Rigor Is...

Rigor is NOT what the teacher has written on the board, “The student will CREATE a foldable.”

Rigor is not what the teacher says, “So as you can see class, the parallels between the Elections of 1800 and 2016 are more numerous than appears at first glance…”

Rigor is NOT more work, “Instead of five problems, we are going to do fifteen.”

Rigor IS the depth and complexity of student cognition.  And the easiest ways to increase the depth and complexity of student cognition are to embed more of the following in your daily lessons.

1. More hands-on activities. Have students manipulate, build, and deconstruct.

2. More multi-step process questions. 

3. More purposeful student talk, with the appropriate prompt.

4. More critical writing, with the appropriate prompt.

In summary, have your students build, talk, and write, a lot and you have effectively increased instructional rigor in your classroom.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

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