Pedagogical Alignment and Modeling
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Teachers need the opportunity to experience the pedagogical methods they will enact in order to understand them in complex and meaningful ways. For new teachers, learning about pedagogy derived from the science of learning and development also means learning with and through such pedagogy. Those experiences are more effective when experienced through guided reflection. Like other students, teacher candidates learn more deeply when they have the opportunity to inquire into what they don’t yet understand, articulate concepts, use them in a task, see or hear other models of thinking, and get feedback. It is vital that educator preparation helps teachers develop a deep personal understanding of the strategies and models of practice that will align their teaching with the science of learning and development. Developing this understanding requires new teachers to experience the very kinds of teaching strategies they are expected to develop for the pupils they work with.
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Identifying Effective Discussion Strategies in a Secondary English Methods Course 
A teacher educator engages a secondary English methods class in identifying effective discussion strategies. Facilitating equitable discussions is something that educators need to know and be able to do. By engaging the students in examining the practice of veteran teacher Yvonne Divans Hutchinson, the teacher educator leverages her class as a supportive community of practice, develops their skills, and provides pedagogical modeling.
This video demonstrates the SoLD educator principles of supportive developmental relationships in communities of practice; development of skills, habits, and mindsets of an equitable educator; and pedagogical alignment and modeling.
Explicitly Teaching Routines in an Elementary Literacy Methods Course
A teacher educator engages an elementary literacy methods course, focusing on the importance of explicitly teaching routines “one day at a time; one day one center” so that centers are not “busywork” but are explicitly introduced to students. In introducing a multimedia example, the teacher educator emphasizes the importance of teachers being intentional about the HOW of their teaching in addition to the WHAT of their teaching. She has selected a video of accomplished teaching to exemplify and model the strategy of teaching students the expectations and routines of center work, and the discussion among candidates is positive and engaged. The teacher educator discusses how over the course of a year, teachers might move from teacher-initiated and teacher-structured centers to those initiated by young learners, aligned to child development.
This video demonstrates the SoLD educator principles of curriculum rooted in a deep understanding of learners, learning, and development; supportive developmental relationships in communities of practice; and pedagogical alignment and modeling.
Getting to Know Students Through Rituals and Routines in an Elementary Literacy Methods Course
In this video, an elementary literacy educator asks how two experienced teachers come to know their students through classroom rituals and routines. The teacher educator engages teacher candidates in a group task to identify clips from the experienced teachers' practice that would exemplify how they gain knowledge of their students. The goal is for teacher candidates to connect this strategy to their own work in classrooms. The teacher candidates demonstrate ownership of their group’s perspective and describe in detail how the identified moments from the experienced teacher videos exemplify those teachers’ deep understanding of their learners.
This video demonstrates the SoLD educator principles of curriculum rooted in a deep understanding of learners, learning, and development; development of skills, habits, and mindsets of an equitable educator; and pedagogical alignment and modeling.
Debriefing What’s Needed to Plan and Facilitate a Discussion in a Secondary English Methods Course
In this secondary English methods course, the teacher educator is leading teacher candidates in a debrief after a small group discussion of an assigned passage. The teacher candidates were tasked with collaboratively preparing for and facilitating a short discussion among their classmates using specific facilitation strategies. In the debrief, the teacher educator asks candidates to think about their growth in using the specific facilitation strategies they’ve been learning, pressing them to notice the knowledges—content knowledge, knowledges of learners and learning, pedagogical knowledge—they needed in order to prepare for and facilitate a successful discussion.
This video demonstrates the SoLD educator principles of curriculum rooted in a deep understanding of learners, learning, and development; supportive developmental relationships in communities of practice; development of skills, habits, and mindsets of an equitable educator; and pedagogical alignment and modeling.
Elementary Literacy Read Aloud Rehearsal with Coaching
In this video, elementary literacy teacher candidates practice reading aloud with teacher educators coaching them on strategies to elicit ideas from students as they read aloud. Several candidates practice their reading-aloud strategies—asking questions about the title, having learners turn and talk, etc. The teacher educator interjects during their practice to suggest possible changes to their practice with explanations. These opportunities to practice and learn from and with peers offer rich experiential learning opportunities that can support the development of a community of practice. In one instance, a male teacher candidate pauses and asks whether a moment was fair/unfair, asking for a thumbs up/thumbs down, and then invites the circle to turn and talk. The teacher educator’s coaching encourages the teacher candidate to invite student participation and offer space for multiple perspectives. In a final debrief, the teacher educator suggests letting students’ comments sit for a moment rather than quickly moving on after a student has responded in order to “get more voices in here.” These reminders are to further develop the skills, habits, and mindsets of an equitable educator.
This video demonstrates the SoLD educator principles of supportive developmental relationships in communities of practice; rich, experiential learning opportunities; development of skills, habits, and mindsets of an equitable educator; and pedagogical alignment and modeling.
Mentoring Activity: Repeated Teaching in Elementary Math
In this video, the mentor teacher first models for the teacher candidate, along with offering commentary on her thinking and decision-making, as she teaches a small group of elementary-age children in making sense of a story problem before attempting to solve it. The teacher candidate then leads a second small group directly after watching the mentor teacher with the first small group. This activity structure provides a rich, experiential learning opportunity for the teacher candidate, as she can immediately apply a model from an experienced educator. There is explicit modeling and the development of the teacher candidate’s skill in running a small group in mathematics instruction. See https://tedd.org/repeated-teaching/ for materials that support teacher educators to introduce, prepare for, enact, and analyze repeated teaching.
This video demonstrates the SoLD educator preparation design principles of rich, experiential learning opportunities; development of skills, habits, and mindsets of an equitable educator; and pedagogical alignment and modeling.