Empowering the Growth of Teachers Through Teacher Evaluations and Professional Development White Paper
WHY TEACHER EVALAUTION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT?
The United States alone has approximately 3.2M teachers, which is an amazing number of professionals dedicated to developing our youth. This means we have the ability to impact tens of millions of people through world-class teacher evaluation and professional development.
While most organizations have the intention of growing and engaging their teachers through teacher evaluations, few actually do. This, unfortunately, is leading to teachers leaving the classroom at an alarming rate. In fact:
“The teacher shortage is real, large and growing, and worse than we thought.”
as so aptly described by The Economic Policy Institute.
Your teachers are the key to unlocking the abilities, mindsets, heartsets, and outcomes of your loved ones (your students). It is our responsibility as educational leaders to set up our own teachers for success in this increasingly difficult educational environment. The professional development methods currently used aren’t working. It’s time to think about teacher growth differently.
The research on the current state of teacher evaluations and professional development is scary.
According to the Intensive Partnerships for Effective Teaching report:
Teacher evaluations did not lead to improved student achievement.
Teacher evaluations did not lead to improved teacher effectiveness.
Teacher evaluations did not improve the retention rate of effective teachers
With regard to professional development for teachers:
Teachers Know Best describes that each year in the US alone, approximately $18 billion is spent on professional development, yet 71% of teachers are dissatisfied with the PD offered.
<50% of teachers receive any type of coaching.
Educators are leaving the classroom at an alarming rate. Approximately 150,000 teachers leave the classroom each year with a majority leaving as a direct result of a lack of meaningful and relevant growth opportunities. It is imperative that we engage our teachers in professional growth in ways they want to be developed. The data shows what happens when we don’t.
SOURCE: Economic Policy Institute
According to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Gathering Feedback for Teaching,
“Research has long been clear that teachers matter more to student learning than any other in-school factor.”
In this same article, there are six minimum requirements for high-quality classroom observations including:
Choose an observation instrument that sets clear expectations
Require observers to demonstrate accuracy before they rate teacher practice
When high-stakes decisions are being made, multiple observations are necessary
Assuming you have a teacher evaluation system that is aligned with your vision for teacher and student success, your next step is to align your teacher evaluations with the professional development offered to your teachers. This professional development should impact the most critical and pressing behaviors, mindsets, and/or heartsets needed by your teachers as measured by classroom observations, classroom walkthroughs, and teacher evaluations.
A few good questions to think about here are:
What are our goals? What are we hoping to achieve as a result of our learning?
What does the staff need, and how do I know they need this? This question will help you base your decisions on data or observations, not your gut instinct.
In which areas do my teachers think they need to grow? Thinking through the lens of a teacher will help you empathize with their perspective and may help you uncover needs they may have. Don’t be afraid to actually ask them for input!
What does the data show me? You can look at student achievement data (reading, math, technology, etc), teacher evaluation data, and/or survey data. It’s important to ground your decisions in data so you know you’re working on a real problem. This will also help you measure the progress you make over time
Am I seeing the behaviors I expect? If not, what am I seeing? How do I know this? This could be student or teacher behavior. Base your decisions on those things that are actually observable.
Once you’ve identified an area of needed growth, take time to do a little more research to make sure this truly is a problem and not a symptom of a bigger issue. The 5 Whys strategy is a great strategy to make sure you are addressing the root cause and not a symptom.
When planning professional development for teachers, sometimes it’s helpful to think through four common mistakes and how to prevent these mistakes:
You did all the work. The person leading the professional development identified her own problem and led the teachers to her own answer. All the data was collected and analyzed by the one leading the professional development. The teaching staff didn’t see the problem in action, analyze the data, come up with possible solutions, or even have the ability to ask questions that were important to them.
Instead of doing all the work yourself, start by posing a few simple but powerful questions that will engage your teachers in thoughtful consideration and dialogue. Powerful examples include:
What is this data telling you?
What can we learn from the data?
Is this what we’re expecting? Why or why not?
Are we accomplishing [topic] as well as our students deserve?
How might a change in [topic] affect [results]?
These questions will engage your teachers and help them think critically about problems they are facing.
Your Professional Development isn’t seen as a need by your teachers. Professional Development opportunities are intended to help move teachers forward in their skillset, mindset, and/or heartset. We cannot forget it is the teachers who will be taking steps to improve. You may know what exactly needs to be done or where certain areas of improvement are needed. Instead of giving your teachers the answers, help them discover the importance and impact of a change.
