Observation & Feedback in Educational Leadership
Observation & Feedback
Paul Bambrick-Santoyo
with Patrick Jones and Phillip Albonetti
So there we were…
August of 2012
•
First year teacher with first year teacher issues
•
Cursing, horseplay, and a pen top
•
Meeting with the principal an AP within the first
two weeks
Any comparable stories?
This July we will get dozens of new first year
teachers who will have similar issues. Now what?
Opening Questions:
•
Outside of growing on our own (simply through
experience and self-reflection), what is the #1 thing
that helps us get better—as teachers or as school
leaders?
•
In the average school, how many times per year is
a new teacher observed? How about an
experienced teacher?
Exceptional school leaders succeed because of how
they use their time,
and their time prioritizes teacher development.
Observation & Feedback is not to evaluate a teacher;
but to find the most effective way to coach them to
improve student learning.
Big Idea:
Seven Levers of Leadership--
Instruction:
Data-Driven Instruction:
•
Define the roadmap for rigor and adapt teaching to meet
students’ needs
Observation & Feedback:
•
Coach teachers to improve the learning
Planning:
•
Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons
Professional Development:
•
Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training that
sticks
Seven Levers of Leadership--
Instruction:
Data-Driven Instruction:
•
Define the roadmap for rigor and
MONTHLY/
adapt teaching to meet students’ needs
YEARLY
Observation & Feedback:
•
Coach teachers to improve the learning
Planning:
•
Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons
Professional Development:
•
Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training that sticks
Seven Levers of Leadership--
Instruction:
Data-Driven Instruction:
•
Define the roadmap for rigor and adapt teaching to meet students’
needs
Observation & Feedback:
•
Coach teachers to improve the learning
DAILY/
Planning:
WEEKLY
•
Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons
Professional Development:
•
Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training that sticks
Goals for Today’s Workshop:
•
Increase our ability to identify the key action steps
in classroom observations and give effective
feedback
•
Develop the tools for holding teachers accountable
to continual development
Reflections--Observation & Feedback
Think about the teachers who have been the easiest for you to
manage and help them improve:
•
Why was it easy to manage them?
•
How did their personality, teaching challenges and
responsiveness contribute to that ease?
Think about the teachers who have been the hardest for you to
manage:
•
Why was it difficult to manage them?
•
How did their personality, teaching challenges and
(un)responsiveness contribute to that difficulty?
Profiles of Easy-to-Manage Teachers:
•
Reflective
•
Eager to Improve
•
Data-Driven
•
Seek Feedback
•
Responsive (follows through)
•
Mission-aligned
•
Positive
•
Emotionally Stable
Profiles of Challenging Teachers:
Serious Classroom Management Issues
Intimidation/Discomfort:
Teachers we gravitate AWAY from:
•
Fairly strong teachers—how do I improve them?
•
Teachers where we experience a personality clash
•
Teachers with far more teaching experience
•
Teachers who are “icy cold” when receiving feedback
Unresponsiveness:
Teachers who do not implement the
feedback that we give them: incompetent or resistant
Underminers
: Teachers who question your decisions and
undermine your decisions with others
Why Teacher Development is
So Challenging
A Case Study
Failure Case Study:
•
What positive attempts did the principal make to
manage this teacher effectively?
•
What went wrong in the principal’s attempts to
manage this teacher?
Failure Case Study
Go to a sheet of chart paper with a group of four
and write down your answers to these
questions:
•
What did Dr. Starr do well in his attempt to
guide Ms. Brewer?
•
What could he have done to lead her more
effectively?
You will have 7 minutes and 19 seconds.
Practice
•
Why does Albonetti carve such awful pumpkins?
•
Takeaway: Practice is essential!
Agenda:
The Four Keys:
•
Regular Observation
•
The Right Action Steps
•
Effective Feedback
•
Accountability
The Four Keys:
Regular Observation:
•
Lock in frequent and regular observations
Right Action Steps:
•
Choose the best action steps for change in each classroom
observation
Effective Feedback:
•
Give face-to-face feedback that practices the action step
Accountability:
•
Create systems to ensure feedback translates to practice
Regular Observation
Building the Schedule of Instructional Leaders
to Lock in Observations & Feedback
Rationale for the Importance of
Teacher Meetings:
•
Face-to-face feedback is the most effective way to
generate teacher improvement
•
Emails only work for teachers who are hungry
Building Your Schedule:
Pre-Work:
•
Count the # of instructional leaders in the school
•
Figure out the leader-to-core teacher ratio
o
Goal is to get to 15 to 1 or less for weekly observations
•
Place the blank calendar front and center.
