eleot—the Effective Learning Environments Observation Tool—aims to help improve student engagement
Bolstering student engagement is a crucial strategy to increase student success, but school leaders and classroom teachers typically lack tools that determine the extent to which their classrooms are truly “learner-centric.”
To help schools and districts measure and quantify active student engagement, AdvancED has launched eleot—the Effective Learning Environments Observation Tool.
eleot enables school leaders and teachers to explore how well each classroom addresses seven areas of engagement that research indicates make a difference in learning. eleot systematically helps pinpoint how well classrooms encourage active learning, use individual monitoring and feedback, employ technology to encourage more hands-on, student-directed activities, and create environments that are equitable, set high expectations, address student needs, and effectively manage learning.
Next page: How schools are using eleot
“We talk about wanting learner-centric schools and classrooms but measure the quality of teaching through test scores and teacher-centric observations. It’s no wonder so many students are disengaged,” says Mark Elgart, president and CEO of AdvancED, the nonprofit school improvement organization that reviews the quality of learning in 32,000 schools and school systems in the United States and 70 other countries. “The new technology allows us to put a powerful tool in the hands of educators to assess how they are doing to address all aspects of the student experience.”
Available to schools as an app for Apple iOS, Android, and desktop computers, eleot allows trained observers to record classroom observations using an interactive rubric based, standardized instrument. The tool provides an aggregate picture for an entire school and can provide useful information to individual and teams of teachers about their strengths and weaknesses.
AdvancED recently field tested eleot as a formative improvement tool in 31 schools in seven states and Egypt, Mexico, and Panama.
Schools are using eleot to:
• Evaluate classroom environments by focusing on students
• Reveal strengths and weaknesses using measurable data
• Identify trends by comparing observations across subjects, grade levels, and other filters
• Ensure quality and reliability in an intuitive and easy-to-use tool
• Implement a powerful tool for professional development, peer learning, and ongoing improvement
As part of its commitment to providing low-cost tools to educators, AdvancED is making eleot available to schools and districts at one low cost—$400 per school—for unlimited use for one year.
“The new technology and our broad reach help us price this valuable tool to ensure that schools don’t have to dig deep into their budgets to get a clear analysis of how well they are doing in engaging learners,” Elgart says. “Now an analysis of the learning environment and student engagement can be part of every school’s toolbox. We hope eleot helps spark discussions about what good teaching is all about and encourage schools to provide more focus and professional development to create learner-centered classrooms.”
For more background on how eleot works and its validity in classrooms click here.
Material from a press release was used in this report.
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