Observation Feedback Paul BambrickSantoyo with Patrick Jones and

Observation & Feedback Paul Bambrick-Santoyo with Patrick Jones and Phillip Albonetti

So there we were… August of 2012 • First year teacher with first year teacher issues • Cursing, horseplay, and a pen top • Meeting with the principal an AP within the first two weeks Any comparable stories? This July we will get dozens of new first year teachers who will have similar issues. Now what?

Opening Questions: • Outside of growing on our own (simply through experience and self-reflection), what is the #1 thing that helps us get better—as teachers or as school leaders? • In the average school, how many times per year is a new teacher observed? How about an experienced teacher?

Big Idea: Exceptional school leaders succeed because of how they use their time, and their time prioritizes teacher development. Observation & Feedback is not to evaluate a teacher; but to find the most effective way to coach them to improve student learning.

Seven Levers of Leadership-Instruction: Data-Driven Instruction: • Define the roadmap for rigor and adapt teaching to meet students’ needs Observation & Feedback: • Coach teachers to improve the learning Planning: • Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons Professional Development: • Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training that sticks

Seven Levers of Leadership-Instruction: Data-Driven Instruction: • Define the roadmap for rigor and adapt teaching to meet students’ needs MONTHLY/ YEARLY Observation & Feedback: • Coach teachers to improve the learning Planning: • Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons Professional Development: • Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training that sticks

Seven Levers of Leadership-Instruction: Data-Driven Instruction: • Define the roadmap for rigor and adapt teaching to meet students’ needs Observation & Feedback: • Coach teachers to improve the learning Planning: DAILY/ WEEKLY • Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons Professional Development: • Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training that sticks

Goals for Today’s Workshop: • Increase our ability to identify the key action steps in classroom observations and give effective feedback • Develop the tools for holding teachers accountable to continual development

Reflections--Observation & Feedback Think about the teachers who have been the easiest for you to manage and help them improve: • Why was it easy to manage them? • How did their personality, teaching challenges and responsiveness contribute to that ease? Think about the teachers who have been the hardest for you to manage: • Why was it difficult to manage them? • How did their personality, teaching challenges and (un)responsiveness contribute to that difficulty?

Profiles of Easy-to-Manage Teachers: • • Reflective Eager to Improve Data-Driven Seek Feedback Responsive (follows through) Mission-aligned Positive Emotionally Stable

Profiles of Challenging Teachers: Serious Classroom Management Issues Intimidation/Discomfort: Teachers we gravitate AWAY from: • Fairly strong teachers—how do I improve them? • Teachers where we experience a personality clash • Teachers with far more teaching experience • Teachers who are “icy cold” when receiving feedback Unresponsiveness: Teachers who do not implement the feedback that we give them: incompetent or resistant Underminers: Teachers who question your decisions and undermine your decisions with others

Why Teacher Development is So Challenging A Case Study

Failure Case Study: • What positive attempts did the principal make to manage this teacher effectively? • What went wrong in the principal’s attempts to manage this teacher?

Failure Case Study Go to a sheet of chart paper with a group of four and write down your answers to these questions: • What did Dr. Starr do well in his attempt to guide Ms. Brewer? • What could he have done to lead her more effectively? You will have 7 minutes and 19 seconds.

Practice • Why does Albonetti carve such awful pumpkins? • Takeaway: Practice is essential!

Agenda: Content Introduction • The Four Keys to Observation & Feedback First Two Keys • Regular Observation • Identifying the Right Action Steps Third and Fourth Key • Effective Feedback • Holding Teachers Accountable Time 10: 00 -10: 40 am 10: 40– 12: 00 noon 1: 00 -5: 00 pm

The Four Keys: • Regular Observation • The Right Action Steps • Effective Feedback • Accountability

The Four Keys: Regular Observation: • Lock in frequent and regular observations Right Action Steps: • Choose the best action steps for change in each classroom observation Effective Feedback: • Give face-to-face feedback that practices the action step Accountability: • Create systems to ensure feedback translates to practice

Regular Observation Building the Schedule of Instructional Leaders to Lock in Observations & Feedback

Rationale for the Importance of Teacher Meetings: • Face-to-face feedback is the most effective way to generate teacher improvement • Emails only work for teachers who are hungry

Building Your Schedule: Pre-Work: • Count the # of instructional leaders in the school • Figure out the leader-to-core teacher ratio o Goal is to get to 15 to 1 or less for weekly observations • Place the blank calendar front and center. Task 1: • Block out all the time where you will most likely be busy with non-negotiable responsibilities. o e. g. Morning supervision, morning meetings, CPR, Lunch duty, Dismissal o Write in pencil.

