Communicating Expectations to Make Instruction More Effective

As teachers, we’ve all had lessons that didn’t go the way we intended. Perhaps you finished giving directions but the class looked at you with confusion. Maybe you set out to facilitate a meaningful whole class discussion but felt like you were pulling teeth to get contributions. Or how about that time you spent the whole class sorting out materials and never got any meaningful work accomplished? When this kind of thing happens, it could be an issue of intentions: Did you clearly communicate your intentions for the lesson?

When it comes to showing your students what you expect from them and what you intend to get out of the lesson, there are three crucial things that you should consider.

1. The Physical Setup

Seating arrangements: The seating arrangement you create in the classroom can provide an immediate indicator of your expectations. When planning your lessons, consider how the physical setup of the room will facilitate the lesson effectively and help students understand how they should engage with the material and with one another.

For example, independent work is best indicated by rows or distributed seating. If you have tables in your room, position them so that students all face in one direction. This will minimize eye contact and reduce incidental interaction. Additionally, rows will allow you to see your students’ faces and monitor for questions and help.

Alternatively, if you want students to work in pairs, you can show this to students by matching up desks or seats. You can use colorful dots to indicate pairs, too. At times, students may be just fine choosing their own partners, and at other times, your lesson objectives will dictate that assigned seats are going to be most effective. Decide before the students arrive, and have your directions posted or displayed.

If your lesson calls for group work, preset the number of students you want grouped together and arrange the seats in advance: Group work can be sabotaged by moving around and arranging furniture. Students should be seated so that they can see everyone in their group at the same time. True group work is not structured with a “front of the room” since there should be little teacher-led time once the work begins.

When your lesson is a whole class discussion, your intentions will be most clear and will work best in a semicircle or horseshoe configuration where the speaker can see everyone in the class. Better than rows, a semicircle allows students to see one another, too, and gain from seeing classmates’ reactions and being able to follow when questions are asked.

Additional materials: Reference materials help your students stay focused on the task at hand and learn how to leverage tools to meet objectives. By putting posters, bins, charts, table resources, and other materials in the physical space, you can make it clear that you want your students to have the tools they need to be successful. Providing reference materials is your way of showing that you intend to keep the students focused on what matters most during your lesson.

2. Your Verbal Cues

It would be helpful for students to know what we are thinking, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) they cannot read our minds. Your intentions and expectations may not be clear to students until you actually say them out loud.

KISS (“Keep it short and sweet”): Some teachers go nearly hoarse from repeating themselves unnecessarily. We can leverage verbal cues to make our intentions immediately clear. For example, when I taught French and needed the students to open their books, I didn’t just say, “Ouvrez vos livres,” I sang it! In short order, I could hold the “ooooo” of “ouvrez,” and students would open their books before I finished the phrase. This efficiency meant they were really just listening for a page number.

PIP (“Praise in public”): If you set out to be known for your growth mindset, your positive classroom culture, and your sincere commitment to your students’ success, then you’ll want to be sure to spotlight and highlight all the good that you see around you. Celebrate your students in front of their peers, other teachers, family members, and school staff. You want students to associate your voice with good news, so they continually seek out what you say.

AGE (“Articulate group expectations”): When students engage in group work, it is crucial that they have clear expectations around how to engage with one another effectively and respectfully. For example, you may provide sentence starters to ensure that all students can engage in group discussion. These can be posted on the wall, included as a table resource, or offered as a folder insert. You may also set ground rules for how students can disagree with each other without getting personal.

3. NonVerbal Signals

At times, you may need to reiterate your intentions on a small scale, perhaps to one or only a few students, or you may want to convey a message without drawing the class’s primary focus from a core aspect of the lesson. In these moments, nonverbal signals can ensure that your students know what you mean.

Facial expressions are a hallmark of teaching. The “teacher look” is a known and very real thing! You can speak loudly with facial expressions to express interest (eyebrows up, nodding), challenge (one squinty eye, pursed lips), excitement (wide eyes, O-shaped mouth), encouragement (bite bottom lip, head nod), and even shock (slow blink, head shake).

Our favorite teacher hand motions can save a lot of time. Try saying “no” with a finger wag, “come” with a palm-up finger curl, “appreciate you” with a hand to your heart, “louder, please” with a hand to your ear, and “celebration” with palms forward, wiggly fingers. Consistent use of hand motions will make them a practical sign language tool for your instruction and engagement.

Our favorite student hand motions are quite empowering for learners, since they can communicate with specificity instead of using a generic raised hand. Try the “r” sign (cross your fingers) for asking to use the restroom, the “i” sign (fist with pinky up) to ask for a supply, and the “y” sign (fist with thumb and pinky extended) to say “yes” or to agree (and shake it for emphasis). With these discrete nonverbals, you are communicating to your students that the lesson is your central focus but you also have good intentions about making sure each learner has what they need to be successful in your classroom.

Boosting your instruction in these three areas will allow you (and your students) to focus on the learning targets and reduce the cognitive demand on students simply to navigate your lessons. Hopefully, as these strategies become habits, you’ll end more of your lessons thinking, “Wow, that went really well.”