Interested in hearing from someone that works at a school district that has implemented the Danielson Model as their evaluation tool. Pros, cons, tweaks, obstacles to implementing, etc. Thanks in advance.
1. Significant time constraints imposed on principal for additional teacher observations and reports.
2. Additional teacher time constraints for post observations meetings and evaluations.
3. There appears to be a great deal of redundancy in teacher evaluations between district and Danielson model but conversely, it is not uncommon for there to be conflicting criteria for teacher evaluation between the two.
4. Additional training time for both teachers and principals.
5. Personal Opinion - The Danielson Model presents nothing new in the field of teacher assessment...however, it does present a progressive, systematic, and comprehensive evaluation tool. My challenge is that it does not use student performance as an indicator of teacher effectiveness....rather, it is implied that by performing satisfactorily in accordance with the Danielson criteria student performance will increase.
Due to budget cuts our district is focused more on providing training using our district coaches... which is great... but I REALLY miss hearing the different perspectives from outside conferences. Anyone else feel this way?
One is to attend workshops and conferences at cost to ourselves.
Two is to network and share our ideas with other teachers around the country. This can be done via email, chat rooms, skype, and any other method we can come up with. In fact, I see no problem with teachers within a district or nearby districts using the school building to run their own conference (provided the school allows). It would be a cheap way to attend a workshop and network with teachers in your area.
Third is to develop yourself through reading and research. There are many textbooks, websites, and periodicals that offer ideas and researched methods to the teacher. We should take advantage of the materials we have. I, since I'm still in college, have been organizing my notes and keeping my textbooks for future reference. There are ideas in them that I will want to reference when I'm a teacher because I know I don't remember all that I have learned.
As professionals, it is important to develop our skills. As teachers and guiders of the next generation, it is imperative.
GinetteIdealistic or not, great employees across all kinds of fields seek to educate themselves toward professional development. That is what sets them apart from others.
...See MoreMy suggestion is the do-it-yourself method. What are your weaker areas or areas you want to learn more about? What does your personal data say -- do your kids generally struggle with vocab but do great with compare contrast? Whatever it is, look for the respected researchers in that area and read their books.
A Few Suggestions:
Vocab - Isabel Beck (I find her books dry reading, but her research and ideas are top notch.)
Reading - Pat Cunningham, Dick Allington, Fountas & Pinnell...
Behavior - Randy Sprick (CHAMPs)
Lesson Design/Good Teaching - Robert Marzano (Art and Science of Teaching)
Hands On Math and Science - AIMS - [link removed].)
This year, we teamed up with the high school to our north, invited all the feeder schools, and spent a day doing SD.
Kathy
On 6/07/11, mrsd wrote: > I'll start. The most memorable and interesting staff > development I've attended was one that was presented by the > reading specialist in our building. She had a powerpoint, > but stopped and actually had us doing activities that she > used in her classes. She posted worksheets and ideas on the > district server, so we are able to access them at any time. > I'm sad that she has moved on, but glad that she gave us so > many great ideas. Karen
Haven't y'all heard about the power of positive thinking??? Never say "I don't win anything" and then expect to win! I'm going to enjoy reading my new kindle that I win in this contest at the beach this summmer!! :-)
We have had some good SDs. But the ones where the central office has brought in a speaker from afar and we all meet in the huge auditorium usually doesn't go over very well. Local, something we can use in our classroom is usually our favorites.
1. Significant time constraints imposed on principal for additional teacher observations ...See More