A&S 498

2005-07-23T23:26:00.000-07:00

Group observation findings by Claudia. I think we all did our best in our write ups. I will be commenting in this blog about what I noticed about some of the write up and what I would have said to you if I was Marilyn Havlik, and this was what you presented me with in the post-conference. So far I only had a chance to read through the first 44 pages of the 102 pages in the document. I was impressed with many of them in terms of how some decided to include things that I did not. For example observer # 6 was more clear in the summary of the observation, this style identifies with my style of summarizing things. Observer # 4 I liked how this observer described what the teacher was wearing (white lab coat), I thought that was important because not many science teachers wear a lab coat in a simulated activity. Another thing, some of you mentioned the mating activity and how the teacher instructed students to mate, just as a thought you might want to mention that it was a simulated mating activity and that it would be done through the use of index cards placed on the gene pool (Just for clarification to readers that might not know what the lesson entailed). Observer #2 way too brief on your complete and accurate summary of the lesson. Also, how can you make the claim that effective teachers vary questioning techniques when in your evidence you say that out of 16 questions you observed 12 that were low level. Which ones were the low level and where is the data to see how many times I asked the same questions? I did not see it on the observation data- you just say that the questions asked were questions such as who, what, where, when, why, and is type of questions, well as the teacher I will ask show me how many times I asked this type of question? Observer #4 you could have strengthen your evidence by stating in your observation of the lesson what gender was the student who asked the question - because you said "a student then asked is this survival of the fetus?" Observer #5 made the claim that effective teachers ask questions in order for students to gain knowledge {according to whom?}
Then in your evidence for this claim you say that teacher asked four questions and then after each mating activity her questions were directed to males and females and she wasn't favoring any particular group of students. First if you are going to make this claim that effective teachers ask questions in order to gain knowledge the evidence must be related to how or what did you observed that showed that the questions gave knowledge- such as the students responded appropriately or something to that extend. Then you follow that evidence up with she did not favor males over females- I did not see any data in the summary of the observation that would support that. I actually found that Marilyn Havlik directed questions to boys by their names. Hence, I did find that most of us agreed on the fact that we will use a non-directive approach for this teacher. Also some of the claims seemed to correlate among us. One more thing- this question is actually directed for Mike, I noticed in some that people wrote what type of approach they will use with this teacher in the pre-observation conference with out having yet observed her. Is an observer able to tell from the pre-observation conference what type of approach they would take? Please elaborate or direct me to where I can find the answer?
[to all, have a great summer]

2005-07-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

Final Blog:

Thank you all for a great class! I know that I will use what I have learned in this class a lot this year and in the future. I have enjoyed getting to know you all and listening to your ideas in class. Hopefully I will see some of you in future classes and for those of you who have finished, congratulations!

Comments on Marzano:I enjoyed all of the presentations. I plan on keeping your handouts and referring to them in the future. It is very interesting to see the effect sizes. Specifically, I think in Doug’s group they talked about the negative effect of homogenous grouping. In my district a lot of parents really push for homogenous groups every time the class is grouped. I definitely vary the types of groupings that I use so I appreciate having this data. As I reflected on Marzano’s book, I use a lot of these techniques already, but based on what I learned in class I know there will be ways to modify or change them to possibly improve student learning and achievement. Also, it is great to have data to back up why we do what we do in classrooms. This year I will be mentoring a teacher and I know this will be a nice text to refer to.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of the summer!
~Rebekah

2005-07-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

What an informative and useful class. Even though this is only my fourth class, I feel that I am walking away with a variety of different tools and overall knowledge. Honestly, what it takes to be an educational leader is more than I originally perceived. However, I am pleasantly surprised that all the qualities and strategies needed to be an effective administrator are not that far-fetched and quite attainable. Knowing the qualities of effective teachers, instructional strategies, different personality types, and the complete observation process are now areas where I feel competent and can now build upon them to turn them into strengths. The class discussions in this class were interesting and it was great to get to know people with different educational experiences. I wish all of you the best of luck as you embark or for some of you, end your educational journey. I know we will all make successful educational leaders. Enjoy the rest of your summer.
Meredith

2005-07-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks for a great class. I am taking away many strategies for me to begin building upon. This last week has been crazy, but we all made it. I enjoyed sharing expereinces and interacting with all of you and I wish you all the best. Good Luck finishing up your final and keep practicing those observation techniques. I'm off to L.A. very soon; if you ever are in town or need to talk school, please contact me (mrbecker21@hotmail.com)! Thanks again, Dave

2005-07-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

As I am finishing this class and also my requirements for the type 75 certification, I am thinking about how to sum things up. The following pops into my head:
I am left feeling transformed and confident about my role as an educational leader. The program at DePaul, culminating with this class on supervision, has given me the insight, tools, and mindset to be a successful school leader. As I exit, here are a few take home nuggets that will stay with me.

Have vision, will travel
Know what is effective teaching
Know how to communicate with people
Try to be as democratic as possible
Be a leader
Listen
Respect
Analyze and incorporate research and data
Realize the importance of what you do
Enjoy every day-What we do is a priviledge, an honor, and much fun.

You are a great group of people.
Have a great summer.

Barry Rodgers

2005-07-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

A day later...

This class helped me realize exactly who I am as a teacher and person. Being a protector guardian has helped me understand that I am very structured and traditional. I like to think I am flexible when it comes to teaching styles, but I am truly one for understanding knowledge. That is what I want my kids to know as well: knowledge. For me, that was the best part of class.

The books were great in understanding the different styles of teaching and different ways we learn. I really enjoyed Pajak's book and the 4MAT model from www.aboutlearning.com. I feel I can learn more about my students and the people I work with in my organizations. Being a curriculum studies major, I can see how to apply these concepts in my line of work. Also, if you haven't seen the movie Pay It Forward, go see it! It is a great movie.

It was great meeting everyone in class. Thanks to everyone who has helped me in my difficult moments. I have another class I am taking within these five weeks, and I have to do some more work right now. Please have a wonderful summer. Take some time for yourself. Congratulations to everyone graduating this summer. If you see me around campus, give this brother a shoutout! One.

2005-07-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

I just want to say good luck to everyone. It has truly been a great class and I enjoyed meeting all of you. I feel that we really learned alot from each other that I will take with me in my career. This was my last class for my masters and I really felt like I learned alot about what it takes to be an administrator. I was able to find my strengths and weaknesses and really was able to get the bigger picture of what it feels like to be in an administrators shoes. It is a tough job but somebody's gotta do it. :) This class really made me feel more confident about myself as an educator. I learned how to deal with different types of personalities and am able to understand and respect that people have different perspectives on education. As an administrator I learned that you really need to be aware of alot of things while going through the stages of observation. I thought the books that we read in this class were very beneficial and I will definetly be referring to them down the road.

Thanks everyone for a great class. I know that you will all be successful administrators or what ever else you are going to go into. I look forward to working with all of you somewhere down the road. Take Care!! :0)

2005-07-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

Everyone have a great summer! Some of you I would still see next quarter. For those who are graduating or completing their studies, congrats!!!
I have learned so much in these ten sessions that I would have ever imagined this course to be so informational and interactive. I appreciate everyone's interest and enthusiam in cooperating to make this a great summer session. Stronge, Pajak, Glickman, and Marzano will be referred to as often as I need to and recommended to those who will benefit from the books. Overall, I would just like to express that I feel I am leaving this course with information that will be useful not just for when I become a principal but right now as a teacher........

2005-07-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

Instructional Strategies Presentation

I have to say that it was actually interesting to listen to 3 hours of presentations! Everyone did such a great job! I think the strategies presented reaffirmed some of my own beliefs and what I have been taught in professional development workshops at the school where I teach. Also, I think the presentations also reminded and gave me new insights of things I should be doing with my students next year. I think sometimes I fail to give my students adequate feedback on their lab reports, tests, and etc.... When I have over 100 of the same thing to grade, it gets a bit tiresome. However, I think the research presented showed that this is one area that I do need to put more effort into. Also, I think I could work with my students more to develop nonlinguistic representations and summarizing skills... My h.s. students struggle to make meaning and summarize in their in own words text that is heavily content-oriented. And after listening to students' frequent complaints about homework, the research that provided the recommended minutes of hw per day for h.s. students, tells me that I must be doing something right. At any rate, I think the presentations demonstrated the importance of research and how it should influence our practice as teachers.

One more class to go!

