tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11712764.post5172687033142143676..comments2023-12-26T01:53:37.129-07:00Comments on 'Burque Babble: Bad Teachers, Part 2 of ∞ : Instructional? Coaches?!?jscotkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09824360655778237168noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11712764.post-4872185694196302792008-10-02T21:57:00.000-06:002008-10-02T21:57:00.000-06:00Anon Number the last one: Could you "hip" us to t...Anon Number the last one: Could you "hip" us to the funding source and amount for ICs? I, for one, would love to hear more about that.jscotkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09824360655778237168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11712764.post-1788934648578132372008-10-02T21:45:00.000-06:002008-10-02T21:45:00.000-06:00Perhaps why she didn't mention the fact that money...Perhaps why she didn't mention the fact that money was being <BR/>"siphoned off" is because it isn't true. Instructional coaches aren't paid with Special Education funds. .......and 7 million dollars yearly????? That's what happens when we share things in a public forum that are qualified with "well, that's what I heard".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11712764.post-31172817208268826762008-09-24T19:37:00.000-06:002008-09-24T19:37:00.000-06:00What bothers me about coaches is they are paid fro...What bothers me about coaches is they are paid from the special ed fund to the tune of $7 million per year - at least that's what I've heard. Thus when the special ed director spoke recently regarding the funding of head teachers she stated that it was too expensive to pay for us and we needed to have a caseload to justify our positions, of course never mentioning the money siphoned off for the coaches who don't have a case load to deal with along with the other duties assigned.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11712764.post-8832153766293394582008-09-22T07:59:00.000-06:002008-09-22T07:59:00.000-06:00Another fine example of substituting rules for goo...Another fine example of substituting rules for good judgment. Teachers are to be judged only on what can actually be measured. Since whether or not they are 'engaging' students is subjective, it would be better to simply judge their performance on how many interruptions there are. Great. Just great.<BR/><BR/>I don't have a PhD, but I do have a big letter M and a P and an S. Guess if you want to, I'm not going to explain. Objective measurements are great, but only up to a point. At some point some subjective evaluations (by other teachers, students, and whatever other staff would be appropriate) will have to be included. Unless you feel you have a set of metrics that can measure 'burnt out teacher' or 'engaged student'.<BR/><BR/>I'm hearing this "data based" term floated around APS in their particular brand of buzzword bingo. I'm the last person to argue against actual metrics, but on their own they are no substitute for judgment when dealing with human beings (who have good days and bad days, days that are chaos and days where all goes swimmingly). You have to have a combination of both (and you'll need more than one day's worth of data points) if you really want a comprehensive evaulation of the teacher's effectiveness. And don't even get me started on how capable APS is of using data and metrics how it calculates its dropout rate is sufficient for that.<BR/><BR/>I also find the whole concept of "engaging teachers" laughable. I don't know another profession where so much attention is paid to getting employees to want to do their job. If you don't want to teach...don't. If your employer is good enough to provide you with some additional counseling/training and you continue to stink, you're fired (or pay for your own added 'professional development' if you really want to keep your job). I mean, it's fine if someone needs a little boost now and then, but I think way too much emphasis (time and money) is placed on providing teachers with 'professional development'. I'd love to see some actual metrics of how much of it is actually helping the students. Judging by the test scores and dropout rates, not much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11712764.post-5657091530491923482008-09-20T09:15:00.000-06:002008-09-20T09:15:00.000-06:00This email link works (sorry about the error above...This email link works (sorry about the error above):<BR/><A HREF="john@ecove.net" REL="nofollow">john@ecove.net</A>John Tenny, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02048861131534344166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11712764.post-20614194834398353012008-09-20T09:07:00.000-06:002008-09-20T09:07:00.000-06:00Instructional coaching is another way of saying pe...Instructional coaching is another way of saying peer mentoring which is another way of saying teachers helping teachers become more skilled at their profession. This has happened informally throughout public education, and is now getting a budge line.<BR/><BR/>And with that comes the problem: the current approach to observations, whether done by another teacher or an administrator, is one of recording a) what I saw and b) how good I thought it was. Both of these tasks are the victim of bias and lack of appropriate background. When observers write down 'what I saw' they are selecting from everything that went on the actions that drew their attention, a reflection of their own value system.<BR/><BR/>Recording the quality of the instruction is generally a plus/minus, a checkbox, or 1 to 5 likert scale, and are full of generally unintended bias. These subjective judgments do little to either improve teaching or to serve as a basis for removing a bad teacher.<BR/><BR/>One answer (OK, my answer) is the Data-Based Observation Model. This approach has several steps that lead to teacher engagement and self-directed professional growth.<BR/><BR/>Step One: starting with a set of standards for teaching, individual teacher goals, building or district goals, a curriculum or behavior approach being implemented, the teacher is engaged in the selection of the objective data to be collected during an observation. The basic question is "What do you want to know about your classroom?" Using frequency (counter) and duration (timer) data collection tools, data on what one would expect to see or what one would not expect to see is identified.