Building Your Schedule: Task 2: • List all of the teachers in your building. • Divide the teachers between the school leaders who will observe staff. • This list isn’t final, so don’t sweat it too much. Task 3: • Write into the schedule when you will meet with these teachers for observation and lesson plan feedback. • Each meeting should take 30 minutes. • Consider planning meetings in large blocks to finish them more quickly. • See page 68 of Leverage Leadership or the example in your binder for an example.

Building Your Schedule: Task 4: • Map out the core times when you can go to observations • Goal: observation time occurs before you will meet with the teacher each week • Goal: 15 minutes per teacher you will observe • Thus, one post-it (1 hr) represents 4 observations • Consider planning observations in 1 hour blocks Task 5: • Type your tasks into your Outlook calendar for the week of August 12 -16. • [Bonus] Set the task as weekly occurrences that last until the end of September.

Evaluate Your Schedule: Trade your schedule with another leader’s. Both of you evaluate the schedules by asking and answering these questions. • Where might this schedule not work? • Is there a change we could make to mitigate that?

Reflection: • What about this schedule makes regular observation happen more consistently? • What are the big takeaways for building my schedule and my leadership team’s schedules? • Write your takeaways on the “Observation & Feedback Reflection” page.

Big Idea: By receiving weekly observations and feedback, a teacher gets more coaching in one year as most receive in fifteen. 2 observations per year X 15 years = 30 opportunities for coaching 35+ observations per year X 1 year = 35+ opportunities for coaching

Rationale For Locked-in Teacher Meetings: • Face-to-face feedback is the most effective way to generate teacher improvement—emails only work for teachers who are hungry • Don’t waste time tracking down teachers to give feedback—that will translate to not giving the feedback over time • Use the meeting to incentivize yourself to get the observation done

Now What? • We’ve observed the teachers. Now what do we tell them?

Choosing the Right Action Step Effective vs. Ineffective Action Steps [Action Step = Key Lever]

Selecting the Right Action Steps: Criteria for selecting right action step: • • Is it directly connected to student learning? Does it address a root cause? Does the action positively change multiple areas? Is this change a necessary one to allow for further improvements to come after it? • Is the recommendation the quickest and most effective way to make this change happen? Make it measurable, specific and targeted: • If you can’t make the change in a week, the action step isn’t small enough • Can you easily measure if the teachers has made the change?

Keys to Writing a Great Action Step: First Key • What will teachers do when they implement this lever? Second Key • What evidence will you have that teachers now know how to do this? Third Key • Can they accomplish this objective in a week?

Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps: Classroom management example Too High • Increase on-task behavior during Opening Procedures Still Too High • Improve Strong Voice Better • Use Economy of Language during Opening Procedures • Square Up & Stand Still during Opening Procedures

Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps: Classroom rigor example Too High • Improve your questioning Still Too High • Ask higher-order, more rigorous questions Better • Script out inference questions on character motive into the lesson plans

Precise Action Steps Your Turn

Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps--Management: Too High • Increase urgency Still Too High • Improve pacing Better •

Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps--Rigor Too High • Increase rigor Still Too High • Improve rigor in the Do Now Better •

Feedback on Effective Action Steps: Receive Feedback (5 min—partner style!) • Share the final action steps for each slide • Give feedback to the objectives based on the key questions: o Is it specific: does it refer to something a teacher will be able to do when they walk out of the meeting? o Is it observable: Will you be able to easily evaluate if they accomplished the lever? o Is it bite-sized: can a teacher accomplish this in one week?

