Over the past two years, I've had the privilege of observing numerous teachers and classrooms. Many of these observations last no more than five to ten minutes. Yet, for those few minutes, in effective teachers classrooms at least, there is more occurring than one can successfully document. In just a few short minutes, teachers can make numerous instructional decisions, vary activities several times, and interact one-on-one with every student in the classroom. In one ten minute span, I watched a colleague teach a mini-lesson, use quick formative assessment to gauge understanding, start a group activity to reinforce the lesson, and then visit each group asking probing, higher order questions. All the while, they were monitoring every other group from a distance and silently correcting behavior with just a glance. This is not a one time event, but a daily occurrence.
Effective teachers read their students needs and make adjustments as necessary. They are attuned to what is happening in the class and fit the lesson to the students, not the other way around. They are protective of instructional time and use it wisely. A strong teacher can pack what feels like hours of learning into just one ten minute stretch. I would challenge anyone in any other business to use ten minutes as effectively as a great teacher. I bet you can't.
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