Task 1:
•
Block out all the time where you will most likely be busy with non-
negotiable responsibilities.
o
e.g. Morning supervision, morning meetings, CPR, Lunch
duty, Dismissal
o
Write in pencil.
Building Your Schedule:
Task 2:
•
List all of the teachers in your building.
•
Divide the teachers between the school leaders who will
observe staff.
•
This list isn’t final, so don’t sweat it too much.
Task 3:
•
Write into the schedule when you will meet with these
teachers for observation and lesson plan feedback.
•
Each meeting should take 30 minutes.
•
Consider planning meetings in large blocks to finish them
more quickly.
•
See page 68 of Leverage Leadership or the example in your
binder for an example.
Task 4:
•
Map out the core times when you can go to observations
•
Goal: observation time occurs
before
you will meet with the
teacher each week
•
Goal: 15 minutes per teacher you will observe
•
Thus, one post-it (1 hr) represents 4 observations
•
Consider planning observations in 1 hour blocks
Task 5:
•
Type your tasks into your Outlook calendar for the week of
August 12-16.
•
[Bonus] Set the task as weekly occurrences that last until
the end of September.
Building Your Schedule:
Evaluate Your Schedule:
Trade your schedule with another leader’s. Both
of you evaluate the schedules by asking and
answering these questions.
•
Where might this schedule not work?
•
Is there a change we could make to mitigate
that?
•
What about this schedule makes regular
observation happen more consistently?
•
What are the big takeaways for building my
schedule and my leadership team’s schedules?
•
Write your takeaways on the “Observation &
Feedback Reflection” page.
Reflection:
By receiving weekly observations and feedback,
a teacher gets more coaching in one year
as most receive in fifteen.
Big Idea:
•
Face-to-face feedback is the most effective way to
generate teacher improvement—emails only work
for teachers who are hungry
•
Don’t waste time tracking down teachers to give
feedback—that will translate to
not
giving the
feedback over time
•
Use the meeting to incentivize yourself to get the
observation done
Rationale For Locked-in Teacher
Meetings:
Now What?
•
We’ve observed the teachers. Now what do
we tell them?
Choosing the Right Action Step
Effective vs. Ineffective Action Steps
[Action Step = Key Lever]
Selecting the Right Action Steps:
Criteria for selecting right action step:
•
Is it directly connected to student learning?
•
Does it address a root cause?
•
Does the action positively change multiple areas?
•
Is this change a necessary one to allow for further
improvements to come after it?
•
Is the recommendation the quickest and most effective way to
make this change happen?
Make it measurable, specific and targeted:
•
If you can’t make the change in a week, the action step isn’t
small enough
•
Can you easily measure if the teachers has made the
change?
Keys to Writing a Great Action Step:
First Key
•
What will teachers do when they implement this
lever?
Second Key
•
What evidence will you have that teachers now know
how to do this?
Third Key
•
Can they accomplish this objective in a week?
Converting Professional Development Goals
to Bite-Sized Action Steps:
Classroom management example
Too High
•
Increase on-task behavior during Opening Procedures
Still Too High
•
Improve Strong Voice
Better
•
Use Economy of Language during Opening Procedures
•
Square Up & Stand Still during Opening Procedures
Converting Professional Development Goals
to Bite-Sized Action Steps:
Classroom rigor example
Too High
•
Improve your questioning
Still Too High
•
Ask higher-order, more rigorous questions
Better
•
Script out inference questions on character motive into
the lesson plans
Precise Action Steps
Your Turn
Converting Professional Development Goals
to Bite-Sized Action Steps--Management:
Too High
•
Increase urgency
Still Too High
•
Improve pacing
Better
•
Converting Professional Development Goals
to Bite-Sized Action Steps--Rigor
Too High
•
Increase rigor
Still Too High
•
Improve rigor in the Do Now
Better
•
Feedback on Effective Action Steps:
Receive Feedback (5 min—partner style!)