Reflection: What are your big takeaways for how to write quality action steps? Write your ideas on the “Observation & Feedback Reflection. ”

Choosing the Right Action Steps Video Case Study #1

Case Study #1 • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=y. Ej 8 y. TEb. Sd. E • Let’s sit in the classroom for just a few minutes. As you watch, jot observations (whether positive or negative), on the post-it notes.

Case Study #1—Debrief: Role: Select one person to be the recorder. He or she will write responses in the T-chart in the binder. Challenges: Identify all of the issues going on in this classroom: surface problems and root causes (5 min) • • • Go in order around the circle: each person has 30 secs to identify one challenge (no one may comment!) If you don’t have an idea, say “Pass” If you like an idea, when it’s your turn simply say, “I would like to add to that idea by…” Even if 4 -5 people pass in a row, keep going for 10 min Recorder: Put responses in “management” or “rigor”

Case Study #1—Debrief: Reflection: feasibility of each idea (5 min) • 1 min—silent individual reflection on the list: what are the highest leverage action steps you’d recommend? • Go in order around the circle once: each person has about 60 secs to share 1 -2 recommended action steps • If a person doesn’t have a thought to share, say “Pass” and come back to that person later. Action Steps: choose top 2 key actions teacher should take (10 min): • One in management, the other in content/rigor • [See protocol on next page]

Protocol for Action Steps (10 min): • Discuss & choose top 2 actions steps • Write them as precisely as you can • Criteria for selection of the 2 action steps: o Is the action step directly connected to student learning? o Does it address a root cause? o Does it positively change multiple areas? o Is it necessary to pave the way for other improvements? o Is it the most effective way to make change happen? o Make it measurable, specific and targeted: • If you can’t make the change in a week, the action step isn’t small enough. • Can you easily measure if the teachers has made the change?

Reflection: What are your big takeaways for how to write quality action steps? Write your ideas on the “Observation & Feedback Reflection. ”

Big Ideas--The Link Between Data & Observation: Rigor is undefined until you determine how to assess it. Thus, without data on whether students are learning, you cannot adequately observe for rigor.

Giving Feedback Effectively What NOT to Do

What NOT to Do When Giving Feedback: • Do all the talking • Let teacher do all the talking on the wrong topic • Fail to write anything down (teacher or principal) about what teacher should be doing

Giving Feedback Effectively A Master Clip

Effective Feedback—A Master Clip: Julie’s Lever: • Ask less scaffolded questions when a student gets the wrong answer to increase student thinking Watch Video (clip 3): • • Write down the key questions or comments that Julie makes while talking with Carly. What protocol does Julie use to lead this meeting with Carly? Name all of the steps she takes in your own words.

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback: 1. PRECISE PRAISE: narrative the positive 2. PROBE: State targeted open-ended question about the core issue 3. ID PROBLEM & ACTION STEP: Identify problem; state concrete action step that will address issue 4. PRACTICE: Role play/simulate how teacher could have improved current class 5. PLAN AHEAD: Design/revise upcoming lesson plan components to implement action 6. SET TIMELINE: Establish time by which to accomplish action step

Taking a Closer Look Breaking Down the Components of Effective Feedback

Precise Praise: What makes Serena’s praise effective? Clip 4

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback: Precise Praise • Genuine—heart-felt, authentic • Precise--targets a specific action the teacher took • Reinforce Positive Actions—particularly those that are connected to the teacher’s development goal

Probe, Identify Problem & Action Step: What strategies does Aja use to lead Kristi to the correct problem the students are having? Clip 7

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback: Probe—State a targeted open-ended question about the core issue • Targeted on the core area of the lesson where you want to focus • Scaffolded follow-up questions • Presenting data: allows to see how the teacher views his/her lesson RIGOR EXAMPLE: “What was the end goal—what should students know and be able to do at the end of your lesson? ” MANAGEMENT EXAMPLE: “How long did you think students needed to complete the “You Do” during the lesson? ”

Probe, Identify Problem & Action Step: What strategies does Julie use to lead Rachel to the correct action step? Clip 5

