HomeUncategorizedHow I’d like to be evaluated – one teacher’s ideas for the new teacher eval system Starr Sackstein January 3, 2015 3 Comments Semantics. Dangerous connotation with power to invoke fear in any professional. As a teacher, I want my craft to be respected AND I want feedback to always improve. Intrinsic motivation is what inspires me to be the best teacher I can be for my students. Eagerly I push myself in content knowledge: reading about the newest pedagogy, attending conferences, participating in Twitter chats with the most progressive educators in the country. That being said, I’m generally supported by my administration and don’t experience first hand the mistreatment some colleagues express. With the current conversation around teacher evaluations in NY and the country, I’ve been thinking a lot about the way I’d want to be assessed. Philosophically, I have issues with grades and numbers for responding to students in their learning and that certainly transfers over to how I feel about teachers too. In an ideal world, I see my administrator often. He/She has seen me in many settings, teaching different kinds of lessons; he/she is aware of what I am teaching and why, because we talk, formally and informally about the scope of planned units. We understand and respect each other’s beliefs about learning and work together to make sure the resources my students need are available. When formal observations are necessary, it doesn’t matter when my administrator comes in, because I have nothing to hide; I’m eager to share the learning environment with him/her, may even want him/her to get involved. Talk to my students, walk around, find out if the kids understand what is going on. Then… Meet with me soon after so we can discuss what he/she saw. Lead with the positive: specific, concrete examples and then explain why. After, if there is something I need to work on, let’s work on a plan together, setting up measurable goals that will help me help kids. Don’t just comment on my learning target or myopically over focus on something small like the look of my classroom. (I’ve heard about administrators commenting on how open windows are, no joke.) After a short time has passed, come back and visit again, specifically looking for implementation of the goals we discussed. Did I do a good job? What makes you say so? Lastly, put it all in writing; be transparent. I’m expected to be, so admin should be too. Narratives are really effective ways to communicate growth. Use the language of the rubric, so I have a reference point when I go back to it. I value your feedback and want to grow, so let’s work together to create the best learning environment for kids. We don’t have to like each other, but we do have to respect each other’s role. Teaching is a difficult job that requires a lot of a person. We all want to feel valued. We deserve the same time and care we are expected to give to students, to help us improve. If I can give personalized feedback on every written assignment to 130+ students, my administrators should be able to give me and my colleagues the same. Just saying. What does your perfect teacher evaluation look like? They’re just words, right? So why are we so scared of them? Starr Sackstein is an educator, NBCT, Award winning journalism teacher, NY State Director for JEA, published writer, and freelance photographer. Her website is http://starrsackstein.com. 3 Responses Marg January 5, 2015 The evaluation system you just described is very similar to what the state of Florida just threw out. As both a veteran teacher (21 years) and now a retired administrator (9 years), I am completely fed up with the change. In years past, we would meet with teachers, especially rookies, to be sure they understood the system. The first observation was informal and intended to lead to coaching. Teachers could easily see their strong points as well as areas that could be improved. It could be repeated as necessary to help the teacher make the necessary improvents PRIOR to a formal evaluation. Both processes, formal and informal, were based on solid research that supported strong classroom management, a positive learning environment, methods that enhanced student engagement and consequently improved student learning. But now we spend hours and hours preparing for the dog and pony show so the teacher is sure to display exactly what Dr. Marzano says they must. this is a waste of everyone’s time and effort. I completley agree, real evaluations take place over the course of time and are generally impromptu. If you are a good or great teacher, it show every day, not just when you expect an evaluation! Reply heavyheart January 7, 2015 I wholeheartedly agree! I am a principal and this is exactly the type of supervision I try to employ. Ideally, I would be in classrooms every week – but that is physically impossible due to the size of my building. However, I go in every two to three weeks and follow up with detailed, written feedback within a day or two. I HATE the dog and pony shows. I never put them on when I was a teacher, and I don’t want to see them now! Reply Darcy January 15, 2015 So well said. I left traditional school after 9 years due to the “garbage” that administration and the district put me through. Now I’m at a nonprofit educational program and absolutely love it. Now I am able to write grants, have a normal professional conversation with my supervisors and what’s that thing called that I used to love to do? ……Oh yeah. . TEACH. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Currently you have JavaScript disabled. 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Marg January 5, 2015 The evaluation system you just described is very similar to what the state of Florida just threw out. As both a veteran teacher (21 years) and now a retired administrator (9 years), I am completely fed up with the change. In years past, we would meet with teachers, especially rookies, to be sure they understood the system. The first observation was informal and intended to lead to coaching. Teachers could easily see their strong points as well as areas that could be improved. It could be repeated as necessary to help the teacher make the necessary improvents PRIOR to a formal evaluation. Both processes, formal and informal, were based on solid research that supported strong classroom management, a positive learning environment, methods that enhanced student engagement and consequently improved student learning. But now we spend hours and hours preparing for the dog and pony show so the teacher is sure to display exactly what Dr. Marzano says they must. this is a waste of everyone’s time and effort. I completley agree, real evaluations take place over the course of time and are generally impromptu. If you are a good or great teacher, it show every day, not just when you expect an evaluation! Reply
heavyheart January 7, 2015 I wholeheartedly agree! I am a principal and this is exactly the type of supervision I try to employ. Ideally, I would be in classrooms every week – but that is physically impossible due to the size of my building. However, I go in every two to three weeks and follow up with detailed, written feedback within a day or two. I HATE the dog and pony shows. I never put them on when I was a teacher, and I don’t want to see them now! Reply
Darcy January 15, 2015 So well said. I left traditional school after 9 years due to the “garbage” that administration and the district put me through. Now I’m at a nonprofit educational program and absolutely love it. Now I am able to write grants, have a normal professional conversation with my supervisors and what’s that thing called that I used to love to do? ……Oh yeah. . TEACH. Reply
