Learning in the 21st century should be student-centered. Prescribed exam periods, de riguer in the 20th century learning model, are schedule-centered. They force students to perform in a “do-or-die” situation, whether or not they have adequately covered the material. Naturally, student stress levels shoot up in this high-stakes environment.
Even worse, many schools schedule exam periods after break periods. Just when students should be using the time to rest and recharge, they are expected to work even more to do well on the exams that are to come.
A 21st Century Teacher Evaluation Model
As outlined in a recent issue of I&P, ISM recommends addressing your school’s employment-related interactions with faculty—hiring, evaluation, corrective action, etc.—as part of a Comprehensive Faculty Development approach. A portion of this system is the school’s Evaluation and Growth Cycle, which itself is comprised of several interrelated activities. This issue zeroes in on the evaluation process, offering a new teacher evaluation model for 21st Century Schools.
Aegis Academy Faculty Evaluation Sample
The following represents a sample evaluation—including commentary on each section and subsection—for a faculty member at our fictional K–12 coed day school, Aegis Academy.
Comparing and Contrasting Evaluation Approaches
In this issue, ISM is recommending an enhanced approach to teacher evaluation that stands in marked contrast to traditional “clipboard observation” methods. The chart below illustrates the similarities and differences between the two approaches.
The Teacher Evaluation Stalemate in New York
There’s a ruckus being raised in New York over teacher evaluations, an impasse between the state and the teacher unions. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg are both frustrated that a more robust evaluation system with consequences including firing is being held up by the unions over issues including an appeals process and the role of test scores.
Exams: Should They Stay or Should They Go?
Midterms and finals are engrained in the educational system for middle and upper schoolers. Usually, they are held during a prescribed time period when no other learning goes on. The exam period is stressful for the student—a “do or die” situation. And the exam period is inconsistent with the 21st century school structure.
From Neuroscience: Why Gaming Engages Students
Dr. Paul Howard-Jones told attendees at the Learning Without Frontiers Conference in London last week that video gaming engages kids because gaming stimulates the reward system in the brain to produce dopamine, “which helps orient our attention and enhances the making of connections between neurons, the physical basis for learning,” the New York Times reported.
Systematically Attracting, Developing, Rewarding, and Retaining Faculty: A Mission-Based Model for 21st Century Schools
This article examines the need for 21st Century Schools to address and manage all of their employment needs—e.g., hiring, evaluation, corrective action—as part of an integrated approach.
During the past 18 months, ISM has been engaged in an intensive study of the needs of the 21st Century School.1 With specific regard to faculty, we believe that to thrive, schools will need to:
measure teacher effectiveness on an ongoing basis (such as through annual evaluations);
establish annual career-long improvement plans that invest in each teacher’s strengths;2 and
hold ineffective teachers accountable.3
These objectives are best achieved by taking an active, integrated approach for engaging, managing, and developing the school’s faculty. Our model, called Comprehensive Faculty Development, is a mission-based series of interrelated activities through which the Head and her deputies systematically work to attract, develop, evaluate, reward, and retain teachers who deliver the mission to students with excellence.4
Developing Faculty Through Coaching and Mentoring
As a key element of Comprehensive Faculty Development, it is important for administrators to have an intentional process for evaluating, coaching, and mentoring faculty. By actively gaining a clear, firsthand view of each faculty member’s skills, characteristics, and performance through observation and engagement, you will be able to help them grow and develop in ways that will directly impact the school’s students. In this process, teachers are accountable for pursuing ongoing professional growth and renewal, and administrators are accountable for observing, coaching, evaluating, and guiding faculty members’ growth in substantive ways.
For Teachers on Twitter: Hashtags to Follow the Conversation
The explosion of Twitter has taught the world to microblog. It is the spot for instantaneous news reports. Revolutions have been reported on Twitter freely. When the ground shook here at ISM, we immediately checked on Twitter to find reports of the east coast earthquake being felt from North Carolina to Toronto seconds after it happened.