What does it mean when someone asks, ‘How are the students doing?” and you say, “Fine” or “Great” or “They are doing well”? What do those responses mean to you and how do you actually know the students are doing “great!” New teachers whom I work with often times think that if kids are quiet and writing or raising their hands once during any given period that students are being successful in their classes. Being a new teacher coach, I am understand that silence is a nice sound or participation by certain kids really looks good from the perspective of a new teacher. It feels good too. With respect to their feeling good about the class, a question I pose to new teachers is this: “What exactly have you seen or heard from all students to let you know that they understand what is being taught?” For many new teachers this question is a tough one to answer.

In order to assist new teachers in doing what is needed in order to be certain that there is truth to the statement, “my students are doing great,” I take time to review the key components of monitoring. What follows is a mini-lesson on monitoring I have seen many coaches do with new teachers that includes the definition of monitoring, the key steps to doing it effectively and some responses to commonly asked questions. Veteran teachers may have seen this work while studying Madeline Hunter and direct instruction. Newer teachers may have had this work presented to them in a different format. Many new teachers may have not had exposure to this instructional skill. Yet we all need to know that assessing student progress every few weeks when the papers are handed in isn’t enough. Teachers need to know where students are in their learning each day.

Definition

The definition of monitoring is the ability to observe the progress of learning made by all students during instructional time. Deconstructing the definition and highlighting key words with new teachers is a first step.

#1 – “Observe”

This verb is critical. This word indicates that students are doing something the teacher can see or hear. It means some sort of informal assessment needs to be incorporated. A time to talk, write, answer the problem, draw, etc. A teacher cannot teach or lecture or hold a large group discussion in which only six students speak and be able to see all students do something.

#2 - “Progress”

Synonyms for progress are gaining and moving forward. Progress means that the student has learned new knowledge during the class that can be observed. The students are able to show the teacher that they are moving toward writing the whole paper by learning theses and then next class period could show the teacher they are moving forward by finding supporting evidence.

#3 – “All students”

How many students? All students. This small word stops new teachers and gives them pause. Teachers need to see the progress of all students, not just those who volunteer and raise their hands. What about the quiet kid who doesn’t speak? Her progress matters just as much as that of the others. The teacher needs to see her learning as well.

#4 – “During instructional time”

This element of monitoring is a hard one to make happen in classes where new teachers check understanding by corrected papers at home or only on the weekends. It is only then that they might find certain things didn’t get across correctly during class and at 3:00pm on Sunday afternoon it is somewhat too late to say anything. Reteaching to an incorrect learning is much harder to do than teaching it correctly in the first place. Doing assessments during class is a more effective way to see progress.

Monitoring is being able to say that we KNOW students are learning as a result of what we teach. By doing monitoring effectively we can say confidently, “The students are doing fine” and it will be a valid response because we have observed it and checked it and responded to it. How does a new teacher go about doing the three steps of monitoring well?

Three Key Steps

In a workshop or a coaching conversation, when I go through the key words in the definition of monitoring, most new teachers recognize that some piece of monitoring is missing in their teaching. Some see that there may have been times they might have been going a mile a minute with the instructions and not checking in their “rear view mirrors” to see if anyone was with them. Others become aware that their lectures might have been somewhat long and that they didn’t stop often enough to see not only if just one person had questions, but if everyone understood the idea. Others reflect back and realize that they spent lots of time in the front of the room and didn’t really see if the students at back tables were keeping up. With this awareness in mind we go through the three key behaviors a teacher needs to do in order to be successful in monitoring and how new teachers can incorporate these steps into their practice.

#1 – Elicit congruent, overt behavior from all students.

Hearing comments from new teachers such as, “I know they are getting it because I see lights go off in their eyes,” or “I haven’t checked on them this week but I sense they are with me,” makes me a little unsure all students have actually done something the teacher can actually assess. If we want to make sure students are learning content or skills and we want to know if they are on the right track during instructional time, our assessments can’t be a guess or a student’s facial expression. We need to elicit a behavior that can be seen or heard. It can be a piece of writing, an oral response, a drawing, something on a white board, acting something out, a demonstration, or some other measurable action. It should also be something that measures what one is trying to teach. The word congruent is in the step to make sure that students are doing something that actually aligns with the objective. If students are to understand the conflict between Phineas and Gene, having them read for everything in the chapter and then do comprehension questions doesn’t make sense. If students are to understand Macbeth through a director’s eyes for their final project where they will direct a scene, having them do quote quizzes showing who said what doesn’t match. Getting assessments to be both overt and congruent to the objective is the first key piece.