2005-07-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

wow the last day of class for us. I'm really excited to be finishing it up and I'm glad for meeting all of you. I re-read stronge and what it takes to be an effective teacher. The one area that I need help in most is being able to have a reflective view upon my teaching. Stronge writes in his checklist on reflective practice that effective teachers: 1. know areas or personal strengths and weaknesses 2. uses reflection to improve teaching 3. sets high expectations for pesonal classroom performance and 4. demonstrates high efficacy. These are are areas that I could personally work on and hope to improve. Its helpful to be able to look at my teaching and look at my strengths and improve on my weaknesses. Those were just some random thoughts of my day. See you all very soon.

2005-07-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

Hi! A round of applause to everyone...the presentations were great! Sirlester, you are very funny (and I like to eat eggs for breakfast, too), Mr. Becker, thank you for the crayons and April, I wish you had been my chemistry teacher in high school! The final blog tonight...the final final tomorrow...what can I say? This was the first of the supervision classes for me and I learned a lot...some of it new and some of it just a deeper reflection on things I think I already knew but needed to think more about. I'll keep Pajak and Glickman on my shelf for sure. In the fall I'll be starting my third year of classes here at DePaul (I'm on the slow path, 1 class at a time) and the thing that stands out in my mind each quarter is always the people I meet in each class...how impressed I am by the community of educators DePaul draws...how everyone has such great ideas and is so resourceful and motivated to bring the best to their students...some weekends I could really do without the homework, but when you think about it, it really is pretty cool. Not to sound like a total dork, but it makes me a little sad to say g'bye...so...I wish you guys who are finished all the best in your supervision endeavors and I hope to see the rest of you in other classes. Take care and enjoy the rest of the summer.
Donna

2005-07-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

I think that today was an extremely fun class. It was interesting to see how everyone brought a different prospective to the table. I think everyone did a great job presenting there research and I learned a great deal about what Marzano was actually talking about. I'm a little nervous about the final on Thursday. I feel like I've grown a lot in this class and I've written a lot about the personal reflection that it has brought me. I feel confident in the write ups and the pre-observation questions and all but I'm hoping I am able to catch and record enough data through the observation. I just keep telling myself the more that I practice the better that I will eventually become at a supervisor job. This class has definitely taught me how to prepare, organize and strive for student achievement. This is my first class at Depaul and I hope that I learn just as much in my others as I have learned in this one.

2005-07-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

First of all I want to say that everyone's presentations provided me with a lot of knowledge. I would of probably had finished reading Marzano, but this way was better. I enjoyed the interaction and the feedback. I feel that I now can carry more intelligent conversations with my boss besides the sports he talks about as he walks (supervises) the hallways. I am looking forward to returning (believe it or not) in September and present my team with research based strategies. My favorite was the one Jessica and I worked on. The homework, and Practice research made sense, and I just wished that more teachers would be reading on this because it is true that some teachers leave a lot of homework. They have good intentions, but fail to realize that parents should be kept to a minimal even not be involve at all in helping. The involvement should remain to asking and checking that their child did their homework. Looking forward to Thursday, so I can finally take a break!!!

2005-07-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

I just want to give everyone a high five for a job well done. I thought the presentations were innovative and fun. I can't believe we are already approaching the last day of class and the final day of grad school for myself. These two years flew by, and I have to say this class has given me so much insight of the teaching profession. It's a tough job and it seems that all of you are great teachers. Your students are very fortunate. I may be reconsidering my profession later down the road. I love my job, but I think teaching would be great in the future. See you all thursday!

2005-07-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

Thoughts on Data Collection:

As we have sat and watched the videos in class, I am consistently overwhelmed as I try to capture everything that is going on in a classroom. There is just so much to watch for! As we compared notes, I was impressed by the different data that all of us had collected. It seems that no two people collect the same data. As I noticed how different our data was, I realized how hard it must be to observe a classroom if you don’t do a pre-conference. Each of us selected slightly different methods of data collection and focused on slightly different areas. This really reinforced to me how important the pre-conference is so that the teacher and supervisor can agree on an area to be observed. If not, it seems like it would be common for a teacher to feel that a supervisor had focused on the “wrong” area and had not noticed what he considered important or necessary. At the post-conference, I think there could be a lot of communication problems if the teacher and supervisor had focused on different areas. Of course if there was an area of concern the supervisor could select to watch for that area as well, but at least they would have one area that they had both decided upon. However, I also wonder if it wouldn’t sometimes be intellectually interesting to have one or two people collect data without a pre-conference to see what area they focused on. This might lead to some interesting discussions and discoveries about someone’s practice. However, the teacher would have to feel very comfortable with the supervisors/observers in order to embrace this idea.

Another thought: While doing my undergrad at Northwestern, we did a lot of videotaping. I really found it very useful for myself as the teacher and I know my supervisors also used the tapes. As I watch these tapes of classrooms I am reminded of the benefits of videotaping. Teachers can go back and analyze the tapes, you can do multiple types of data collection, small groups of teachers can reflect together, peer coaches can use tapes, etc! As an administrator/supervisor I would really like to encourage the staff to use videotaping. If you think about it, a lot of professions already use videotaping and I think it could really help improve reflective practices in education.

See you all soon!~Rebekah

2005-07-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hey how is everyone doing? Well I have three more blogs to do. I'll do another one tomorrow so stay tuned.......... Anyways I think that this last week of classes will be a good one. I've learned a lot from this class in the short time that we've been in it. Last Thursday was really good because it allowed me to see how much data I must attain as a supervisor. Watching film and actually seeing what a real classroom looks like through the eyes of a supervisor was interesting to see. I know I have much more work to do in my own classroom to help the growth of student achievement. I hope that by taking this class it will remind me how to reach all my students instead of just the strong athletic ones. As far as my situation at my school is concerned, Glickman has allowed me to see how my principal is supervising my co-teacher. She has taken many steps in trying to make him a better teacher. Last week when Mike was talking about what route she was taking I didn't know at the time. But after reviewing the differnt models I'm quite sure she is using directive control. She has completely taken over and this coming year should be interesting to see how she continues to handle this type of teacher. Anyways those were just my random thoughts of the night. I'll see everyone tomorrow.

2005-07-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

I hope all my classmates had an enjoyable weekend. My countdown is on, 6 more hours and I am done here at DePaul University. Wow, it seems like just yesterday I was sitting in some cold dark room at DePaul doing my writing sample to be accepted to the program. Anyways, I have 2 Bolg sessions left and here is the 1st! After last weeks class It seems as though I feel the same way as many of you (after reading your entries). The light bulb has gone on! It's been a struggle for me to catch on to this conferencing technique. I never knew how much really went into an observation. After Thursday, and having the opportunity to practice, practice, and then practice some more, I feel like my skills are starting to get pulled out. I still haven't found a comfortable method that fits me, but a rough draft is taking form. I think I have pretty much got down the analysis and pre and post; it's just the collecting of the data that I'm still working on. I know it's going to come! That is all I have for this Blog, now I have to begin preparing my presentation I'll give tomorrow. I hope you all have a great Monday and I'll see you in about 25 hours! Mr. Becker

2005-07-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

This week's classes have been extremely helpful to me. I've come to the realization that taking factual observations without any interpretations is very difficult, but can be done well with a little bit of practice. I'm nervous about our final project, but I'll try my best. I really enjoy all of the in-class opportunities we've had to practice our observation skills. I'm going to be a mentor this year and I'm so excited to use all of the skills that I've learned in this class. It will be great practice! :)

2005-07-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Hi
Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. For some reason the thought of giving a presentation on Tuesday is 100 times more stressful to me than the kind of "presentations" I give in front of students just about every day...why is that? Anyway...I found class last week to be helpful, especially the practice observations. At work I am always amazed at how teachers keep track of everything going on their classrooms, and because I am more used to being one on one or with smaller groups of children I am afraid that I am going to miss things. Perfect example...I didn't even notice the student standing on the table in the woodshop. On the other hand, the different techniques for collecting data will probably be useful tools for me (as a supervisor or just in general) becasue they help keep the focus on the target of the observation. I am often asked to observe students in their classrooms and provide strategies for dealing with various behavior and motor issues...one of my problems is that because it is part of my training to look not just at behavior but also at the root of those behaviors, my tendency is to spend part of that time speculating about why the child is demonstrating that particular behavior and I often end up needing to go back a second or third time to better document the more objective things (like incidents of head banging, book licking, hand flapping, etc.) which is not especially efficient. I especially liked the example chart in Glickman for the science class with three problem students...because it was efficient, friendly, clear and pointed at specific and simple solutions.