If your teachers lack the perspective of what is happening all across your building, allow them to visit their peers’ classrooms. Give these teachers a few look-fors, such as the communication of the lesson’s objective, the use of technology, etc. Then have these teachers document their noticings and synthesize these noticings from all those who observed in others’ classrooms. If teachers can identify and witness first-hand the need for a change in practice, they will be much more likely to advocate for the change and champion the cause.
Teachers grow for their own reasons, not yours. While it might be tempting to tell your teachers they need to improve, the truth is they will only choose to grow when they think it’s important. We must unlock the motivation in our teachers so they want to improve.
Your Professional Development is individual instead of collaborative. Teaching is mostly an isolated profession. Sure, teachers are around others throughout the day, but the actual act of teaching oftentimes includes independent planning, the closing of doors, and isolated review of student work.
Instead of providing professional development that requires your teachers to practice on their own, create meaningful ways for them to work collaboratively. Allow teachers to visit each other’s classrooms, invite in an instructional coach or administrator, or have your teachers be accountable to one another through mentorships, partnerships, or Professional Learning Communities.
Professional Development requires practice and a culture of risk-taking. It is critical that you give your teachers permission to experiment, fail, and keep trying. Model this yourself during your PD and conversations with teachers. Tell them stories about how you once tried to change a certain practice and how it went. Let them know that you failed but kept trying. Share that persistence allowed you to experience great results, and share these results with your teachers. Once you provide permission for your teachers to fail, and your teachers know they will be supported as they keep trying, you have allowed them the freedom to try.
Many organizations have adopted teacher evaluation models that are research-based. Oftentimes the state, district, or some other organization provides direction on the teacher evaluation model or framework that needs to be used.
Some of these teacher evaluation models include frameworks such as:
The Framework for Teaching, by The Danielson Group; Charlotte Danielson
“The Framework for Teaching provides a common language for instructional practice, as well as a philosophical approach to understanding and promoting great teaching and learning. It is a vision of instructional excellence, a roadmap for pursuing it, and a set of discrete practices that describe it.”
Focused Teacher Evaluation Model, by the Marzano Center; Robert Marzano
“The Marzano model includes 23 essential teacher competencies with each including a focus statement and desired effect, sample instructional techniques, and strategies for evaluating student work.”
CUES Framework, by McRel
“The CUES framework strengthens teaching and learning by emphasizing the knowledge, skills, and abilities teachers need to make a positive difference in student achievement.”
Stronge Effectiveness Performance Evaluation System, by Stronge and Associates
“The Stronge Teacher and Leader Effectiveness Performance Evaluation System is a comprehensive, uniform evaluation system that consists of teacher, educational specialist, and leader components. Each of the aforementioned educators is evaluated against six research-based professional standards.”
5 Dimensions of Teaching and Learning, Center for Education Leadership, University of Washington College of Education
“We realize how critical it is to provide leaders and teachers with the skills necessary to support excellent classroom practice and we also know that this work needs to be thoughtful, intentional, and focused. That’s the intent of our research-based instructional framework, the 5 Dimensions of Teaching and Learning™ (5D), composed of the core elements that constitute high-quality teaching.”
For those without an adopted teacher evaluation framework, the models above may be a good starting point when designing your own.
Administrators and other observers have the ability to collect a tremendous amount of data when providing feedback to teachers. When using teacher evaluation software, such as iAspire, observers can provide immediate feedback to teachers at the end of a formal or informal observation. Ratings may be provided, comments and suggestions can be shared, and the data is all stored in one common system. This immediate feedback allows for focused collaboration and communication between the observer and teacher post-observation formally or informally depending on the purpose of the observation.
Teacher evaluation software is also powerful when completing classroom walkthroughs. Several classes can be visited in a short amount of time, allowing for rapid and authentic data collection, and the tool provides consistency to the observers.
Throughout these teacher observations and classroom walkthroughs, observers can discover the specific areas (down to the individual indicator/competency level) in which each teacher excels and can identify areas for improvement. This data can then be analyzed on a per-teacher, per-team, per-school, and throughout the entire district. This data should then become the basis for the professional development that is offered.
Once you have completed your teacher observations using teacher evaluation software and identified the strengths and areas for needed growth in your teachers, it’s time to think through how to help your teachers grow in these areas.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS
The research is clear: the way professional development is typically delivered doesn’t match teachers’ ideal professional learning as described by the Teachers Know Best research. Instead, teachers want professional development that is:
Relevant and personalized: Teachers want PD that speaks to them and their specific needs, situation, and goals.
Interactive: Teachers are looking for a partner in their learning and want experiences that allow them to learn, practice, iterate, reflect, and collaborate with others over the course of time.
Delivered by someone who understands their experience: Empathy for teachers’ experiences is critical, and teachers tend to learn from and respect those who understand and empathize how difficult it is to be a teacher.
