Asking Students for Feedback

When was the last time you checked with your students to see how things were going? I really feel a connection to the ideas presented by Ron Ferguson about how teachers can make a difference in the learning environment for students. So here are my thoughts on The Seven C's of Effective Teaching. As I walk through classrooms in the coming weeks, I want to see how frequently teachers are using the Seven Cs in their classrooms, and I want to see what these Cs might look like in practice. I am thinking I would like to come up with a few descriptors or behaviors of teachers that define the Cs.

Caring about students (nurturing productive relationships);

Controlling behavior (promoting cooperation and peer support);

Clarifying ideas and lessons (making success seem feasible);

Challenging students to work hard and think hard (pressing for effort and rigor);

Captivating students (making learning interesting and relevant);

Conferring (eliciting students’ feedback and respecting their ideas);
Consolidating (connecting and integrating ideas to support learning).

So, here goes. I will keep you posted as I see some of these Cs play out in classrooms.