2005-07-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

After having some adequate and not as stressful amount of time to digest Glickman, I realized how helpful and needed this information really was. Whereas Pajak focused more on the temperament styles of teachers, I found that Glickman took into account so much more pertinent information like ability and skill level. As a future supervisor, I know that it is important to be cognizant of teachers temperament styles, but in determining how much to supervise an employee, skill level is a predominating factor. I especially found the continuums to be extremely helpful and know that I will use this text in the future to aid in my instructional leadership. Furthermore, I have found all of these texts to be of considerable value and plan on keeping them for future reference tools. I know that each time I read one of these authors I m sure to take away something more valuable and useful to my supervisory experiences.

2005-07-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

I finally have some relief. After Thursday's class, I have an idea on how to put everything together with the pre and post conferences. I also have an idea on what to do in the analysis process. It is hard to stay away from making judgment on anyone when you observe someone. What my prayer is that I am able to remember to keep my opinion out of the analysis process. Also, it is hard not to place some feelings into the writings like "I feel that..." or "I did not like..." I guess with practice, I will get it.

I am still under stress, but hopefully, that will pass as well. Have a great weekend!

2005-07-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

It was very helpful for me to watch the video on those different teachers. Out of all the teachers I observed on that video I noticed that none of them really engaged their students. I did not see cooperative groups in the video. I wonder if that was the purpose for the video so that education students can critique these teachers, or was that not the case? Observing those classrooms without a focus made it hard for me because I just jotted down what I believed to be important in an observation. I think that for this being my first simulated observation I did pick up on important things the teachers were not doing. It helped that we learned in this class what effective teaching looks like and then we have a platform to supervise and evaluate from. Overall, I feel confident that we are going to do our best when it is our turn to supervise and evaluate.

2005-07-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight's class was really helpful for me to really understand how to conduct observations. After watching the video clips of the different classrooms and putting into practice all that we have been talking about for the past few weeks really put everything into perspective. I was able to get a sense of what it is going to be like as an administrator to observe different teachers. At times I thought it was hard to just stick to the data and not put your opinion or ideas into the observation but I am sure that will just come natural with practice. I thought conducting the post observation meetings with other classmates was a great experience because you really had to think about what you were going to say to the teacher, especially when you needed to discuss the teachers weaknesses. It is not an easy task to tell someone what there weaknesses are in a nice way. :) People don't like to hear their weaknesses so as an administrator you really need to think about how you are going to approach each teacher keeping in mind their temperament style so that the relationships that you have built with your teachers won't remain stable.

2005-07-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

This class has really opened my eyes to the different ways that teachers teach and their personalities. As an administrator, it is necessary to know these to be effective. I found that watching the movies was very positive because I was able to see some of these personalities of different quadrants that I am not in. One of the movies that I watched was Stand and Deliver. Classmates . . . if you have a chance, rent this movie. . It’s a good one. I actually met the teacher that this movie was inspired by and he was just as inspiring in person. He said to us in a presentation that if you set high standards and stick to them, children will achieve. As I rented this movie I did not realize that this was someone that I had met. Halfway through I had a light bulb turn on in my head and I realized. This being a summer class, it is difficult to see all of these temperaments in action because I am not at my school all summer.
I will definitely use all of the information from this course to help me grow as a better teacher as well as when I become an administrator so that I can promote effective teaching.

2005-07-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

I was glad we had a chance to clarify the teaching strategies. The reading assignments have helped me look within to become a better teacher. Even though I am in the leadership program, but are a teacher right now, I realize that I will be a principal within the next couple of years. I must admit, I am in a way nervous, but not unsure of what I would be expecting of the teachers in our school. The nervousness part comes mostly from what we have been talking about in class, and things that come up when we are in our groups. I know that for me and probably others the biggest struggle for me that I will learn to work on is the fact of how to shift the thinking mode of already molded teachers. I am referring to those teachers who are reluctant to change, and that they do bring knowledge and experience to the school. I think that the exercise we did in class address this however, is easier said than done. I assure you that I will be carrying "Glickman" in my bag. The tables provided in chapter five on what each instructional leader behaviors are exhibit by each type helped to identify what type of leader one is. I also liked how Glickman outlined the questioning for each type of approach.

2005-07-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

Glickman: You are the man. This knowing teacher likes your sequential approach to Supervision. It is a step by step process that is much easier to follow than Pajak' s foray into psychoanalysis. I do have a sneaking suspicion that it may be just too easy and linear. There may be something missing. That something has to do with the fact that there is much to be gained by understanding an individual's personality in conceptualizing a person's teaching style and finding inroads to collaboration and motivation. Hmmm? Pajak?.

While watching "Another Set of Eyes", I found myself looking at strategies through the lens of bad hairdoos.

2005-07-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

On Diverse Teaching Styles...

After last week's class I began to think back to my past teacher evaluations, particularly the pre-conferences. As I thought back to the types of questions posed to me, I realized most of the questions often asked relate to a "knowing teacher" or an "inventing teacher". That is, questions about what was going to be taught, how is the lesson differentiated for various learners, how does the lesson fit with the schoolwide curriculum goals, do I expect any problems with the lesson, etc. It made me think that maybe supervisors rely too much on some types of questions and don't meet the needs of all diverse teaching styles. However, after additional reflection I began to think that maybe all teachers should be asked a variety of questions instead of only those tailored to there particular teaching style. There are just some questions that may need to be asked regardless of a teacher's style. For example:
What are the objectives to this lesson? (Knowing)
Do you anticipate any shortfalls with this lesson? (Inventing)
How do you feel about your student's progress in this course? (Inspiring)
How will you help students that do not understand? (Caring)

I guess from our discussions in class I'm taking away that supervisors, especially initially, need to be conscious of the diverse teaching styles in their school setting and brainstorm questions beyond the usual questions posed during the clinical supervision cycle so that the needs of all teachers can be met.

2005-07-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

I feel like I had a lightbulb moment last Thursday in class! While I thought that the Kiersey and the information provided by Pajak has been informative, it occurred to me in class on Thursday just how useful and extremely important this information on the different teaching strategies really is. After further reflection, I also realize how useful this information will be for me when working with other teachers and staff and in other relationships in my personal life. Understanding key elements of others personality/teaching styles has proven to be useful in so many other ways; not just for the supervisory role. It reminded me of an incident that occurred this year with two of my coworkers. There was a new teacher in one of the social studies positions. Pajak would describe him as a caring teacher. My partner and I service a caseload of about 40 students with learning disabilities; all of our students are mainstreamed into the social studies class. Throughout the course of the school year, my partner and the new teacher just could NOT get along. They had to have weekly meeetings with the principal just so they could communicate effectively at all. However, I never had any major problems with the new teacher and we were always able to collaborate effectrively together. Yet whenever my coworker would come to me and always ask why I had no problems with him and why they could barely stand to be in the same room with each other, I never was able to explain it to her. Now, I could. My approach to him at the beginning of the year was that of how you would approach a preobservation conference with a caring teacher. Then throughout the year, I helped guide him through the accomodations, modifications, etc. that my students would need to be successful in his classroom. Even though I find myself to be more of a knowing teacher and him a caring teacher, we were able to develop a collaborative, effective working relationship that enabled our students to be successful. It was clear that we both processed information differently, but instead of talking in circles for hours, we adjusted to each others communication style preferences. I needed to use examples with him and describe things step-by-step. He had to show me results of my students work soI could know if the modifications/accomodations were appropriate for my students with IEPs. This kind of expertise in teaching styles will only lead to further student achievement and success.

2005-07-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

Assignment Schedule

7/5 #1 Keirsey profile & #3 Weekly relflective blog

7/7 #2 Reubmission of school culture & #6 Instuctional presentation

7/12 #4 Analysis of movies

7/14 #5 Platform & PD plan

7/19 Summative Evaluation

2005-07-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

1. 7/7
2. 7/5
3. ongoing
4. 7/7
5. 7/14
6. 7/12
7. Emailed after the last class
Hope everyone had a great 4th.

2005-07-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

Barry Rodgers Assignment Schedule
Project 1- submitted
Project 2- submitted
Project3.- In progress
Project 4- July 7
Project 5- July 7
Project 6- July 12

2005-07-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

Assignment Schedule

Project 1: 05 juillet 05
Project 2: 07 juillet 05
Project 3: ongoing
Project 4: 05 juillet 05
Project 5: 12 juillet 05
Project 6: 12 juillet 05
Project 7: 14 juillet 05

2005-07-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

I find it interesting to study the different types of temparements and relate them to teaching styles however I do think it would be an injustice to "pigeonhole" teachers as only one type. As a supervisor it will be helpful for me to be aware of diffent types of teaching styles and temparaments when interacting with my teachers but I'm not sure how far that will drive my supervision of personnel. I thought it was difficult to both accomodate for the teachers temperament and style as well as my own in considering what questions to ask. I think there are certain questions such as "what is the objective of your lesson" that should be asked to all teachers. I do understand the importance of interpersonal communication and hopefully the principles of Kiersey and Pajack will help in that arena.

