As some point in the year you have parent conferences or a discussion with a parent about a student in class whose progress is exceptional. My hope is that regardless of what the student’s grade is in your class, you provide the parent/guardian with some kind of constructive criticism that provides for added growth and the ability to improve beyond the realm of every day class activities. I am also fairly certain that you hope the student and adult strongly considers the implications of your suggestion and doesn’t just swipe it away under the doormat. Even worse would be if you offered the suggestion and the student or adult kicked and screamed about how “my work is absolutely perfect and I don’t need any suggestions or new ways to think about accomplishing my work.”
This is the same way that we need to approach observations and, specifically, post-conferences. There is no reason whatsoever that an administrator and teacher can not engage in a constructive discussion over how to approach a lesson differently or throw another twist at students that will add to the “teacher’s toolkit.” This is very much a cultural shift in the way that many schools do business when it comes to observations.
I think that every teacher knows when their lesson is subpar and subject to scrutiny, but that shouldn’t be the only time that we engage in discussions of improvement. Professional Development means working hard to improve every day and in every situation. If you are an administrator, work diligently to provide constructive feedback. The true teachers appreciate it, think hard about it, and understand your intentions.
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Aaron,
Totally agree. I think we need to model this administratively by allowing for a process where administrators receive constructive feedback and share all with the public. If leaders are open about this I think it will help teachers become more accepting as well.
In addition, I wonder how much the fact that teachers were educated in the same system (most likely with limited constructive feedback) plays in this matter. Finally, I am always amazed by the fact that teachers hit upon my constructive feedback points in post-conferences before I even have a chance to bring them up.
Unfortunately, many teachers feel that they can’t admit that anything was wrong with their lesson. My school district added a reflection page that teachers filled out after the lesson was observed and before the post conference. We answered questions such as “What changes would you make to this lesson if you were to do it again.” I think teachers found it less threatening to discuss their lesson in that context.
Today I was watching Shear Genius, and since I know you’ve never seen that show (let alone any of the shows I watch
I will tell you that it is a reality show where hair stylists are given challenges and then their work is subject to brutal scrutiny by a number of well-respected professionals. The judges tell it like it is. If the haircut was subpar, they tell them so, no sugar coating. They go into great detail to explain why, and how it could have been done differently. Similarly, when a stylist does a fantastic job, their work is praised, and again, there are specific accolades. Yes, it’s television, so I get that there is an entertainment factor, but one of the other interesting things I thought of today while watching is that the evaluators exhibited such emotion when addressing the strengths and weaknesses of the stylists’ work.
Why has it taken so long for educators to realize the importance of using honesty, critical criticism, powerful praise, and raw emotion when discussing what needs to be improved and celebrated in our schools? I don’t think this falls solely on the administrator, either – we need to get our teachers comfortable in having these exchanges with each other as well. These interchanges will help to build a strong learning community, and that, will be sheer genius.
I wish all Admins approached observations with the attitude that they can be constructive in their critiquing of teachers in a goal to improve learning. That does make many assumptions. Not every Admin has an understanding of the latest methods and technology. Not every Admin is objective with every teacher. Not every admin has a clear set of rubrics agreed to and understood by the teacher for the purpose of assessment. Not every admin observes a teacher without thinking he/she needs to build in certain objections in the event that a particular teacher may need to be let go. Not every Admin understands creativity, authentic learning & collaborative thinking, which makes assessment difficult.Not every Admin has kept up with up to date PD.
Admins are not provided enough time to complete the observations required. Good Admins must live with the results of poor observations of previous Admins. The career life expectancy of an Admin is shorter than a teacher’s resulting in a “come and go” admin culture. Admins are more susceptible to political and parental pressures which may at times affect objectivity.
All of these factors may lead us to think of another way to assess teachers. Maybe peers. Maybe lead teachers. There are no easy answers with educational problems.