COMPETENCY 4: CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, AND SUPERVISION
Related Task 4.3: Knowledge of variety of instructional methods and skills
Specific Task: Conduct a clinical evaluation cycle including observation in a typical classroom.
Narrative description of specific task: After reviewing state law, local policy and collective bargaining agreement regarding teacher evaluations, carry out a classroom observation and post-observation conference with one new and one veteran consenting colleague using the district's evaluation instrument and procedures or one representing a best-practice appraisal instrument. Prepare a written evaluation based on the classroom observation using the prescribed reporting format. Interview the staff member after the formal conclusion of the post conference concerning his/her perceptions about administrative practices or behaviors that facilitate meaningful evaluations and promote growth by staff members. Reflect on the process and what represents good administrative practice.
Related Task 4.3: Knowledge of variety of instructional methods and skills
Specific Task: Conduct a clinical evaluation cycle including observation in a typical classroom.
Narrative description of specific task: After reviewing state law, local policy and collective bargaining agreement regarding teacher evaluations, carry out a classroom observation and post-observation conference with one new and one veteran consenting colleague using the district's evaluation instrument and procedures or one representing a best-practice appraisal instrument. Prepare a written evaluation based on the classroom observation using the prescribed reporting format. Interview the staff member after the formal conclusion of the post conference concerning his/her perceptions about administrative practices or behaviors that facilitate meaningful evaluations and promote growth by staff members. Reflect on the process and what represents good administrative practice.
Grand Blanc Schools Evaluation/Observation Rubric
In the weeks leading up to the evaluation, the district evaluation rubric was studied and discussed with my administrative mentor. Additionally, all evaluations are conducted via an iPad App called GoObserve. I borrowed another building administrator's iPad in order to familiarize myself with how the App worked so that way it would be more fluid while observing the class. My mentor and I sat side by side during the first evaluation in order for me to get a hang of the process and what exactly to look for according to the rubric. The process seemed to go very fast as there was always something to be watching, and when not watching, typing what was seen. I have gained a new appreciation for observations. As a teacher there is a high level of stress that comes with an observation, but there is also stress on the other end. You are constantly watching and typing, thinking about all of the categories you have to touch on. Additionally, you are trying to record unbiased occasions, but at the end you have to make a judgement about the level of quality the teacher put forth. Also, you are trying to make the observation a growth mindset event, where if there are particular aspects that could have been better, you are trying to find the best way to convey so.
Observation #1: Student Teacher - 10th Grade U.S. History Class
The first observation conducted was with a student teacher from Michigan State named Bobby. Bobby is conducting his student teaching with a well respected social studies teacher in our building. He is currently teaching 3 sections of 10th Grade U.S. History and 2 sections of Advanced Placement U.S. History. For this first observation, my mentor and I evaluated a U.S. History lesson about cold war containment. Details of the observation are available in the documents below.
Observation #1 Mentee (Jeremy) Observation Report
Observation #1 Mentor (Chris) Observation Report
Observation #1 Teacher Lesson Plans
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Observation #1 Post Discussion
The observation took place on Friday morning and Bobby, my mentor, and I all met on the next Tuesday afternoon to discuss the details of the observation, and plans for future observations. My mentor led the discussion, and did a good job of "sandwiching" the discussion, by putting the things Bobby should improve between compliments about the lesson. I also mentioned to Bobby what a good job he did with lesson planning and designing creative hooks to get their attention, like the red Gatorade bottle to represent the containment of communism. However, I also talked to him about his teaching practice during the first 10 minutes of the lesson. He moved really fast with his questioning, in a way that only the quickest and brightest students responded. My mentor and I described ways that he could slow down his pace, focus on one thing at a time, and ensure that every student is given the time to think about the good questions he had already designed. Additionally, my mentor spoke to Bobby about his concern for the couple of times that students were speaking while he was directing the class. We made sure that both of us reinforced strategies for behavior management to ensure that there is mutual respect between the teacher and the students. Bobby agreed with the feedback that we gave him. He said that the earlier class he had taught ran out of time in the lesson, and that he was trying to move things along to ensure this class had enough time for the activity. Finally, we explained to Bobby how the rubric worked and the observation scores he received. He had the potential to receive exceeds goals (EG) in few of the curriculum and instruction categories, but his classroom management got in the way. Bobby seemed like he absorbed the feedback that we gave him, and hopefully he implements the feedback and improves by the next time he is observed.
