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Hiring and Supporting the Development of Great Teachers

Hiring and Supporting the Development of Great Teachers . Roger Trainor , Director East Valley (Spokane) School District J. F. Rosapepe , Director South Kitsap School District Robert Coffey, Director Mount Vernon School District. The Impact of Great Teachers.

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Hiring and Supporting the Development of Great Teachers

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  1. Hiring and Supporting the Development of Great Teachers Roger Trainor, DirectorEast Valley (Spokane) School District J. F. Rosapepe, DirectorSouth Kitsap School District Robert Coffey, Director Mount Vernon School District

  2. The Impact of Great Teachers • The single most important factor affecting student learning is the effectiveness of the teacher. • High quality teachers have more effect on student achievement than does a 10 student decrease in average class size.

  3. The Impact of Great Teachers • Teacher effectiveness is a 15 times stronger predictor of achievement scores than is class size or poverty. • The impact of a good teacher on achievement can still be measured for at least four years after a child leaves the classroom – regardless of the effectiveness of subsequent teachers.

  4. Question: So if teacher quality makes so much difference in student achievement, what strategies can your district use to attract and hire teachers with great potential and then support them on the job to become excellent in their field?

  5. Hiring Survey No. of Responses # of Students

  6. Hiring Survey Questions • What recruitment activities do you use in recruiting teachers? • What is the process you use to hire new teachers? • What professional qualities and traits do you look for when hiring? • How do you validate your hiring process?

  7. Recruitment Activities SURVEY % Using Activity

  8. Process to Hire New Teachers SURVEY % Using Process

  9. Qualities & Traits SURVEY • Passion • Communication • Teamwork

  10. Hiring Process Validation SURVEY • Principals • Mentors • Parents, students, and staff members

  11. References • The more the better • Dig deep – due diligence • Social networking • RCW 4.24.730 • Liability immunity

  12. Hiring Roadblocks • Contract calendar • Notification • Budget • Enrollment • Primary hiring qualities are subjective

  13. Good News • Human Resources • Quality more important than quantity • Economy • Getting it right

  14. How Do We Improve Teaching? Our contentions: • Our districts have done well recruiting bright, hard working professionals. • We shouldn’t use a lot of our resources trying to remove those few teachers who lack the aptitude or work ethic to become skilled teachers. • We should primarily use our resources to support programs and leadership that optimize the skills and effectiveness of current staff.

  15. Teacher Undergraduate Education • There is a continual debate about the role and effectiveness of undergraduate programs designed to prepare classroom teachers. • 1986 The Holmes Group report, “Tomorrow’s Teachers” made recommendations to improve the rigor of undergraduate teacher education and the professionalism of graduates. • Many curriculum changes have been made in response to these recommendations.

  16. Teacher Undergraduate Education (continued) Deborah Ball, Dean, School of Education, U. of Michigan “We lack a reliable system to prepare professionals for practice. (We currently have) • field experience often focused more on reflection than on development of actual skill and judgment, • curriculum emphasizing knowledge and beliefs rather than practice, • inappropriate subject matter preparation, • inadequate preparation for diversity of U.S. classrooms.”

  17. Schools Need to be Teacher Learning Labs • Many Education graduates say they learned education theory in college, but didn’t get enough practical training to be prepared to teach. • Consequently our school districts need to ensure resources for teachers to learn on the job while they teach.

  18. 2009 National Staff Development Council Report Research on the effectiveness of teacher professional development • Nine studies showed that intensive, sustained professional development efforts that offered an average of 49 hours per year boosted student achievement by 21 percentile points, Yoon et al. • Other studies evaluating programs with fewer hours of engagement (5-14 hours total) showed no significant effect on student learning.

  19. 2009 NSDC Comparison of the U.S. with Other OECD Countries • Nations that outperform the U.S. on student tests invest more heavily in professional learning and productive teacher collaboration. • Teachers in the U.S. are not getting adequate training in teaching special education or for teaching students with limited English proficiency. • U.S. teachers have limited influence in crucial decision-making on curriculum, assessment, and professional development.

  20. Study: How Districts May Best Improve the Quality of Teaching • Interviewed 46 experienced, high caliber K-12 teachers. • Teachers, chosen by their principals, had an average of 17 years experience. • Posed eight questions to elicit opinions and recommendations.