•
Share the final action steps for each slide
•
Give feedback to the objectives based on the key
questions:
o
Is it specific: does it refer to something a teacher will be
able
to do
when they walk out of the meeting?
o
Is it observable: Will you be able to easily evaluate if they
accomplished the lever?
o
Is it bite-sized: can a teacher accomplish this in one
week?
Reflection:
What are your big takeaways for how to write quality
action steps?
Write your ideas on the “Observation & Feedback
Reflection.”
Choosing the Right Action Steps
Video Case Study #1
Case Study #1
•
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEj8yTEbSdE
•
Let’s sit in the classroom for just a few minutes. As you watch, jot
observations (whether positive or negative), on the post-it notes.
Case Study #1—Debrief:
Role:
Select one person to be the recorder. He or she will
write responses in the T-chart in the binder.
Challenges
: Identify all of the issues going on in this
classroom: surface problems and root causes (5 min)
•
Go in order around the circle: each person has 30 secs
to identify one challenge (no one may comment!)
•
If you don’t have an idea, say “Pass”
•
If you like an idea, when it’s your turn simply say, “I
would like to add to that idea by…”
•
Even if 4-5 people pass in a row, keep going for 10 min
•
Recorder: Put responses in “management” or “rigor”
Case Study #1—Debrief:
Reflection:
feasibility of each idea (5 min)
•
1 min—silent individual reflection on the list: what are
the highest leverage action steps you’d recommend?
•
Go in order around the circle once: each person has
about 60 secs to share 1-2 recommended action steps
•
If a person doesn’t have a thought to share, say “Pass”
and come back to that person later.
Action Steps:
choose top 2 key actions teacher should
take (10 min):
•
One in management, the other in content/rigor
•
[See protocol on next page]
Protocol for Action Steps (10 min):
•
Discuss & choose top 2 actions steps
•
Write them as precisely as you can
•
Criteria
for selection of the 2 action steps:
o
Is the action step directly connected to student learning?
o
Does it address a root cause?
o
Does it positively change multiple areas?
o
Is it necessary to pave the way for other improvements?
o
Is it the most effective way to make change happen?
o
Make it
measurable
,
specific
and
targeted
:
•
If you can’t make the change in a week, the action step isn’t small
enough.
•
Can you easily measure if the teachers has made the change?
Reflection:
What are your big takeaways for how to write quality
action steps?
Write your ideas on the “Observation & Feedback
Reflection.”
Rigor is undefined until you determine how to assess it.
Thus, without data on whether students are learning,
you cannot adequately observe for rigor.
Big Ideas--The Link Between
Data & Observation:
Giving Feedback Effectively
What
NOT
to Do
What
NOT
to Do When Giving Feedback:
•
Do all the talking
•
Let teacher do all the talking on the wrong topic
•
Fail to write anything down (teacher or principal)
about what teacher should be doing
Giving Feedback Effectively
A Master Clip
Effective Feedback—A Master Clip:
Julie’s Lever:
•
Ask less scaffolded questions when a student gets the
wrong answer to increase student thinking
Watch Video (clip 3):
•
Write down the key questions or comments that Julie
makes while talking with Carly.
•
What protocol does Julie use to lead this meeting with
Carly? Name all of the steps she takes in your own
words.
The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:
1.
PRECISE PRAISE:
narrative the positive
2.
PROBE:
State targeted open-ended question about the
core issue
3.
ID PROBLEM & ACTION STEP:
Identify problem; state
concrete action step that will address issue
4.
PRACTICE:
Role play/simulate how teacher could have
improved current class
5.
PLAN AHEAD:
Design/revise upcoming lesson plan
components to implement action
6.
SET TIMELINE:
Establish time by which to accomplish
action step
Taking a Closer Look
Breaking Down the Components of Effective
Feedback
Precise Praise:
What makes Serena’s praise effective?
Clip 4
The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:
Precise Praise
•
Genuine
—heart-felt, authentic
•
Precise
--targets a specific action the teacher took
•
Reinforce Positive Actions
—particularly those that
are connected to the teacher’s development goal
Probe, Identify Problem & Action Step:
What strategies does Aja use to lead Kristi to the
correct problem the students are having?
