The twelve touchstones of good teaching:
The Twelve Touchstones of Good Teaching: A Checklist for Staying Focused Every Day (2013) provides a daily checklist for teachers who want to be demanding, be supportive, and be intentional every day. These "touchstones" are based on 12 specific things teachers can do in the classroom to improve their teaching and the success of their students.
12 Things to Do Every Day:
Be Demanding
Item 1: I use standards to guide every learning opportunity.
Item 2: I ensure students set personal learning objectives for each lesson.
Item 3: I peel back the curtain and make my performance expectations clear.
Item 4: I measure understanding against high expectations.
Be Supportive
Item 5: I engage student interest with every lesson.
Item 6: I interact meaningfully with every student.
Item 7: I use feedback to encourage effort.
Item 8: I create an oasis of safety and respect in my classroom.
Be Intentional
Item 9: I make the most of every minute.
Item 10: I help students develop deep knowledge.
Item 11: I coach students to mastery.
Item 12: I help students do something with their learning.
How often do we use checklists in our daily lives? We create grocery lists to ensure that we get everything that we need. We double check all of the items we’ve packed for a vacation to make sure nothing is forgotten. We set to-do lists (for ourselves or others) and check the tasks off when completed. I know that at work, I make a weekly checklist of all of the tasks I need to finish by the end of the week, and get a great feeling of accomplishment when I check them off. However, I learned that most of these checklists we use on a regular basis are “Read-Do” lists rather than “Do-Confirm” lists.
Goodwin and Hubbell state “A Do-Confirm checklist assumes that people mostly perform their jobs from memory but benefit from occasionally stopping and referring to a list to make sure they’ve done everything they’re supposed to do. A Read-Do checklist, on the other hand, ‘is more like a recipe. People carry out the tasks as they check them off’ {Gwande, 2009, p 123}.” (Goodwin, Hubbell, 2013, xxii)
In thinking about a Do-Confirm checklist, I feel that it is a much better way to prioritize. Rather than focusing on all of the different tasks being thrown at you and trying the handle them all at once, the Do-Confirm checklist “aims to help teachers focus on the big things that absolutely, positively must be done every day.” (Goodwin, Hubbell, 2013, xxiii) I believe that this would help minimize much of the stress that teachers must feel on a day-to-day basis. Goodwin and Hubbell suggest to “first call out what matters most and then evaluate our daily activities against what we know ought to be our priorities.” (Goodwin, Hubbell, 2013, xxv) You know what is important, and you handle everything else in time. I know that I would benefit from this way of thinking, as I have a tendency to try to tackle everything at once, and get overwhelmed and frustrated when I am unable to complete everything.
“One of the key differences between professionals and amateurs in any practice is that professionals have well-developed mental frameworks for arranging the key concepts and approaches of their profession.” (Goodwin, Hubbell, 2013, xxiv) This quote sums up my feelings exactly. Having no teaching experience myself, I have a long way to go before I am able to develop strong mental frameworks. At this point in my learning, I look to the professionals for advice and guidance.
This section attempts to break down each of these "Items" by focusing on one particular aspect of the "Touchstone" shared in the text. I will be incorporating information from a lesson plan that I am developing that revolves around the story of "The Little Red Hen" -- a lesson plan that will be used for First Grade students.
12 Things to Do Every Day:
Be Demanding
Item 1: I use standards to guide every learning opportunity.
Item 2: I ensure students set personal learning objectives for each lesson.
Item 3: I peel back the curtain and make my performance expectations clear.
Item 4: I measure understanding against high expectations.
Be Supportive
Item 5: I engage student interest with every lesson.
Item 6: I interact meaningfully with every student.
Item 7: I use feedback to encourage effort.
Item 8: I create an oasis of safety and respect in my classroom.
Be Intentional
Item 9: I make the most of every minute.
Item 10: I help students develop deep knowledge.
Item 11: I coach students to mastery.
Item 12: I help students do something with their learning.
How often do we use checklists in our daily lives? We create grocery lists to ensure that we get everything that we need. We double check all of the items we’ve packed for a vacation to make sure nothing is forgotten. We set to-do lists (for ourselves or others) and check the tasks off when completed. I know that at work, I make a weekly checklist of all of the tasks I need to finish by the end of the week, and get a great feeling of accomplishment when I check them off. However, I learned that most of these checklists we use on a regular basis are “Read-Do” lists rather than “Do-Confirm” lists.
Goodwin and Hubbell state “A Do-Confirm checklist assumes that people mostly perform their jobs from memory but benefit from occasionally stopping and referring to a list to make sure they’ve done everything they’re supposed to do. A Read-Do checklist, on the other hand, ‘is more like a recipe. People carry out the tasks as they check them off’ {Gwande, 2009, p 123}.” (Goodwin, Hubbell, 2013, xxii)
In thinking about a Do-Confirm checklist, I feel that it is a much better way to prioritize. Rather than focusing on all of the different tasks being thrown at you and trying the handle them all at once, the Do-Confirm checklist “aims to help teachers focus on the big things that absolutely, positively must be done every day.” (Goodwin, Hubbell, 2013, xxiii) I believe that this would help minimize much of the stress that teachers must feel on a day-to-day basis. Goodwin and Hubbell suggest to “first call out what matters most and then evaluate our daily activities against what we know ought to be our priorities.” (Goodwin, Hubbell, 2013, xxv) You know what is important, and you handle everything else in time. I know that I would benefit from this way of thinking, as I have a tendency to try to tackle everything at once, and get overwhelmed and frustrated when I am unable to complete everything.
“One of the key differences between professionals and amateurs in any practice is that professionals have well-developed mental frameworks for arranging the key concepts and approaches of their profession.” (Goodwin, Hubbell, 2013, xxiv) This quote sums up my feelings exactly. Having no teaching experience myself, I have a long way to go before I am able to develop strong mental frameworks. At this point in my learning, I look to the professionals for advice and guidance.
This section attempts to break down each of these "Items" by focusing on one particular aspect of the "Touchstone" shared in the text. I will be incorporating information from a lesson plan that I am developing that revolves around the story of "The Little Red Hen" -- a lesson plan that will be used for First Grade students.
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References
Goodwin, R. & Hubbell, E. R. (2013). The 12 touchstones of good teaching: A checklist for staying focused every day. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
McRel. (2014, January 10). The 12 touchstones of good teaching: a checklist for staying focused every day [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTtm1T_dT4w.
Goodwin, R. & Hubbell, E. R. (2013). The 12 touchstones of good teaching: A checklist for staying focused every day. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
McRel. (2014, January 10). The 12 touchstones of good teaching: a checklist for staying focused every day [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTtm1T_dT4w.