Professional Growth, Supervision, and Evaluation of Teachers

Teaching in Catholic Schools ✔ Students should be able to recognize authentic human qualities in their teachers… they [teachers] must be teachers of what it means to be human… it includes such things as affection, tact, understanding, serenity in spirit, a balanced judgement, patience in listening to others and prudence in the way they respond, and availability for personal meetings and conversations with the students.”(The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School)

The Challenge Before Us ✔ We are challenged to be fair, trustworthy, and human. ✔ We are challenged to be reciprocal, collegial, and collaborative. ✔ We are challenged to be consistent and conscientious.

Key Areas ✔Overview of the process ✔Expectations for principals and teachers ✔Review of professional growth plans ✔Review of the evaluation process ✔Documents and sample presentation ✔Questions/concerns

Learning for All ✔ Teacher supervision, growth and evaluation are important for one reason: ✔ To provide the best learning environment and strategies for all students.

What Are the Real Changes? ✔ Teachers on regular contracts are competent unless you have reason to believe differently. ✔ Evaluation is no longer an absolute- annual professional growth plans are. ✔ The focus is on process, not product.

Quality Teaching Standard ✔ Quality teaching occurs when the teacher’s analysis of the context, and the pedagogical knowledge and abilities the teacher decides to apply, result in students having the best possible opportunity to learn.

Ministerial Order 016-97 ✔As of September, 1999, Alberta Education has determined 11 standards of quality teaching they believe teachers should adhere to… ✔Edmonton Catholic has added a 12th to describe Catholic teaching practice. ✔These have been correlated with former ECS evaluation descriptors.

12 Standards of Teaching Practice 1.Teachers provide a Catholic education which inspires and prepares students to learn, to work, to live fully, and to serve God in one another. 2.Teachers understand the context of teaching. 3. Teachers understand the legislated, moral, and ethical frameworks within which they work. 4. Teachers understand the subject disciplines they teach. 5. Teachers know there are many approaches to teaching and learning. 6. Teachers engage in a range of planning activities.

The Standards of Teaching Practice 7. Teachers create and maintain environments conducive to learning. 8. Teachers translate curriculum content and objectives into meaningful learning activities. 9. Teachers apply a variety of technologies to meet students’ learning needs. 10. Teachers gather and use information about students’ learning needs and progress. 11. Teachers establish and maintain partnerships among school, home, and community, and within their own schools. 12. Teachers are career-long learners.

Teacher Growth, Supervision, and Evaluation- Parts of a Process GO ✔ On-going supervision for everyone. ✔ Teacher professional growth plans for all teachers on regular contract. ✔ Teacher evaluation for some.

Supervision ✔ On-going ✔ Provides for a range of practices. ✔ Does not provide for regularly scheduled comprehensive evaluations. ✔ A stop, look, and listen model.

This is a team effort involving trust and respect

Professional Growth Plans

✔ Self- assessment is a recommended practice. ✔ Plans are processdriven with dialogue and discussion. ✔ Many forms are acceptable: ✔Multi-year plan ✔Group plan ✔Peer coaching ✔Mentoring a new teacher

✔ There is a selfassessment guide and basic formats for planning in your package. ✔ All plans must be written and discussed by the principal and teacher annually. ✔ Plans must be kept in the school for the year they are in progress and then returned.

PGP’s

I’m going to send this plan by email!

The Evaluation Process ✔ Use when : ✔A teacher requests in writing an evaluation. ✔A principal, as a result of supervision, identifies the need for a change in behaviors or practices. ✔A teacher is to receive permanent certification. ✔An employment decision is to be made. ✔A teacher does not complete an annual professional growth plan.

Parts of the Process ✔ There are 12 teaching standards which correlate with ✔ 5 teaching categories further broken into ✔ 20 detailed descriptors of teaching that form the evaluation rubrics.

Categories of Teaching

➊Classroom environment ✔Standards 1, 2, 6

➋Planning and preparation ✔Standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6

➌Instructional presentation ✔Standards 1, 4, 5, 9

➍Instruction ✔Standards 1, 4, 5, 7, 8

➎Professional responsibilities ✔Standards 1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

A Rubrics Approach ✔ A rubric provides fair criteria for teacher evaluation as well as a series of targets for professional growth. For each element within the five categories, a rubric has been designed that describes how a teacher’s performance might exceed the standard, meet the standard or may fall below the standard.

An Example of a Rubric ✔ Category: ✔Classroom environment

✔ Descriptor : ✔Manages classroom procedures

✔ Element: ✔ Supervision of support staff ✔Standards 1, 2, 7,8,9

✔ Exceeds: teacher and support staff are actively engaged in a professional partnership and support staff are working to make a substantive contribution to the classroom environment.

✔ Meets: teacher relates to support staff in a professional manner. Support staff are productively engaged during the entire class.

✔ Below: teacher does not relate to support staff in a professional manner. Support staff have no clearly defined duties or do little most of the time.

What If…? ✔ You decide on the basis of your on-going supervision that the teacher’s practices or behaviors are not meeting the standards of teaching practice, then...

An Investigation of Teaching Is Needed ✔ Unacceptable teaching ✔ Notice of remediation ✔ Possible suspension or termination of contract

Investigation of Teaching If a behavior or practice needs investigation... ✔ Meet with the teacher and clarify any misconceptions. ✔ Advise the teacher of the behavior in question and its relationship to the standards of teaching practice. ✔ Advise the teacher of the continuance of on-going supervision. ✔ Advise the teacher of the consequences of the evaluation. ✔ Prepare and deliver a written account of the meeting.

Unacceptable Teaching ✔ If the evidence secured substantiates that a teacher’s teaching does not meet the standards of teaching practice, then: ✔ You meet with the teacher to clarify any misconceptions. ✔ Advise the teacher of the behaviours or practices that do not meet the standards and why. ✔ Advise the teacher of the consequences of not remediating. ✔ Establish the specifics for a notice of remediation that will be delivered to the teacher. ✔ Prepare and deliver a written account of the meeting.

Notice of Remediation ✔ This notice informs the teacher of behaviors and practices that are deemed unacceptable. ✔ What activities the teacher must undertake to remediate the unacceptable behaviour or practice and the evaluation criteria and standards to be used. ✔ All relevant timelines so as not to disrupt students’ learning. ✔ How the teacher will maintain the expected outcomes of the remediation and ✔ The consequences for not remediating behavior or practice within the specified time period.

Suspension or Termination of Contract ✘ Where a teacher is suspended or his or her contract of employment is terminated, provisions under the School Act and the Practice Review of Teachers Regulation that notice be given to the minister or registrar will apply.

In Summary ✔ Supervision for all ✔ Professional growth plans for most ✔ Evaluation for some

Is There Anything Else? ✔ There is an excellent document called “An Integrated Framework to Enhance the Quality of Teaching” available from Alberta Education.

✔ The Alberta government websitewww.edc.gov.ab.ca/ teaching- has lots of good information.

Thanks to Dr. Margaret McVea and the Advisory Committee: R. Ritter, D. Rowley, L.Turcotte, J. Ritcey-Devaney, L. Ripley, G.Thiell, M. Duguay, R. St. Arnaud.