Title: Evaluations That Help Teachers Learn - Educational Leadership
Headings: Evaluations That Help Teachers Learn
Evaluations That Help Teachers Learn
The Problem
Why Do We Evaluate Teachers?
To Ensure Teacher Quality
Figure 1. Levels of Performance in Questioning and Discussion Techniques
To Promote Professional Development
Two in One
Getting from Here to There
Seeing Benefits in Chicago
Two Challenges
The Need for Trained Evaluators
Finding Time for Professional Conversations
A Thoughtful Approach
Endnote
KEYWORDS
Requesting Permission

Content: Before, I had no idea what my principal was looking for—I had to be a mind reader! So I just played it safe, taught a familiar lesson, one I knew would go well—but did the process improve my teaching? Not at all! In my old school, the principal just came in with a checklist, but we never really talked. But this time, we had a great conversation about how to help my students want to write. It really made me think. As a result, I've got a new approach: I'm going to engage some students around the things they're passionate about and have them try to convince their classmates about the value of such interests. The Problem
Carla's statement provides an insight into how we might improve teacher evaluation to better foster conditions for both teacher and student learning. Let's consider the deficiencies of traditional systems.