Teacher Evaluation

In this post I will attempt to:

• Make notes on the kind of feedback you would like from your mentors during your full-time clinicals.
• Analyze at least two approaches to teacher evaluation in schools or school districts
• Proposes elements on which you think you should be judged as a teacher

Feedback from Mentors

Before I receive feedback from my Mentors, I would like to have a pre-observational meeting. This way I can help my mentor better understand the environment he or she will be walking into. I will also like to discuss any observational criteria the Mentor will be using, this will not only help calm my nerves but help me understand what is to be expected and give me the chance to ask any questions concerning the criteria.After observing me, I would appreciate my Mentor to open dialogue about areas I did well in as well as areas that I most need improvement based on the Criteria that we had discussed earlier. I feel that any feedback that has the intention to help mold me into a better teacher will be good feedback if explained well.

Analyzes different teacher evaluation approaches

After looking at multiple teaching evaluation approaches, I have chosen to compare the NEA approach, the Danielson Group Approach, and the Cel-5 D Approach which is used the school I teach at. These three approaches do have one major thing in common. That they all have the continual development of teacher at heart. The NEA states “The core purpose of teacher assessment and evaluation should be to improve the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and classroom practices of professional educators.”, the Danielson Group states “Charlotte Danielson’s concepts in the educational community, connect them to other areas of knowledge, and enhance the professional practices of educators to positively impact student learning.” and the Cel-5 D “The tool can be used as the “lens” for classroom observations, as a guide for teachers, and as a reference during lesson planning and staff meetings about instructional practices.” All of these three approaches have the assessment of the teacher be a way for the teacher to grow and develop.

Each of these frameworks breaks down into focus areas of assessment.

The NEA breaks the assessment down into 10 Teacher Standards

Standard #1: Learner Development. Standard #2: Learning Differences. Standard #3: Learning Environments. Standard #4: Content Knowledge. Standard #5: Application of Content. Standard #6: Assessment. Standard #7: Planning for Instruction. Standard #8: Instructional Strategies. Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice. Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration.

The Danielson Group is divided into 4 main domains with multiple sub-domains.

Domain 1: Planning and Preparation Demonstrating knowledge of Content                and Pedagogy Demonstrating Knowledge of Students Setting Instructional Outcomes Demonstrating knowledge of Resources Designing Coherent Instruction	Domain 2: Classroom Environment             Creating an Environment of Respect              and Rapport Establishing a Culture for Learning Managing Classroom Procedures Managing Student Behaviour Organising Physical Space
Domain 3: Instruction Communicating with students Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques Engaging Students in Learning Using Assessment in Instruction Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness	Domain 4: Professional Responsibilities Reflecting on Teaching Maintaining Accurate Records Communicating with Families Participating in Professional Community Growing and Developing Professionally Showing Professionalism

Cel 5-D is divided up into 5  Main Sections with each division is then broken down into Sub-dimensions, followed by Vision statements and then Guiding Questions.

Purpose	Student Engagement	Curriculum & Pedagogy	Assessment for Student Learning	Classroom Environment & Culture
Standards Learning Targets & Teaching Points	Intellectual Work Engagement Strategies Talk	Curriculum Teaching Approaches and/or Strategies Scaffolds for Learning	Assessment Adjustments	Use of  Physical Environment Classroom routines and rituals Classroom Culture

Even though these approaches may differ in how they are presented there are many similarities. They all assess the teacher reason for teaching, the planning and the presenting of the content, different ways teachers engage with the students, and the mastery of the content. In the Danielson group they divide between 4 main areas where Cel-5 D has 5 sections. Cel-5 D decides to take out Assessment where Danielson keeps it in with Instruction. The NEA approach doesn’t divide the standards into categories. I feel that the division of dimensions is very helpful. I also find that the Cel-5 D approach breaking down even further into vision statements and essential questions are really helpful for a teacher to grasp what is needed to be a competent teacher and how to improve.