Observation #2: Tenured Teacher - 9th Grade Team Taught English Class
The second observation conducted by my mentor and I was of a mid-career, tenured English teacher. We observed a 9th grade team taught general class. General classes at Grand Blanc support special education students with a slower curriculum and a lower reading level than their regular education peers. The lead teacher, Justin, co-teaches with a senior special education teacher, Marcie. They team teach 2 sections of general English 9, and Justin teaches an additional 3 regular English 9 classes. For this observation, Justin and Marcie taught their students a lesson about Romeo and Juliet. In particular, the lesson reviewed the biography of William Shakespeare and then students read and analyzed the prologue of Romeo and Juliet. Please view the observation reports by my mentor and I below.
Observation #2 Mentee (Jeremy) Observation Report
Observation #2 Mentor (Chris) Observation Report
Observation #2 Teacher Lesson Plans
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Observation #2 Post Observation
It was quite a different experience evaluating a more seasoned teacher when compared to the student teacher. Justin and Marcie were very professional and polished in almost every evaluation category. They knew their students well, and commanded their attention at all times. Students genuinely seemed engaged at almost all points of the lesson. If students weren't participating voluntarily then they were called upon by Justin as well, giving every student a voice in the lesson whether they wanted one or not.
Justin and Marcie seemed very aware of all of the students in the room and their emotions as well. Both teachers handled distracting events in the lesson, (Justin-a student that interrupted him for a pencil) (Marcie-a student that wasn't feeling well and needed to leave the room) and were never really distracted from the task at hand. All students followed Justin and Marcie's directions as these distractions took place. Their experience and professionalism allowed the lesson to go on as if nothing had happened.
Lastly, as students were reading the prologue of Romeo and Juliet, Justin did an excellent job modeling for students what they should be looking for, the pace and tone they should read at, and then conducted checks for student understanding by asking questions and letting students share back their thoughts.
Chris and I did not get a chance to meet with Justin following this observation, but Chris said he typically would not meet face to face after a lesson that went this well at this point in the school year. The observation report write-up and a summary note are emailed to the teacher almost immediately after.
Justin and Marcie seemed very aware of all of the students in the room and their emotions as well. Both teachers handled distracting events in the lesson, (Justin-a student that interrupted him for a pencil) (Marcie-a student that wasn't feeling well and needed to leave the room) and were never really distracted from the task at hand. All students followed Justin and Marcie's directions as these distractions took place. Their experience and professionalism allowed the lesson to go on as if nothing had happened.
Lastly, as students were reading the prologue of Romeo and Juliet, Justin did an excellent job modeling for students what they should be looking for, the pace and tone they should read at, and then conducted checks for student understanding by asking questions and letting students share back their thoughts.
Chris and I did not get a chance to meet with Justin following this observation, but Chris said he typically would not meet face to face after a lesson that went this well at this point in the school year. The observation report write-up and a summary note are emailed to the teacher almost immediately after.
Evaluation Cycle Reflection
Both of these observations were done on a regular teaching day during my planning hour. This allowed for a very realistic expectation for the time crunch that my schools administrators experience. During the second observation, my mentor almost wasn't able to attend due to a cell-phone theft between students. He said he is constantly planning in more observations in a week than he thinks he would normally accomplish due to the fact that issues arise at any time. If he wasn't planning extra in, then he wouldn't get to the number of observations he needed to accomplish each week. My mentor and the other 3 administrators split the observation responsibilities of 135 teachers, each needing to be observed 3 times during the school year. The head principal, Dr. Hammond, also has to evaluate 1st and 2nd year probationary teachers once a month. We currently have 13 probationary teachers.
