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Kindergarten - Grade 8

 

What are some key indicators of good science instruction? This document has been distributed to principals and science assistant principals to facilitate classroom observations.  Teachers should be aware of the protocol and should understand that the indicators below will be used as a tool for evaluating and improving instruction.

 

 

Indicators	Meeting the indicator (3)	Approaching the indicator (2)	Not meeting the indicator (1)	Comments
Classroom Environment
Student work pertaining to current and prior units is displayed. This may include data tables, charts, graphs, diagrams, and narrative descriptions.
Basic tools for small-.group, hands-on investigations are readily available.
The Teacher
The teacher probes for current knowledge and misconceptions.
The teacher circulates through the classroom.
The teacher encourages class discussion of students’ classroom experiences.
The teacher encourages students to draw conclusions.
The teacher is able to "read" the students’ level of understanding and adjusts the instruction accordingly.
The teacher acts as a resource person, working to support and enhance student investigations.
The teacher’s classroom management style/strategies enhance the quality of the lesson.
The teacher’s questioning strategies tend to enhance the development of student conceptual understanding and problem-solving (e.g. emphasizes higher order questions, uses "wait time" appropriately, identifies prior conceptions and misconceptions).
The teacher provides content information that is accurate.
Students
Students work in cooperative groups.
Students appear free to ask questions of the teacher.
Students are recording observations, data, etc.
Students make predictions, estimations and/or hypotheses and devise means for testing them.
Students use a variety of means including models, drawings, graphs, manipulatives, etc. to represent phenomena.
Students analyze their observations and data to draw conclusions.
Students are encouraged to share their experiences/findings using a variety of means and media.
The Lesson
The lesson involves fundamental concepts of the subject.
The design of the lesson reflects careful planning and organization.
The science content is appropriate for the developmental levels of the students in the class.
There is a high proportion of student talk and a significant amount of it occurs between and among students.
Adequate time and structure are provided for processing or sense making.
Adequate time and structure are provided for wrap up.

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*Adapted from Horizon Research Incorporated's Classroom Observation Protocol, developed for the National Science Foundation.