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback: ID PROBLEM & CONCRETE ACTION STEP—Get teacher to identify the problem & how to address it: • Level 1: teacher comes to issue by self & states clear action step to address it • Level 2: leader uses a series of scaffolded questions to lead teacher to the answer • Level 3: leader presents data from the observation; then teacher realizes the issue & states action step • Level 4: leader states the problem and action step clearly to the teacher

Time to Practice! Generate Effective Questions to Guide Feedback

Preparation for Giving Feedback: Assume you are about to give feedback to the opening video to Ms. Chambers from the video you saw this morning Generate: • • PROBE—OPENING QUESTION (targeted, datagathering) SCAFFOLDED QUESTIONS/DATA TO PRESENT if teacher struggles to analyze his/her weakness

Feedback Simulation, Round 1: Identify Roles: Teacher, Principal Role Play Giving Feedback (3 min): • Begin from beginning of conversation, cut off after 3 min • Attempt to follow the three steps--Precise Praise, opening questions, ID problem and concrete action step Debrief the Role Play (3 min): • Teacher responds to how they felt during conversation, gives feedback • Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and steps for improvement

Feedback Simulation, Round 2: Switch Roles: Teacher, Principal Role Play Giving Feedback (3 min): • Begin from beginning of conversation, cut off after 3 min • Attempt to follow the three steps--Precise Praise, opening questions, ID problem and concrete action step Debrief the Role Play (3 min): • Teacher responds to how they felt during conversation, gives feedback • Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and steps for improvement

Getting to Action Practice, Plan Ahead, & Set Timeline

Practice: How does Serena help Eric prepare for his next lesson? Clip 11

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback: Practice--Role play/simulate how the teacher could have improved the current class with this action step. Practice should be: • Concrete: generate the actual language or actions teacher could have taken • Teacher-centered: teacher does the practice (don’t just tell them!)

Practice: How does Juliana facilitate Sarah practicing during their conversation? Clip 12

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback: Practice---Role play/simulate how teacher could have improved the current class with this action step; • Concrete: generate the actual language or actions teacher could have taken • Teacher-centered: teacher does the practice (don’t just tell them! Plan Ahead—Design activity/lesson plan components needed to implement this action • Levels 1 -2: principal and teacher brainstorm together, then teacher does lesson plans • Levels 3 -4: principal and teacher build lesson plans and/or materials together

Set Timeline: How does Julie lock in a timeline for Rachel during their meeting? Clip 13

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback: Timeline--Set time when action should be accomplished and how teacher will show that it’s done • Paper/Electronic Product: “You need to email it to me by 5 pm tomorrow. ” • Observe teachers: write when you’ll observe them (e. g. , Thursday Oral Drill) • Observe master teacher: write when you’ll observe master teacher doing the same skill • Video: determine if you need to tape master teacher and/or have teacher videotape self

Personal Accountability Staying on Top of Everything

System #1—Observation Tracker: • Changes TBD as a results of Teach Boost

System #1—Observation Tracker: One Tracker for All Teacher Interactions • Tab for each teacher: date, type of interaction, 1 -2 action steps from each meeting, evidence of accomplishment • Summary tab with all teachers and most recent actions Purpose • Make sure all teachers are receiving the right proportion of teacher observations according to their needs • Track your recommendations more systematically to be able to hold teachers accountable to implementation • Set specific goal for teacher success & accurately track progress toward that goal • See trends in recommendations through the year

Sample Observation Tracker—Individual Teacher Tab:

Sample Obs. Tracker—Global Summary:

Time to Practice, Part 2! Practice, Plan Ahead & Set Timeline

Preparation for Giving Feedback: Prepare For The Role Play • • Plan how you’ll practice the action step in the meeting ID how you’ll plan ahead for the next lesson Set the timeline for completion Have templates ready: observation tracker, teacher meeting template, action plan – Use the “Weekly Meeting Notes Page” for now. – Have the handout “Six Steps for Effective Feedback” nearby as well. – Only role play steps 4, 5, and 6.

