Competency 4: Curriculum, Instruction and Supervision 4.4 Related Task: Knowledge of a variety of instructional methods and skills 4.3.

7 Specific Task: Conduct a clinical evaluation cycle including observation in a typical classroom. Narrative Description of Task: Participate in an observation and post-observation conference with a teacher and write an evaluation of the observation using the evaluation tool employed by MPS. I will then compare my evaluation with that of the cooperating administrator, discuss similarities and differences, and analyze and reflect on the reasons for the differences. I will then hold a follow up meeting/discussion with the staff member observed at the conclusion of the evaluation meeting to discuss perceptions about administrative practices or behaviors that lead to meaningful evaluation and promote growth by staff members. Process: The purpose of teacher evaluations is twofold. First and most importantly, evaluations are used to observe and analyze multiple aspects of what is deemed by the district to be affective teaching and hopefully use those observations to improve and secondly, to use those results to determine what teachers will be laid off if it becomes necessary to reduce staff. Midland Public Schools uses a variation of the Danielson model combined with at least one SMART goal (Attachment A). There are five domains in the MPS model; Planning and Preparation, The Classroom Environment, Instruction, Assessment, and Professional Responsibilities. At the beginning of the year all teachers develop SMART goals related to student growth and score themselves using the MPS evaluation tool. Following this self-assessment the evaluating administrator meets with the teacher to discuss the goal, make suggestions, and offer to help in any way to achieve that goal. While I was unable to participate in an actual goal-setting meeting I was able to simulate one. After this meeting the teacher will be observed at least two times, with the preference being one planned observation and one impromptu visit. There is then a mid-year progress meeting between administrator and teacher to discuss the first observation and progress on the SMART goal, followed by a final observation and final meeting to determine if the goal was met and discuss the final evaluation. For my competency I simulated as much of the regular process as possible with the one major differences being the second observation. For my evaluation simulation I chose a special education teacher of eight years. Prior to our meeting she scored herself using the MPS tool and shared with me her actual SMART goal for the year. During the pre-observation meeting we discussed each of the domains and while she didnt score herself as basic in any particular element there were particular areas she felt she wanted to work on more than others. We decided to focus on two that she had been working to improve and determined that I should pay particular attention to those while observing. She wanted to focus on two elements of the Classroom Environment domain; establishing a culture of learning and managing student behavior. While she felt she was generally successful in these areas the requirements to be called distinguished in these areas had not been met. During the pre-observation meeting I also asked her to write a brief

reflection on the lesson that she presented and specifically how she felt she did regarding her two areas of focus so that we could discuss that when we met for our post-observation meeting. Mrs. Scotts lesson was a lesson in a co-taught Economics class about Demand. For the purposes of this observation Mrs. Scott taught the majority of the class with little input on the part of the co-teacher who circulated around the room, answering questions, redirecting students, and occasionally adding supporting information. She started the lesson with a bellringer and it appeared that students were familiar with the process, getting their sheets out and answering the question placed on the document camera with little prompting. During that time she checked student homework while the co-teacher took attendance. While discussing the answer to the bellringer question, what are three things that could increase the demand for a good? Mrs. Scott mentioned how confused she is by Demand and doesnt really like teaching it. This seemed completely contrary to her goal of establishing a culture of learning. While this was disturbing to hear, it is important to note that she continued to smile and seemed enthusiastic in her teaching. Following the bellringer Mrs. Scott spent about ten minutes discussing the guided reading that had been assigned for homework the previous evening where she asked several questions that extended the student learning and required critical thinking. One question related to consumer tastes affecting demand and asked could there be a situation where consumer tastes might indicate an increase in demand but that increase not occur. Students discussed with their learning partner and an interesting discussion ensued. This discussion was followed by the reading of a brief article the increase in consumer income and the affect it has had on the purchase of luxury cars. Students were asked to talk to the text and write a 25 word summary of the article. This too seemed to be an established routine as students began immediately reading and writing comments in the margins. Students were then given time to discuss with their partner, followed by a whole class discussion. Finally, students were given a worksheet with various demand scenarios in which students had to determine how each would affect demand and draw a graph illustrating the effect. Mrs. Scott did several problems with the students and allowed them five minutes to begin their assignment. With the exception of the comment at the beginning of the hour I felt the lesson went very well. Most students were engaged the entire hour with only a few needing occasional redirection. It appeared that Mrs. Scott and her co-teacher had a good working relationship with well-established routines. While student behavior seemed to be well managed it did not appear that she earned a distinguished rating because students were not monitoring their own and their peers behavior. At the end of her lesson I made sure to leave a note thanking her for allowing me to observe and pointing out several positives including her variety of activities, demonstrating and working together on several examples before giving students independent time to begin their homework. I feel this is valuable as teachers receive little positive reinforcement. My current evaluator does that and it always makes me feel good when Im complimented for my achievements in the classroom. We met two days later to discuss the lesson and Mrs. Scotts reflection mirrored mine with the exception of the comment made early in the lesson. I was nervous about sharing this with her but felt it was important as she is a good teacher and has good rapport with students but I felt that comment diminished the importance of the lesson and could lead students to justify their confusion. When I mentioned it she did not even remember doing it and confessed to often telling students she is confused

or has trouble with something as a means of relating. I asked if upon reflection she thought this was the best way of relating with students and if these comments were helpful in achieving a distinguished rating for establishing a culture of learning? She admitted that it probably did not but that she maintained that it made students feel less inferior if they didnt understand a topic. Afterwards we discussed ways to build students self-esteem while maintaining rigorous standards and a strong culture of learning. She determined to make a concerted effort to eliminate self-deprecating comments, provide only positive reinforcement while she could mention that while she was confused when she took Economics in high school she was going to work hard to make sure that all students understood because of the value it has in understanding the overall economy. Based on one observation and the achievement of her goal I rated Mrs. Scott as Effective. I purposely did not look at her self-evaluation until after I had done mine and although I was not able to observe all elements, the ones I did were remarkably close to what she rated herself. Reflection: Teacher evaluations are important and the experience, although a simulation was valuable. It was difficult to discuss things that needed to be improved upon but if done correctly it can be a positive experience and helps improve instruction and learning. It is important to evaluate using the district approved tool and limit remarks to observable behaviors with specific examples. If I had said that I noticed she was a little negative and the beginning of her lesson Mrs. Scott may not have known what I was referring to and questioned my entire observation. It is important to give genuine feedback and work with the teacher to improve in noted areas of deficiency. It is also important to note that I have developed a good working relationship with this teacher which helped when discussing areas that needed improvement. As an administrator I hope to build solid relationships with all teachers and work with them to become the best teachers that they can be.