Observing Teaching in Action: Reflections on High-Leverage Practices
Watching classroom instruction across grade levels offers powerful insights into how teachers use strategies to engage students, check for understanding, and adapt their instruction. Recently, I reflected on three different classroom videos that showcased teachers supporting learning in unique ways: vocabulary development, theme identification, and scientific inquiry.
Classroom Snapshots
Video 1: Building U.S. History Vocabulary
Grade/Setting: Fifth-grade English Language Development classroom
Content: Vocabulary—soldiers, patriots, taxes
Activity: Students defined words, connected them to prior knowledge, and discussed their meanings with teacher support.
Organization: Whole-group instruction led by teacher questioning.
Video 2: Identifying Themes in Short Stories
Grade/Setting: High school English Language Arts
Content: Literary themes
Activity: Students worked in small groups to analyze short stories, identify themes, and defend their ideas with evidence.
Organization: Small-group collaboration with a whole-class share-out.
Video 3: Scientific Inquiry in Kindergarten
Grade/Setting: Kindergarten science
Content: Plant growth experiments
Activity: Students tested whether seeds grow with or without water, soil, or sunlight, then shared their results.
Organization: Whole-class discussion with individual student participation.
High-Leverage Practices in Action
1. Eliciting and Interpreting Thinking (Video 1)
The teacher asked questions like, “What does a soldier do?” and “Why do we pay taxes?” to draw out student thinking. This not only clarified vocabulary but also connected new words to lived experiences.
Impact: Students engaged more deeply with abstract terms, building stronger comprehension and confidence in their answers.
2. Checking for Understanding (Video 2)
Circulating among groups, the teacher asked, “What evidence supports your theme?” This quick check allowed the teacher to spot misconceptions and push for evidence-based reasoning.
Impact: Students stayed engaged and accountable. They practiced critical thinking while reinforcing collaborative analysis.
3. Coordinating and Adjusting Instruction (Video 3)
The teacher rephrased questions to meet young learners where they were, shifting from open-ended queries to simple yes/no checks such as, “Will plants grow without water?”
Impact: Simplified language helped all students contribute, making science inquiry more accessible without lowering expectations.
Extending Learning with Assessment and Visual Supports
In the kindergarten science lesson (Video 3), the teacher could introduce a “draw and explain” exit ticket. Students would sketch their experiment (soil, water, sunlight) and add one sentence explaining what helped their seeds grow.
Informing Instruction: The drawings would reveal misconceptions, guiding reteaching where needed.
Providing Feedback: Feedback could highlight strengths (“Great job including sunlight!”) and prompt adjustments (“Don’t forget water too!”).
Additionally, incorporating visual aids—like a chart of plants’ needs with pictures—would reinforce abstract concepts. For young learners and visual thinkers, these supports create stronger connections between ideas and outcomes.
Takeaways
Across all three videos, teachers demonstrated that how we ask questions and respond in the moment matters just as much as the lesson plan itself. Whether it’s guiding vocabulary discussions, pushing for evidence in literary analysis, or adjusting for developmental readiness in science, high-leverage practices make learning more meaningful.
When teachers combine questioning, checks for understanding, and scaffolding, they open doors for all students to participate, reflect, and grow.
Sources
Developing the Skills to Do Scientific Inquiry. (2016). Atlas.nbpts.org. https://atlas.nbpts.org/cases/1366/
Developing U.S. History Content Vocabulary. (2011). Nbpts.org. https://atlas.nbpts.org/cases/42/
Edutopia. (2015). Five keys to comprehensive assessment. https://www.edutopia.org
Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Oxford Further Education Unit.
Using Stock Market Simulations to Work with Fractions and Decimals. (n.d.). Atlas.nbpts.org. https://atlas.nbpts.org/cases/120/