Teacher Effectiveness
Instructional Expectations for 2011-2012 – Strengthening Teacher Practice
Our strongest school cultures demonstrate that when teachers thrive, students thrive. Decades of research prove what educators, students, and families know from direct experience: teachers have a greater impact on student success than any other school factor. To support teachers as we begin to integrate new, higher standards, principals will start aligning their teacher support and supervision practices with the demands of the Common Core.
To improve the instructional core across classrooms, all NYC school leaders are being asked to utilize a rubric that articulates what effective classroom teaching looks like to guide short, frequent cycles of classroom observation and collaborative examination of student work in the 2011-12 school year. When they do so, their teachers know what effective teaching looks like, have a shared language to discuss what's working and what needs to be improved, and know which actions to take to improve their practice.
Resources to Support Strengthening Teacher Practice
Read about best practices to help principals develop supportive and professional dialogue.
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Resources to support this work will be available to all NYC teachers and school leaders via ARIS Learn (log into ARIS and click on "Learn" Tab). Learn provides a wide range of professional development resources, including The Framework for Teaching (2011 Revised Edition) by Charlotte Danielson, self-assessments, and tools to support professional goal setting. Learn also includes a rich array of self-paced learning opportunities related to selected competencies that include video, interactive modules, tools, articles and podcasts, all of which can be used by individuals or in support of school or team-based professional development.
Learn also offers Learning Opportunities to help school leaders and teachers understand the different competencies within The Framework for Teaching that support the design and implementation of Common Core-aligned units and tasks. Learning Opportunities include interactive modules, articles, videos, web links and other resources that will help educators improve their craft and prepare all students to thrive in college and their future careers.To explore some of the learning opportunities available in ARIS Learn see the table below.
Resources for School Leaders and Teachers
RESOURCES | GOALS |
Teacher Competencies | Learn more about a nationally- renowned, research-based rubric of practice, The Framework for Teaching, by Charlotte Danielson |
School Leader and Teacher Self Assessments | Self assess against the continuum to help identify areas of strength and development |
Create a learning plan | Help articulate professional learning goals and an action plan |
An Introduction to Designing Coherent Instruction | Plan coherent lessons and activities that build upon one another or lead to essential understanding for students as they go through a unit of study and engage students in differentiated lessons that provide opportunities to interact with increasingly complex concepts and ideas |
An Introduction to Engaging Students in Learning | Understand what is involved in engaging students in learning, become familiar with proven strategies for promoting deep cognitive engagement with subject matter, and use collaborative learning, differentiated instruction, inquiry, problem-based and project- based learning approaches to engage your students in deep and meaningful learning. |
Resources for School Leaders
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES | GOAL |
Providing Teacher Feedback | Build teacher development skills by engaging with an interactive module about the qualities of good feedback and learning how two principals in the Teacher Effectiveness Pilot are successfully providing quality feedback to their staff |
Managing Your Time Efficiently and Effectively | Build your resource and operations skills by engaging with this series of reflective tools designed to help you understand your current management skills, improve your time-management habits, and provide you with guidance on how to organize time to build relationships with your teachers |
| Introducing Your Staff to Danielson's Competencies | These resources were designed to help school leaders, coaches and other professional developers introduce Danielson's Framework for Teaching, as well as the use of a rubric, to their teachers. School leaders or facilitators should adapt materials to their specific contexts and needs. |
Talent Management Intensive Pilot 2011-2012: Overview
In addition to the citywide work, there will be a Talent Management Pilot in school year 2011-12. Building on the 20-school Teacher Effectiveness Pilot in 2010-11, ~100 schools participating in the Talent Management Pilot will pilot implementation of a teacher evaluation and development model that centers on frequent observations and feedback aligned to a rubric of teaching practice, and incorporates measures of student learning (state and local) into teacher evaluations. The pilot will inform preparation for the roll-out of the new state requirements on teacher evaluation.
Teachers and school leaders involved in the 2010-11 Teacher Effectiveness Pilot overwhelmingly say they have benefited from their participation:
- 82% of 2010-11 pilot school leaders say that their teachers are now receiving feedback that helps them improve their practice
- 71% of teachers in the 2010-11 pilot say the model is a useful tool for development (provides them with information that is useful in strengthening their practice)
- 80% of teachers believe that the model will enable them to develop in areas most needed to impact student achievement, if implemented well.
More information about the 2011-12 Talent Management Pilot Schools forthcoming.
Teacher Effectiveness
Resources on Classroom Observation Cycle & Giving Feedback
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As part of the 2011-12 instructional expectations for all NYC schools, administrators and teachers will utilize the Danielson Framework for Teaching, or a research-based rubric already adopted by the school that articulates what effective teaching looks like, in order to provide feedback to teachers on their classroom practice. This rubric will help guide short, frequent cycles of classroom observation and collaborative examination of student work. To support schools in doing this, we have worked with one of the schools in the Teacher Effectiveness Pilot (MS 331) to capture their cycle of classroom observations and feedback. Note that this school is in its third year of using Danielson’s rubric and therefore have developed mature structures to support teacher development in both formal and informal ways.
Here’s a suggested way to make use of these resources:
- Review the Danielson Framework by clicking here.
- Review the Characteristics of Effective Feedback by clicking here.
- Watch and Reflect on Video #1: Classroom Observation & Feedback Cycle
- This video gives an in-depth look at the formal observation process at MS 331 in the Bronx. It addresses how the use of the Danielson Framework for Teaching creates a common language to use for pre-observation, classroom observation and post-observation protocols that are meant to provide targeted and specific feedback to improve the classroom practice of teachers. Click here for discussion questions.
- Watch and Reflect on Video #2: Classroom Observation Structures & Support
- This video looks at the ongoing descriptive feedback process teachers at MS 331 receive in order to improve their classroom practice. It also addresses the organizational challenges and structural decisions the school has made to make this process meaningful and effective for teachers and administrators. Click here for discussion questions.
- Develop your feedback skills further through this Learning Opportunity on Providing Teacher Feedback in ARIS Learn.
Learn more about MS 331's observation process by clicking here. For more information about this work visit the Teacher Effectiveness Page.
If you can't play the videos below, view the videos on Vimeo: Classroom Observation Cycle at MS 331 and Classroom Observation Cycle: Structures and Supports at MS 331.