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I know teacher evaluations/observations are controversial this year (understandably), but I also believe they can be useful if handled a certain way. This thread is to share what’s been working well for my teachers in hopes that it helps other admin. #MTBoS #icoachmath 1/21
First, some background info. I’m a supervisor who evaluates 26 math teachers at our middle and high school. Our district has thankfully agreed to no unannounced observations this year, so my Ts are all able to choose the exact day/time/period for my visit. 2/
The teacher contract states that observations must be at least 10 minutes in length. I don’t think that’s enough time in a normal year to fairly evaluate someone, but especially not this year when everything takes longer. I stay at least 30 minutes, and often the whole period. 3/
I started out the year keeping my camera on during zoom classes, because I thought teachers might appreciate seeing another face during the calls. I was wrong. It was more distracting than helpful because I was using dual monitors so my eyes looked shifty. 4/
Instead, I now join right at the beginning of class, turn on my camera, and chat with the teacher briefly. We exchange pleasantries and I explain that I’ll be turning off my camera, but will still be there. I promise to message them in the chat window when I’m exiting. 5/
During the observation, I type time-stamped notes to document what the teacher is doing and what the students are working on throughout the lesson. These are a helpful reminder to both me and the teacher when debriefing later. 6/
I create a “Questions” and “Positives” section on my notes so I can immediately record my wonderings and highlights. I also have another tab open to the teacher’s google classroom page so that I can link any documents that students are working on. 7/
If the teacher sends students to breakout rooms, I ask to be sent with a group. Sometimes I chat with the students, sometimes I let them do their thing. I don’t want to get in the way. 8/
Post-observation, I send the teacher an email with at least one positive compliment and I ask when they’d like to meet for a brief 10-15 minute debrief conversation, virtually of course. The debrief is incredibly important and my Ts tell me they look forward to it the most. 9/
Because most teachers desire feedback, I try and make sure that I don’t have an overbooked schedule when I’m doing observations. My goal is to be available whenever the teacher asks to debrief because it’s super stressful to wait 5 days for feedback. 10/
I always keep these debriefs to about 15 minutes long because I value my teacher’s time. They won’t want to meet if I constantly go over or take up their whole prep period. 11/
The first question I always ask during the debrief is: “What did I miss during the end of the lesson when I wasn’t in the room?” This is important when I don’t stay for the entire class period and I always want to give Ts the opportunity to address any aspects I didn’t see. 12/
I also want to acknowledge the elephant in the room – I haven’t taught in this situation before. None of us have. So when I offer support, I frame it like this, “One of your colleagues had a similar situation, here’s one thing they tried/that worked/etc.” 13/
One of the benefits of my role is that I get to watch EVERYONE teach, that’s 26 different ways of doing literally everything related to hybrid and remote teaching. So even though I personally haven’t done it with students, I can make a connection to a teacher who has. 14/
My staff loves hearing ideas from other teachers (some are real-life colleagues and some are from my Twitter PLC). If I can synthesize what’s been successful for other Ts and make that connection, then it helps them know they’re not alone this year. 15/
The last question I ask during the debrief is my favorite: “Is there anything we haven’t talked about yet that you’d like for me to highlight?” Sometimes Ts say “Nope, I think we covered everything.” But the best is when they say, “Well, actually, did you notice…” 16/
Their answer tells me what is really important to them, and if it’s really important to them, then I would be horrified to leave it out of the one documented observation (maybe two) they’re going to have this year. 17/
This is not the year for evaluators to be nitpicky about observation forms and rubric standards. When I observe teachers this year, my goal is to highlight specific details they’re doing really well and provide support when needed or asked for. 18/
Some of my teacher’s remote lessons have felt really normal, and I when I told them that, they cried. They said all they’ve wanted is to feel like they’re doing a good job, and until my observation, they didn’t know if they were. 19/
I can’t fix most things about pandemic schooling, but one thing I can do is observe my teachers and provide them with the genuine, positive feedback and compliments they deserve. 20/
This process is still being revised and refined, so I would love to hear what’s been working well in your district, from either the teacher lens or admin lens, so please feel free to share. 21/21
