Syllabus

Master of Science in Education

EDU 704 Supervision and Evaluation of Instructional Personnel – Summer A 2016

Credits - 3

Description

Supervision and evaluation strategies need to support teachers’ growth into strong, competent professionals. This course examines requirements of educational leaders engaged in supervising and evaluating educational personnel, and explores new directions and procedures currently under development. Emphasis is given to understanding the theory behind the practice, strengths and weaknesses of varying methods, and hands-on applications. Drawing on knowledge of developmental stages and multiple styles of learning and teaching, participants consider such practices as peer evaluations, self-evaluations, portfolios, and mentoring.

Materials

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

• Demonstrate knowledge of formative and summative evaluation strategies. (PSEL 4)
• Review and summarize Internet examples of teaching. (PSEL 4 & 7)
• Discuss their observations of video teaching examples with classmates. ((PSEL 4, 7 & 10)
• Identify an interview candidate who has responsibility for supervising and evaluation teachers. (PSEL 2, 4, 7 & 10)
• Analyze strengths and weaknesses of existing supervision/evaluation practices. (PSEL 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, & 10)
• Analyze contract or bargaining agreement pertaining to their schools. (PSEL 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 & 10)
• Collect and use data to identify goals, assess organizational effectiveness and promote organizational learning. (PSEL 2, 4, 6, 7 & 8)
• Analyze an article related to supervision and evaluation. (PSEL 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, & 10)
• Employ the steps of formal classroom observation including pre-observation conference, observation, post-observation conference, and write up. Competency will be shown through guided practice in this cycle. (PSEL 4,6, & 7)
• Assess the effectiveness of an evaluation procedure of a supervisor working in an educational setting. (PSEL 2, 4, 6, 7 & 8) 
• Evaluate an interviewed supervisor’s evaluation procedure, determining areas that might need enhancement, change or supplementation. (PSEL 4, 6 & 8)
• Reflect on the usefulness of the evaluation interview as a comparative model for summative evaluation. (PSEL 4, 6 & 7)
• Demonstrate an understanding of developmental stage theory as it applies to teachers and supervisory practices. (PSEL 2, 6 & 7)
• Contrast the Marshall model with the traditional observation sequence noted in Danielson and Marzano. (PSEL 4 & 6)
• Analyze strengths and weaknesses of existing supervision/evaluation practices. (PSEL 4, 7 & 10)
• Compare an instructor’s approach to established supervision/evaluation practices. (PSEL 4, & 7)
• Apply the steps of formal classroom observation in a post-observation conference. (PSEL 1,4, 6, & 7)
• Report on the observation and evaluation process in a write-up. (PSEL 4, 6, & 7)
• Apply the steps of formal classroom observation including pre-observation conference, observation, post-observation conference, and write up. (PSEL 1,4, 6, & 7)
• Analyze strengths and weaknesses of existing supervision/evaluation practices. (PSEL 2, 6 & 7) 

