How Accomplished Teachers Manage Student Learning

Find ways to manage your students' learning!

I've discussed accomplished teachers, before, and shared insights on getting to know students in  20 Things Accomplished Teachers Know about their Students, and checking what you know about your content in Accomplished Teachers Know their Content. These are the first two steps. Step number three is how to manage and monitor student learning. Today we will address how to manage student learning.

How can you manage student learning?

In my teaching experience, I find that the best way to manage student learning is to structure your teaching in a way that will support all students. If you can remember the letters  a-b-c-d, you'l be able to: Always Believe, Consider and Differentiate.

• Always begin with the end in mind - what do you want students to remember when they've left your class? If you plan with your goal in mind, your ideas will become more focused and direct.
• Believe that each child will be able to understand the concepts you've taught. Of course that means that you will do everything you can to help that along, and you won't just plan for the bright students (or the slow ones).
• Consider each student's special needs and aptitudes. Make sure that you know what your students' talents are ahead of time.
• Differentiate - after considering student needs and aptitudes, create learning activities that will address those differences. This doesn't mean re-teaching a topic  8 different ways - it means designing activities that will give students options geared to their special talents.

How do you plan your lessons to manage student learning?