Growing the Grown-Ups: Models for

Improving Teacher Effectiveness and Sustainability

Introductions

Karen DreznerFounder/CEO, Leveraging Leaders Jessica NauiokasPrincipal, Mott Haven Academy Charter School

Introductions

Who are you?

Why did you choose to attend this session?

Essential Questions

How do we know our teachers are effective?

How can we develop and support our teachers to sustain them over time?

Great Teaching: A Quick QuizWhat is the best indicator of an effective teacher?

Classroom observations Student surveys Graduate degree Years of teaching experience Assessment of pedagogical knowledge Student achievement gains (“value-added” = growth measured over time)

The MET ProjectTwo Key Findings

1. If a school wants to predict a teacher’s future success in helping students learn, multiple measures will yield the most accurate results—more accurate than any one measure on its own.

2. Value-added analysis, which typically uses test results to gauge how much an individual teacher contributes to his or her students’ learning growth, is more accurate than any other single measure in predicting success over the course of a teacher’s career—more than classroom observations or student surveys.

High Value-Added ScoresKey Confirmations:1. High value-added scores are not associated with a “drill-and-kill” approach to

instruction. Teachers are not generally earning high value-added scores by teaching to the test.

2. Teachers with high value-added scores helped their students master higher-level thinking skills in addition to helping them score well on traditional standardized tests.

Teachers with high value-added scores had students who:• Showed larger performance gains on tests of conceptual understanding in

mathematics and a literacy test requiring short-answer responses.• Reported higher levels of effort and greater enjoyment in class.

Key Recommendations:• Use standard assessments that measure growth in learning reliably over time• Analyze your own school data to validate the alignment between growth in standard test

scores with other performance measures.

Student SurveysThe Seven C’s of the Tripod Project

What Teachers Do What Students Experience

Caring about students Encouragement and Support

Captivating students Learning seems Interesting and Relevant

Conferring with students Students Sense their Ideas are Respected

Controlling behavior Culture of Cooperation and Peer Support

Clarifying lessons Success Seems Feasible

Challenging students Press for Effort, Perseverance and Rigor

Consolidating knowledge Ideas get Connected and Integrated

Student Surveys: The Tripod Project

Classroom ObservationsKey Confirmations:1. Observation ratings alone were not very predictive of a teacher’s future success at

helping students learn.2. Observations do help evaluators identify teachers’ specific strengths and

weaknesses in the classroom—which enables them to give honest feedback that can help teachers improve.

Key Recommendations:• Improve classroom observations by making them more frequent and robust.• Use or modify an existing observation rubric instead of trying to reinvent the

wheel.• Give evaluators the training and ongoing support they need to be successful.

The New Teacher Project’s Six Design Standards

Annual ProcessClear, Rigorous Expectations

Multiple MeasuresMultiple Ratings

Regular FeedbackSignificance

Haven AcademyNow Next year

Annual Process Proficient:Mini observations and feedback sessions occur up to 10 times per year. Marshall Rubrics used for evaluations and self assessments.

Proficient: Improve the quality of feedback given and align it to individual teacher professional development plans.

Clear, Rigorous Expectations

Emergent: -Teachers understand the feedback loop process but links to how to improve practice may be unclear.

Competent:-Feedback links to explicit coaching and PD.

Multiple Measures Competent: -Multiple observers’ observations and feedback are tracked and accessible via T-Eval site.- Student perspectives gathered on school developed surveys.

Proficient:-Value-added scores to be utilized and tied to individual teacher evaluation.-Student survey data to be quantified to be represented in evaluations.

Multiple Ratings Competent: - Frequent classroom observations occur, are documented and feedback given.

Proficient: -Feedback given has high level of impact and results in improved student outcomes.

Regular Feedback Competent: - Leaders provide feedback, and ask teachers to reflect on practice.

Proficient: - Scheduled, ongoing coaching cycles will require teacher reflection and involve PD alignment.

Significance Emergent: Formal process, positive teacher support and yields clear goals.

Competent:- Driver of instructional improvements and results in improved student outcomes.

