Imagine if we listened to all of our students and modified our lessons based on one thing to keep and one thing to change.
This strategy gives your students the power to offer a bit of advice about how to make the unit or lesson better.
Believe it or not, after I implemented this strategy presented by our local power company (that was later bought out by Enron) as a method for all their crews to engage in continuous improvement on the job, I adapted it for use in my classroom.
I’m not selling anything, it’s not behind a paywall, and I won’t make you wait to till end to discover this one simple strategy.
This strategy gives your students the power to offer a bit of advice about how to make the unit or lesson better.
With 30+ students in a class identifying one thing to keep that worked well (+) and one thing that should be changed (delta), there were plenty of ideas.
PLUS/DELTA
The one simple major change is for students to complete a Plus/Delta evaluation on a 3x5 card of every unit or new lesson you teach.
This is best used with a group of people — whether they are students, co-workers, or volunteers — to assess the end of a project, lesson, activity, unit, or event.
In the classroom, it was a simple, collaborative and continuous effort to improve instruction and curriculum design.
I took them seriously and wrote notes to myself, sometimes checking with the class to clarify and validate what they were saying. Then I changed the plan for next time, if needed.
Believe it or not, after a few go-rounds I had students come up to me after the lesson was complete and ask me, “How did you come up with such an amazing lesson?”
To which I truthfully replied, “I read your Plus/Delta cards after every lesson and made changes based on what you told me.”
Imagine if we listened to all of our students and modified our lessons based on one thing to keep and one thing to change.
When is the last time you asked 'your clients' to evaluate the lesson or unit?
When was the last time you called a 'time out' (T) to find out what the problem was, clarifying the issue, and reminding or quickly reteaching them before moving on?
Change doesn’t happen by doing the same thing and expecting different results.
Other questions to consider:
What do students need to know before they can learn what you are assigned to teach them?
How do you enrich your students’ understanding of your subject matter?
How often do you get notes on what you are doing in your classes?
Do you present a lesson plan the same way, or customize it for each class?
In what way could you personalize or customize your lessons? Temporary table groups? Special seating arrangement?
How well do you know the 150 students you teach every day?
How well do you know your students, their families, and their community?
Are you silent until there is a problem with a student and the first call home is about that?
Do you proactively write a positive note or make a call to every student’s family before there are problems?
At some point, you may realize your students need a fast track to success, and that’s when you realize you need their frank, honest advice.
I didn’t grow as a teacher because of a principal’s evaluation every couple of years. I grew because I regularly asked my students to evaluate not me, but the lesson.
In my experience—after developing a relationship of honesty without retaliating or getting too emotional—you need to ask them what they needed, and whether it delivered.
Plus/Delta delivers that.
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