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"Expectations" in education refers to how a teacher clarifies what to do, when and how to do it. Expectations directly impact student engagement because a student can't be involved productively in schoolwork if s/he doesn't know what, when, or how to an assignment or task. When expectations are unclear, you might see students become distracted, causing distractions, or wasting time. In a perfect world, every student would ask for clarification or more instruction when needed...but let's be real. Students are often looking for any reason reason to avoid work completion and not knowing what/how/when something needs to be done is prime opportunity to check out.
Expectations go beyond work time as well. Every minute students are in your classroom, there should be something expected of them. From noise level to movement, how/when to enter and exit your room, how to interact during discussions, and any processes that are repeated frequently in your room. Every clear, consistent expectation increases student engagement by creating opportunities for students to practice autonomy and self-management. All of these things lead to student success.
If you are ready to dig a little deeper into your own classroom practices, please reflect on the following:
- How invested are you in the structure of your procedures?
- How detail oriented are you with each working part in your classroom procedures & systems?
- How much time do you spend practicing and reinforcing your expectations?
- How consistent are you with your expectations?
- Do you re/enforce every time, some of the time, or one and done mention?
- Do you let a lot of little things "slide" because it's "not that big of a deal"?
- When planning your lessons:
- Do you account for what you want each minute or transition to look like?
- Do you consider what the student is doing at each point in time and what you are doing?
- Do you consider what you want your classroom to look and sound like at any given point?
- Do you use a title of an activity as the extent of your plan? Ex: 9:10-9:30 Write Summary
- Do you come in and "wing it"?
- Do you consider and plan your class time to be bell to bell?
At this point, I trust you are able to identify where you might be going wrong. You are either inconsistent or not invested in your own expectations (or both) so nothing has developed into routine. You may think your students "know" what to do, but if you aren't 100% onboard and/or consistent with how you do things then why would your students care or even understand how you want them to do things?
NOTE: A classroom does not magically transform overnight. It takes time and effort, commitment, reflection, ownership, and flexibility to pivot when a better way is identified. However, when the pieces start coming together, you may just feel like a weight lifts off of your shoulders because you are no longer micro-managing the bulk of your expectations and more often than not, behaviors decrease as student engagement increases.
To illustrate the importance expectations and to show how expectations can affect a classroom work environment, I've presented 2 scenarios below with varying degrees of expectations. In both situations, the teacher is addressing the class in preparation for the same project work time:
- Scenario #1:
You should be working on Checkpoint 2 today. If you look at your Summit resources (half of class has computers open/half are closed), you can see the links to the websites. Here, I'll pull it up for you. Like, if I want to read this article, I click this link, and pulls this up. Don't forget to do your Free Write today as well. You should have 3 done so far. Remember, your Free Write is under Checkpoint 1. Let me show you...it's under Checkpoint 1, Free Write, today's prompt is "Write about a positive memory." [Hand goes up, student: Does it have to be a happy memory"] Positive could be happy, it could be motivating, uplifting, just nothing sad. [Hand goes up, student: Can I write about xyz]. If you can explain how it's positive, then yes, that would be fine. Just be sure to support your thinking. [Hand goes up, student: Can we work with partners?] This is independent work. [student: What if I'm peer reviewing?] You can work with a partner if you are peer reviewing. Any other questions? Oh, Free Write needs to be 4 or more sentences. Ok, get to work.
- Scenario #2:
Computers closed, eyes up front (teacher waits). Today, you have 3 jobs (teacher reads from board)
- Free Write 4 *
- Checkpoint 2 *
- Peer Review ☺
Free Write 4 is 4+ sentences about a positive memory. This doesn't have to be "happy", just positive. You really can pick any memory as long as you can explain how it's positive. Checkpoint 2 uses articles which can be found in the "Articles" resource. If you are ready for Peer Review, please put your name under "Peer Review" on the board and you can choose someone from there to work at the back table. All resources that you need can be found under your "PLANS" tab for today in Summit. Free Write and Checkpoint 2 are independent work, Peer Review is with ONE partner/voice level ___ (kids say 1), and you must use ____ (kids say peer review form) found ____ (kids say on the back table). Free Write, Checkpoint 2, Peer Review. If you finish early, you must have all greens on all other Checkpoints and then here are your options (teacher gestures to anchor chart or check list). If you have any questions, please raise your hand and I'll come around to you. You have 25 minutes, computers open, get to work!
One of these things is not like the other, right?! What was different about the two scenario? Hopefully, you are noticing that the expectations in the second scenario were more clear, instruction was more planned and organized, systems/procedures have been practiced with consistency (so it's clear they are have become routine). The teacher has accounted for movement and logistics, not just the activities themselves.
In scenario #1, imagine "work time". This scenario is fictional, but it's realistic. I'm picturing quite a few students turning to their peers to figure out what they should be doing and a few more wandering around in avoidance (maybe collecting supplies that they may or may not need), distracting others in the process, and the rest crowding the teacher with questions. That teacher is now spending the next 10-15 minutes getting everyone settled, putting out fires around the room, getting frustrated, answering questions. If this is a 25 minute block, these students might be getting 10 minutes of engaged work time.
In scenario #2, imagine "work time". I can tell you from experience, there is a collective shift in attention from the teacher to work and it happens right at that "and get to work" release. It's beautiful. A hand or two will go up with individual questions, a few students get up to write their names on the board/grab a partner/settle in at back table, a majority open their computers is unison and click into what they need to do. There is a quiet energy of productivity and a chorus of tapping keyboards. The teacher is able to individually support students and might also pull a a small group of reds/yellows on Checkpoint 1 to reteach. Students are engaged in their work for 25 minutes.
Expectations.
If you're looking to improve student engagement, this is a great starting point!