Curriculum and Instruction that are Demanding

Demanding curriculum and instruction means the teacher ensures that every student develops the habits of mind and attitudes, necessary for success in school and in life. Those include such things as working hard, concentrating, being curious, persisting, working independently, enjoying work, being open minded, and looking at ideas and issues from different perspectives.

These also ensure that each student experiences success as a result of hard work. When students believe they are capable of success, they are more likely to persist. When they believe the effort will not result in success, they are more likely to give up on the task. "When students become frustrated because a task is well beyond reach, they are likely to lose motivation and, in time, experience a decline in their level of achievement."

Curriculum and instruction techniques that are demanding include:
Guide students in working and thinking like experts
Place the level of difficulty of work just beyond the reach of the learner.
Make student growth nonnegotiable.
Establish high standards for work and behavior.
Eliminate "loose" time.

Great teachers ensure that learners extend their reach and succeed at new levels. Teachers should scaffold growth in many different ways. "We make sure students understand the learning goals and are aware of how each segment of their work contributes to their growth to achieving those goals. We use multiple modes of teaching and a wide range of teaching and learning strategies. We teach in small groups. We provide varied materials for students to gain access to ideas and information. We use varied groupings of students, we ask probing and clarifying questions. We help students develop effective study groups. We use vocabulary that helps learners develop awareness of how they are working and the ability to make adjustments in their work..."

When we focus our lessons on these things, we give students things to do, establish an environment that welcomes success. Students become inspired and encouraged to learn.

All of this shows us a couple of different Hallmarks. Hallmark 3: Shared responsibility for the classroom is between teacher and students, in the goal of making it work for everyone, Hallmark 4: Individual growth is emphasized as central to classroom success and Hallmark 5: A "way up" usually through multiple and varied pathways, and never a "way out."