Trellis Legacy

Trellis’ Core Teaching Practices

Develop distinct classroom community and culture

Teachers and students thrive when classroom norms are established collaboratively, which helps develop a sense of belonging and build community among students in the learning space. This is achieved through learning about students’ interests in the classroom and working together to set classroom rules.

STEM learning can be a challenge for students at any grade level. Creating space that is supportive and reflective of students’ struggles and failures in their educational journey helps students develop resilience and perseverance. Strategies include:

  • Establishing a growth mindset that embraces mistakes and struggle as a natural part of the STEM learning process
  • Celebrating and encouraging a spirit of inquisitiveness and inquiry in classrooms
  • Making sure to pause instruction to make observations about valued norms that are being upheld appropriately in the classroom

Some students may not see themselves as “good” at science and math. Certain tasks and activity structures, like highlighting a change in the classroom activity as it emerges from student ideas, position students as conceptual authorities and evaluators and help them to develop confidence as scientific and mathematical thinkers.

Evidence Checklists for Impactful Engagement in STEM Classrooms

Read the Mentor Handbook and apply the Key Practices to create a classroom culture that celebrates growth and learning from others. Evidence checklists guide you in the development of your skills in Year 0, the refinement of your skills in Years 1-2, and preparation for Year 3 and beyond.

year 0

Establish and maintain norms for students to articulate, justify, evaluate, and revise models, arguments, and ideas

year 1-2

Establish and maintain norms for students to struggle, be wrong, and persevere

Establish and maintain norms for students to participate equitably in small group work

year 3+

Choose tasks and activity structures to position students as competent scientific/mathematical thinkers, particularly students coming from marginalized communities.

Establish and maintain norms for students to participate equitably in whole class discussions

Utilizing day-to-day norms in the classroom to develop a sense of community

Trellis mentors share how they worked with mentees and their own students to develop a sense of culture and community in the classroom. From learning about students’ lives and interests, to working with students to set the norms of the classroom, teachers share their experiences creating a sense of belonging in their classrooms. Video transcript