Observations are wrapping up, and shortly thereafter you will receive your end-of-the-year rating. And it’s only natural to question the validity of a evaluation system that is based on around an hour’s worth of classroom observation, considering the innumerable challenges you overcome each day, never mind the entire school year.
However, the truth is that it almost never takes the entire 15 minutes to know whether students are learning effectively during a lesson. (It probably takes just a little more than the time I need to realize that your room is too hot.)
The reason why evaluating a lesson isn’t all that difficult is not because teaching is easy or straightforward. In fact, it’s the opposite: a teacher must do so much successfully for every little bit of student learning, seeing 15 minutes of it can only mean one thing: the teacher must’ve done hours and hours of work that led up to it. In fact, we almost always see the following in effective lessons:
1.) The lesson makes sense. Clear learning objective –> clear thinking generator(s) —> purposeful activities to surface student intellectual engagement -> robust use of assessment to check for understanding. This is expertise that you can’t fake.
2.) The learning is aligned to not just state standards and curricula but also the STUDENTS. What’s the best way to find out whether a teacher knows the students? It’s not asking them to show you a data binders; it’s seeing whether their lessons are consistently at the right level for all of the students. And that takes time, conversations, meetings, and re-teach and re-teach (and tears.)
3.) Classroom management is tight. It takes so much to create a positive learning climate, and it never just happens by chance. On a similar vein, if a class knows how to line up and walk the halls quietly, I never question whether the teacher would waste instructional time constantly trying to get the students’ attention.
4.) Students are thinking. This is the big one: only masterful teachers can get all students to think day in and day out, and it’s the most obvious one to spot. Most teachers can get students to write, copy, speak, or read; it’s the highly effective ones who can consistently get them to think, to push, and to question.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
CARNIVAL ORDERS: Please email me ASAP direct links to the product page and desired quantity if you want to order from Oriental Trading. Ms. O’Donnell noticed that Amazon Wishlists do not have a “quantity field”, so please check with Jeanene if you had wanted more than one of any items. P.S. If you are coming to help at the carnival and don’t order a shirt yet, please speak with Ms. Delvecchio to give her your size.
EDMODO MEMO (I fixed the permission setting, in case you still need it)
FACULTY MEETING TOMORROW: 3PM location TBD. Please look out for an announcement tomorrow
JUNE 8th is BUILD THE WONDERWALL DAY: Heads up to everyone that we will be visiting one another’s Wonderwall’s as a learning activity on June 8th. This is the time to update it to reflect the best thinking your students have engaged in.
IMMEDIATE REMOVAL OF STUDENTS: While we are working on streamlining our disciplinary protocols including teacher removals for next year, please be mindful that any students who are physically aggressive in the classroom MUST be removed immediately. YOu should call the main office if your AP is unavailable should this occur during the school day.
SHREK CLOSING SHOW is this Wednesday. I’ve heard it is amazing, and at this point I don’t expect anything less from a Zecca production. I mean, her and Pete are having students do light designs using a 108″ promethean board as an input device. This is a level of showboating that even I can’t reach. Bravo, and see you Wednesday!
mrkobot.com 