Sustained over time: One-time sit-and-get learning isn’t typically well received by teachers. Instead, teachers want learning that is continuous and helps them build their skillset, heartset, and mindset over the course of time.
Treats teachers like professionals: Teachers want to be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. It’s time for us to treat teachers like professionals and provide PD in the ways described here.
Focused on applying learning through demonstrations or modeling and practice: Teachers want to see what effective instruction looks like in practice - to see models of what they are trying to accomplish. Learning in isolation typically won’t change practice. Instead, teachers want to see what best practice actually looks like in action and use this as an internal guide while they practice.
There are multiple formats to provide professional development to your staff, including:
Whole-group/Seminar: all members of the organization attend the same professional development at the same time. Typically a local or outside expert is brought in to provide information on a certain topic or related topics.
Workshop/Differentiated: Groups of teachers attend shorter and more focused learning sessions.
Webinars: Virtual meetings where groups of teachers meet and learn about a given topic.
Coaching: A non-evaluative instructional expert meets with the teacher, gets an understanding of the teacher’s growth areas, observes the teacher, and meets again to discuss what was seen. Typically coaching sessions last over the course of several weeks but can last for an entire year.
Courses/Certifications: Taking classes online or in person to complete a course or to receive a certificate of completion.
Mentor: A more seasoned coworker who can provide guidance and answer your questions.
Self-Initiated: Your teachers spend their own time researching best practices, lesson plans, and new ideas.
Oftentimes group professional development can be effective and efficient as all members of the staff are grouped together and receive the same message. However, according to research conducted by Eduardo Salas, a professor of organizational psychology at the University of Central Florida, 90% of new skills are lost and forgotten unless those skills are practiced and transferred to the learner’s environment.
Instead, consider how you might be able to provide ongoing, individualized coaching. According to EdWeek:
“Instructional coaching improves both instructional practice and student achievement—more so than other professional development and school-based interventions. In fact, the quality of teachers' instruction improves by as much as—or even more than—the difference in effectiveness between a new teacher and one with five to 10 years of experience, the research shows.”
Coaching can have perhaps the biggest impact on the professional development of teachers. If you haven’t yet considered what coaching can look like in your school or organization, it’s time to start looking at the possibility.
MAKE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUOUS
After delivering professional development, it’s important that the learning doesn’t stop. In order for teachers to instill their learning into new habits, it must be practiced, discussed, and reflected upon. Teachers’ questions about the learning need to be answered, and the learning must remain top-of-mind. Finally, the offered PD must be evaluated to determine if it achieved the goal/result you envisioned.
You can collect feedback from participants through surveys and conversations. Most importantly, you and others on your team must witness the instruction in person or through a recording of instruction to see if the skill, strategy, mindset, and/or heartset you were hoping to change actually changed. There is no substitute for witnessing this in person through classroom observations and walkthroughs.
Just like teachers survey the classroom to identify which students need more help within a lesson and modify instruction accordingly, so should you as the provider of the professional development. Reteach when needed, model the expectation yourself, and help pair teachers together to ensure everybody gets the opportunity to master the learning. It is recommended you have your teachers visit other classrooms to see what the learning looks like in action.
It is crucial that you allow your teachers to fail or be imperfect at first. Nothing kills drive like being critical of teachers who are trying to do the right thing. Be supportive, give commendations as well as specific recommendations, and be willing to give teachers some time and a lot of support.
Teacher evaluations are a perfect opportunity to make professional development continuous. Classroom observations shouldn’t be a check-the-box activity. Instead, this is a great opportunity to define the specific learning that each of your teachers need and allow you to personalize the professional development you deliver to your teachers. Professional development and observations can (and should) be closely tied together.
As you approach teacher evaluations and professional development for teachers, it is important to think of them as two necessary components to a system where your teachers are engaged, developing, and wanting to continue working with and for you.
When teacher evaluations are done strictly for compliance purposes, or when there is a disconnect between teacher evaluations and the professional development offered to your teachers, your teachers and students won’t make the gains expected.
For you to increase teacher engagement, student achievement, and satisfaction from all staff and students in your school, you must intentionally:
Find, modify, or create a teacher evaluation framework that aligns with your vision
Select teacher evaluation software that allows you to collect authentic data, provide immediate feedback to your teachers, and determine areas of strength and needed improvement.
Provide meaningful and relevant professional development for teachers that are connected to your teacher evaluations and individual needs of your staff.
Once you have intentionally designed your teacher evaluation framework, have selected teacher evaluation software, and provide meaningful and relevant professional development for teachers, you are on your way to providing the learning environment your students and staff deserve.
iAspire Education is powerfully simple teacher evaluation and professional development software.