Why You Should Be Teaching ALWAYS Actions

Posted October 1, 2017

As we work with teachers, we engage in conversations about domains of teaching.

We introduce the Teaching ALWAYS Actions™ as a way of “making the complex, simple.” The Teaching ALWAYS Actions are five actions teachers must do every day in their classrooms to ensure students are engaged and learning. That is, the Teaching ALWAYS Actions are essential for every teacher to apply every day. Teachers could do more than the essential or ALWAYS Actions (i.e. detailed indicators of domains of learning). However, teachers must not do less. We have observed, at times, teachers fail to always apply evidence-based practices. Every day, great leaders and teachers must apply best practices that research indicates work.

What do we mean by ALWAYS? No one is perfect. If people expect to achieve perfection, they will fail. If people expect to achieve excellence, they will achieve at high performance levels. Therefore, the term, always, means the demonstration of specific research-based practice behaviors at least 97% of the time. Don’t sweat the 3% or bad days. Focus on the good days representing 97% of time.

5 Teaching ALWAYS Actions™

Procedures: Have a well-managed classroom with very well defined classroom rules and procedures that are clearly communicated to students.
Targets: Show and communicate the learning targets of the day and how they connect to an essential higher order learning goal.
Practice: Provide many opportunities for students to practice learning tasks aligned to the targets.
Feedback: Constantly give feedback to students, create ways for students to self-assess, and include strategies for students to give feedback to each other to know what they have learned and where gaps exist. Know how to close the gaps.
Grades: Record a grade from a student achievement score applying a well-developed test and/or performance assessment (both designed and aligned to targets taught) to score student achievement.