Feedback Simulation, Round 1: Identify Roles: Teacher, Principal Role Play Giving Feedback (5 min) • Begin from the identified action step • Attempt to follow the three steps: Practice, plan ahead, state timeline Debrief the Role Play (3 min) • Teacher responds to how they felt during conversation, gives feedback • Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and steps for improvement

Feedback Simulation, Round 2: Switch Roles: Teacher, Principal Role Play Giving Feedback (3 min) • Begin from beginning of conversation, cut off after three minutes • Attempt to follow the three steps: Precise Praise, opening questions, ID problem and concrete action step Debrief the Role Play (3 min) • Teacher responds to how they felt during conversation, gives feedback • Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and steps for improvement

So there we were… August of 2012 • First year teacher with first year teacher issues • Cursing, horseplay, and a pen top • Meeting with the principal an AP within the first two weeks

So here we are… June of 2013

The Four Keys: Regular Observation: • Lock in frequent and regular observations Right Action Steps: • Choose the best action steps for change in each classroom observation Effective Feedback: • Give face-to-face feedback that practices the action step Accountability: • Create systems to ensure feedback translates to practice

Major Takeaways: • What were some of the most effective strategies you saw implemented that the whole group could learn from? • How did the 6 -step process work as a whole? What was awkward or challenging for you?

Conclusions Observation & Feedback

Accountability in Action Effectively Improving Struggling Teachers

Reflections of a Recovering Struggler: • What allowed the teacher to succeed finally? • What were the keys from the principal’s and from the teacher’s perspective?

Common Errors with Struggling Teachers: • Struggling teachers observe other teachers, but do not understand how those teachers do their work so well • Struggling teachers receive too much feedback: all narrative, many recommendations • Others do not understand the slower developmental pace of the struggling teacher • Feedback is suggestive, not directive • Implementation deadlines are unreasonable

Tightening the Feedback Loop Strategies for Our Most Struggling Teachers

Tightening the Feedback Loop: • Put a question mark next to activities that you want to understand more deeply in order to implement effectively • Put a star next to activities that sound particularly doable for you that you want to implement • Double star the activities that you want to implement immediately with your most struggling teachers

Putting it All Together Video Case Study #2

Re-Visiting Our Challenging Teachers: Pair Planning: Design your action plan • Fill in your observation tracker: core PD goal and immediate action step • Plan what will be said o o o Probe: opening question Scaffolded Qs and data Practice Plan Timeline • Plan what additional steps from the “Tightening the Feedback Loop” handout you will put into action

Re-Visit Our Challenging Teachers: Form Groups of Three: • Work with people with whom you haven’t yet worked Role Play Conversation with Teacher (8 min) • Follow the Six Steps of Effective Feedback Next Steps (2 min) • Leader states what would happen next: what are the additional steps of tightening the feedback loop? Feedback (4 min) • What was effective and could be improved about the conversation? • What was effective and could be improved about the next steps? Repeat for Each Leader

Re-Visit Our Challenging Teachers: Individual Planning: Design an action plan for a challenging teacher who will be at your school this year. • Fill in your observation tracker: core PD goal, immediate action step • Plan what you’ll say in your first feedback meeting with the teacher (assuming you do observe a need for the action step you’ve identified) • Plan what action steps from the “Tightening the Feedback Loop” handout you will implement • Optional: Will you need a “tone-setting” conversation to re-set the teacher? If so, what will you say during that conversation? • Highlight the challenges that would remain even with these strategies in play

Re-Visit Our Challenging Teachers: Form Groups of Three: • Work with people with whom you haven’t yet worked Leader Presents Challenging Teacher (3 min): • What is the immediate action step? • What personality should the person playing the teacher embody? • What systems will be in place during the feedback meeting (note-taking template, etc. )? Role Play Conversation with Teacher (7 min): • Follow the Six Steps of Effective Feedback Debrief Role Play (3 min) Repeat for Each Leader

Next Steps—Prior to Starting the School Year: • Put up observation tracker (ask DOO/OM to help set it up) • Put up schedule of observations and teacher meetings o Determine which instructional leaders will observe which teachers o Rank/level teachers to determine frequency of observations o Follow weekly meeting schedule • Set core PD goals for each returning teacher • Set expectations for record-keeping and note-taking by teachers during leader-teacher meetings • Schedule monthly meeting with MD/Principal to review tracker