To get the most out of any professional development, initiative, or strategy, the ownership must lie in the hands of those on the front line. The best book study or workshop will not positively affect your teachers, and therefore students, unless and until your teachers actually practice the actions. Studying is not enough. Learning is not enough. You must actually do.
Read MoreOne struggle in particular is how to provide teachers meaningful and relevant feedback about their instruction. Previously the logistics were easy - walk into a classroom, capture what was happening in the classroom, and provide feedback. That’s simply not possible right now.
Read MorePlanning is essential in the world of education. It should come as no surprise then that teachers spend nearly half of their time involved in planning activities. With so much of their time being spent on planning, it’s important that the time is well-spent and helps achieve their most important goals.
However, just devoting enough time to planning won’t result in successfully meeting the goals - it’s critical to have the right ingredients as well. If you’re missing a key ingredient, all of your best laid plans could go awry just like it did with Blackberry.
Even though it can be tempting to put it off until there are fewer demands on their time, effective teachers reflect on their work often.
Read MoreTrust is the foundation upon which all teacher observations and classroom walkthroughs are built. If you stick with these core best practices for classroom walkthroughs, your school will build a cycle of trust and continuous improvement.
Read MoreWhen being observed, it is natural to feel anxiety, for the entire observation to go by in a blur. Oftentimes when the observer leaves the classroom the teacher will instantly start to consider all the things he/she did "wrong" instead of the many great things that happened. Every class period and lesson is unique, and this observation is just a sliver into what you do on a daily basis.
Read MoreIs it even possible to balance all aspects of education in the 21st century and keep a healthy life/work balance? Maybe not, but we can sure try! One way of balancing all that is required of administrators related to observations is to keep in mind the following five considerations when completing observations:
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