Transcript Eliminating Barriers to Improving Teaching

Welcome National Board
Candidates 
 Sign
in.
 Pick up your name tag and a playing
card. Make sure you draw from the
face card pile if you need a VCR/TV to
view your video.
 Find the table that matches your
playing card.
 Place a copy of your homework in the
appropriate area.
Copyright VCU Center for
Teacher Leadership
October 18: Videotaping Workshop
Revisiting our Professional Norms
 Feedback on Homework
 Discussing My Feedback
 Video Viewing

LUNCH
Video Tips and Questions
 Preparing for Analysis of Student Work
 November Homework
 Wrap Up/Burning Questions

Revisiting our Professional
Norms
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Teacher Leadership
Today’s NBCT Facilitators
 Christy
 Chris
Ellis, AYA/ELA, Chesterfield
Stallings, MC/Gen, Henrico
 Cookie
Edmonds, Literacy/Richmond
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Teacher Leadership
Feedback from September
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Teacher Leadership
Writing Reminders
 Description
 This
is called for when the prompt uses
verbs like state, list, describe or what.
 Be
accurate, precise in your enumeration/
explanation.
 Provide clear logical ordering of what you are
describing, whether it is an event, person,
concept or strategy.
 Include all of the supporting features or
elements to allow the reader to see what you
are describing.
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Teacher Leadership
Writing Reminders
 Analysis
 This
is called for when a prompt asks how, why or
in what way(s).
 You
are to interpret and examine why the things
described are the way they are.
 You are showing the thought processes you go through
to arrive at the conclusions about a teaching situation.
 You are demonstrating the significance of the evidence
you submit.
 The subject of your analysis should be available to the
reader (student work, videotape) or give a clear
description.
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Teacher Leadership
Writing Reminders
 Reflection
 This
is a thought process that occurs after a teaching
situation. You might see verbs like improve,
change, re-teach, build upon.
 Reflection
and analysis overlap somewhat.
 Reflection is based on the analysis of student response to
the instruction.
 You are considering the success of your lessons, what you
would do differently, what would come next, and
providing evidence/reasons for your conclusions.
 Do not skimp on your reflection! Reflect on all aspects of
the lesson, and use all the space allowed. Make your
personal thoughts visible to assessors.
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Teacher Leadership
Writing Pitfalls to Avoid
 Getting
on your “soapbox” to express your
personal philosophies, positive or negative,
about education and/or the students you teach.
Do not explain how your students cannot learn
due to social, economic or other factors, but
show how you are an accomplished teacher, and
provide the best learning experience you can for
your students.
 Being a philosopher, writing of your educational
beliefs, such as “ What all children need to learn
is. . .” or “Education today . . .” Assessors want to
see how you produce learning in your students.
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Teacher Leadership
More Pitfalls to Avoid
 Being
the “Invisible Teacher” in your Written
Commentary. Show that you are in control of what
happens in your classroom, that what happens there
is purposeful. Write “I assigned the students to
groups of four, paying attention to diversity….” or “I
told the groups to brainstorm….” Avoid passive
tense. “The students were seated in groups…” and
“They brainstormed…..” or “We decided…”
 Assuming the assessors know what you are
thinking. You must consciously explain and analyze
your decision-making and reasoning. Do not assume
that “everyone does this,” and remember to be
thorough in explaining in detail why you do what
you do.
Don’t forget the Standards
that MUST BE MET!
 There
are specific STANDARDS for
each entry.
 Can you connect STANDARDS to
specific sections/questions in the
Written Commentary?
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Teacher Leadership
Preparing to Give Feedback
Evidence
Opinion
 Descriptive
 Not
Inferential
 Draws conclusions
 Subjective
 May include value
judgments
 May be based upon
personal judgments or
estimations