Proposes elements on which you think you should be judged as a teacher

I believe that though culture should be based on the culture of the school and what the school’s goals are, it should also be judged in the manner as one would judge a fine arts skill. It may be because I teach art, but I view teaching as a fine art, it has many components that require time and effort to display mastery. Some teachers might develop mastery earlier than others, but one thing stays the same, the teacher is open to self-critique, open to new ideas and new approaches, open to being “judged” but only in a way where it is constructive to the teacher's improvement. And just like refining a fine craft one cannot be too harsh to judge but to modify in an appropriate amount that the teacher does not feel overwhelming. Every teacher is different, and so, the elements judged should be different. One day I might need extra help refining my skills in Assessments, and another day I might need help refining my skills in Classroom Culture. Just like I teach my kids to give constructive critique to each other, “It’s not always what you say, but how you say it.”

References:

A. (2014, October 01). Teacher Development and Evaluation. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.aft.org/position/teacher-development-and-evaluation

5 Dimensions of Teaching and Learning™. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from 

https://www.k-12leadership.org/content/service/5-dimensions-of-teaching-and-learning

Danielson Group » The Framework. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.danielsongroup.org/framework/

New Teacher Survival Guide: The Formal Observation. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/preparing-for-formal-observations

M6U4A3 Teacher Evaluation-A Resource Guide.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzYfzjQoASL_eGdtNFdsbXRIRDQ/view 

For the Pre-ASsessment for Differentiation Unit, we were given the activity to create an assessment that helps us identify which students might already know the content and which students might not. My class is about to start a watercolor unit, the students have learned about watercolor in the past, but it has been some time.  To identify the different levels the students are at I have created a Pre-Assessment linked here: Socrative Watercolor Pre-Assessment. The goal of the assessment is for assessing how much prior knowledge the student has on the different watercolor techniques that will be used in the unit. The student will be asked to identify different techniques through short answer questions. I thought that short answers might be best for this assessment so that students would not guess through the process of elimination.  There are a couple of multiple choice questions in there, but the majority is on short answer question. Because the students have not yet taken the assessment in my class yet, Teach Now has given me some ideas on how the results might be. We will assume that 5 of the students answered most, including the pre-assessment correctly. That 12 of the students with some knowledge in their score but need to develop higher order thinking. And that 5 students have limited knowledge of the topic.

LucidChart- Pre-Assessment, Watercolor
(here is a link to the Flowchart for better viewing) 

Now that I know who needs a little more help I will divide the group into 3 categories Zone A, B, C. Each of these zones will have differentiated instruction that hopefully will meet the student where they need it most. Zone A will be the group of students who have a limited understanding of the different techniques of watercolor. This group will be meeting at a specified table where I can give a step by step tutorial that uses the gradual release method. I am hoping that this will give the students the foundations they need to learn the material while giving them a sense of owning their own learning. Zone B  have some understanding of the different techniques used in watercolor, but they would benefit with a refresher course. They don't need as much supervision at their table. They will meet at a specific table set up with the "CHALLENGE" to show what they remember while giving the students a chance to get their feet wet. The challenge will be giving students a chance to use all the basic skills to create a little booklet with quotes or inspirational thoughts. Zone C will be where the students have demonstrated their knowledge of the basic techniques and might like the chance to go a little deeper. Because I can't be in two places at once, I will have a computer set up with a menu of new and wacky techniques for students to choose from. Each one of the menu options will be a video of me giving a step by step guide on how to create new techniques.These are techniques that are not technically covered in the curriculum but are a chance for students to do some self-directed learning. Students will be given freedom to select how they would like to showcase what new techniques they have learned by the end of the unit. My hope is with this group, to have them sit with students from other levels later when they work on their final project. I would then ask the students to do peer-instruction to help foster an atmosphere of learning. 

I am interested in trying it out this week in class to see how much my students remember from previous years before teaching the unit.