Supervision and Teacher Development

Oral PresentationRafael Alvarez,Daniel Kellner (BERT)

Thomas Ingram, Joshua Vasquez

EDA 510 Supervision and Teacher Development

Instructor Waslawski

May 2009

College of St Rose

Lesson Plans are an essential

element in teacher supervision…in both clinical and

coaching capacities!!

The Lesson Plan •The Lesson Plan is a window into a teacher’s planning process. –Does it fit into the context of a well-planned unit? •For instance, are there overarching or themes or essential questions referenced? –Is there evidence of backwards design? –Does it relate new content material to previous assignments, lessons, or homework in a logical way?

•The Lesson Plan provides clues about how a teacher approaches the art of pedagogy. –How much room is there in the plan for student contribution? –What instructional methods do they tend to employ? –Is the focus of the Lesson Plan itself on the content or the learning process?

•The lesson plan can tell you about a teacher’s style. –Is it minimal with room for improv, or is it a rigid script? –Is the teacher wedded to timeframes (more structure) or is there flexibility that might allow for following student interest (more engagement)?

• The lesson plan can show you how a teacher likes to include or engage students.

– Is student participation built in to the plan?

– Are prescribed questions included in the plan?

– Is student participation planned as a collaborative exercise (groupwork, for instance) or as more of a raise-your-hand-and-share model?

•The lesson plan can show you how a teacher like to include or engage students. –Is student participation built in to the plan? –Are prescribed questions included in the plan? –Is student participation planned as a collaborative exercise (groupwork, for instance) or as more of a raise-your-hand-and-share model?

•A lesson plan can be a first clue that you’re dealing with someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing… –Are there rookie mistakes, like putting WAY to much stuff into each lesson plan? –Is the content laid out awkwardly? –Is it lazy? For example:

Lesson Plan •Aim: Can you do worksheets for an hour? –Do Now: Get a worksheet. •Mini-Lesson: [yell at students until they start doing their worksheets.]

•Activity: Do your worksheet for the remainder of the hour. [written on board] –Differentiation Plan: Dumb kids only have to do half of their worksheets. [also written on board] 1)Summary: What did you learn from your worksheet? 2)7) HW: Copy worksheet onto loose-leaf. Include all directions and questions. 8)*Note to Self: Remember to play lotto tonight.

Observation Checklist

PurposeTeachers aware of clear expectations

from administration

Allows teachers to see where they are and where they need to go

Observation Checklist

Teacher uses effective teaching activities relevant to grade

Teacher uses appropriate learning and teaching techniques throughout the lesson

Teacher uses prior knowledge of students to meet the learning needs of all students; group accordingly

Observation Checklist

Clear learning goals have been identifies in the lesson plan

Students know exactly what is expected of them

Variety of resources have been used to engage students

Observation Checklist

Resources appropriately support the students learning

Teacher clearly explains goals to the studentsTeacher explains task to studentsTeacher uses questions and classroom

discussion to probe the students understanding

Teacher responds to students dicussion to promote learning

Observation Checklist

Teacher encourages other students to participate actively

Appropriate groupings have been used to engage students

Teacher uses a variety of teaching strategies and resources to support teaching

Teacher maintains an environment of respect and rapport in the classroom

Observation Checklist Students equally participate in the lesson and

activity A positive environment is in place to support

students efforts and learning Teacher manages classroom activities smoothly

and efficiently Student behavior is managed Discipline problems are managed quickly and fairly Teacher ensures a safe learning environment

Observation Checklist

How to maximize use…Provide questions that teachers can

have as a guideline in the teacher handbook at the beginning of the year (see attachment)

Go over all the essential questions that could support teachers when being observed

Observation Checklist

FormalUse the questions before the pre-

observation to better prepare yourself as a teacher (allows Supervisor to be objective)

InformalUse the checklist to see if you are managing

the different components

End of the Year Report

First and foremost: the end of the year report should not contain surprises.

It should reflect on the substance of all the year’s evaluations and observations, whether they were formal or informal.

End of Year Report

It is your chance to be high-inference…

Good teachers know good teaching… you can use your judgment here.

Of course you need to be able to support each part of your rating with some sort of evidence.

S’s are S’s, and U’s are U’s …but all of those little boxes give you plenty of room to

voice a little bit of encouragement or dissatisfaction rather than just a single letter.

End of Year Report

It is a great chance to show that you see teachers in a deeper way than they might assume. You can’t spend a lot of time with everybody, but you always have this one last chance to show them that you value their contributions. And last of all:

Someday, you’re just going to have to fire somebody who isn’t very good at the job. And for this you need an end of the year rating.

Sorry Tom – sometimes you just need to get somebody off the bus!

Staff Development Connections

Moving from Individual Development to Staff Development Institutionalizing Clinical Approach

Standardization of Clinical Approach Entry point for teacher-buy in Low-Risk, Exploration of Clinical Approach Scaffolding Clinical Approach Customizing Clinical Approach Reaffirming Teaching and Students as the core

mission Identifying Individual, Personal Objectives and

Marrying them to Collective Objectives

Everything Becomes a Lens

Focused Exploration of School IssuesSmart Goals?Creative Ways to Gather Data to Support

Specific, Target Goals—individually and collectively

Incremental, Progressive Steps Towards School Improvement

Effective Professional Development

District Wide Professional Development Limitation to Clinical Observations

School-Based Professional Development More Choices Available for Institutionalizing Clinical

Observations Individualized Professional Development

Stages of Professional Development Orientation Integration Refinement

Consequences for Poor Staff Development

No Integration with Comprehensive Plan to Achieve School Goals Little Connection Between Formative and Summative Evaluations

High Turnover Rate Instruction Suffers, Students Suffer Respect for Teaching Suffers Continuation of the Teacher-As-Object Model

One-Shot Workshops Continuation of Prepackaged Educational Plans

Formative/Summative Evaluations

Making Evaluations, both Summative and Formative, Purposeful

Eliminating Perception of Arbitrary Evaluations

Improving Administration Direction

Interviewing and Hiring Staff

It is very important when hiring teachers that the whole

person is evaluated and assessed. Different characteristics

and personalities are key variables to consider as each

component varies from various school climates and cultures.

Another paramount issue to consider is the roles,

relationships and responsibilities that the teacher that will

have to face on the job.

Writing samples are a key component to the

interview process.

Educated persons should be able to express

themselves clearly, completely, and accurately.

Effective communication entails sharing ideas

through a variety of techniques, including

reading, writing, and speaking.

The Complexities of the School System

When interviewing teachers it is vital that they aware of NYS

Standards, laws and the social-economic issues that are

present at all levels of the school system.

Quality & Development of Ideas

• Teacher reveals relevant information, telling, quality details giving important information beyond

the obvious

Organization & Relevance

•Topic & ideas are clearly stated & developed; specific examples are appropriate and relevant, &

conclusion is clear

Wording & Phrasing

•Teacher uses a clear voice; proper volume & articulation;   No mispronunciations

Non-verbal Cues

•Teacher maintains eye contact, seems comfortable; no anxiety-causing mannerisms

Poise

•Teacher is composed; delivery smooth; tough questions do not “rattle” the teacher

Appearance

•Very professional appearance; clean, neat, well-groomed, properly dressed for interview