Clip 7
The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:
Probe—State a targeted open-ended question about
the core issue
•
Targeted on the core area of the lesson where you want
to focus
•
Scaffolded follow-up questions
•
Presenting data: allows to see how the teacher views
his/her lesson
RIGOR EXAMPLE
: “What was the end goal—what should students
know and be able to do at the end of your lesson?”
MANAGEMENT EXAMPLE:
“How long did you think students needed
to complete the “You Do” during the lesson?”
Probe, Identify Problem & Action Step:
What strategies does Julie use to lead Rachel to the
correct action step?
Clip 5
The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:
ID PROBLEM & CONCRETE ACTION STEP—Get
teacher to identify the problem & how to address it:
•
Level 1: teacher comes to issue by self & states clear action
step to address it
•
Level 2: leader uses a series of scaffolded questions to lead
teacher to the answer
•
Level 3: leader presents data from the observation; then
teacher realizes the issue & states action step
•
Level 4: leader states the problem and action step clearly
to the teacher
Time to Practice!
Generate Effective Questions to Guide
Feedback
Preparation for Giving Feedback:
Assume you are about to give feedback to the
opening video to Ms. Chambers from the video you
saw this morning
Generate:
•
PROBE—OPENING QUESTION (targeted, data-gathering)
•
SCAFFOLDED QUESTIONS/DATA TO PRESENT if teacher
struggles to analyze his/her weakness
Feedback Simulation, Round 1:
Identify Roles:
Teacher, Principal
Role Play Giving Feedback (3 min):
•
Begin from beginning of conversation, cut off after 3 min
•
Attempt to follow the three steps--Precise Praise,
opening questions, ID problem and concrete action step
Debrief the Role Play (3 min):
•
Teacher responds to how they felt during conversation,
gives feedback
•
Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and steps for
improvement
Feedback Simulation, Round 2:
Switch Roles:
Teacher, Principal
Role Play Giving Feedback (3 min):
•
Begin from beginning of conversation, cut off after 3 min
•
Attempt to follow the three steps--Precise Praise,
opening questions, ID problem and concrete action step
Debrief the Role Play (3 min):
•
Teacher responds to how they felt during conversation,
gives feedback
•
Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and steps for
improvement
Getting to Action
Practice, Plan Ahead, & Set Timeline
Practice:
How does Serena help Eric prepare for his next
lesson?
Clip 11
The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:
Practice--
Role play/simulate how the teacher could
have improved the current class with this action step.
Practice should be:
•
Concrete: generate the actual language or actions
teacher could have taken
•
Teacher-centered: teacher does the practice (don’t just
tell them!)
Practice:
How does Juliana facilitate Sarah practicing during
their conversation?
Clip 12
The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:
Practice---
Role play/simulate how teacher could have
improved the current class with this action step;
•
Concrete: generate the actual language or actions
teacher could have taken
•
Teacher-centered: teacher does the practice (don’t just
tell them!
Plan Ahead—
Design activity/lesson plan components needed
to implement this action
•
Levels 1-2: principal and teacher brainstorm together,
then teacher does lesson plans
•
Levels 3-4: principal and teacher build lesson plans
and/or materials together
Set Timeline:
How does Julie lock in a timeline for Rachel during
their meeting?
Clip 13
The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:
Timeline--
Set time when action should be accomplished
and how teacher will show that it’s done
•
Paper/Electronic Product: “You need to email it to me by
5 pm tomorrow.”
•
Observe teachers: write when you’ll observe them (e.g.,
Thursday Oral Drill)
•
Observe master teacher: write when you’ll observe
master teacher doing the same skill
•
Video: determine if you need to tape master teacher
and/or have teacher videotape self
Personal Accountability
Staying on Top of Everything
System #1—Observation Tracker:
•
Changes TBD as a results of Teach Boost
System #1—Observation Tracker:
One Tracker for All Teacher Interactions
•
Tab for each teacher: date, type of interaction, 1-2 action
steps from each meeting, evidence of accomplishment
•
Summary tab with all teachers and most recent actions
Purpose
•
Make sure all teachers are receiving the right proportion
of teacher observations according to their needs
•
Track your recommendations more systematically to be
able to hold teachers accountable to implementation
•
Set specific goal for teacher success & accurately track
progress toward that goal
•
See trends in recommendations through the year
Sample Observation Tracker—Individual
Teacher Tab:
Sample Obs. Tracker—Global Summary:
Time to Practice, Part 2!