2005-07-05T01:55:00.000-07:00

6/21/05 Reflection Analysis of Temperament/Reflection paper
7/5/05 School culture and achievement

(Weekly)Reflective Journal /blog

7/12/05Analysis of movies/Practical Supervision (Pay it forward & Dangerous Minds)

7/14/05Educational and Supervisory, Platform & Professional Development Plan

7/7/05 Instructional Strategies Presentation (Homework & Practice- Jessica & Claudia)

7/14/05Summative Evaluation

2005-07-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

Comments on Pajak:

I definitely found reading “Honoring Diverse Teaching Styles” interesting and thought-provoking. As I read I had a few questions that kept popping up:
1. Regardless of teaching styles and character temperaments, don’t we require the same thing from all of our teachers? (For example, don’t we want all teachers do differentiate their instruction and address multiple intelligences?)
2. Don’t most teachers possess elements of all the different styles/temperaments?
3. In the context of unions and specific “evaluation tools” how much freedom does an administrator have to differentiate teacher observations?

At the end of page 77, Pajak provided some cautionary statements including that “this advice…should never be used to pigeonhole teachers into ironclad stereotypes.” However, I felt that his text consistently used very rigid definitions of teachers and their styles/preferences. I was troubled by a number of the descriptions such as on page 68 when he said that knowing teachers are “likely to rely heavily on direct instruction in their classrooms.” I find it impossible to believe that in our class the vast majority of people “rely heavily” on direct instruction. Furthermore, I struggled with these descriptions because I felt that Pajak was implying that these teachers tend to teach in this way because of their temperament and so it couldn’t or shouldn’t really be changed. I believe that all teachers must employ a large range of tools that they use in their classrooms. We need to meet kids where they are not where we are.

However, in class I think it was April that made a comment that really helped me understand some of these issues in a new light. She said (and I can’t quote exactly) that we are supposed to use these temperaments to help communicate to teachers in a way that the teachers can understand but we can still expect similar things from all of them. In other words, we can expect inquiry-style learning from all teachers. However, to work with knowing teachers to help them develop inquiry-style learning we need to talk to them slightly differently than when talking to inventing teachers who tend to lean more towards those methods.

I think reading Pajak’s book has helped me realize that just as I do with students, I can expect high standards from all teachers but use different methods to help teachers realize those standards. As I work with teachers, I will find that they struggle with different aspects and need different kinds of help and communication in order to maximize their potential.

Finally, I still have some questions (mainly 2 and 3 from above). Also, I have questions about implementation of these tools. I wonder how many people in our class felt that the Keirsey was accurate for themselves. Also, would you all feel comfortable asking your staff do to the Keirsey or would you use observations and conversations to help gain an idea of teachers’ styles and then modify your communication? I am not sure how all of this would play out in the context of a real school – I’m still thinking about that one!

Hope you all enjoyed the holiday weekend!
-Rebekah

2005-07-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

Greetings and a happy holiday to everyone.
It is kind of sad that we as a group will only be meeting four more times. . . . Let’s make them the best they can be.
On to some business. On Tuesday when Mike presented us with 4MAT, I was excited because I had previously learned about 4MAT in my undergrad classes. The only 2 things that were different were that we did not learn about it using a lens nor did we learn about it from a supervisory position. That is one thing that I know I have to always take a step back and think to myself . . . you are learning to be a supervisor and you need to look at these things from that role. In my case, I want to be a principal, so I need to look at this 4MAT model as a principal would. I know how to design a lesson around 4MAT but am unsure how to look at from a supervisory position. As I read some of your BLOGS, I know that I am not the only one in this boat.
Talk to you ~Kevin

2005-07-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Assignment schedule
1) July 5
2) July 7
3) Weekly
4) July 5
5) July 12
6) July12/14
7) emailed to you after final class

2005-07-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

I pray that everyone is having a safe holiday weekend.

I am having a problem understanding the platform assignment. I have some notes from people in the classroom. Also, I went to http://www.aboutlearning.com and read their information. I am asking if someone can email me to explain the 4MAT and assignment? Afterwards, if we need to talk, I will give you my home phone number, and we can discuss in further detail. I want to be able to incorporate everything so that I can do a great presentation.

Thank you in advance!

Sirlester, Jr.
presidentjefferson@sbcglobal.net

2005-07-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

Assignment schedule
Donna Smith
1. Keirsy paper...done
2. School culture paper...done
3. Reflective journal...weekly post
4. Analysis of movies...June 30th/July 5th
5. Educational and supervisory platform + PDP...July 7th
6. Instructional strategies presentation...July 12th
7. Clinical supervision report...will e-mail to you after last class (?)

2005-07-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

4MAT and the Instructional Strategies Presentation

Presentations for A&S 498 are expected to include octants 1-6 of the 4MAT model. 20 minutes per person is allocated for each presentation. If a student feels that more time may be needed this must be discussed and approved at least one class period prior to the presentation.

Presentations that exceed the time limit will be reduced by one full letter grade for each 5 minute period exceeded. This is necessary to assure that all students have sufficient and equal time.

About 4MAT

4MAT, developed from the research of Bernice McCarthy, is an instructional model that gives consideration to multiple ways of perceiving and processing information. The image below, acquired from http://www.aboutlearning.com/, illustrates the relationships that exist among these processes.

True learning, according to McCarthy, does not occur until a full cycle occurs. What this means, is that learners must move through the cycle (around the circle, that is) from "12:00 to 12:00". As learners move/are moved around the circle, activities stimulate right and left hemispheres of the brain.

Teachers/presenters use the model to design instructional activities giving consideration to 1) the degree of interaction among learners, and 2) the type of activity the learners will engage in at each "point" in the cycle.

Each of the underlined terms is a link. The reader can learn more about the particular phase of the learning cycle by clicking on the links.

USING 4MAT TO TEACH ABOUT THE MARZANO INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

1) Identify the content to be learned (in this case, the Marzano strategy)

2) Identify the lens through which we explore the content (Marzano strategy). The "lens" is the concept through which the content will be explored. Concepts are timeless, broad, and extend beyond specific content. For example, the content of "how to clean the refrigerator" can be explored through the lens of "organization". Organization is a concept that is timeless, broad, and extends beyond the specific content of, in this case, cleaning the refrigerator.

Another example:

We can study the content of the Civil War through the lens of family, or balance, or growth, or change, or commitment, or many other conceptual frames.

These lenses provide the learner with a reason for learning the content.

For the Marzano presentation, the presenter will need to complete the following sentence before beginning the planning:

The class will learn about [strategy] through the lens of [concept].

The remainder of this section defines the specific types of activities appropriate for each octant.

Octant 1 - Connect

Right brained activity. Open-ended in nature. Connects learner to CONCEPT (lens) NOT CONTENT. Activities in this octant do not require participants to read or write as these are left-brained activities.
EXAMPLE: The lesson on cleaning the refrigerator which will be studied through the lens of organization. For a connect activity, the leader could have students talk about times when their lives were affected by organization (and disorganization).
Connect activities begin at 12:00 on the wheel, and as such, require maximum experiencing and interaction with others.

Octant 2 - Attend

Left brained activity. Product oriented in nature.
Permits learner to reflect on the activity above where they connected to the CONCEPT (lens).
Lesson content is not used or introduced.
Activities in this octant require participants to reflect individually and in groups about what they experienced and learned about the concept during the connect activity. Charting, recording, or other methods of documenting reflections are used within this octant.
EXAMPLE: The lesson on cleaning the refrigerator which will be studied through the lens of organization. For an attend activity, the leader could have students chart the ideas they generated. Another activity could be to create a T Chart for the concept (organization) and record the characteristics of organization and disorganization on the left and right sides of the T Chart, respectively.
Attend activities move learners closer to 3:00 on the wheel, where processing occurs through reflection.

