TEACHING STANDARDS

MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE FOR ALL STUDENTS

Effective teachers create a learning environment that ensures the participation of all students, fosters high expectations, and provides the means by which all students grow academically, socially, and ethically.

In creating an environment that provides all students with equal access to mathematics and science education, effective teachers:

• respond sensitively to human differences and build on individual strengths,
• include all students in mathematics and science activities and work to ensure their full participation,
• believe that every student can succeed and expect each student to work hard,
• acknowledge those who are reluctant to participate,
• persist in inviting those who are reluctant to participate.

Effective mathematics and science teachers know and value their students and build on the strengths of all students. Such teachers:

• acknowledge that every student comes to school with a unique set of experiences, personal history, and knowledge of the world,
• use examples from their students' culture, community, and home environment to constantly demonstrate the relevance of science and mathematics in students' daily lives.

Effective mathematics and science teachers are careful to monitor the participation of students in groups, making sure all have an equal opportunity to participate in questioning, verifying, investigating, planning, and decision making. Such teachers:

• realize that language itself can be a barrier to participation in mathematics and science activities,
• take steps to ensure that those students with language difficulties have full access to the curriculum, by using direct experiences with materials, manipulatives, ideas, and concepts to build and expand their students' vocabulary and language in a meaningful context,
• help all students find ways to participate in group discussions,
• are strong advocates for students who need special accommodations to participate fully in classroom activities,
• help each student gain confidence in participating, therefore providing an experience on which to build more challenging involvement.

The quality of classroom interactions is important in creating a productive learning environment. To foster positive interactions, effective mathematics and science teachers:

• deliberately promote a classroom environment that is lively and inquiry-based where students play active roles as mathematicians and scientists,
• work diligently to create a learning environment that is congenial and supportive and in which students feel safe to take risks,
• help students to understand that they may disagree with one another's ideas while remaining friends,
• model the idea that problems or experiments that do not turn out as expected are not viewed as failures, but rather as opportunities to learn.

Effective mathematics and science teachers create and maintain a productive learning environment through their organizational decisions and their managerial skills. Such teachers:

• understand that student conduct is largely a function of student engagement and that when students are interested in what they are doing in school, the learning environment becomes self-governing,
• involve students when setting classroom rules,
• establish orderly and workable learning routines that maximize student time on task and let students know what is expected of them,
• make instructional grouping decisions that create high expectations for all,
• are equally comfortable using whole class, cooperative grouping, one-on-one peer coaching, or other clustering arrangements, depending on the instructional purpose,
• are efficient classroom managers who know the value of using scarce resources creatively, take advantage of opportunities to acquire free and inexpensive materials, and are able to improvise and create materials when none are readily available.

Perhaps most central to the process of creating a favorable learning environment is the personal example teachers set in their own behaviors in the classroom and beyond. They are friendly and curious, enthusiastic about their interest in mathematics and science, and receptive of each student's contributions to the learning process. They are good listeners who are open to new ideas and have a healthy sense of humor. They are genuinely caring and respectful of all students.