Practice, Plan Ahead & Set Timeline
Preparation for Giving Feedback:
Prepare For The Role Play
•
Plan how you’ll practice the action step in the meeting
•
ID how you’ll plan ahead for the next lesson
•
Set the timeline for completion
•
Have templates ready:
observation tracker
, teacher
meeting template, action plan
–
Use the “Weekly Meeting Notes Page” for now.
–
Have the handout “Six Steps for Effective Feedback” nearby as
well.
–
Only role play steps 4, 5, and 6.
Feedback Simulation, Round 1:
Identify Roles:
Teacher, Principal
Role Play Giving Feedback (5 min)
•
Begin from the identified action step
•
Attempt to follow the three steps: Practice, plan ahead,
state timeline
Debrief the Role Play (3 min)
•
Teacher responds to how they felt during conversation,
gives feedback
•
Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and steps for
improvement
Feedback Simulation, Round 2:
Switch Roles:
Teacher, Principal
Role Play Giving Feedback (3 min)
•
Begin from beginning of conversation, cut off after three
minutes
•
Attempt to follow the three steps: Precise Praise,
opening questions, ID problem and concrete action step
Debrief the Role Play (3 min)
•
Teacher responds to how they felt during conversation,
gives feedback
•
Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and steps for
improvement
So there we were…
August of 2012
•
First year teacher with first year teacher issues
•
Cursing, horseplay, and a pen top
•
Meeting with the principal an AP within the
first two weeks
So here we are…
June of 2013
The Four Keys:
Regular Observation:
•
Lock in frequent and regular observations
Right Action Steps:
•
Choose the best action steps for change in each classroom
observation
Effective Feedback:
•
Give face-to-face feedback that practices the action step
Accountability:
•
Create systems to ensure feedback translates to practice
Major Takeaways:
•
What were some of the most effective strategies
you saw implemented that the whole group could
learn from?
•
How did the 6-step process work as a whole?
What was awkward or challenging for you?
Conclusions
Observation & Feedback
Accountability in Action
Effectively Improving Struggling Teachers
Reflections of a Recovering
Struggler:
•
What allowed the teacher to succeed finally?
•
What were the keys from the principal’s and from
the teacher’s perspective?
Common Errors with Struggling
Teachers:
•
Struggling teachers observe other teachers, but do
not understand how those teachers do their work
so well
•
Struggling teachers receive too much feedback: all
narrative, many recommendations
•
Others do not understand the slower
developmental pace of the struggling teacher
•
Feedback is suggestive, not directive
•
Implementation deadlines are unreasonable
Tightening the Feedback Loop
Strategies for Our Most Struggling Teachers
Tightening the Feedback Loop:
•
Put a question mark next to activities that you want
to understand more deeply in order to implement
effectively
•
Put a star next to activities that sound particularly
doable for you that you want to implement
•
Double star the activities that you want to
implement immediately with your most struggling
teachers
Putting it All Together
Video Case Study #2
Re-Visiting Our Challenging Teachers:
Pair Planning:
Design your action plan
•
Fill in your observation tracker: core PD goal and
immediate action step
•
Plan what will be said
o
Probe: opening question
o
Scaffolded Qs and data
o
Practice
o
Plan
o
Timeline
•
Plan what additional steps from the “Tightening the
Feedback Loop” handout you will put into action
Re-Visit Our Challenging Teachers:
Form Groups of Three:
•
Work with people with whom you haven’t yet worked
Role Play Conversation with Teacher (8 min)
•
Follow the Six Steps of Effective Feedback
Next Steps (2 min)
•
Leader states what would happen next: what are the
additional steps of tightening the feedback loop?
Feedback (4 min)
•
What was effective and could be improved about the
conversation?
•
What was effective and could be improved about the
next steps?
Repeat for Each Leader
Re-Visit Our Challenging Teachers:
Individual Planning:
Design an action plan for a
challenging teacher who will be at your school this year.
