Supervision and Appraisal

This is a critical appraisal of a quantitative research article, “What is next after Transfer of Care from Hospital to Home for Stroke Patients? Evaluation of a Community Stroke Care Service Based in a Primary Care Clinic” (Aziz et al., 2013). This is a prospective observational study which examines the post stroke care program based in primary care is able to provide monitoring for secondary stroke prevention, as well as managing further rehabilitation needs for stroke patients residing at home. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) tool assists in the critique of this article.

The theoretical thoughts around supervision come from the student and teacher, the supervisee learning from the supervisor. The apprentice learning from the master of the trade.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2013). Getting teacher evaluation right: What really matters for effectiveness and improvement. Teachers College

“The principal must communicate a clear vision of instructional excellence, provide feedback to teacher through both the informal and formal processes of supervision and evaluation, and, finally ensure continuous professional development consistent with the goal of high student achievement for all students” (DiPaola and Hoy, 2014, p. 20). Supervision of teachers is a major responsibility for principals and it has a significant impact on school climate and student achievement. The supervisory process itself is very complex and requires principals to differentiate supervision styles from teacher to teacher. The purpose of this paper is to describe my first supervision experience that took place during the Fall 2016 semester at Rural Retreat High School.

In 2013 the Englewood public school system adopted the Danielson framework to evaluate teachers. Prior to the Danielson framework teachers we evaluated through a district created evaluation system. The change to the Danielson evaluation too was very tumultuous as the administrator as well as the teachers had to become acclimated to the new method. Unlike the previous measurement tool Danielson divided teaching practice into four domains. Each domain address different aspects of teaching practice that once achieved is supposed to resulting in more effective teaching and higher student academic achievement. Each domain has a level

Holding educators to student performances on standardized tests is a current trend being utilized by state and local school boards, but the standards to which teachers are being held are vague and leave teachers lost on how to improve their craft. In 2013, the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation funded a study of current teacher practices in order to identify effective strategies linked to increased student achievement. The data obtained from the study lead to discussions surrounding the current teacher evaluation process. Those discussions have led to a realization that evaluations tied to specific teacher feedback appeared to have greater impact on teacher improvement and as a result, increased student achievement (Goodwin & Hein, 2016). In the search for any artifacts involving the formalization of teacher evaluations, one article provided a guideline which state and local educational governing bodies could use when creating evaluation criteria for teachers. According to the findings cited in the article, “developing a comprehensive teacher evaluation system is far from straight forward [and] policymakers should make every effort to ensure teachers are being evaluated fairly and accurately” (Hull,

Administrators are continually evaluating and reflecting upon their practice to improve the schools in which they lead. Development of various measurement tools assists administrators in focusing on the school’s strengths and bring attention to areas of needed improvement. The Teacher Working Conditions Survey is an evaluation system that began in 2002 for all North Carolina public school systems. The TWCS is anonymous, and offers an overview of the school and insight into various teacher perspectives. Another tool used to evaluate the school climate is the Profile of Organizational Characteristics (POC) used to characterize organizations and evaluate school climate. Evaluating research on the current TWCS along with the POC aids school executives on areas of strengths and areas for improvement within their schools.

Educational leadership has changed and evolved through the years as a result of dramatic changes in the school culture, student demographics, environment, science, technology, and economy. Given the complexity and unpredictability of the demanding challenges to educate all children, prospective school leaders may find it desirable to define their own beliefs about instructional supervision and evaluation as they prepare for the rigor of school leadership practice. While enacting supervision, a supervisor is guided by certain values, assumptions, beliefs, and opinions that support the purpose and process of supervision (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2006). This can be described as the supervisor’s

An effective teacher evaluation system should measure strengths and weaknesses through an accurate and consistent process that provides

My passion for teaching will continue from a different perspective now. One gain from the supervision cycle is that I now place a higher value on listening and discussing with teachers. I often would ask myself if being a principal is what I want to be, but this great experience has confirmed for me that helping others and seeing them grow is my passion. Glickman, Gordon, and Gordon-Ross (2014) define the clinical supervision cycle as assistance for the enhancement of teaching and learning (Glickman et al., 2014, p. 9). The goal of clinical supervision is to foster teachers’ learning skills, improving instruction and student learning. Therefore, I do want teachers to feel I am there to support them in all aspects through the collaboration based on their individual needs. This experience makes me think that I will always be a teacher and I will always be a learner with teachers; the same way teachers work with students. I want them to be open with me so that together we can implement changes in the least restrictive way possible. I look forward to practicing the clinical supervision cycle with teachers the coming year. I have enjoyed and learned so much in this experience, but one thing stays in my heart is the fact that teachers aim for constructive feedback, this allows many positive opportunities. As I listened to Ms. Aguilar during the post conference, I realized that feedback provides a foundation for a positive teacher- supervisor relationship. By providing appropriate feedback, the teachers understand that the supervisor is genuinely concerned about their growth. This component also enhances a teachers’ self-efficacy and provides an avenue for motivation. The ultimate goal of supervision is for teachers to improve their knowledge and skills in order to make schools a more efficient and effective learning community for all

A teacher is one of the noblest professions there are. It is also very well one of the most criticized professions there are. If we are talking about a school teacher, then evaluating their effectiveness becomes, sadly, a fairly narrow scale. Because of standardization, the results of students test scores is the primary evaluation of the teacher’s effectiveness. It has also been said that test scores do not equal intelligence, so other more important characteristics

However, The subject leader is not just the machine that carries out guidelines, policies and enforces the orders from the superior, but it should more address the relationships with relevant others and related performance hoped of a post holder (Adey,1988; Ribbins, 1988; Webb and Luons, 1982). The role-set of the subject leader should involve not only to be teachers, but also their subject leaders, head teachers, governors, parents and student (David, 2001). As an intermediary, the subject leader should accommodate the relationship between all aspects. Therefore, apart from the job of teaching and learning, the more crucial issue for the subject leader is how to deal with these relationships. Furthermore,

“There is an unequivocal correlation between student achievement and teacher quality.” Direct supervision and evaluation of teachers should effectively address teacher quality, and thereby effect student learning and achievement. Bret Range, an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Wyoming has written two papers and maintains a blog related to teacher supervision. His research indicates, “the key to teacher development lies within well-planned teacher supervisory activities.”

In a typical and effective process of performance management, as demonstrated in Figure 2.1, performance appraisal is not the only but a vital element because it is the activity which evaluate the outcome of the work, recognize the achievement and weaknesses and give employees and managers a straightforward result on these(Armstrong, 2009, Hutchinson, 2013). From a modern perspective, performance appraisal covers more areas not only on what have been achieved but also on the attitude and contribution of the operator (Hutchinson, 2013), which enhance the functions of identifying training needs.

Effective school leadership today must combine the traditional school leadership duties such as teacher evaluation, budgeting, scheduling, and facilities maintenance with a deep involvement with specific aspects of teaching and learning. Effective instructional leaders are intensely involved in curricular and instructional issues that directly affect student achievement (Cotton, 2003). The writer of this paper acknowledges that school principals should play the role of instructional leaders, not just a school manager. The reality is that are many demands on a principals time and management skills making it difficult for most of them to spend time in classrooms, when performing teacher evaluation. Principals often make sure that teachers