Leadership Matters August 2013 issue.pub

Concentrate on improving teaching, not just getting rating

because that is required in the law. However, what the evaluator and the teacher should really want is to improve the teaching performance and subsequently student achievement. So how do we change this paradigm? I would suggest that we change this process by not concentrating on the “rating” and instead focusing on the reflective questions the evaluator asks the teacher in the “reflective conference.” This reflective questioning process should occur following all observations of teaching, both formal and informal evaluator observations. Illinois law requires that the teacher reflect on his or her own teaching. I am suggesting that districts add a fourth required component of the summative formal evaluation process. This fourth requirement would be a reflective conference that would be placed after the formal observation but before the Post-Conference. The evaluator will prepare for this reflective conference by forming reflective type questions based on the evaluator’s observation notes. By thinking about forming open-ended reflective questions the evaluator will stay away from interpretation, judgment and bias until the evaluator has given the teacher a chance to explain why he or she did what they did in their teaching. Below are some examples of evaluator-scripted notes followed by possible reflective questions the evaluator could ask the teacher in the reflective conference:

Traditionally, most teacher evaluators I have interacted with view teacher observation as a compliant duty that results in a teacher rating. The evaluator meets with the teacher in the Pre- Conference and the teacher does all the talking,

Dr. Richard Voltz Associate Director of Professional Development

describing the lesson they will teach, describing their students, describing how the lesson relates to the district curriculum and recently the Common Core State Standards. The evaluator observes and takes copious notes of what is occurring in the classroom. The evaluator then prepares the summative evaluation, including the teacher rating, and does all the talking in the Post-Conference. What really occurred in the above scenario that will result in teacher change of behavior? Probably nothing, as the teacher likely went directly to the summative rating in the Post-Conference and then listened politely to the evaluator if the teacher received a perceived “good” rating, or the teacher would prepare their objections to the rating and try to tell the evaluator what they missed and why the rating was not accurate if the rating is below their personal interpretation of what it should be. In my opinion, teacher evaluation should be retitled “Teacher Observation” -- and the goal should be professional development not summative rating. Sure, the evaluator will need to eventually rate the teaching (notice I wrote “teaching” not “teacher”) Teacher asks 15 questions in a 45-minute lesson. All 15 questions use knowledge-level verbs such as describe and define. Of the 15 questions asked in this class, the teacher answered 5 of the questions, 7 questions required one-word answers, and 3 questions required explanation. Evaluator Notes

Reflective Questions

How could you have asked higher-level questions in this lesson?

How could you have asked questions so that students an- swered all the questions?

Three students asked questions during this lesson and the teacher answered each question.

How else could you deal with students asking questions?

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