Octant 3 - Image

Right brained activity. Creative in nature. Learners are moving from 3:00 (reflection) on the processing axis toward 6:00 (abstraction) on the perception axis.
Causes learners to image the concept (lens) visually: a blending of reflection and abstraction.
Lesson content is still not used or introduced.
Activities in this octant require participants to actually develop a visual representation of the concept (lens).
EXAMPLE: The lesson on cleaning the refrigerator which will be studied through the lens of organization. For an image activity, the leader could have students create a visual representation of organization based on what they discussed and reflected upon. Visuals are displayed and shared.
Image activities move learners closer toward 6:00 on the wheel and anchor their understanding of the concept (lens) in preparation for the introduction of content.

Octant 4 - Inform

Left brained activity. Leader-directed.
This is the first time the learner is introduced to CONTENT. Content is introduced through the lens. Activities in this octant often require participants to read, write, or engage in other activities that cause them to learn new content.
EXAMPLE: The lesson on cleaning the refrigerator which will be studied through the lens of organization. For an inform activity, the leader could introduce students to the content by explaining steps in cleaning the refrigerator, and then showing how the result is a clean organized refrigerator that will have benefit to the students.
Inform activities begin at 4:30 and continue until 6:00 on the wheel. As such, the leader will be moving students into the abstraction of the content.

Octant 5 - Practice

Left brained activity, again. Leader-directed.
This is the first time the learner has opportunities to practice or apply the new content with consideration for the lens through which the content is being studied. Students can work individually or in groups to practice.
Activities in this octant often require participants to read, write, or engage in other activities that cause them to practice new content. In this octant, they move from 6:00 to 7:30. As this activity is still an abstraction, this activity would likely not be in a "real" setting. Worksheets, simulations, and other activities are appropriate to give students opportunities to practice.
EXAMPLE: The lesson on cleaning the refrigerator which will be studied through the lens of organization. For a practice activity, the leader could have students practice the content that was introduced by having them complete a worksheet that shows the shelves and bins in a refrigerator along with a list of random items found in a refrigerator. Students would then "organize" the refrigerator by placing the items on shelves and in bins to show an organized refrigerator.
Practice activities begin at 6:00 and continue until 7:30 on the wheel . As such, the leader will be moving students from the abstraction of the content to gaining experience with the new content.

Octant 6 - Extend

A right brained activity.
Provides learners with opportunities to consider extension of the new learning to their lives.
As this activity begins at 7:30 and continues to 9:00 on the wheel, the leftmost point on the processing axis, learners will be provided opportunities to move from abstract understanding about the concept toward experience to act on that learning.
EXAMPLE: The lesson on cleaning the refrigerator is being studied through the lens of organization. For an extend activity, the leader could have students now draw pictures of what their own refrigerator will look like after they clean it, applying the new content and concept to their lives.

Octant 7 - Refine

A left brained activity.
Provides the presenter/teacher an opportunity to help students refine their thinking about the the content and concept.
As this begins at 9:00 and continues until 10:30 on the wheel, the leftmost position on the processing axis, students will be actively engaged in meaningful activities, not abstract worksheets.
These activities lead students to being able to actually demonstrate their learning through performance.

Octant 8 - Perform

Right brained activity.
Provides students with an opportunity to act out their new learning in a real world experience.
This often results in performances, museum displays, video presentations, or other real life performance pieces, regardless of content. Performances demonstrate understanding of the content through the lens (concept). The richer the lens, the richer the performance of the new learning.

2005-07-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

Becker Assignment Schedule:

6/28 - Kiersey
7/7 - School Profile
7/7 - Movies
7/14 - Platform

Rosen Schedule

6/28 - Kiersey, School Profile
7/5 - Movies
7/7 - Platform
7/12 - Instructional Strategies Presentation

2005-07-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

I was reviewing my notes about the 4Mat model and re-reading Pajak and I find all of this quite interesting. It has caused me to reflect upon my own teaching and realize there are ways that I can improve myself. I'm excited to get back to school to try some of these ideas out. It's hard at times because people always laugh that I teach "gym," and none of what I am teaching is every important. I think its a constant battle for physical educators to be taken serious because we have recieved a bad rap about being lazy and "just rolling the ball out." I like the idea of the 4Mat model and having my students connect to lesson on hand. There are always some kids in p.e that just don't quite grasp the mechanics or skill of a sport. But maybe by using the 4Mat model the kids that don't usually learn by motion can learn by just connecting. Its just a thought but I'm excited to use it and see if physical education can be more than just sports. With Pajek I think it allows me to be able to work with others a lot better. I'm still some years away from ever being an A.D but I do have to co-teach with 4 other people. I've learned that there are a lot of different types of teachers and I've learned how to express my praises or concerns to them. So far this has been a great class to learn from and a great class for me to learn how to improve my skills as a teacher and one day as a supervisor.

2005-07-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

After finally absorbing everything last week, I think my brain is about to burst. We've learned some very detailed techniques, which will be helpful in the future, but I just find it hard to relate it to my profession. I'm trying to see the"big picture" of it all, but once I think I pieced it all together, something that is said that is directed towards teachers just sets me back. After reading Pajak, I feel that I have some qualities from each quadrant. The book is very insightful, and explains thoroughly how to deal with each person, but I agree with what Barry had to say on 7/1. Why is this psycholigical testing the "one" that determines what kind of person you are? People's personalities have so many different attributes that it seems hard for me to tie it down to one type. As Barry said, he would address all four quadrants as an administrator as will I. Anyway, hope you all had a great weekend. My Bandit ladies are doing awesome! They won their series this weekend and are on a 14 game winning streak. If anyone wants to see a game let me know.

2005-07-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hello A&S 498. After finishing Pajak and looking over the handouts from last week I have been thinking about what kind of supervisor I have the potential to become as well as how intimidating it is to think about stepping out of a role that I feel confident and competent in to a completely new one. When I first started teaching I had no idea what I was doing...and my first few years a therapist were about the same...although books and classes are excellent and necessary preparation, I can't help wondering if I will ever feel really prepared for a supervisory position? And once I take that position, will I like it as much as I like what I am doing now? I am troubled by all of the formula-based approaches to observing teachers for a few reasons...first...I can't remember any of my supervisors ever using any of them with me, and second, I am uncomfortable with the push toward looking at teachers for short periods of time and fitting them (in mind) into categories. It seems so...I don't know...subjective. As a supervisor I can certainly hope to "know" all of the people I will be supervising, but in my experience, most of the teachers I know are very different in their classrooms than they are in more casual or social situations and also different again in meeting situations with supervisors or principals. Taking on the responsibility of leadership is looking more and more to me like a gigantic leap of faith. I will have to trust teachers I am supervising...and hope that I have it in me to be open-minded and thoughtful enough to appreciate the quality and complexity of the relationships they have with their students. Not an easy task. Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday.
:) donna

2005-07-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Good day to everyone! I am still recovering from my vacation. I want to thank everyone for their concern about my aunt who became gravely ill on our return to Miami. She is still in Miami, but she is stable...(smile)

I am finding Pajak's book to be quite interesting. When I look at inventing, knowing, caring, and inspiring teachers, I see myself as being all of these teachers. On pages 17 and 18, he describes our dominant function as being the driver. Truly, I am a knowing teacher because I feel that it is important for my students to know how to do mathematics. As I continued to read Pajak, I was like "wow". My shadows follow me, and I want to be able to use them wisely. The trick I need to learn is how to deal with other people that may be a different teacher than I am. I think it is easy to be the one to say "it's my way or the highway". While I feel I am a team player, I always want to consider others. I guess I drift to being a caring teacher as well...lol.

Have a great weekend!

2005-07-02T06:05:00.000-07:00

Good Morning A&S 498. I wanted to "BLOG" earlier this week, but times have been busy. Let me take a minute and think back to everything we discussed in class Tuesday and Thursday (thinking). O.K., now I'm ready. On Tuesday we spent a mojority of the class going over the 4matt technique of organizing and teaching a lesson or concept. Wow, at first I had no idea about what was going on with the crazy circle on the board. Then the lightbulb went on and it all started to make sense. When we finally started discussing the technique it became very clear to me that this similar to what we already are doing it just comes with fancier lingo. Now on to Thursday and what I really wanted to BLOG about. I found Thursdays class to be very helpful in my development as a future administrator. I feel that a big chunk of my time as beginning principal is going to deal with pre-observation, observation, and post-observation. I enjoyed spending a lot of time going over and really detailing what each aspect consisted of. I'm really starting to see that all of this is going to take practice (and we're beginning to get the practice in class). Well, my BLOG time is about up. It's all starting to come together, and with 4 classes left I'm thinking this is about the time it should begin looking that way. Enjoy the weekend and I'll see you Tuesday! Mr. Becker

2005-07-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

If we are going to use a supervision approach based on the Keirsey or Myers Briggs, it follows that we must be confident in our ability to categorize individuals. If not, we are cooking with the wrong ingredients. I find the notion that I could categorize each of the individuals on my staff to be difficult and problematic. Do I assume that I can categorize their personalities based on my interactions and discussions? Do I ask them to submit to a psychological test so that I can use this data to supervise and evaluate them? My psychologist, who also happens to be my wife will tell you that while the Myers Briggs does provide valuable information, but strict interpretations and strategies based on these results do not take into account the fluidity of a persons personality, experiences, moods, wants and needs.
What complicates this even more is that Pajac discusses how individuals may need questions that originate from other quadrants. On page 72 Pajac indicates that "Caring Teachers may need assistance thinking through a detailed lesson plan beyond the routines that they have in place." It would then seem necessary to use a line of questioning from the Knowing or Inventing quadrant.
In developing my own approach to supervision, I think that I would to use an approach that addresses all four quadrants as a starting point and then make an effort to be reactive to the person that I am supervising.