subject to debate
(unambiguous)
 Free from value
judgments
 Objective
 Observable
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Teacher Leadership
Evidence vs. Opinion
 The
students were excited.
 The class was out of control.
 Pacing of the lesson was too slow.
 The teacher began the lesson 20 minutes
after the bell rang to begin class.
 My students understood the lesson.
 Most students were on task in the
video.
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Teacher Leadership
Feedback on Homework
 Divide
your table in half with no more
than 3 in a group.
 Pass your homework paper to the right
for your colleague to read. You will be
provided 30 minutes to read silently the
papers for two colleagues.
 Provide feedback to your colleagues by
making comments or raising questions
directly on the homework assignment.
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Teacher Leadership
Discussing Feedback on
Your Homework
Discuss
the feedback you received
from your colleagues.
Take
turns so that each candidate
gets no more than 10 minutes.
Chimes will ring when it’s time to
switch to the next candidate.
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Teacher Leadership
Insights?
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Teacher Leadership
BREAK!
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Teacher Leadership
Analyzing a Video: One Approach
 Find
a quiet place and bring a tape recorder.
 First watch the video in its entirety. Your
objective is to decide if there is a segment that
is usable or if the entire clip needs to be
abandoned.
 When you’ve found the segment that you
want to use, watch it 4 different times.
Focus: Your teaching
Focus: Student/teacher interaction
Focus: Dialogue (Use tape recorder.)
Focus: Standards
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Teacher Leadership
Video View Form

Your Teaching


Interaction


How do you interact with the students? How do they interact with
one another? Consider body language and facial expressions.
Dialogue


The focus is pedagogy and content knowledge. Don’t take
anything for granted. Why do you walk around the room? Why
did you use a handout/chalkboard/overhead projector?
Listen intently to what you say and what the students say. Find a
connection to your goals/objectives and that of the entry in
general.
Standards

Note the standard(s) being met as a result of your teaching,
interaction and dialogue.
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Teacher Leadership
Video Viewing Activity
 Within
your group, YOUR PEER REVIEWER
will briefly explain your teaching context and
the nature of your entry. You may ask your
group to give specific feedback about 2
questions.
 Show no more than 5 minutes of your video.
 Colleagues will provide feedback based on the
focus areas we’ve discussed.
 Take notes on the feedback you receive on the
VCU Center for
form provided. Copyright
Teacher Leadership
Video Viewing Groups
DVD Format
VHS Format
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Teacher Leadership
VHS Room Assignments

Group 1 – Room 201

Group 2 – Room 201 Annex

Group 3 – Room

Group 4 – Room

Group 5 – Room
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Lunch!
We’ll sit in certificate areas
after lunch.
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Teacher Leadership
Advice from the Experts on
Videotaping
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Teacher Leadership
Important!
PLEASE
HAVE
SOMEONE ELSE
ANALYZE
YOUR VIDEOTAPE.
THEY MAY SEE SOMETHING
YOU DON’T.
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Teacher Leadership
Remember: You are the
Standards!
 The
standards are what you do in your
classroom. The videotape and the
writing serve as the evidence.
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Teacher Leadership
???Videotaping Questions???
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Teacher Leadership
Preparing for Analysis of
Student Work Workshop
 Take
out your completed “Breaking Down the
Entry” form for Entry 1.
 With your colleagues (1) confirm that you have
a shared understanding of the requirements for
the entry and (2) determine which standards
are addressed by this entry. Record the
standards on your form.
 Using the Discussion Protocol form, discuss
with colleagues the kind of student work you
plan to use to meet the Entry 1 requirements.
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Teacher Leadership
Insights?
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Teacher Leadership
Homework Due by November 15



Read the “Analysis Practice and Activities” in the “Get
Started” section of your portfolio instructions. Use a
highlighter and/or post-it notes, to identify critical
information you need to remember about Entry 1.
Complete the Analysis of Student Work (ASW) form for a
classroom set of student work samples. Select student work
that you think you may use for Entry 1. Bring both the
ASW sheet and 5 copies of the case study student work
samples with you to the November 15 workshop.
To prepare for the Documented Accomplishment Entry,
complete the worksheet for documented accomplishments
that asks you to identify accomplishments in each of the
three categories required. Then select one accomplishment
and complete the more extended description of the
accomplishment, why it’s significant, and how it has
impacted student learning.
Assessing our Professional Norms
How are we doing?
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Teacher Leadership
Assessing the Videotaping
Workshop
What worked? What didn’t?
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Teacher Leadership
Burning Questions?