why

Common pitfalls:

• Reflection that stays at the level of feelings, not evidence
• Defensiveness that blocks learning from feedback

Growth strategies:

• Keep a brief practice journal tied to one focus area
• Pair with a coach or peer to make reflection structured and regular

What it looks like: Learning intentions and success criteria are crystal clear, explanations are precise, and feedback tells students where they are and what to do next.

Look-fors:

• Students can articulate the goal and what success looks like
• Worked examples and precise, jargon-free explanations
• Timely, specific, actionable feedback students use

Common pitfalls:

• Feedback that grades rather than guides ("good job", scores only)
• Goals known to the teacher but not the students

Growth strategies:

• Share success criteria and exemplars at the start
• Give one prioritized, actionable next step — then build in time to act on it