2005-06-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone how are you? I found our two classes this week to be quite intriguing. I feel that I have really gained a lot of knowledge about pre-observation and observation strategies through Pajak that I will be able to practice and then apply when I become an administrator.

I found Tuesday's class interesting because we discussed how children learn through the 4Mat System Model. I thought that this model was very true because there are all kinds of learners within our classrooms and as a teacher it is our job to touch upon the entire circle of this model and truly engage all of the different learning styles within our classrooms. I feel that all of us as teachers have probably been doing all of these things in our classrooms just not specifically in this format. At first it was hard to grasp the idea of viewing a strategy through the lens of another concept but once we came up with our own ideas it was easy to see how it all tied together. It will be interesting to put this model into practice when we give our presentations to the class.

I thought the selective verbatim practice that we conducted on 6/30/04 really gave me a feel for how specific and detailed your data collection needs to be when you are observing. I was able to see why the selective verbatim strategy would be a useful tool for an administrator to really pinpoint specific things that the teacher is doing or not doing during an observation. While conducting this activity I felt that it was hard to look at the bigger picture of the classroom because I was writing down word for word what the teacher/students were saying. I feel that as a future administrator I need to be aware of everything that is happening in a classroom when I am observing but I found that to be a very difficult task while performing this particular technique.

Overall I found this weeks classes to be very stimulating and thought provoking. I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July weekend. See you on Tuesday! :)

2005-06-30T21:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
As some or all of you know, this is my first class in my master’s program and has it been a hit in the face. Not necessarily a bad hit but an eye opener if you will. I have been in the same school for the past two years and I have had two different principals. It is amazing the difference that a school can have with just changing the principal. The first year, I would say that we had an effective principal that wanted to work towards “good teaching” and she believed that by having effective teachers, learning would take place. This year, however, we had a principal that believes in discipline and does not make herself known as a supervisor of the teachers but a kind of dean of students. I thank everyone in the class for their comments and stories from their own lives. It has been very beneficial to me.
-Kevin

2005-06-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

COMMENTS ON THE 4MAT TECHNIQUE

The 4MAT appears to have good intentions however it's perceived that it could set itself up for a cerebral meltdown amongst teaching staff who tend to be preoccupied with an array of duties. I'd very much be hesitant about approaching them with such a concept regardless of proof given by minimal research and plaudits by intellectuals in the field of education. And if it was to be implemented, is it because it's new and trendy or serves to keep teachers worried about the fate of their job? The model does a disservice to itself by being quite partitioned, verbose, and lacking cohesion in its approach. Educators who have been in the field for years know the shortcomings of highly touted, prior models and frameworks superceding each other such as KWL and whole language which didn't pan out and can detect possible failure. They will not suppress their feelings and attitudes towards these impositions by administrators who may appear to make duties more laborious than required. It would be advisable to present the idea of its incorporation in a socratic forum so as not to appear tyrannical in intention. Otherwise, they'll twist the spokes of its conceptual wheel around the neck of an administrator who may underestimate their fragility of nerves and level of tolerance. So be ready to hire a well paid ombudsperson to handle and investigate the barrage of complaints along with suggesting alternatives and contingencies when encountering such opposition and discontent, not contempt. Perhaps the notion that simplicity would elicit complicity is valid because 4MAt, when presented improperly, takes on the appearance of taking a brain surgeon to use it. Also, preventing the lens of viewing from becoming myopic has to be tended to first thus preventing teachers from resorting to blindly feeling their way through the model's maze of questioning. This was exhibited in class Tuesday when it was difficult for many to conjure up some sort of lens. One could just hope for a mere admixture of awe and revulsion of equal proportions at the time of discourse over its incipience so as to have some sort of terra firma to operate on. Pairing up the content with the discontent staff members forming partnerships could serve to be its salvation moreso than its damnation.

2005-06-29T00:03:00.000-07:00

What I retained from Tuesday's class was: The 4Mat, Techniques of observations, and the the art of probing. The 4Mat in my opinion is very concrete in relating the instruction to specific learning styles. I can see the significance of the 4Mat with today's high demands to find ways to educate all students successfully. More importantly, I can see how the NCLB is responsible for a culture shift in the nation's public schools. We are moving toward a dependence on numbers to measure how schools are doing. I admit that even though the concept of the 4Mat as mentioned by Rebekah is nothing but old concepts that have been know by different terminology the way the 4Mat presented it makes more sence to me. I am a visual learner therefore seeing the wheel and having it broken down into how activities fit into right brain and left brain made more sence to me. Honestly, I really do not think most teachers sit down and plan a lesson thinking of addressing all of the learning styles in their classroom. I think it is time consumming, and above all do teachers really know all of their student's learning styles? Some of you may argue that an effective teacher would know within a few days all of their students learning styles, and others like myself would like to have feedback from the kids. Please do not take what I said about planning lesson on the 4Mat model time consuming as a negative, I would actually do it, and would like to see all the teachers at the school I work at doing this and implementing it. It only takes one person to influence the rest and this would be something I would be sharing with my team and administrators upon my return to work.

2005-06-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

Initial thoughts on Supervsion and Evaluation

This is actually my blog from last week. Apparently, I only posted it to my personal blog. Pleas forgive my blog noviceness.

I thought class this week was promising. I realized that I need to make a distinction in my mind between supervision and evaluation and leadership in general. Specifically, I am starting to realize that supervision and evaluation are only a part of leadership. I think I was wrestling with this issue because I was reminded of administrators who believe that supervision and evaluation are all that is required from a school leader. These are the bureaucrats who have plagued education for far too long.
Unfortunately, too many administrators overly focus on evaluation and true supervision is rare. Current theories of management realize the importance of the different frameworks and the human resource frame to motivating people. If motivation is driven by evaluation and critique, people tend to perform while they are being evaluated and slack off or even undermine management when they are left alone. With this in mind, I think I can move beyond the formulaic nature of the supervision process when I realize that it is a valuable tool for an administrator. If used correctly, it can facilitate teacher growth and allow for a mechanism to evaluate teachers.

2005-06-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

observation from driving out of the parking lot...
barry, your right brake light is out.

2005-06-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

I've had a hard time with this blogging thing and I don't know what I'm actually doing.

Course Schedule:

6/21 Project #1 and #2

7/5 Project #4

7/7 Project #5

7/12 Project #6

2005-06-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

My Submission Schedule:

Reflection Paper on Keirsey Temperament Sorter
6-21-05
School Culture and Achievement Profile
6-28-05
Instructional Strategy Presentation
7-7-05
Educational Platform and Professional Development Plan
7-12-05
Analysis of Movies / Reflection on Style / Design a Professional Development Plan
7-14-05
Summative Evaluation – Clinical Supervision Simulation
7-19-05

2005-06-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

Comments on “Qualities of Effective Teachers:”

I enjoyed reading this book and found that it reaffirmed a lot of what I believe about teaching. I like how the book concisely summed up research on effective teaching and provided checklists and the annotated bibliography. I think this book would be a great tool for anyone in administration because of its research base. As we discussed in class there are a lot of assumptions about teaching and people definitely all have their own bias and opinions about teaching. I like that this book provides a research base to discussions about teaching and learning. As a teacher, I think I am very open to discussions about improving teaching especially with proven methods. I think teachers would be more receptive to constructive criticism if it comes from something proven instead of one evaluator’s opinions. When I started teaching at my district they gave all the new teachers a welcome gift with a couple of books on teaching. I think that this is a good one to give teachers and as a supervisor /administrator I would definitely want to encourage my staff to read and discuss this book.

