Appraisal: valuing difference, fostering self-responsibility Chris Thornley, New Zealand Teachers Council Kerry Mitchell, The Education Group

Workshop One: Situating appraisal in the New Zealand context

Evaluation TALIS findings (2009) from secondary schools in 20 OECD countries indicate that: 44% of teachers viewed their appraisal as fulfilling administrative purposes only In a number of countries using appraisal and feedback to establish a development plan is less common than simply reporting the outcomes to the teacher An international picture: whats missing?

An international picture: stronger processes Teachers reported that appraisal and feedback contributed to their development and had a strong positive influence on them and their work Teachers rated their knowledge and understanding of their subjects and related pedagogy as moderate to high importance in the feedback they receive Strengthening systems of appraisal relied on improving links between school evaluations, teachers appraisal, goal setting, feedback, professional learning and development

An international response Grattan Institute in Australia has developed a new system of appraisal and feedback for use in schools Some jurisdictions in the USA implement a summative approach where teachers are appraised using rubrics In Finland appraisal is characterised by the high level of confidence placed in schools and teachers as professionals.

Evaluation Since 2007, the practice of New Zealand teachers has been considered against a set of standards developed by their professional body with input from the profession. High trust models for appraisal have been preferred: The Graduating Teacher Standards The Registered Teacher Criteria Since 2007

Cultural locatedness and identity Cultural competencies: Ako: practice in the classroom and beyond Whanaungatanga: relationships Tangata whenuatanga: socio-cultural awareness Manaakitanga: values, integrity Wānanga: communication Mārama –graduating teachers Mōhio-knowing how to affirm Māori and iwi culture Mātau: being able to lead and engage others in affirming

Evaluation The degree to which teachers perceive that any innovation reflects their identity impacts on the likelihood that they will take on and drive the innovation Teacher agency and ownership work positively together when teachers make sense of the innovation and identify with it Teachers positioning toward an innovation

Fostering a self-responsibility Goals, roles and responsibilities Scaffold the change-move slowly Consult at each stage Value contributions, build ownership

70/20/10 rule (70) Informal learning – on the job (challenging tasks) (20) Social learning - (relationships and networks) (10) Formal What are the professional learning and development opportunities that occur at your school?

Appraisal of Teachers Project New Zealand Teachers Council Early childhood education and schooling in English and Māori medium settings 18 month pld of workshops and webinars and independent inquiry 17 locations nationally

Bringing all the pieces together- The profession The system Discipline: subject areas Professional leaders Professional teachers Students

The system

Making the links Strategic direction Appraisal Professional learning opportunities Inquiry into practice (Professional teachers and professional leaders)

Twelve core elements of Employee Engagement 1.They need to know what is expected 2.Have the necessary materials and equipment 3.Have the opportunity to use their talents everyday 4.Receive recognition for accomplishment 5.Feel someone in the organisation cares at a personal level 6.Know that personal development is encouraged (Buckingham and Coffman)

Twelve core elements of Employee Engagement 7.Feel their opinions count 8.Feel their work is important to the organisations mission 9.Have co-workers committed to doing quality work 10.Have good relationships with colleagues at work 11.Have talked to the leaders regularly about their progress 12.Have opportunity to learn and grow. (Buckingham and Coffman)

Your experience Think about an appraisal that had a positive effect on your practice as a teacher Describe the process to your partner and what made it successful Now repeat for an appraisal that had either no effect or a negative effect on your performance

Workshop Two: A Framework for appraisal

Self Joint/shared Alignment Professional growth Inquiry into practice Trust Valid information Commitment to action Open to learning conversations Evaluative Capability Responsibility Performance Management Tangata whenuatanga Wānanga Whanaungatanga Manaakitanga Ako o Conceptual Framework for Appraisal Ako

Performance Processes that develop, strengthen and make best use of staff skills, knowledge, training and talent in ways that maximise learning outcomes for students: Staff appointments Induction Professional/staff development Appraisal Career support Competence and discipline processes Code of ethics

Performance Coherent performance management for performance growth: appraisal and attestation A coherent Approach Attestation Making the links Registration Salary review Competence Conduct/ discipline Criteria and exemplars of effective practice aligned to RTCs and Tātaiako Exemplars of effective practice Evidence of actual practice against agreed criteria of effective practice Developmental goals based on outcomes for learners Self and peer evaluation Observation Professional learning opportunities Teaching as inquiry Career pathways Appraisal for Learning

Open to Learning Its about a recognition that we are all learners and learning takes place when there are high levels of: Trust Respect Inquiry Conversation Action Open to learning disposition

Open to Learning Key values in open to learning conversations

Open to Learning What makes these conversations tough?

Open to Learning How do people typically deal with this?

Open to Learning How do people typically deal with this?

Self-responsibility Professional Teacher responsibility Professional Leader responsibility Joint responsibility

Self-responsibility Shared understanding Clarity about criteria for desired practice What actual practice looks like Co-construction of descriptions of practice and agreement about what that practice demonstrates Disposition towards examining and improving practice Active learners taking responsibility for improving teaching and learning and demonstrating commitment to improvement. Joint responsibility looks like…

Evaluation The evaluative (appraisal ) process 1. Describe what good looks like 2. Develop indicators, exemplars, illustrations, rubrics, to shape a full understanding 3. Ask the evaluative question: How well does my practice meet each of the RTC and overall?

Evaluation The evaluative (appraisal ) process 4. Determine the sources of evidence I might collect that can be used to answer this question 5. Use suitable processes to gather the evidence 6. With my professional leader, use the evidence to examine my practice 7. Answer the question by reaching a reasoned conclusion

i.Janes StoryJanes Story

Performance Management Re-registration ( every 3 years) Attestation (annual for pay progession) Appraisal (annual for growth and development) Process: Criteria established Goal setting Indicators of success identified Timeframes and actions identified Support to be provided Evidence Collected (learning portfolio) Teaching as Inquiry Observations /feedback Evidence of learning Student voice Contribution to wider school - feedback from other staff Appraisal Discussions Interpreting evidence Affirmation Feedback Next steps Appraisal Report Overall evaluative judgements/statements Key strengths Next steps/concerns Support to be provided Appraisal components

Registered Teacher Criteria Botany Downs School Botany

Evaluation Workshop Three

Evaluation Analysing evidence presentationperspectives sources RTC & Tātaiako

Evaluation Analysing the evidence From everyday practice: What is available as evidence? Identification: What stands out? Where are the patterns? For me, my group of akonga and individual akonga/priority learners? Reflection: What does this mean for next steps teaching and learning? How does this meet the RTC/Tataiako?

Registered Teacher Criteria From big to small-starting with teaching and learning From small to big-understanding the criteria From small to big-identifying next steps and goals Backward mapping to the RTC

Scenarios Scenario One – Appraisal conversations at SGHS leaders-employers Scenario Three – Kelvins story

Website links leaders-employers

Reference List Refer handout for resources, links articles and research reports