•
Fill in your observation tracker: core PD goal, immediate
action step
•
Plan what you’ll say in your first feedback meeting with
the teacher (assuming you do observe a need for the
action step you’ve identified)
•
Plan what action steps from the “Tightening the
Feedback Loop” handout you will implement
•
Optional: Will you need a “tone-setting” conversation to
re-set the teacher? If so, what will you say during that
conversation?
•
Highlight the challenges that would remain even with
these strategies in play
Re-Visit Our Challenging Teachers:
Form Groups of Three:
•
Work with people with whom you haven’t yet worked
Leader Presents Challenging Teacher (3 min):
•
What is the immediate action step?
•
What personality should the person playing the teacher
embody?
•
What systems will be in place during the feedback meeting
(note-taking template, etc.)?
Role Play Conversation with Teacher (7 min):
•
Follow the Six Steps of Effective Feedback
Debrief Role Play (3 min)
Repeat for Each Leader
Next Steps—Prior to Starting the
School Year:
•
Put up observation tracker (ask DOO/OM to help set it up)
•
Put up schedule of observations and teacher meetings
o
Determine which instructional leaders will observe which
teachers
o
Rank/level teachers to determine frequency of observations
o
Follow weekly meeting schedule
•
Set core PD goals for each returning teacher
•
Set expectations for record-keeping and note-taking by
teachers during leader-teacher meetings
•
Schedule monthly meeting with MD/Principal to review
tracker
In the realm of educational leadership, the process of observation and feedback plays a crucial role in improving teaching practices and ultimately enhancing student learning outcomes. This involves coaching teachers, prioritizing teacher development, and utilizing time effectively to cultivate a culture of continuous improvement. Through data-driven instruction, planning, and professional development, school leaders can guide educators towards excellence. The Seven Levers of Leadership framework emphasizes the significance of consistent observation and feedback to support teacher growth and student achievement.
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Presentation Transcript
Observation & Feedback Paul Bambrick-Santoyo with Patrick Jones and Phillip Albonetti
So there we were August of 2012 First year teacher with first year teacher issues Cursing, horseplay, and a pen top Meeting with the principal an AP within the first two weeks Any comparable stories? This July we will get dozens of new first year teachers who will have similar issues. Now what?
Opening Questions: Outside of growing on our own (simply through experience and self-reflection), what is the #1 thing that helps us get better as teachers or as school leaders? In the average school, how many times per year is a new teacher observed? How about an experienced teacher?
Big Idea: Exceptional school leaders succeed because of how they use their time, and their time prioritizes teacher development. Observation & Feedback is not to evaluate a teacher; but to find the most effective way to coach them to improve student learning.
Seven Levers of Leadership-- Instruction: Data-Driven Instruction: Define the roadmap for rigor and adapt teaching to meet students needs Observation & Feedback: Coach teachers to improve the learning Planning: Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons Professional Development: Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training that sticks
Seven Levers of Leadership-- Instruction: Data-Driven Instruction: Define the roadmap for rigor and adapt teaching to meet students needs MONTHLY/ YEARLY Observation & Feedback: Coach teachers to improve the learning Planning: Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons Professional Development: Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training that sticks
Seven Levers of Leadership-- Instruction: Data-Driven Instruction: Define the roadmap for rigor and adapt teaching to meet students needs Observation & Feedback: Coach teachers to improve the learning Planning: Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons DAILY/ WEEKLY Professional Development: Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training that sticks
Goals for Todays Workshop: Increase our ability to identify the key action steps in classroom observations and give effective feedback Develop the tools for holding teachers accountable to continual development
Reflections--Observation & Feedback Think about the teachers who have been the easiest for you to manage and help them improve: Why was it easy to manage them? How did their personality, teaching challenges and responsiveness contribute to that ease? Think about the teachers who have been the hardest for you to manage: Why was it difficult to manage them? How did their personality, teaching challenges and (un)responsiveness contribute to that difficulty?
