Module 4 Evaluation Interview Analysis

Lauren Roche
University of New England
EDU-704 Supervision and Evaluation of Instructional Personnel
Spring Term 2015-B1
Dr. Carolyn Marcotte
March 29, 2015

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Analysis
Gary Stevens was an incredible source of information for Thornton Academys
developing supervision and evaluation process. While he described the standard process that
the Observation, Supervision, Evaluation, and Feedback (OSEF) Team uses, I admired his
confession, as the facilitator of the team, that he did not feel as though the process called for
enough observations, which could potentially prevent thorough observations and useful
feedback from being made. One of the strengths of Mr. Stevens evaluation procedures is that
he took what he believed to be the weakness of the team and did not allow it to be a weakness
of his as an evaluator. Mr. Stevens prefers to perform at least one formal observation on all of
the teachers on his observation roster, not just first, second, or third year hires. He also
prefers to complete at least two informal walk-throughs for those same teachers throughout
the year. I have found that making suggestions to teachers in these situations can be tough
because the teacher tries it once or twice and it doesn't work so the teacher gives up too
easily (L. Pendleton, personal communication, March 30, 2015). Performing multiple visits
not only presents an opportunity to observe growth and development, but to support and
encourage it as well. By making lots of them, the [evaluator] can get a representative
sampling of teachers work, reduce the pressure and disruption, and convince teachers to trust
the fairness of the system (Marshall, 2013, p. 58).
Another strength of Mr. Stevens as an evaluator is his interest in communicating
with teachers immediately after walk-through and formal observations occur. When he
observes a teacher and it does not appear to be a strong performance, he will continue to take
notes and meet with the teacher that day to offer suggestions for immediate improvement on
what was going wrong.

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Putting mini-observation feedback in writingbefore talking to the teacher has

numerous disadvantages. First, it raises the anxiety level on both sides, especially
when theres criticism. Second, written communication limits the amount of
subtlety of whats communicated and makes administrators that much more leery
about being critical. Third, its time consuming, which can make the whole miniobservation processes more daunting and cut down on frequency (Marshall,
2013, p. 65).
Mr. Stevens does not initially communicate through email or written notes, but face-to-face.
A lot of information can be communicated in a short conversation, teachers are more likely to
be open to feedback because they are less nervous when there is nothing written down, and
teachers can correct a possible misunderstanding of something that happened during the
walk-through (Marshall, 2013, p. 66). Paired with his frequent visits, teachers have become
appreciative of his feedback conversations, and the meetings produce more than just
criticism. To nurture learning through appropriate feedback in these observation-feedback
routines, evaluators must consider teachers to be the students, as is evident in Mr. Stevens
approach. One-way streets of communication do not produce effective communication in
classrooms, or engage the learning of students (A. Ross, personal communication, March 18,
2015); therefore, communication from evaluator to teacher must be thoughtfully and
carefully considered if a teacher is to comprehend and consider what is being said, and not
just be a passive listener. Mr. Stevens discussions with teachers tend also to be longer,
which, as Marshall (2013, p. 53) found, can lead to give-and-take conversations in which
criticism may develop into a compliment and a compliment may evolve into a suggestion on
how to handle the situation differently next time.
Increasing the number of walk-through observations of all teachers and implementing
at least one yearly formal observation of all teachers could improve the evaluation procedures

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and the outcomes for teachers at Thornton Academy. Marsh (2013) stresses the importance of
the regular attendance of administrators in classrooms in order to get an accurate picture of
daily reality without raising the teachers anxiety (p. 58). To implement such presence,
the addition of department heads and high quality veteran teachers to the OSEF Team could
support a higher number of observations, while still providing insightful feedback, just more
of it. Some teachers prefer feedback from fellow teachers who face similar day-to-day
experiences in the classroom. After all, as teachers remain in the profession, gaining
experience and developing expertise, their performance becomes more polished, which can
reflect in their criticisms and suggestions for improvement (Danielson, 2007, p. 38).
A unified structure, or a framework for teaching, as Danielson (2007) references it,
would be beneficial to the OSEF Teams practice. By providing an agreed-upon framework
for excellence, a framework for teaching serves to structure conversations among educators
about exemplary practice. A uniform framework allows those conversations to guide novices
as well as to enhance the performance of veterans (Danielson, 2007, p. 6). If all teachers
were observed based on such a framework, it would be clear what skills all teachers should
strive for to be noted as exemplary. By providing teachers with the same organized
framework, while some teachers may struggle to develop to proficient or distinguished in one
component element, others may be naturally able to exhibit such skills. This could encourage
constructive conversations between peers, generating more feedback for teachers to consider
in the long stretches that can occur between observations. The more a teachers effective
practices and behaviors are developed or applauded, the more likely the students have
adopted [those] practicesand these practices may well have become ingrained (L.
Pendleton, March 20, 2015.

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Discussion
As a teacher who cannot recall the last time she was observed, and one who cannot
recall having ever re-addressed the comments and reports shared with her during that time, I
found my interview with Mr. Stevens to be very informative and hopeful. I, as Mr. Stevens
claims many teachers feel, appreciate feedback (including criticism) to reflect on my
practice and how [I] demonstrate [my] skill (Danielson, 2007, p. 19). Knowing the
experience in observation and evaluations that he has, and knowing that he is well-researched
in the practices of observing and evaluating, I believe the OSEF process will move in the
right direction to be as effective as possible for all teachers at Thornton.
As a dean of students who regularly manages situations in which students are sent
from a classroom to the office for behavioral reasons, I would hope that perhaps the OSEF
Team might consider utilizing the deans to perform observations. Through my education of
the process of evaluation from Mr. Stevens, Marshall (2013), and Danielson (2007), I believe
peers from different departments would be useful to enhancing the effectiveness of the
process
Mr. Stevens and I both began our careers at Thornton during the same year me as a
new teacher, and him as a well-established teacher and athletic administrator. I have coached
athletic teams under Mr. Stevens supervision and found him to be well organized and
supportive, offering advice and encouragement regularly. I valued and appreciated this, and
while I no longer coach, I volunteer on occasion and enjoy catching up with Mr. Stevens. He
has a wealth of knowledge in regards to education and athletics, alike, and is a pleasure to
converse with.

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References
A. Ross, personal communication, March 18, 2015
Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing professional practice: A framework for teaching. (2nd ed.).
Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
L. Pendleton, personal communication, March 20, 2015
Marshall, K. (2013). Rethinking teacher supervision and evaluation: How to work smart,
build collaboration, and close the achievement gap. (2nd ed.). San Francisco: JosseyBass.