  21. Survey Questions • What experiences, education, or interactions have helped in learning your teaching craft? • What education or processes have been of little value? • What would you recommend to a new teacher? • Are there any specific classes or coursework you would recommend?

  22. Survey Questions (continued) • What specific resources would you recommend? • Rate the value of various learning activities. • Provide your recommendations for districts wishing to encourage and support teaching improvement. • Provide your recommendations to districts for promoting high expectations of teacher performance.

  23. What Experiences, Education, or Interactions Have Helped in Learning Your Teaching Craft? SURVEY • Peer collaboration • Classroom observation of good teachers in action • Having a good mentor • Multiday workshop/seminars with direct classroom application and follow-up

  24. What Education or Processes Have Been of Little Value? SURVEY • Many workshops chosen by the districts • One-day or after-school workshops • Workshops emphasizing educational theory rather than practical application • Too many required workshops covering too many areas with too little focus or continuity

  25. What Would You Recommend to a New Teacher? SURVEY • Participate in formal mentoring programs with experienced teacher mentors. • Observe other teachers and discuss teaching techniques with them. • Work within a team of grade-level or subject-grouped teachers. • Participate in substantive workshops on behavior management, subject content, or ELL strategies.

  26. 2009 National Staff Development Council Report • School based mentoring and collaboration programs for new teachers reduced attrition by half. • While many educators believe that mentoring programs greatly improve teacher effectiveness, research is not yet available that shows a significant impact of those programs on student achievement.

  27. What Specific Classes or Coursework Would You Recommend? SURVEY • AVID trainings (Advancement Via Individual Determination) • Math and science teaching workshops • Teaching English language learners • Classroom behavioral management • Economic and cultural background of students • Use of technology

  28. What Specific ResourcesWould You Recommend? SURVEY • AVID program materials • Harry Wong’s First Days of School • Robert Marzano’sbooks on his “high yield strategies” • Doug Lemov’sTeach Like a Champion

  29. Teacher Ratings of Professional Development SURVEY

  30. Teacher Ratings of Professional Development (continued) SURVEY

  31. 2009 National Staff Development Council Report Professional development should: • Be intensive, ongoing, and connected to practice • Focus on student learning and address the teaching of specific curriculum content • Align with school improvement priorities and goals • Build strong working relationships between teachers

  32. Recommendations for Districts to Encourage and Support Continuous Teaching Improvement SURVEY • They strongly endorsed teachers choosing their own professional development workshops. • Request frequent classroom visits from principals and other district leaders for communication and coaching. • District leadership should show they value teacher collaboration and peer classroom observation by funding those practices.

  33. How Does/Should Your District Support Time for Teacher Collaboration? • Please take three minutes and exchange ideas with someone near you about how your districts schedule time for teacher collaboration or classroom observation. Should support for these activities be increased to benefit student achievement?

  34. Recommendations for Districts to Promote High Expectations of Teacher Performance SURVEY • Enunciate expectations clearly and frequently. • Assess progress with data and frequent observations to provide consistent, constructive feedback. • Treat teachers with respect and trust them to use their time to best advantage for student learning. • Expect excellence and continuous improvement in teaching and hold teachers accountable for this. • Strongly support teacher peer collaboration.

  35. Conclusions • Effective teachers are the best known effectors of improved student achievement. • High quality professional development may be the best place to put resources to improve teacher effectiveness. • Providing time for, and expecting, high quality peer collaboration is a valuable use of those resources. • Strong mentoring programs for new teachers reduce teacher drop-out rate and may significantly improve teacher effectiveness.

  36. Conclusions (continued) • Expectations for continual improvement should be enunciated, coached, and assessed by principals. • Teachers benefit from well conceived intensive professional development workshops that feature hands-on learning and follow-up. • Teachers learn more if they are able to choose professional development from a district-vetted set of strong offerings in a range of subjects.

  37. Suggested Further Readings • Can Good Teaching Be Learned – Building a Better Teacher, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html • R. C. Wei, L. Darling-Hammond, A. Andree, N. Richardson, S. Orphanos, Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher Development in the U.S. and Abroad, National Staff Development Council, February 2009

  38. Questions? Roger Trainor, DirectorEast Valley School Districtretrainor@msn.com J. F. Rosapepe, DirectorSouth Kitsap School Districtjsrosapepe@msn.com Robert Coffey, Director,Mount Vernon School Districtrobcoffey@comcast.net

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