Teachers ' Practice Through Effective Continuing Professional Learning

Teaching and learning is a two-way process and as teachers we can gain an extraordinary amount by listening to feedback from others, by evaluating our own performance regularly and by reflecting on our own practice. We should see areas for development not as negative features of our own teaching but as an opportunity to make teaching even more effective. It is particularly important to listen to our learners – their voice must be heard and their comments taken account of at all levels in an organisation.

An appraisal is one of the most commonly used methods of formal assessment and is used to evaluate and assess the performance of an employee against agreed targets and objectives, with the aim of improving employee performance. Where an employee has been able to achieve their targets, the appraisal can be used to recognise successes. This often helps to increase an employee’s confidence and motivation and can lead to better organisational performance. Many organisations will use the outcomes of an appraisal to identify potential candidates for promotions or even an increase in pay. At the same time, an appraisal meeting may include discussions on underperformance, identifying why this has occurred and how this can be avoided in the future.

Performance appraisal is a method which is increasingly used to evaluate employees to determine the degree to which they are performing effectively and encourage them to direct their energies towards organizational performance. Although the appraisal is being practiced, there are criticisms made against the system which generally arise from within the Orthodox and radical management frame work.

Managers and supervisors need to have resources available for review when conducting a performance appraisal, along with training on the specific rating system. Concept: Elements of Effective Performance Feedback Interviews Mastery 100% Questions 10 11 12 10. Prior to the performance-feedback interview, the supervisor should A. communicate frequently with subordinates about their performance

“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.

The job description for each position is different and so should the evaluation process and questioner. Each department in an organization needs to have guidelines set forth outlining the duites, expectations, training model, and professional code and consistency among employees are critical to the professional appraisal evaluation process. Each employee must be held to the same accountability or the evaluation process becomes tainted by lack of consistency. Management should always focus on the appraisal process as another of their job duties instead of over thinking the task and rating an employee out of fear and retaliation or to prevent an employee from receiving a raise or promotion. In addition, the for the appraisal process to be beneficial to the company the outcome has to be to protect the company from liability or litigation from a disgruntled employee and to boost the companies overall productivity ratings. When an employee believes he or she has a hand in creating the plan to evaluate and change his or her performance the changes are more likely to last rather than being told what changes need to

In a conclusion, strengths of the negotiated performance appraisal are its ability to promote candid two-way communication between the supervisor and the person being appraised and to help the latter take more responsibility for improving performance. In contrast, in this case, the supervisor acts more as a judge of employee performance than as a coach. By so doing, unfortunately, the focus is on blame rather than on helping the employee assume responsibility for improvement.

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

159). The evaluation process provides employees the opportunity to give a self-appraisal. Through these appraisals, an employee could justify a salary increase. It is also the time to discuss future plans, goals, aspirations, and career growth. Together with Laura, an employee would decide on goals and objectives for the next review period (Southwell, 2015, Unit 4). In the article “A Discourse Analytical Perspective on the Professionalization of the Performance Appraisal Interview,” the authors discuss how performance appraisal interviews between managers and their employees can resemble a therapy or counseling session (Van De Mieroop & Vrolix, 2014, p. 160). “Performance appraisal, in general, and performance appraisal interviews, in particular, were once rather basic communication processes, but nowadays institutions and organizations increasingly invest resources in them and this results in a growing professionalization of this genre” (Van De Mieroop & Vrolix, 2014, p.

The objective of this study is to discuss important complexities in teacher's work. According to Churchill, et al (2013) The commitment to teaching brought to the studies and careers of teachers confirms that today's teachers and teachers previously genuinely love to learn and have a great desire to teach. Churchill et al (2013) states that this "deep commitment to humanity and making a difference in the lives of the next generation are among the qualities of people drawn to a career in teaching." (p.4) Some students are able to recall the teacher that transformed their lives and as stated by an experienced teacher and teacher educator "Whatever the situation the influence teachers have on their students I long lasting and can be profound. Good teaching makes a difference in the lives of children and young people." (Pugach, 2009, p.1 in: Churchill, et al, 2013, p.4)

Cook, S., & Macaulay, S. (2007). How an integrated approach to performance appraisal and the

It is this approach by the government, over the years, which has shifted the views on teacher professionalism. The erosion of creativity and autonomy reduces the need to reflect and as the ATL states ‘Review and reflection may be pointless in an environment where the teacher is or feels powerless to innovate, where decisions and changes are always imposed from above.’

“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.”

There is a potential for bias with the appraisal system if the expectations of the appraisal are not understood or communicated clearly by the supervisor and the employee. In addition, if the appraisal system is not used in a fair, consistent manner, from year to year, or from employee to employee, this will lead to resentment between employees, low morale and decreased performance. All employees must be treated fairly and equally in the appraisal process. Supervisors must use a uniform appraisal system and apply it consistently over time.

This reflection paper addresses as a student and counseling professional how I feel as though I have been readily prepared to teach in higher education and areas, concepts, strategies, and thoughts on how I have evolved through this course. This course has made me think more into how the most powerful, durable, and effective agents of educational change are not the policy makers, the curriculum developers or even the education authorities themselves; they are the teachers. It further contends that the quality of the educational changes that teachers have the skills and opportunities to effect will only be as reliable and proficient as the teachers’ individual capacities for reflective practice and the development of self-knowledge (Stepien, 1999). These aspects of teacher development have, historically, been largely overlooked in the preparation and promotion of effective teachers. The emphasis has been more explicitly focused on the development and demonstration of teachers’ understanding of content knowledge and the associated pedagogies and in their capacities to understand their students as individual constructors of knowledge in diverse social contexts (Bosworth, 1999).