EVALUATION FORM SELECTED, APPLIED WITH COLLEAGUE

Evaluation Form Selected, Applied with Colleague Evaluation Tool For mock observation I chose to use Indiana RISE evaluation tool. I chose this tool because the school corporation I currently work at is using it for its teacher evaluations. I wanted to gain a better understanding of the tool and procedures that are incorporated in our teacher evaluations especially since this is only the second year that it has been implemented. Also, I believe this will better prepare me for when I become an administrator being that I am hoping to find an administration position in the same district. Lastly, it gives me a better understanding how I currently am being evaluated by my administrators. Procedures Applied Scheduling this observation of the teacher I chose was simple for me being that we co-teach and work extremely close. We looked over our schedules to make sure there were no conferences, committee meetings, training, and other obligations prior to scheduling the mock observation. I chose to observe prevocational lesson plans being that the majority of our lessons are based on developing our students prevocational skills being that we are both special education essential skills teachers at the high school level. Based on our schedules and the lessons, I decided that the best lesson to observe is observing the other teacher teaching table cleaning which took place in the schools cafeteria. Prior to observing the teacher, we agreed that I should observe about the same length of time as an actual evaluator would which is approximately 10-20 minutes. We

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also agreed that I should have the RISE evaluation present while observing being that our evaluators completes the evaluation on the OwnIt electronic system while they are observing us. Since I am not an evaluator for the corporation I downloaded the document to highlight and added additional notes that I believe are similar to what my evaluators have done in the past. As the evaluator, I entered the area in which the lesson is taking place, and remained silent during the observation. Any questions I may have had must wait until our conference. Being that the cafeteria is a large room, I was able to walk around and observe. As the observer I was prohibited to share any information with staff members or parents regarding the observation. In addition, as the observer I was prohibited to take any pictures or record the lesson. After the mock observation took place, I scheduled a post-conference with the teacher based on our availability. The post-conference would be for approximately 15-30 minutes. We both agreed that it would be best to have the post-conference in the morning the next day before students and our instructional assistance arrive. We discussed the lessons, and my reasoning for the scores I gave her. This allowed us to gain a greater understanding in what improvements we both could makes as educators. Also, I gained a deeper understanding in how difficult is to evaluate a colleague objectively so he/she receives the proper feedback to ensure his/her own professional growth from the observation. During the post-conference I was able to explain my reasoning with the teacher I evaluated in why I scored her in that area. It gave us an opportunity to talk about what

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could to improve their lesson, as well as developed my ability to enhance my collaboration skills. I was able to collaborate with my colleague in what areas she did well on and discuss the areas that could be improved. I work closely with this teacher, so it as not difficult for me to be completely honest. This also gave me an opportunity to discuss what I could improve in when I evaluate another colleague. Pros and Cons of Evaluation Tool A pro in using this tool is that it gives you a better understanding where you stand as educator in developing a lesson, applying the lesson you created, the dedication you have for teaching and for your students, and your ability to collaborate effectively with others within the building, corporation, and the community, and determine areas you can improve in. Another pro is that everyone on the teaching staff is being evaluated with the same tool, have the same expectations regardless of subject, grade-level, or experience. In addition, the evaluation tool provides opportunities for the teacher that is being evaluated to see their level of effectiveness through the use of collaboration with their evaluator. Cons from using this evaluation system are: that the person evaluating has to become extremely familiar with the program prior to evaluating being that you have to find the appropriate standard for what is being evaluated and then determine ability based on what has been provided. You may add notes to the evaluation, but the form does not leave a lot of room to additional information to be inputted. It also does give the evaluator time to observe fulfill to get a greater understanding of what is taking places when required to fill-out an online form at the same time. The form does not provide a clear snapshot of what is taking place during the observation. Lastly, it does not provide

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time for the evaluator to reflect on the observation, so and constructive criticism may not be presented to help aid that educator in their ability to improve their teaching practices. Summary The evaluation process at first felt as it was going to be simple, but in actuality it was extremely difficult. I felt have I missed a lot being that I was trying to find the appropriate standard to score and adding the additional notes while I was observing the lesson. Being that I know I missed a lot of vital information, I felt, as my evaluation was not accurate. What I would change in the evaluation process is that the evaluator should wait to fill-out the evaluation form at the end of the observation. By completing the form during the observation affects the validity of the score. I think it would be best to observe class instruction, taking noting notes during the observation, and then complete the observation form following the observation. Even though the evaluation process could be improved, I do believe it is still a great tool used to improve instructional practices and teacher effectiveness. It opens the lines of communication between administration staff and teachers by providing the opportunity for collaboration to take place. Staff members being evaluated are aware what would be considered a 4, 3, 2, or1 in each standard that they may be evaluated in. This then allows the observer an opportunity to reflect on how they can improve their teaching practices and effectiveness. The evaluator is required to evaluate the teacher multiple times a year in different settings and provide a post-conference to discuss scores. This provides a great opportunity in improving student achievement through evaluating and collaborating with administration to improve teaching practices and effectiveness though observation, conferences, and teacher reflection.

EVALUATION FORM SELECTED, APPLIED WITH COLLEAGUE