Kiran starts his day supporting his cooperating teacher as students arrive. He helps with routines, such as morning meeting. Kiran is completing the last week of his Methods learning module, where he’s been focused on classroom management and foundational pedagogical techniques. Today, Kiran’s coach is observing his participation in the morning meeting routines, taking notes for an upcoming feedback session.

10:00 AM – Kiran leads small-group instruction during the literacy block, with his coach observing his questioning techniques and pacing. After receiving feedback, Kiran spends the rest of the block observing his cooperating teacher, taking detailed notes on pedagogical strategies, as part of his focus on the Methods module.

It’s time for Kiran’s independent science lesson. Twice a week, he leads a 30-minute session, teaching first graders about topics like weather patterns. After the lesson, his coach meets with him to give feedback on his instructional delivery, pointing out areas where he can increase student engagement. 

12:00 PM

As students go to lunch and recess, Kiran and his coach sit down for a deeper reflection on the lesson. They work together to begin planning Kiran’s next science lesson. In October, coaches closely collaborate on lesson design and delivery. Later in the year, Kiran will be expected to plan independently. 

Back in the classroom, Kiran continues his observation of his cooperating teacher, watching classroom management techniques. Kiran also has a chance to teach a number story during math block. Number stories are one of the essential instructional practices that CQA expects residents to master.

The school day ends, and Kiran reviews the feedback from his coach, jotting down specific areas to work on in his reflection journal. 

Kiran heads to his masters class, which meets twice / weekly. Today’s class covers lesson design and instructional strategies, helping Kiran refine the lesson plans he will implement the next day.

Now in October of his second year, Kiran leads all morning routines, taking full responsibility for arrival and greeting, folder checks, morning meeting, and managing transitions. His coach observes how he’s handling the increased independence.

During math block, Kiran teaches a full lesson on number sense, which is one of CQA’s core instructional strategies for all residents to master. His coach observes from the back of the classroom, watching how Kiran scaffolds the lesson and checks for understanding.

Kiran moves on to his science lesson. He’s guiding the first graders through an experiment, which is part of a 6-week unit. After the lesson, he sits down with his coach to debrief. They discuss how he can refine the unit plan and assessment rubric to ensure students are grasping key concepts aligned to standards.

Kiran has a planning block to review feedback from his coach and makes adjustments to his unit plan. He reviews student data and creates a plan for small-group instruction for his next science lesson to support students across a spectrum of needs. He’ll share that plan with both his cooperating teacher and coach and get quick feedback before he implements it later in the week.

During literacy block, Kiran leads a small group on phonics instruction. He is focusing on differentiating his instruction for ELLs in his group. After his lesson, he engages in guided observation for the rest of the block, paying special attention to how his cooperating teacher teaches comprehension strategies, which is a topic he’s learning about in his methods module.

With the school day ending, Kiran meets with his cooperating teacher to reflect on the day and align on tomorrow’s priorities.

After a break, Kiran transitions to join his peers in his afternoon coursework. This month, he’s taking a course on assessment and data-driven instruction where he’s focusing on designing small-group instruction across content areas. As part of his homework, he’ll design small-group lessons for literacy, math, and science and receive feedback from his instructor and peers.