Quality Assurance

This is a reflection highlighting the important aspects discussed in Acheson and Gall's text on the teacher evaluation process used by successful administrators, chapters seven and eight.

Can quality be measured? Within the education profession, there are certain core beliefs that drive an educator, one of them being the intention of providing a service of the highest quality to each client under his or her care. In the process of teacher evaluation, the professional service provider is observed for the purpose of quality assurance and professional development. The purpose of the criticism seems benign enough, but once coupled with the variable factors that the subjective experience presents, the unsteady and fallible flaws of human nature can shake a positive opportunity for self-improvement until it turns into a dreaded magnifying glass that no sane person would ever want to find themselves under. Knowing the anxiety and stress surrounding the evaluation experience, supervisors must follow procedures that make the topic of improvement objective, free of bias, useful and from a competent source. Once comfortable, a true and valid observation can occur and the outcome will result in a positive influecne for change to make a good service become outstanding.

Using the information obtained in chapters seven and eight in Acheson and Gall's text, combined with the approaches of Glickman and the domain components of Danielson, it becomes apparent that supervisor/teacher conference time must not take a back seat to mundane activities and inability to prioritize effectively. The supervisor's relationship with the subject under scrutiny sets the tone for the evaluation, and if the purpose of evaluating is not punitive in nature, then any supervisor that is accountable for his or her team's performance would want the observation to be used for corrective improvement in order to maximize desireable performance. All three sources focus on the importance of conferencing in clinical supervision through discussing its direct connection to the reliability of the observed practices and decision making (Danielson). Supervisory behaviors during the pre-observation conference such as listening, clarifying, encouraging and reflecting (Glickman) signal a safe environment where the educator feels in control of how the actual evaluation will transpire and what will be focused on for improvement. Once the teacher feels they are going to be judged in a safe and secure environment, they are more apt to identify areas of instruction where they feel they need improvement, instead of resorting to 'safe' concerns that try to cover the weaknesses that are hiding beneath the surface (Acheson and Gall). If a supervisor is to assess with the aim to improve, they need to be focused on a true concern in an environment where the teacher will be receptive to alternative suggestions and change, and the structure and relationship between supervisor and faculty and the evaluation process set the direction the observation will follow.

Without feedback, the evaluation is useless. Post-observation conferences are a time for reflection, review, constructive feedback and reinforcement (Danielson). Instead of the supervisor forcing the teacher to make changes he or she may not understand or internalize, the goal is to bring the teacher to a stage of autonomous thinking where he or she interprets the observed behavior and works reciprocally with the supervisor in creating an alternative approach for the future (Acheson and Gall). This relates directly to Glickman's 'nondirective interpersonal' approach that highlights routine self-awareness and empowers teachers to make necessary changes to improve instruction on a regular basis, instead of waiting for random and seldom supervisory evaluative opportunities for feedback. If quality is the goal, continuous improvement is the means to the end.

No Teacher Left Behind?

This is a response from a case study referencing the plight of a novice teacher that has ultimately given up on attempting to control her classroom and is fearful of approaching the principal to voice her concerns.

Why haven't they come up with a federal initiative called "No Teacher Left Behind?" In the case of a struggling novice teacher, everyone (whether they know it or not) in the school community has a responsibility to ensure the teacher's success if not for anything but student learning. The novice teacher in question displays a vital need for a supportive environment in her school and classroom. She struggles with overcoming barriers of personality clashes, classroom management, student motivation and building relationships with others. It seems that this teacher needs to build her confidence before she can feel comfortable in her classroom as the sole authority figure. Whether or not that personal growth occurs is up to the more experienced members of faculty and administration and the time they spend offering guidance and support during this formative stage. If I was the principal, my responsibility as a school leader would be to do everything in my power to ensure the safety and education of all students, faculty and staff. This includes being a role model for appropriate behavior through establishing a positive school climate and culture. In this case, the new teacher has felt no support from her surroundings and had no one to reach out to for help. This would be as much my fault as it is the fault of her colleagues (where are your ethics, people?) and her assigned mentor (who is being paid additional monies to guide a new teacher in the classroom.)

Now, as principal, my only recourse would be to rectify the mistakes I've made and reverse the hopelessness my new teacher feels while attempting to salvage valuable instructional time with the students. It is obvious that this teacher has lost all certainty that she can handle her assignment, but at the same time she has great potential to become more than what she is right now. Acheson and Gall speak of the importance of trust and comfort within the teacher/administrator relationship. I would take steps to make sure that the new teacher would feel comfortable and at ease with me before I present her with an announced observation for professional development purposes. This may take some effort on my part, but if I am to help figure out what the exact issues are in the classroom and how to remedy them, I will need to have the most effective observation the first time I enter her classroom. Time is of the essence and student learning is at stake. Together we will identify her concerns and focuses for my observation and discuss them during our planning conference. While I recognize that this is the real world, and theory sometimes does not fit easily once put into practice, I truly cannot blame anyone but myself if the teacher performs horribly on the observation. My purpose would be to catch up on some much needed professional development using the Directive-Informational approach (Glickman Leadership for Learning), where instead of revoking the power of the teacher entirely, I would give her suggestions and allow her some say in the way she runs her classroom. Autonomy is my goal because there isn't enough time in the day to hold every teacher's hand during difficult times. I would also revisit my mentor choices and seek out some teachers that would be valuable assets to the developmental process of this teacher, and create 'peer coaching' pairs, or even 'critical friends' groups in order to take some of the anxiety out of the improvement procedure. Long-term goals would include changing the clique-like nature of behavior of individuals in the faculty and improving the school climate so that no one feels intimidated to seek help when it is absolutely necessary. Again, able teachers create able students: if no child is to be left behind, that can only happen if we first make sure that no teacher is being left behind.