#2 – Check

Now that the behavior is out there, the teacher needs to check it. Having students do the writing or the poster or the group work isn’t enough if the teacher doesn’t pay attention to it and pay attention to it in class. New teachers are busy; learning new management techniques, trying to get the papers recorded by the end of the period, setting up the next overhead. As a coach I understand the amount of energy and planning it takes to make a successful class run. But if students are assigned to do something in groups and the teacher doesn’t move around the class to see what is being learned, he or she has just missed a crucial teaching moment. New teachers push me on this. “I have to check with everyone on everything everyday?” I respond by saying how much one needs to check depends on how essential the learning is. If a teacher is having the class learn how to write a thesis for the first major paper, my guess is the teacher would want to see all of the theses. If the teacher is having pairs do a sheet together on similes as to learn a something one can add into a writing to make it more descriptive, going to each pair and quickly glancing at the work might be enough. The intensity of the monitoring depends on how essential it is that students know the information. Sometimes just listening to groups, seeing the drawings and getting a “thumbs up” is enough. For me the point is if a teacher assigns something for a part of the period, it is important to check the students while they do it.

#3 – Give specific and congruent feedback

Last week a new teacher expressed to me her concern that if she walks around during processing time and “interrupts” kids who are working, it might indicate to the student that she doesn’t trust the student to do the work. I reminded her that part of her job was exactly that - to oversee the progress of learning in the class. I told her it was perfectly acceptable to speak to a student during an activity and tell him or her how he or she is doing. And, in fact, it would further solidify the learning for the student if she gave effective feedback to him while she did. The new teacher looked relieved. I had made her job clearer for her. The tension she felt between keeping rapport with the students and keeping them on track had been hard on her and she could now remember that giving feedback was a large part of what she was there to do. So now that students are working and the teacher is checking, how does one deliver the most effective feedback?

The first key element the feedback should have if it is to help the most is specificity. New teachers should know that it is not a bad idea to stroll around a room while students are working, glance at papers, and keep kids on task. This is a good goal for the teacher; keep students on task. Yet, it is the specific, congruent feedback given to students that will make a difference in their learning staying on track. Telling a student “Good job” or “Nicely done” doesn’t have the same amount of punch as “That opening is right on as has the key parts we were talking about…..” or “Great chapter poster. It has all the elements we decided on: the 4 quotes, the symbol, etc.” Giving this feedback isn’t necessarily time consuming. It doesn’t take more than an extra fifteen seconds to add those two or three sentences, and it does drive home the key pieces assignment required and it reinforces the student for doing them.

The third step in monitoring has another adjective, congruent. The congruence of feedback to the objective the teacher had in mind is crucial. For example, if the assignment in class were to take notes in an outline form commenting that the handwriting was pretty doesn’t align. Giving positive feedback on aesthetics isn’t necessarily bad, however. New teachers need to be aware that it isn’t incorrect to say, “Great job working with the group on the poster.” Giving positive feedback to a student about his/her attitude, her ability to work in groups or her effort on a paper is a valid thing to do. Teachers need to reinforce all of the objectives they have for their students, whether they be social/emotional or cognitive. Remembering to be specific and congruent while delivering each type of feedback, the social, emotional or the cognitive, is the key.

Commonly Asked Questions From New Teachers

“How do we monitor and give feedback to 30 kids 5 periods a day?”

It requires restructuring lesson plans or lectures or group discussions so more time is included for students to talk, process, write or do something a teacher can see. This might mean a more consistent chunking of material and an assignment to do a quick write or a pair/trio share so the teacher can walk around to do some checking and give feedback. It might also mean having groups doing an activity and reporting back so the teacher can check on students by checking on quartets of students. There is a piece to the restructuring of lessons here that might be hard for new teachers. Actually redesigning lessons to have students do work more often, versus giving information or having large discussions, is a tough change for some. Add to that the need to check with all students during that time and teachers might also feel the loss of time to record grades or the loss of time to work with a needier student. Getting “stuck” with one student or wanting to clean up while students are in groups are both difficult dilemmas and get new teachers off track, but teachers who are effective monitors design class time so that when kids are ON they are THERE.

“Do we have to monitor for everything?”

No. Certain things that aren’t critical to the learning that is done at that moment can be checked and not responded to. Certain skills or learning will be followed up on later and aren’t critical for getting the assignment done now, so it isn’t urgent that they be observed. Monitoring and its three steps should be done when a teacher needs to assess students’ progress with one idea or concept while students are still in the room and before they are formally tested on the material.

“Where does this fit in with grading?”

Teachers need to do both. Grading is an overall evaluation and summative assessment that compares a student to a given set of criteria. Monitoring is a check in and a formative assessment. It is finding out from students how is it going so far. Both monitoring and grading are very much needed for the purpose of keeping students on track.