Comments on “CERJ”

The “CERJ” format we were taught in class works very nicely with the Stronge book. However, one of the questions I have is how often that format should be used. I found it very interesting that in “Honoring Diverse Teaching Styles,” Pajak recommends using basically the “CERJ” format when working with “knowing teachers” (page 64). I definitely would use that format with a struggling teacher that I thought might not be rehired (especially to make sure that I had the documentation necessary and to ensure that I was communicating very clearly with the teacher). However, I wonder if it is the most effective tool with all teachers in all situations. Especially with new teachers, I think it is very beneficial to discuss what the teacher is seeing in his or her own classroom and help him/her develop into a reflective practitioner. I wonder if the “CERJ” format limits some of the teachers’ own reflective practices during the clinical cycle. As an undergrad I worked with a research team that was using video clubs to help teachers see what was going on in their classrooms and work on professional development and improving their effectiveness. I think there are a lot of techniques supervisors can use to help teachers maximize their potential and develop professionally. I would be interested in hearing from Prof. Pietrzak and the rest of you on when you think “CERJ” should be used and when you think other techniques might be more appropriate or might lead to more reflective teachers.

See you all this afternoon!

2005-06-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

Schedule:

6/28/05 - School Culture and Achievement Profile & Keirsey Temperament Sorter

7/5/05 - Movie Analysis & Educational and Supervisory Platform and Professional Development Plan

7/12/05 - Instructional Strategies Presentation

Summative Evaluation due after last class.

2005-06-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

After reading Honoring Diverse Teaching Styles, I have been able to understand more about the reasons behind some of my decisions. I'm in the Knowing Teachers Group, and couldn't agree more that I'm a very organized person. I also make many decisions based on the fact that they are the right thing to do. Sometimes I don't take the time to realize that the other people that I work with don't think the same way that I do and my way isn't always the way to go. Understanding how to deal and work with other people is a very important skill that a supervisor has to have in order to become successful in the work place. I plan on working towards the goal of better understanding the people that I work with.

2005-06-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

Submission Schedule
April Wheeler

6/28- School Culture & Achievement Profile
6/30- Analysis of Movies/Practical Supervision
7/7- Educational & Superivisory Platform
7/12- Instructional Strategies Presentation

2005-06-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Much of what I read from the Qualities of Effective Teachers was quite familiar from my experience as being evaluated as a non-tenured teacher over the past three years. The Teacher Skills Checklist in Section 1 includes many of the indicators of an effective teacher that are also included on my district's summative teacher evaluation.

In the first chapter of this text, Stronge highlights research that deals with the prerequisities of effective teaching. Probably the prerequisite that I overlooked prior to this reading is verbal ability. As Stronge states, "Teachers' scores on verbal ability tests were the only input found to have a direct positive relationship with student achievement." This research made me wonder how much is verbal ability overlooked in a teachers' preservice training and professional development programs? Certainly, from my experience it has not been addressed as much as other prerequisites of effective teaching.

One quality of effective teaching that I think Stronge missed, is parent-teacher communication. He only highlights the need for teachers to communicate parental involvement with homework in chapter 6, but does not comment on any other parental communication or involvement throughout the text. It seems that there is need for teachers to be proactive in involving parents in the educational process beyond just homework.

Other quotes from Stronge's text that I found interesting, surprising, or reaffirming included:

"Teaching a grade level or subject for which a teacher is not certified or has little training may convert a highly qualified and capable teacher into an ineffective one." (p.7)"Good teachers realize and deal with the fact that some students prefer to sit quietly on the sideline; however, they do not stop involving them." (p.18)

"When teachers make the classroom experience engaging, there is little time or inclination for students to misbehave." (p.26)

"Research has demonstrated that student achievement is higher in classes where instructional time is maximized." (p.35)

"Research on teacher expectations has demosntrated that students in the bottom third of the class receive significantly lower expectations to achieve, and much less encouragement, from teachers." (p.37)

"Several studies have show greater levels of student achievement relating to the teacher's use of lower-level, concrete questions, but other studies have supported the benefits of higher-level questions in encouraging student achievement." (p.48)

posted by wheeleras498 @ 12:40 PM
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2005-06-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

Submission schedule:
6/28 - temperament sorter analysis and school culture and achievement profile
7/7 - educational and supervisory platform and prof. developement plan
7/12 - Instructional stragies presentation and analysis of movies

2005-06-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

Submission Schedule
6/21 Keirsey Temperament Sorter
6/28 School Culture & Achievement Profile
7/7 Analysis of Movie
7/12 Instructional Strategies Presentation
7/14 Educational and Supervisory Platform & Professional Development Plan
7/19 Summative Evaluation (I am assuming the final can be turned in the following week after class ends. Please let me know if my assumption is incorrect.)
Once a week - blog
Have a good weekend!
Meredith

2005-06-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

This is my first time doing a blog so.....while reading the Stronge text, I found myself evaluating my own teaching. Not only did I find this text helpful to include in my knowledge needed for future supervisory roles, but also found it useful to evaluate and reflect on my own personal teaching experiences. I found that I have many strengths as an effective teacher, and also have some areas of weakness that I intend to work on in the upcoming school year. My main area of strength as an effective teacher is classroom management and organization; main area of weakness would be content knowledge. I am required to be knowledgeable in all areas of the curriculum and have taught a few years in 6th grade and just moved to 7th grade last year. There is a huge jump between the two grades and I still feel as though there are some areas in math and social studies that I would like to have a stronger knowledge base. In my role as a special educator at the middle school level, I am constantly evaluating and making decisions that directly impact my students and the general education teachers who instruct them. So, it should be as no surprise that while reading Stronge I found myself evaluating their effective teaching as well. The two characteristics that I found most valuable to being an effective teacher are classroom management and organization and professionalism. The one characteristic that I found to have little value to effective teaching is the teacher as a person. Per our discussion in class last week, as educators we know it is hard to let go of our preconceived notions of what a "good teacher" looks like and values. I think that teachers are supposed to fit a certain mold that has little room for shaping. While it is hard not to be judgmental of one's appearance and beliefs, I think that the expectations of effective teachers can sometimes be overwhelming. I often found myself wondering...If these are the qualities for effective teachers...What are the qualities for effective supervisors? How can we, as future supervisors, make sure that these qualities of effective teaching are effectively communicated to our staff? In my five years of teaching I cannot recall a time where the words "effective teaching" has been used once.

2005-06-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to comment on the word "Boss". Michael spoke about how a boss can only control what they do, not what everyone else does. Well, I understand that completely, but I've worked with a few supervisors that feel they can control everything you do. My last supervisor, (who really shouldn't be the Head Athletic Trainer, because she has no skills or managerial skills)...sorry...anyway, she has a way of micromanaging everybody and she undermines her staff in front of the athletes. She is constantly on a power trip. She plays favoritism with certain athletes, as well. Now I know that everybody is a teacher, except a few, but every night we meet I try to relate this to my setting in an Athletic Training Room. When I become a Head Trainer at a college, I know I won't treat my staff in such a way my last supervisor did. By living the experience with an inferior supervisor, I have learned about the things I do not like, and I will either change them or do it in a way where I think it is right and beneficial for my staff and the athletes. If you are going to be the head trainer, you can not run your training room the way she did. I'm not the only one who feels this way about her, and it completely sucks if you are a part of it. It's unhealthy, and certain athletes don't get the proper treatment or they refuse to go to her. I think trust is very important if you are going to be a supervisor, and especially when you are working with an injured athlete. I usually trust someone and the only way for me to lose trust is if they do something to screw it up. Well, I won't vent anymore, but I think my last supervisor needs to take this class because she has a lot to learn. I have enjoyed this class thus far, and I hope I will be able to utilize the skills I will be learning this summer in the future! Have a great weekend!!