Profiles of Easy-to-Manage Teachers: Reflective Eager to Improve Data-Driven Seek Feedback Responsive (follows through) Mission-aligned Positive Emotionally Stable
Profiles of Challenging Teachers: Serious Classroom Management Issues Intimidation/Discomfort: Teachers we gravitate AWAY from: Fairly strong teachers how do I improve them? Teachers where we experience a personality clash Teachers with far more teaching experience Teachers who are icy cold when receiving feedback Unresponsiveness: Teachers who do not implement the feedback that we give them: incompetent or resistant Underminers: Teachers who question your decisions and undermine your decisions with others
Why Teacher Development is So Challenging A Case Study
Failure Case Study: What positive attempts did the principal make to manage this teacher effectively? What went wrong in the principal s attempts to manage this teacher?
Failure Case Study Go to a sheet of chart paper with a group of four and write down your answers to these questions: What did Dr. Starr do well in his attempt to guide Ms. Brewer? What could he have done to lead her more effectively? You will have 7 minutes and 19 seconds.
Practice Why does Albonetti carve such awful pumpkins? Takeaway: Practice is essential!
Agenda: Content Time Introduction The Four Keys to Observation & Feedback 10:00-10:40 am First Two Keys Regular Observation Identifying the Right Action Steps 10:40 12:00 noon Third and Fourth Key Effective Feedback Holding Teachers Accountable 1:00-5:00 pm
The Four Keys: Regular Observation The Right Action Steps Effective Feedback Accountability
The Four Keys: Regular Observation: Lock in frequent and regular observations Right Action Steps: Choose the best action steps for change in each classroom observation Effective Feedback: Give face-to-face feedback that practices the action step Accountability: Create systems to ensure feedback translates to practice
Regular Observation Building the Schedule of Instructional Leaders to Lock in Observations & Feedback
Rationale for the Importance of Teacher Meetings: Face-to-face feedback is the most effective way to generate teacher improvement Emails only work for teachers who are hungry
Building Your Schedule: Pre Pre- -Work: Work: Count the # of instructional leaders in the school Figure out the leader-to-core teacher ratio o Goal is to get to 15 to 1 or less for weekly observations Place the blank calendar front and center. Task 1: Task 1: Block out all the time where you will most likely be busy with non- negotiable responsibilities. o e.g. Morning supervision, morning meetings, CPR, Lunch duty, Dismissal o Write in pencil.
Building Your Schedule: Task 2: Task 2: List all of the teachers in your building. Divide the teachers between the school leaders who will observe staff. This list isn t final, so don t sweat it too much. Task 3: Task 3: Write into the schedule when you will meet with these teachers for observation and lesson plan feedback. Each meeting should take 30 minutes. Consider planning meetings in large blocks to finish them more quickly. See page 68 of Leverage Leadership or the example in your binder for an example.
Building Your Schedule: Task 4: Task 4: Map out the core times when you can go to observations Goal: observation time occurs before you will meet with the teacher each week Goal: 15 minutes per teacher you will observe Thus, one post-it (1 hr) represents 4 observations Consider planning observations in 1 hour blocks Task 5: Task 5: Type your tasks into your Outlook calendar for the week of August 12-16. [Bonus] Set the task as weekly occurrences that last until the end of September.
Evaluate Your Schedule: Trade your schedule with another leader s. Both of you evaluate the schedules by asking and answering these questions. Where might this schedule not work? Is there a change we could make to mitigate that?
Reflection: What about this schedule makes regular observation happen more consistently? What are the big takeaways for building my schedule and my leadership team s schedules? Write your takeaways on the Observation & Feedback Reflection page.
Big Idea: By receiving weekly observations and feedback, a teacher gets more coaching in one year as most receive in fifteen. 2 observations per year X 15 years = 30 opportunities for coaching 35+ observations per year X 1 year = 35+ opportunities for coaching
Rationale For Locked-in Teacher Meetings: Face-to-face feedback is the most effective way to generate teacher improvement emails only work for teachers who are hungry Don t waste time tracking down teachers to give feedback that will translate to not giving the feedback over time Use the meeting to incentivize yourself to get the observation done
Now What? We ve observed the teachers. Now what do we tell them?
Choosing the Right Action Step Effective vs. Ineffective Action Steps [Action Step = Key Lever]
Selecting the Right Action Steps: Criteria for selecting right action step: Is it directly connected to student learning? Does it address a root cause? Does the action positively change multiple areas? Is this change a necessary one to allow for further improvements to come after it? Is the recommendation the quickest and most effective way to make this change happen? Make it measurable, specific and targeted: If you can t make the change in a week, the action step isn t small enough Can you easily measure if the teachers has made the change?
