Collecting Artifacts: Showcasing Your Best Work! November 18, 3:30-5:00 November 25, 2:15-3:45 WHS Library

Implementing your Educator Plan TODAY

Sources of Evidence for Summative Ratings Three categories of evidence must be collected for each educator: Multiple measures of student learning, growth, and achievement Judgments based on observations and artifacts of professional practice Additional evidence relevant to standards This includes evidence collected by the educator and shared with the evaluator relating to fulfilling Performance Standards (rubric)

What does this look like? Products of Practice Related to Standards Multiple Measures of Student Learning Other Evidence Related to Standards Artifacts Teacher-developed unit assessments Grade-level meeting notes Parent/teacher communication log PLC meeting notes Observations Notes/feedback from short, frequent observations (inside/outside classrooms) Notes and feedback from announced observations Student work (quizzes, homework, presentations, etc.) Portfolios Performance assessments (including arts, vocational, health and wellness) Interim assessments State or district assessments Student and staff feedback (2013–14 school year) Explain: “So what does this look like? Here you can see examples of evidence sources for each category. Under Products of Practice, artifacts could include anything from grade-level meeting notes to parent/teacher communication logs, depending on the kind of evidence an educator needs. Notes from short, unannounced observations as well as formal, announced observations also fall under this category. “The second category of evidence—Measures of Student Learning—could include a wide variety of measures, from student work to portfolios to performance assessments. Again, when thinking about how to track progress related to a student learning goal, the measures of student performance could take many forms. “And finally, the third category, Other Evidence, includes evidence from student feedback and staff feedback surveys, which aren’t required until the 2013–14 school year. “This may feel overwhelming or look like a lot to do. It’s important to keep one thing in mind. First, no single artifact or measure should be produced solely for the purpose of your evaluation—it should represent practices or activities that you already do in your daily work.” Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Artifacts should never be documents manufactured for the evaluation. What is an artifact? Products of an educator’s work that demonstrate knowledge and skills of the educator. Artifacts should never be documents manufactured for the evaluation. This definition of artifact comes from state regulations, 603 CMR 35.02.

Importance of Strategically Collecting Artifacts Artifacts should be a sample that demonstrates educator performance and impact: Evidence should be clearly tied to: educator goals Standards/Indicators Number of artifacts to collect varies by educator – Recommended 3 per Standards/Indicator Artifacts can provide evidence of more than one Standard or Indicator Explain: “‘The collection of artifacts must be seen as an opportunity to select a sample of artifacts and other data that fairly represents performance and impact. It is not intended to be a record of all that the educator has done in a year. It needs to be focused on the educator’s goals, high priority Standards and Indicators, and any critical school priorities not addressed by the professional practice and student learning goals. “There is no set number of artifacts required to be submitted, and, in fact, the number of artifacts to collect will vary by educator depending on their goals and the action steps in their plan. Whether an educator identifies 8, 10, or even 12 artifacts, the key is to ensure a balanced representation of performance.” Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Examples of evidence   1-A-4-- Lesson Plans 2-A-1--Beginning and end of year writing prompt to assess student writing growth. 3-B-2--Parent newsletters sent home each month to update parents on curriculum, upcoming important dates, and classroom needs. 4-A-2--IPDP which outlines personal classroom instruction goals as well as district and school goals. Observations- are also evidence Artifacts also generated as you work toward your goals

How many artifacts do I need? 3 for each Standard/Indicator for this evaluation cycle Some artifacts can be used for multiple standards/indicators 9-12 total

How can I collect and manage all my artifacts?