2005-06-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Some thoughts on issues that have come up in the last few classes...1. Summer school can be kind of hard, but I am feeling inspired and encouraged by what seems to be a really great group of thoughtful and enthusiastic teachers. 2. Not being a teacher makes me feel like a little bit of an oddball in ths group but it also helps me understand the perspective of the teachers who I visit and pester every day to work with the kids on my caseload...so thank you! 3. Being a related service person in the school setting has it's own set of challenges different from those faced by classroom teachers, but of all the settings I have worked in, the schools are my favorite. The Keirsy scale accurately described many things about me and I have been spending some time thinking about what I do and why I do it in light of the results. Most of the kids I work with will be dependent on others for care for the rest of their lives, and our society is not especially warm and fuzzy towards them as a whole. I am frustrated sometimes by the fact that some of the children who have the most potential to benefit from special education qualify for the least amount of service...it's a quirk in the system, I think, one that has unfortunate repercussions. In spite of that, I guess it is the "guardian protector" in me that finds this work challenging and meaningful. I feel very fortunate that I get paid to do something I care deeply about. 4. Connecting what I do as an occupational therapist to stuff talked about in education classes is not hard...so much is the same, especially in terms of supervision. Use of the clinical supervision model, the move toward better data collection and evidence-based practice and methods of documentation are pretty much identical, just called something different. 5. On issues of power and authority...I have always introduced myself to my students and their teachers as "Donna" and do my best to help people feel comfortable with it (I usually tell them that when people call out "Mrs. Smith" I look over my shoulder for my mother-in-law!) but I respect that doesn't work in some classrooms and with some students. Formality makes me uncomfortable and I like to break through that in relationships with the kids I work with. Having authority is something that I struggle with for a variety of reasons (mainly I'm not that important, occ. therapy is just a little piece of the puzzle for most kids) and something I hope to get more comfortable with so I don't feel like apologizing for it if I end up in a situation where I need to use it...know what I mean? 6. Finally, we talked a lot last night about the issue of principals "popping in" to classrooms. I am not a principal (and have no idea if I will ever become one) but my whole day is spent popping in and out of rooms and I think that interrupting class in a way that is not disruptive is an art, and one that takes time and experience to master. MAny kids with special needs who are included in regular ed classes have so many therapists and "specialists" tracking them down and pulling them in and out...and that revolving door can be really frustrating and annoying to teachers. There are some teachers who make my job so easy...but to me just popping in out of the blue seems disrespectful. For me to be able to walk in and join in to the festivities I have to take responsibility for working with the teacher, building a collaborative relationship and planning what I will be doing when I come into their room. Until next time...take care &have a great weekend.

2005-06-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my first blog! Being a Curriculum Studies major, I have no intention of being a principal of a school. LOL! What I enjoy is listening to others about being a great supervisor and evaluator. I believe it takes a strong person to be a supervisor and evaluator. I have had some bad feelings toward administrators who feel as though they can say and do whatever they want just because they have some power. I read the article in the Sun Times a few weeks ago called "Attention: You're Fired" and became angry because I do believe principals can fire teachers with some class and dignity. Being brutal and nasty is not the way to conduct business because an administrator can ruin a teacher's livelihood. In a supervisor position, I want to be direct, but do the right thing. I believe in karma: what you put out in the world, you will receive it sooner or later. I am praying this class will allow me to explore more ways of being a better supervisor. What do you think?

I am out of here. I will see everyone on June 30, 2005. I will be in Miami and Jamacia for a few days. Peace.

2005-06-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody! I just want to comment on today's class (6/23/05) . I am finding this class very helpful to me right now. Even though I still have a while to go before finishing my program I feel that the material I am learning in this class allows me to view my present situation with a different perspective. For example, the qualities of an effective teacher according to Stronge are coming from a research based approach where as before reading this book I based effective teachers on what I observed giving room for my own biases. I think it is a helpful approach to go into a situation whether that being a post evaluation conference with a teacher or a peer evaluation with concrete evidence and backed up by research because then it demonstrates that you are trying to help that person grow within their profession. Often times people grow as individuals through evaluative procedures. I know that I am different today in my teaching style and personal than when I began teaching at 24 years old. The temperament profile is a tool for administrators to be able to utilize their personnel diverged styles to their optimal. However, as a teacher I have mixed feelings about teachers who are set in their ways are refuse to change. I believe teachers need to accommodate to their student's styles and personalities in order to obtain better teacher-student relationship. Knowing all this I wish all of us the best in our endeavors. Till next class!

2005-06-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone! I have really enjoyed this class so far. I think the peer interaction has been very beneficial to me and I'm excitited about more discussion this summer quarter. At this point in the class I am still trying to gain an understanding of the fine line between supervision and evaluation, and with each class it is becoming a little more clear. Tuesday's (6-21-05) class was an interesting class to me for the following reasons: 1. I keep asking myself if the strategies that I am learning are really going to help me when I one day become a principal or if this stuff is all just going to be forgotten when I'm in a real situation. 2. I have a tough time relating everything to data. I am starting to see the importance of the data, but so much of it seems like common sense to me. I believe that I know the qualities of an effective teacher and also the qualities that I'm going to look for in my teachers. I'm not sure why I have to read about them in a book. What I want to take away from this class is real examples of what supervision and evaluation is. I want to hear stories of real life events and I want to learn from those stories. I would like to role play supervision and evaluation situations and be given a chance to practice what I am learning. I look forward to learning from everyone in class and I'll do my best to give what ever I can back. Enjoy your day! Dave

2005-06-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

I just want to see if my blog worked!

2005-06-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

EVALUATION THOUGHTS

The CERJ format to evaluating teacher performance presents a daunting task for first year principals. One has to accept the possibility of it being perceived as holistic or antagonistic by those being judged. Despite the authorative power entrusted to thee, employee relations could be unbearable thus making the school climate unbearable if the perceived thin line is crossed to the less desirable side resulting in a loss of professionalism, respect, communication, and tranquility. A new principal should not want to experience the uneasiness of being overly critical leading to strained relations between administration and staff but rather the nurturing of subpar teachers exhibiting apprehension who willingly accept their shortcomings, sense the good intentions of the principal, if there are, and strive to better themselves in their pedagogical methods. Where there is strong ideology and shared anticipation, teachers enjoy greater job satisfaction and are more productive. If underperformance detected amongst teachers, the courteous way of warning them yet winning their support is to make an earnest appeal to all of them at some staff meeting. This sort of justifies and portends of ongoing scrutiny and a ubiquitous presence of administration in monitoring progress throughout the school. It has to be accepted that administration assesses and manages and is responsible for maintaining its vision and goals. Finding the right balance in this type of school reform requires the utmost comprehension of human nature and professionalism in dealing with
consequences. Any kind of extreme makeover of a school may elicit the wrong, unintended emotions. You must humbly build it and let them watch and hope that they realize in hindsight the difficult and demanding aspects of the job entrusted to a principal.

2005-06-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

I like the way Stronge outlines the qualities of effective teachers. I agree with most of his points and like the succintness of his writing. I see the importance of grounding these principles in educational research. The principle I most value in a teacher is verbal ability. Verbal ability goes hand in hand with – communication skills and good communication is the key to effective teaching. If a teacher has good verbal abilities and can communicate effectively with their student population, parents and professional colleagues they should be successful. Lesson planning, organization and instruction can be developed over time through experience and mentorship.

If I had to choose a principle I least valued it would be classroom management as Stronge defines it. I agree that preparation is vital to an effective classroom but the style of discipline and degree of routines should be determined by the individual teacher and and the dynamics of each class. I think flexibility is equally as important. Teachers must be able to differentiate instruction and address the needs of all students.

As a supervisor, I would use some of the checklist provided by Stronge to provide feedback to teachers in a non-threatening manner. I would encourage teachers to use the checklists to observe each other as well as for self-reflection.

Jennie

2005-06-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

Supervision Thoughts

After our class on June 21st I was really able to grasp the qualities of effective teachers. I found after reading the book and conducting the activities in class I was able to get a feel for what to look for as an administrator when evaluating my teachers. I thought a strength of the class was that we really examined and took a closer look at the teacher skills checklist in Stonge's book and applied it to various scenario's. The checklist really helped me understand how important it is to really focus in on teachers strengths and weaknesses so that as the administrator I can suggest professional growth for my teachers specific needs. The format that we practiced in class I found to be very beneficial and it will be something that I feel I will use when I become an administrator. It really was helpful to zero in on a claim, provide evidence, explain results, and then give a recommendation at the end. I also realized how important it is to keep accurate records and document situations as an administrator. Overall I thought Stronge's book and our class discussions/group activities were very helpful in my understanding of the qualities of effective teachers.

2005-06-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

I found the class on 6/21/05 very interesting and engaging. I learned about what are the qualities of an effective teacher. This particular class allowed me to reflect and have a totally different view on how educators today are impacting our future. As a future educational leader I defenetly would be applying what I am learning in this class into practice. I enjoyed communicating with my fellow classmates because it allows us to share and bond. We did some group sharing on how to write direct evaluation reports on cases when observing ineffective teachers. Overall I am learning a lot in this class and is making me aware of things that I can be doing in my own classroom.