I attended the Symposium on Educator Effectiveness and
Educator Evaluation held at Dallas Baptist University on December 2, 2013. The state of Texas WILL be adopting a new teacher evaluation system in the near
future, as a condition of the U.S. Department of Education granting a waiver to
the state of some of the elements of No Child Left Behind. The new evaluation program will be developed during 2013-14, piloted in 2014-15, and deployed in 2015-16.
I was a bit apprehensive going into the meeting, fearing that
we would be “told” what the new appraisal system will look like. To my relief, the meeting was one designed to
offer in-the-field educators the opportunity to provide input to the Texas
Education Agency with regard to what the next appraisal system should look like.
During the course of the day we heard students describe what
they thought made for an “effective” teacher.
We heard a panel of teachers discuss the good and bad components of the
current Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS) and share their
thoughts on what a new model can/should look like.
A panel of principals discussed elements they thought should
be included in a new model, that would, in their opinion, result in a more
powerful and useful version. A panel of
superintendents also spoke their opinions along the same lines. As well, Texas Commissioner of Education
Michael Williams spoke to the challenges and opportunities presented in the
development of a new model of teacher appraisal.
Based on my interpretation of the conversations had and
perspectives offered during this meeting, my sense of some of the positive
things we may see in the new version
of Texas teacher appraisal follow:
- A model based on growth rather than compliance.
- A model that could very well include some form of student feedback.
- A model that will entail an ongoing type of evaluation (rather than once-a-year).
- A model that will incorporate student “growth” rather than student performance on high stakes tests only.
- A model that incentivizes continuous improvement rather than ranking/rating of teachers.
- A model premised on collaborative reflection on best practices and teacher learning/growth between and among teachers, administrators, teacher coaches, and other relevant educational professionals.
- A model that may actually include an element that references the “soft data” kinds of affective elements of the profession (i.e., teacher-student relationships, collegiality, collaboration, contextual awareness and responsiveness, etc.).
What does an effective teacher look like from the "said" student's perspective?
ReplyDeleteSome of the things we heard:
ReplyDeleteHave fun with the topics
Easier to learn if the assignments are fun
Hands on stuff
Games and group projects
Philosophical discussions
Engaging us on a personal basis/build a relationship
Applying every day situations to the work
Lecture, then demonstrate
One on one teaching
Activities that advance the mind in new ways
Teaching problem solving strategies
Changing room arrangements