In addition to dealing with the sheer volume of observations to complete, I find it difficult to give rich critical feedback to a teacher that performs well. Of course I am new at this, but I struggled to find room for improvement for Justin, the tenured teacher. He did such a good job, and it was clear that he excelled in his career, but like myself, I'm sure he would appreciate feedback regarding things he could improve upon. No one is perfect at their craft, and it's the leaders job to encourage growth in his or her staff. My mentor shared with me that growth for master teachers happens informally through ideas shared among peers, professional reading, and other professional development sessions.
It was great to see two teachers on different ends of the spectrum. It will be interesting to witness a weak teacher in the classroom. I feel the difficult part will be coaching these types to improve. My mentor shared an example from earlier in the year where he observed a teacher and rated them as "meets goals" for almost every category. He said the teacher was upset and wanted to meet about it. He explained what he observed and gave her feedback about how she could improve and reach the "exceeds goals" rating in those categories. When he came back later in the year, he said she did an excellent job and had improved quite a bit. This teacher didn't hold a grudge about the observation and made the necessary changes to improve. This is the desired outcome in a perfect world. My mentor said this was the ideal situation, but it does not always go this way.
There are currently a few teachers at our school who are on a plan of improvement. These teacher has received "progressing towards goals" ratings in observations. The scary part is that most of these teachers are tenured. Part of the observation process is not only to help improve these teachers, but also to document their behaviors and actions in order to possibly remove them if they don't make the necessary changes. One of the future challenges I know I will face is determining when a teacher has failed to show improvement and must be recommended for termination. Professional courtesy and the presence of a labor union will require detailed and organized documentation.
In conclusion, I know that my own teaching practice improved just from these two observations and the talks I have had with my mentor about what good instruction looks like. Last year our administrators implemented a program that pays for substitute coverage so teachers could be out of the classroom to collaborate or observe fellow teachers classes. I think this program needs to be pushed harder. While it's difficult to be out of your own classroom, it would be very beneficial to observe others teachers, good and bad.
In addition to dealing with the sheer volume of observations to complete, I find it difficult to give rich critical feedback to a teacher that performs well. Of course I am new at this, but I struggled to find room for improvement for Justin, the tenured teacher. He did such a good job, and it was clear that he excelled in his career, but like myself, I'm sure he would appreciate feedback regarding things he could improve upon. No one is perfect at their craft, and it's the leaders job to encourage growth in his or her staff. My mentor shared with me that growth for master teachers happens informally through ideas shared among peers, professional reading, and other professional development sessions.
It was great to see two teachers on different ends of the spectrum. It will be interesting to witness a weak teacher in the classroom. I feel the difficult part will be coaching these types to improve. My mentor shared an example from earlier in the year where he observed a teacher and rated them as "meets goals" for almost every category. He said the teacher was upset and wanted to meet about it. He explained what he observed and gave her feedback about how she could improve and reach the "exceeds goals" rating in those categories. When he came back later in the year, he said she did an excellent job and had improved quite a bit. This teacher didn't hold a grudge about the observation and made the necessary changes to improve. This is the desired outcome in a perfect world. My mentor said this was the ideal situation, but it does not always go this way.
There are currently a few teachers at our school who are on a plan of improvement. These teacher has received "progressing towards goals" ratings in observations. The scary part is that most of these teachers are tenured. Part of the observation process is not only to help improve these teachers, but also to document their behaviors and actions in order to possibly remove them if they don't make the necessary changes. One of the future challenges I know I will face is determining when a teacher has failed to show improvement and must be recommended for termination. Professional courtesy and the presence of a labor union will require detailed and organized documentation.
In conclusion, I know that my own teaching practice improved just from these two observations and the talks I have had with my mentor about what good instruction looks like. Last year our administrators implemented a program that pays for substitute coverage so teachers could be out of the classroom to collaborate or observe fellow teachers classes. I think this program needs to be pushed harder. While it's difficult to be out of your own classroom, it would be very beneficial to observe others teachers, good and bad.