Strategies for Collecting Artifacts Identify common artifacts that all or most educators will be expected to collect. Share examples with co-workers Remember to collect artifacts that provide evidence relevant to all 4 Standards, not just your 2 goals. Explain: “As a school leadership team, you can utilize some strategies to promote effective, focused evidence collection in your school. “Evaluators and school leadership teams can identify common artifacts that all or most educators will be expected to collect, and communicate that expectation to your entire school staff. Common artifacts can be used to promote schoolwide goals that are aligned to school improvement plans, as well as team goals, thereby building coherence and a shared sense of accountability throughout the building. “In addition, faculty and team time should be devoted periodically to showcasing examples of well-chosen samples and their thoughtful analysis of impact. These examples might include artifacts that show evidence of multiple Standards or Indicators.” Transition: “At this point, we’ve talked about the importance of being strategic in collecting specific artifacts that align to your goals and/or Standards, and identifying a sample of artifacts that are representative of practice, as opposed to collecting everything you do as an educator. Now we are going to practice this process to see what it means to be strategic and selective—how do you translate multiple artifacts into valuable sources of evidence?”   Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Artifact Cover Page Learning Content 2 (15 minutes) Explain: “In the last activity, you used one of the tools ESE developed to help educators and evaluators keep track of observational evidence: the Observation Evidence Collection form. The Observation Evidence Collection tool provides evaluators with a place to record factual notes during an observation and identify evidence of practice based on these notes that relate to specific goals or Standards. There is also a place for evaluators to construct targeted feedback based on what they observed. “The Artifact Cover Page is another tool you can use for collecting and organizing evidence—in this case, from artifact. You can see a small version of the form on this slide. For a closer view, turn to Handout 3. The cover page is intended to help educators communicate how a particular artifact demonstrates evidence of practice related to a goal or a particular Standard. Attaching this cover page to an artifact helps evaluators quickly identify the artifact’s purpose. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Running Record of Evidence Form Explain: “An important component of both tools is the place where the educator or evaluator connects the evidence to a specific goal or Standard. This makes these two forms critical organizational tools because they help evaluators know exactly what type of evidence they have in front of them and how organize the evidence. “A tool for evaluators to keep track of all of this evidence might look something like this: a Running Record of Evidence form. The Running Record of Evidence form is in an Excel spreadsheet that is available on the ESE Educator Evaluation website. This tool includes drop-down boxes for the Source of Evidence, Standard or Indicator, and goals, so the evaluator can quickly identify and sort evidence based on a variety of criteria. You can also see a space to record the evidence statements, so if an evaluator were to sort by Standard I, Indicator A, for example, he or she could quickly read the evidence statements across multiple artifacts related to that Standard and Indicator and start to get a detailed picture of practice.” “This excel spreadsheet is just one of many organizational tools you might consider. How many of you already a system in place for collecting and organizing evidence? Some of you may have on online, paperless system that will support the new evaluation process, while others may be using a paper-based process. Either will work as long as they’re designed to help you organize the evidence using the performance Standards, Indicators and goals. This organizational process will make the analysis of evidence that much easier at the end of the 5-step cycle.” Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Set Yourself and Your School Up for Success The more concrete the Educator Plan, the easier it is to identify and collect artifacts. Share examples of high-quality, valuable evidence during common planning time, team meetings, department meetings, or staff meetings Select example artifacts that provide evidence of more than one Standard or Indicator where possible. Identify common artifacts that all or most educators will be expected to collect (unit assessments, parent-teacher logs, etc.). Explain: “What do we mean by ‘support?’ Some key ways to provide support to educators throughout this process are listed here. “A concrete Educator Plan is the first step in the evidence collection process. As we saw in our connecting activity, Tom Wilson’s detailed Educator Plan helped you to identify relevant artifacts from the very beginning. The more you can support this step in the development of educator plans out the outset, the better positioned educators will be to collect evidence related to their practice. “Evaluators and members of the School Leadership Team are also strongly encouraged to share examples of high-quality evidence during staff meetings. This will help make sure that everyone in the school understands what high-quality evidence looks like, and how artifacts can and should include evidence of multiple Indicators. “Finally, the School Leadership Team can also work to identify a couple of common artifacts that all or most educators will be expected to collect. This helps to provide educators with some direction and helps to standardize the evidence collection process across the school.” Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Organize Adopt a process for organizing artifacts and observation notes by Standard or Indicator and/or goals: Paper-based, e-mail-driven, or online “cloud-based” system Calendar: Review actions in Educator Plans. Let your evaluator know if you need additional supports and resources. Identify key points of contact throughout the year (observations and feedback, formative assessment conferences, and summative evaluations). Explain: “Get ORGANIZED. Both educators and evaluators will have a lot of evidence to identify and collect. Adopting a standardized process for organizing artifacts and notes is essential, whether it’s paper-based, e-mail-driven, or supported by an online cloud-based system. “In addition, the creation of a schoolwide calendar will help to ensure that key points of contact occur, such as formative assessments, and will help evaluators organize their time.” Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

What types of artifacts showcase my work?

Next Steps in the Process Educator responsibilities: Identifying, collecting, and organizing artifacts/evidence related to goal progress Documenting action steps completed Collecting and submitting common artifacts Collecting and submitting evidence related to Standards Evaluator responsibilities: Making resources and supports available Identifying common artifacts/evidence Observing practice and providing regular and specific feedback on performance Monitoring progress—including midpoint check-ins Organizing and analyzing evidence over time