How we Teach

The Suzuki School has developed a unique collaborative teaching methodology through experimentation, research, and focus as to what provides the best learning environment for the children. There are four key elements to the Suzuki approach:

• Establishing the right environment and teaching teams
• Grouping and rotation of children
• The teaching approach
• Collaboration and staff development.

During the initial teacher interview, we will address each of these elements in detail.

Each school has seven classrooms; the class size and number of teachers is determined by the room size. Classroom sizes range from 21 children to 48 with between four and seven teachers assigned to each classroom.

The classrooms are set up as the third teacher, the first being the teachers themselves and the second the materials that are used. The physical classroom environment is a critical element of our methodology. To be effective, the environment must provide opportunities, materials and encouragement for the children. The classrooms must be clutter-free and organized so that children can operate effectively in them. Successful classrooms display the children’s work and materials and allow each to show pride in their space so that they will help care for it and know that it belongs to them.

Collaborative team teaching is the catalyst that provides a highly effective learning environment for our children. This approach not only leverages the unique gifts of each teacher, but allows the team to best support the children in their growth. In a collaborative teaching team, the teachers specialize by subject area (language, math, art and practical life) and by task assignment (e.g. lesson planning, resources, communication, etc). In addition, this collaborative model recognizes that teachers have special gifts which, when combined, offer innovative and exciting approaches to discovery.

The teachers are scheduled to work in a classroom on a rotating basis. For example, every Monday a particular teacher may work 8 AM to 5 PM, and on Tuesday be scheduled to work 7 AM to 4 PM, and on Wednesday work from 9 AM to 6 PM, etc. These schedules are designed to offer each teacher an awareness of the daily routines in the early morning and late afternoon, and helps ensure that each teacher connects with all parents, despite varying drop-off and pick-up routines.

Children are grouped according to readiness during the morning and afternoon learning blocks. Planned grouping of children allows the maximum learning opportunities for each child. Young children are generally grouped by personality and age; older children are grouped by readiness for most of the structured learning periods. At the start of the day, the oldest children participate in “Ready-Now” lessons while the younger children work together in large motor skill activities.

Each day the children rotate to different teaching groups, generally spending the morning learning block focused on a particular subject area.

Subject-Specific Presentation Manuals provide detailed descriptions and illustrations of the lessons. The Suzuki School has developed, in partnership with Dr. Feland Meadows, detailed Presentation Manuals by subject area that provide both a narrative and pictorial description of each presentation. Teachers are expected to read and master these manuals, which are based on Pan American Montessori Society standards. In addition, mentor teachers, support staff, and continuing education opportunities are available to all teachers as they acquire mastery of each presentation in their subject area assignment.

The school has a wide variety of materials available to the teachers for all subject areas in an extensive library. These materials can be checked out and returned during the weekly teacher preparation block times or through requesting them from the Curriculum Coordinator.

The teachers maintain Student Observation Notebooks for each child in their subject area. These informal observations note the presentations/variations/extensions the child has received, is currently practicing, and/or has mastered. These observation notebooks are the basis for the individual lessons that the teacher presents to the child in the morning and afternoon learning blocks. Note that Suzuki teachers, while not required to write traditional lesson plans, must use these observation notes to formally plan the individual lessons that will be given to each child.

Each day the children are presented with individualized lessons in a particular subject area. At the beginning of the morning learning block, time is carved out to provide lessons for the most advanced children in the Pre-Primary and Primary classrooms. During the afternoon, the second work block of the day takes place; the teachers and children may decide at this time to continue with the work of the morning or to work on lessons that have been given previously. The teacher as well as some of the older children may also give new presentations to others at this time.

An important part of the collaborative teaching environment is the daily team meetings held in each classroom. These meetings are an important time to share pertinent information on the children and their families, to discuss opportunities and issues in the classroom and to brainstorm on certain lessons and shared subject areas.

In addition, there are other opportunities to meet and learn during the week: school-wide Task Assignment Meetings; weekly preparation blocks by subject areas; and on-going training sessions by team or by subject held throughout the year.

In order to ensure that collaboration is effective, an environment of high accountability is required. The teaching teams work very closely together, supporting and guiding each other in every teacher’s journey towards excellence. Throughout the year, teachers complete a self-assessment on teaching and teaming skills. This same assessment instrument is then used by co-teachers and the support staff. Once the baseline assessment is completed, each teacher meets with their entire team on a periodic basis to receive feedback and support on the consolidated evaluation.

The Suzuki Reward and Recognition Program were unrolled during the 2010-2011 school years. The aim of this program is to recognize and then award teachers of excellence certain monetary remuneration or tuition assistance. These amounts are determined by:

• Documented progression on objectives and goals set through the evaluation process by the teaching team and the support team.
• Leadership contributions such as a mentor roles or co-chairing projects.
• Achievement of an advanced degree or certification.