Keys to Writing a Great Action Step: First Key What will teachers do when they implement this lever? Second Key What evidence will you have that teachers now know how to do this? Third Key Can they accomplish this objective in a week?
Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps: Classroom management example Too High Increase on-task behavior during Opening Procedures Still Too High Improve Strong Voice Better Use Economy of Language during Opening Procedures Square Up & Stand Still during Opening Procedures
Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps: Classroom rigor example Too High Improve your questioning Still Too High Ask higher-order, more rigorous questions Better Script out inference questions on character motive into the lesson plans
Precise Action Steps Your Turn
Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps--Management: Too High Increase urgency Still Too High Improve pacing Better
Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps--Rigor Too High Increase rigor Still Too High Improve rigor in the Do Now Better
Feedback on Effective Action Steps: Receive Feedback (5 min partner style!) Share the final action steps for each slide Give feedback to the objectives based on the key questions: o Is it specific: does it refer to something a teacher will be able to do when they walk out of the meeting? o Is it observable: Will you be able to easily evaluate if they accomplished the lever? o Is it bite-sized: can a teacher accomplish this in one week?
Reflection: What are your big takeaways for how to write quality action steps? Write your ideas on the Observation & Feedback Reflection.
Choosing the Right Action Steps Video Case Study #1
Case Study #1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEj8yTEbSdE Let s sit in the classroom for just a few minutes. As you watch, jot observations (whether positive or negative), on the post-it notes.
Case Study #1Debrief: Role: Select one person to be the recorder. He or she will write responses in the T-chart in the binder. Challenges: Identify all of the issues going on in this classroom: surface problems and root causes (5 min) Go in order around the circle: each person has 30 secs to identify one challenge (no one may comment!) If you don t have an idea, say Pass If you like an idea, when it s your turn simply say, I would like to add to that idea by Even if 4-5 people pass in a row, keep going for 10 min Recorder: Put responses in management or rigor
Case Study #1Debrief: Reflection:feasibility of each idea (5 min) 1 min silent individual reflection on the list: what are the highest leverage action steps you d recommend? Go in order around the circle once: each person has about 60 secs to share 1-2 recommended action steps If a person doesn t have a thought to share, say Pass and come back to that person later. Action Steps: choose top 2 key actions teacher should take (10 min): One in management, the other in content/rigor [See protocol on next page]
Protocol for Action Steps (10 min): Discuss & choose top 2 actions steps Write them as precisely as you can Criteria for selection of the 2 action steps: o Is the action step directly connected to student learning? o Does it address a root cause? o Does it positively change multiple areas? o Is it necessary to pave the way for other improvements? o Is it the most effective way to make change happen? o Make it measurable, specific and targeted: If you can t make the change in a week, the action step isn t small enough. Can you easily measure if the teachers has made the change?
Reflection: What are your big takeaways for how to write quality action steps? Write your ideas on the Observation & Feedback Reflection.
Big Ideas--The Link Between Data & Observation: Rigor is undefined until you determine how to assess it. Thus, without data on whether students are learning, you cannot adequately observe for rigor.
Giving Feedback Effectively What NOT to Do
What NOT to Do When Giving Feedback: Do all the talking Let teacher do all the talking on the wrong topic Fail to write anything down (teacher or principal) about what teacher should be doing
Giving Feedback Effectively A Master Clip
Effective FeedbackA Master Clip: Julie s Lever: Ask less scaffolded questions when a student gets the wrong answer to increase student thinking Watch Video (clip 3): Write down the key questions or comments that Julie makes while talking with Carly. What protocol does Julie use to lead this meeting with Carly? Name all of the steps she takes in your own words.
The Six Steps to Effective Feedback: 1. PRECISE PRAISE: narrative the positive 2. PROBE: State targeted open-ended question about the core issue 3. ID PROBLEM & ACTION STEP: Identify problem; state concrete action step that will address issue 4. PRACTICE: Role play/simulate how teacher could have improved current class 5. PLAN AHEAD: Design/revise upcoming lesson plan components to implement action 6. SET TIMELINE: Establish time by which to accomplish action step