<BR/><BR/>Example: Class Learning Time: a timer with three buttons, Learning Time, Non-Learning External (interruptions to learning outside the teachers control ,e.g. P.A. announcements), and Non-Learning Internal (interruptions to learning within the teacher's control, e.g. housekeeping, transitions, management issues).<BR/><BR/>Step Two: using the eCOVE Software (which I wrote) or pencil/paper/stopwatch/calculator, objective data is collected on the teacher and/or student behaviors. Notes are kept on the context of the observation and events that occur during the observation. Since there are no judgments made during the data collection, any reasonably qualified person can collect the data.<BR/><BR/>Step Three: the data is presented to the teacher with this question: "Is this what you thought was happening in your classroom?" This engages the teacher in reflection and in the interpretation of the data. We love it when we surprise the teacher - "I never realized my transitions were taking so long", and the typical response is a plan of action. A KEY concept here for the observer - Don't Praise, Don't Criticize, Don't Solve the Problem! Praise or criticism are used to convey your judgment of another and become the focus of future actions - to please the observer. And the most effective solutions are those devised (with support as needed) by the classroom teacher.<BR/><BR/>Step Four: "Do you think a change is needed? If so, what will you change? How can I support you?" This discussion is the meat of professional development. Of course, a teacher with a 45% Non-Learning Internal data who thinks nothing needs to be changed will need some direction in setting appropriate goals, but both educational research and local norms can provide an objective basis for that discussion.<BR/><BR/>However, the typical response is an active search for a solution by the teacher and a high level professional discussion between the observer and observee. This is the real empowerment of teachers, to take an active role in their own growth as a professional with collaborative support by other professionals.<BR/><BR/>Step Five: "When should data be collected to see if your change is effective?" Since it's not the opinion of the observer that counts here and it's not enough to just do something different, the teacher needs to have objective data on the effectiveness of their intervention (change). Another professional educator (teacher or administrator) can gather the data. You are now back at Step One, setting up the system for providing the teacher with objective data on their classroom.<BR/><BR/>For the 99+% of teachers, this is a path to self-directed professional growth, and is an effective approach to keeping teachers actively engaged in the complex process of teaching kids. For those individuals for whom teaching is the wrong job, this provides a sound basis for their own reflection ("I've done everything I can and my class learning time never gets above 40%") and removes the deflection response ("The principal just doesn't like me."). It also provides a defensible basis for district decisions about retention. And where bias and a personal agenda really does exist, neutral third parties can be brought in to gather confirmation data, protecting both the teacher and the district.<BR/><BR/>I invite you to read more on my blog, <A HREF="http://data-based-observation.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">Data-Based Classroom Observation</A>, and to download the software (you can implement the above without the software, but the software makes it MUCH easier) <A HREF="http://www.ecove.net/" REL="nofollow">eCOVE Software</A>. Feel free to email me at <A HREF="john@ecove.net" REL="nofollow"><STRONG>john@ecove.net</STRONG></A>.<BR/><BR/>Peace, JohnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11712764.post-6161407451882934712008-09-20T07:23:00.000-06:002008-09-20T07:23:00.000-06:00The problem I have with the concept of the instru...The problem I have with the concept of the instructional coaches is that they take away the chance to lower PTR. Low class sizes have been consistantly proven to improve the bottom line of education. It's like the famous question, "Is our children learning?" GWAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11712764.post-4842324631161012008-09-20T02:46:00.000-06:002008-09-20T02:46:00.000-06:00While some principals I've experienced definitely ...While some principals I've experienced definitely had good friendships with some teachers more than others, for the most part, principals are in schools for meetings. Meetings with support staff, other principals, maintenance, district administrators and parents. I can't remember ever having been a class that at any point was formally reviewed by a principal. The principal, that semi-anonymous figure with the office in the front of the school, was not there to interact or judge teachers abilities. <BR/>I'm completely at a loss of what an instructional counselor is and what the relationship is between the instructional counselor and the teachers and students.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17070311625039476872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11712764.post-32305193773922200352008-09-19T21:50:00.000-06:002008-09-19T21:50:00.000-06:00It occurs to me that one important difference betw...It occurs to me that one important difference between a good teacher and a bad one is their ability to engage students.ched macquigghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06433039009492338854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11712764.post-81680591047967936512008-09-19T10:06:00.000-06:002008-09-19T10:06:00.000-06:00There is a fundamental problem with principals eva...There is a fundamental problem with principals evaluating teachers.<BR/><BR/>It stems from the fact that the teachers and the principals do so many other things together that they inevitably develop personal relationships which can skew evaluations in either direction.<BR/><BR/>Why not have people whose whole job is to go around evaluating teachers who appear to be having problems?ched macquigghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06433039009492338854noreply@blogger.com