Assignments

• Threaded discussion boards: one ungraded introductory class discussion, two graded class discussions, and five small group discussions.
• Evaluation Proposal (Week 1): Identify an interview candidate who has responsibility for supervising and evaluation teachers. You will probably want to talk briefly with a few potential interviewees before choosing one.  Confirm with the candidate that they will be able to meet with you for a brief (30 – 45 minute) interview regarding supervision and evaluation. Submit an Evaluation Interview Proposal that includes the following information:  a) a description of the interviewee including the person’s name, job title  and school, town and state where they work  b) disclose your relationship to this person (i.e. how did you find or how do you know the person?)  c)  1-2 sentences about why you chose to interview this person. Note: You may not interview your own supervisor, someone you supervise, or a family member. You may use someone from a different school or district. Do not conduct the interview until your instructor approves your interviewee.
• Teacher Contract Research and Analysis (Week 2): The purpose of this assignment is for you to understand the rules under which most classroom observations and teacher evaluations are conducted. Usually such rules are put in place to protect from abuses. They almost always outline the procedures that are to be followed when conducting formal teacher evaluations. You may complete this assignment in one of two ways: 1. Obtain a copy of the teachers’ contract or bargaining agreement that pertains to your school. Research the sections that have anything to do with teacher evaluations, classroom visits, or performance reviews. You’ll need to read carefully since pertinent paragraphs are sometimes found in unusual places in the contract. 2. Once you have conducted your analysis, submit a 300 to 500 word report to the assignment drop box that answers questions provided by your instructor. If your school does not have a teachers’ contract, research the procedures and policies you have in place for teacher evaluation, and submit the same report answering the same questions.
• The Evaluation Interview Report (Week 3): This is the second assignment related to your interview with a teacher evaluator. For this assignment, complete the following steps: Interview your selected teacher evaluator. Take notes on his or her responses to your interview questions, and follow up with questions as you deem appropriate, so you have good insight into the evaluation process.
• The Evaluation Interview Analysis and Discussion (Week 4): In the third assignment in this series, you will analyze and research the responses of your interviewee. This section is approximately two pages, double spaced.
• Mock Pre-Observation Interview (Week 5): Arrange a mock pre-observation conference with a colleague from your school. Ask him or her to take the role of teacher. You play the role of the interviewer. Your job is to ask questions (based on Danielson’s domains, components, and elements) to clarify what the teacher plans to teach and what he or she would like you to focus on during your visit.  a. Use the questions from Danielson p. 173 in your pre-observation conference. b. Report your conference experiences to your classmates via the Week 5 class discussion board, explaining the role of the person with whom you conferenced, describing the interaction, and generally reflecting on the experience. What did you learn from this experience? Your report should be about 500 words.
• Classroom Observation or Mini-visits and Report (Week 6): This week you should conduct your classroom observation(s) and write your follow-up assignment report. Note that you may conduct your observation at any time during our course. If you use the Marshall model, you must visit the teacher’s classroom at least three times. Regardless of which model of observation you used, do the following: 1) Via a short note or email, make sure you thank the teacher you visited for his or her time. 2) In 500 to 1200 words, answer questions provided by your instructor and submit your response as an assignment: No matter which model you use, you should set up and carry out the pre-observation conference.
• Mock Post-Observation Interview and Report (Week 7): Our observation sequence draws to a close with the post-observation conference and report. The purpose of this assignment is to give you practice with using questions to help a teacher gain insight about an episode of teaching he or she has completed. You may have some very valuable things to offer to this teacher by way of feedback, but the main purpose of the conference is still to help the teacher gain his or her own insights. Using the Danielson protocol on page 171, conduct a post-observation conference with a teacher.

• Arrange a meeting with any colleague who has completed a lesson recently (within about 24 hours. The memory fades fast in busy school lives). It is fine if this teacher is the same one you observed and pre-conferenced with, but this is not required.
• Write up your post-observation conference in 400 to 1000 words using only three of Danielson’s questions on page 171 for a guide. Submit this as an assignment.

Grading Policy

Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:

Grade Breakdown

Assignments	Points	Total Points
2 Class Discussion Boards	4	8
5 Group Discussion Boards	4	20
Evaluation Proposal	5	5
Teacher Contract Research & Analysis	5	5
Evaluation Interview Report	20	20
Evaluation Interview Analysis & Discussion	10	10
Mock Pre-Observation	10	10
Classroom Observation or MIni-Visits & Report	11	11
Mock Post Observation Interview & Report	11	11
TOTAL		100

Grade Scale

Grade	Points Grade	Point Average (GPA)
A	94 – 100%	4.00
A-	90 – 93%	3.75
B+	87 – 89%	3.50
B	84 – 86%	3.00
B-	80 – 83%	2.75
C+	77 – 79%	2.50
C	74 – 76%	2.00
C-	70 – 73%	1.75
D	64 – 69%	1.00
F	00 – 63%	0.00