Course Description

This course on best practices for the elementary school classroom will provide educators with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively plan, implement, and assess their instruction. The course will cover critical principles for teaching and learning, including aligning instructional objectives to standards and identifying the scope and sequence of content. Educators will learn strategies for designing engaging and practical lessons that support student learning and development. They will examine unbiased techniques for assessing student progress.

In addition, the course will explore the importance of communicating with families about student progress, including the use of various tools and strategies for keeping families informed and involved in their child’s education.

Throughout the course, educators will have the opportunity to reflect on their teaching practices and develop a plan for incorporating best practices into their classrooms. The goal of the course is to empower educators to become confident and competent elementary school teachers equipped to create positive, meaningful learning experiences for all students.

Essential Questions

• What are the best ways to access and build on prior knowledge to prime the brain for learning?
• How does aligning objectives, assessments, and instruction to standards improve learning?
• What does the evidence say are best practices for teaching in the elementary classroom?
• How do culturally responsive instruction, assessment, and feedback improve student learning?

Comments from Teachers

“I am going to implement student-led conferences in my classroom. There are numerous benefits to having students lead the conference for their parents. It opened my eyes to how important it is to communicate with parents.”

“I really enjoyed being able to go through the standards and more specific learning objectives. I also found all the family engagement information very useful.”

Danielson Teacher Framework Course Alignment