Leveraging Leaders: One Client SchoolNow Next year

Annual Process Competent:- 2/3 formals a year and informal coaching

Proficient: - Danielson for formals and structured cycles of coaching for all

Clear, Rigorous Expectations

Emergent:- Danielson introduction through coaching

Competent: - All Danielson next year

Multiple Measures

Not at all: - Informal coaching data is not tracked.- Value-added scores not utilized on individual teacher level.- Student perspectives gathered on city-wide survey. Not utilized on individual teacher level.

Emergent: - Evidence and self/supervisor ratings on Danielson will be closely tracked and referenced through coaching model.- Academic data protocol established. New assessment manager to create an evidence-based culture with academic data

Multiple Ratings

Emergent: - Frequent classroom observations occur, but follow-up is primarily informal.

Competent: - Danielson: 4 ratings across 22 components, several times a year, through formal evaluations and coaching cycles.

Regular Feedback

Competent: - Leaders provide feedback, and ask teachers to reflect on practice.

Proficient: - Scheduled, ongoing coaching cycles will require teacher reflection and involve facilitative coaching

Significance Emergent: - Informal, variable.

Competent: - Driver of instructional improvements.

Identifying your “Irreplaceables”Low

PerformersAll

TeachersIrreplaceables

(top 20%*)Background & Workload

Years of experience as a a teacher 10 9 9Total workload (hours/week) 50 50 50Class size 28 27 27High poverty students 85% 90% 90%

Attitudes & Beliefs

Belief that effective teachers can lead students to success despite challenges

44% 50% 53%

Understand how effective they are in achieving positive student outcomes

48% 57% 69%

Results Additional months of student learning, relative to a low performer, per year.

+ 3 months

+ 6 months

Top 20 %:• Demonstrate 5-6 months more of student learning than poor performers.• Hold beliefs and attitudes that reflect high expectations for students and

their own effectiveness as teachers.• Have students who are much more likely to say that their teacher cares, does

not let them give up when things get difficult and makes learning enjoyable.

Retention: Aim to Improve, Not Increase• Schools retain their best and worst performers at “strikingly similar rates.”

• Replacing high performers:– Average school: Only 1 in 6 replacement candidates will be of comparable

quality– Low performing school: Only 1 in 11 replacement candidates will be of

comparable quality

• Replacing low performers:– Have 3 in 4 chance of replacing a poor performer with a more effective

teacher right away!– Poor performers rarely self-select out, struggling teachers rarely improve– Three years later, average experienced poor performer remains less

effective than average first year teacher

Low Cost/High Impact Strategies

- Two-thirds reported that principal hadn’t even encouraged them to stay- 28 % teach somewhere else- 31 % take another K-12 role

Feedback & Development

Provided me with regular, positive feedback.

Helped me identify areas of improvement.

Gave me critical feedback about my performance informally.

Recognition Recognized my accomplishments publicly.

Informed me that I am high performing.

Responsibility & Advancement

Identified opportunities or paths for teacher leader roles.

Put me in charge of something important.

Resources Provided me with access to additional resources for my classroom.

- 2 out of 3 low performing teachers believe they are above average or even exceptional at their jobs.- They are just as likely to be offered teacher leadership roles.

- Irreplaceables who experienced at least two strategies stayed almost twice as long as they would have without them.- 25 % of Irreplaceables reported not experiencing any strategies.

School CultureTurnover of Irreplaceables was 50 % higher in schools with weak instructional cultures

• Leaders clearly articulate high expectations, ensure teachers feel supported, less likely to tolerate ineffective teaching

• Strong instructional culture– Atmosphere of mutual respect and trust– Action taken with poor performing teachers (low tolerance for poor

performance)– Great teaching is top priority

• Working conditions• Parental involvement, student conduct, school safety• District leaders (or for us: authorizers, trustees, network leaders,

consultants…) can provide feedback and offer support:– Teacher and student surveys– Information about gaps

Karen DreznerFounder/CEO, Leveraging Leaderskarendrezner@leveragingleaders.comwww.leveragingleaders.com

Contact Us

Helpful LinksThe MET Project www.metproject.org

The New Teacher Project www.tntp.org

The Tripod Project http://tripodproject.wpengine.com/

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/10/why-kids-should-grade-teachers/309088/

Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching www.danielsongroup.org

Kim Marshall www.marshallmemo.com

Jessica NauiokasPrincipal, Haven Academy

jnauiokas@havenacademy.orgwww.havenacademy.org