Course Description:
This course will examine relevant theory and research in the practice of educational supervision and evaluation. Students will have the opportunity to link theory to their own practice as well as compare and analyse various supervisory models. Students will develop skills in facilitating learning-focused conversations to strengthen reflective practice.
Instructor: Dr. Cathryn Smith
Reflection:
I was very excited to start this course! Since I was entering my second year as principal I had not yet completed many teacher evaluations. I was aware of our divisional performance assessment process but was not yet comfortable or feeling proficient at adequately assessing new teachers. (In our division, only term teachers and first year permanent contract teachers are assessed.)
Cathryn uses Schoology, not Moodle, so there was a new learning opportunity right off the hop! Luckily it was an easy change to navigate.
Once again, it was clear that expectations for this course were high! Cathryn provided us with ample topics related to supervision and evaluation from which to chose our first assignment. As great as that was, it did cause me more stress that I would have anticipated. There were so many topics that I wanted to explore that I spent WAY too much time looking for journal articles.
Cathryn's Zoom sessions were always interesting. I think it was the first time I had been put in a breakout room (pretty sure Marion didn't use that feature but I could be wrong) and I really enjoyed the chance to discuss topics and practise skills with other students face-to-face (virtually).
This course allowed me to delve into my division's evaluation process and compare it to the recommendations found in Marshall's book. Although I was not really surprised at how many areas my division could improve upon, I was curious why our divisional practices did not really provide much guidance in the area of "how" to adequately supervise and assess a teacher. This course really helped me gain a better understanding of the purpose of teacher assessment and the importance of making it meaningful for the teacher. Teacher evaluation is one of the critical components of our role as a school leader.
The books required for the course are AMAZING! I still refer to them often, particularly Lipton and Wellman's because I find it helpful to review the different types of learning-focused conversations before meeting with teachers to discuss their performance.
This course definitely had rigour, but I soaked it up because it was a topic that I NEEDED to learn and master as a principal. There were so many skills and terms that I needed to practise and master: coaching, collaborating, consulting, calibrating, attending fully, invitational thinking, pausing, paraphrasing, inquiring, plural forms, non-dichotomous forms, positive presuppositions, shifting levels of abstraction, etc...
I chose to include the learning-focused conversation assignment for my portfolio because it provided me with the biggest challenge. I needed to record a 30-minute conversation with a teacher who was struggling with classroom management in a grade one class. Properly preparing my initial invitational questions was key to this assignment. I was very nervous about completing this task as my "go to" has usually been to help teachers "fix" problems. I know how important it is to let teachers arrive at the answers themselves, but is seems like often there is just not the time required and it is easier to just give them the answer. I was pleased with the results of my conversation as I was able to apply many of the strategies that we had read about, talked about, and practised in class.
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