M-2 High Expectations

M-Powerment Strategies‎ > ‎

Teachers set high expectations for learning and believe all students are capable of achieving success.

What does this look like in our schools and classrooms?

Be specific in what you expect students to know and be able to do
Encourage students to meet expectations for a particular task
Develop and post I Can... statements, combined with a "You can" mentality
Offer learning contracts and individualized agendas (to-do lists)
Build trust and hope among students and celebrate successes
Focus on growth mindset phrases and activities that allow for risk-taking
Implement rigorous instruction and curriculum
Be consistent with classroom management and set expectations that show that you know everyone can learn
Acknowledge each child’s successes and offer praise when established standards are met
Use progress monitoring, rubrics, and self-evaluation to share expectations and measure growth/progress
Question ALL students with higher-level thinking stems, probing questions, and student-led discussion
Allow for student ownership of setting individualized learning goals, monitoring their own progress (i.e. data trackers), and development of evidence of achievement
Use digital portfolios to demonstrate student skills and progress
Create rubrics with clear expectations for each level of performance
Focus on creation, not consumption
Start strong and maintain focus to challenge students daily

Exemplar Lessons & Strategies

How Can Technology Support this M-Powerment Strategy?

Mastery Connect
Formative Assessment & Data tracking

Have students track their progress toward goals
Identify learning targets that need more work
Focus on growth and progress toward mastery

Google Sheets
Spreadsheets and graphing tool for progress monitoring

Have students create personal data trackers to connect effort and success
Use graphs and reflection components to encourage student ownership

Weebly
Safe, Secure Parent & Student Communication via Text

Students create websites to document their work process
Create digital portfolios that show growth in skills / learning over time

For Future Reading, Exploration, & Learning

Educational Articles

Check out these additional research-based articles and books related to this M-Powerment Strategy.

Rigor is Not a Four-Letter Word - Barbara Blackburn (Book)
A New Definition of Rigor - Edutopia
Rigor and the Common Core State Standards - Education World
22 Ways to add rigor - Teach Hub
Five Strategies for Questioning with Intention - Educational Leadership
Creating a Climate for Achievement - Educational Leadership
Role of Questioning in the Classroom - NCCAT Course
Improving Schools: Creating a Climate for Achievement - Ed Leadership
Five Strategies for Questioning with Intention - Ed Leadership

Self-Paced PD

To explore more about this strategy, check out some of the sessions that have been offered at previous Summer Institutes related to this strategy. Each one contains lots of strategies you can implement and resources you can use to improve your practice.

Instructional Coach-Created Resources

Newsletters and contests created by our Instructional Coaches and School Library Media Coordinators have lots of resources and ideas you can implement. Here are a few that relate to this strategy.