1. Using the North Carolina Educator Evaluation Rubric to Support Teacher Growth

2. Say Hello and Get to Know
Participants introduce themselves to tablemates

3. Principal Curriculum Human Resources Other My Role Is:
Use show of hands to identify who is in the room

4. I know where to find an electronic copy of the NC Teacher Evaluation Manual
Use show of hands

5. NCEES.ncdpi.wikispaces.net
Briefly walk through the screen shot. If internet and time allow, you may wish to navigate to wiki to demonstrate.

6. Have you Heard?
There are some persistent myths about North Carolina’s evaluation process expectations

7. Teachers get evaluated 3 to 4 times per year.
The terms observation and evaluation are NOT synonymous. Observations and other data gathered over the course of the year are combined and synthesized at the end of the year into Summary Ratings. Teachers are evaluated once annually.

8. Teachers in their first year can’t get higher than Proficient.
While the ratings of many new teachers may tend to cluster in the area of Proficient, the rubric is criterion referenced, so the behaviors the rubric measures determine the rating, not the teachers experience level. To assume that there is a rating ceiling or limit for new teachers is inappropriate, and unfair.

9. Teachers have to do something at the district level to be distinguished.
While the Principal Rubric calls for the principal to encourage teachers to support district level work, items in the distinguished column of the teacher rubric call for the teacher’s influence to extend beyond the classroom, which may occur through grade-level PLC work, school-wide leadership assignments, or student application of learning strategies beyond the lesson or classroom.

10. During observations, everything in the first column must be checked before anything in the next column can be checked.
The NCEES Rubric is like an inventory sheet. During observations, there is no requirement that preceding boxes be checked before moving to the next column of the rubric.
CLICK TO REVEAL RUBRIC SAMPLE:
Element 4e is an example. No single lesson will cover all of the critical thinking skills in the third column. If this prohibition existed, the fourth column could never be checked during an observation.
For this reason, principals should mark what they see and what they know, without being concerned with “widowed or orphaned” checkboxes.

11. A Multipurpose Rubric Summary Rating Form Observation Rubric
Formative Tool
Data Container
Evaluation Criteria
Observation Rubric
Summary Rating Form
Throughout the year of the Teacher Evaluation Process, the same rubric is used for different purposes.
The observation rubric serves as a tool for providing formative feedback AND a data container for the principal to collect and inventory of the teacher’s actions and behaviors throughout the year.
At the conclusion of the year, the rubric is used as a tool to provide final ratings on the Summary Rating form, which serves as the summative evaluation of the teacher’s practice throughout the year.

12. A Series of Formative Assessments
Summative Evaluation
Developing
Proficient
Accomplished
Distinguished 3 2 1
Formative
Feedback
Formative
Feedback
Formative
Feedback
So the year-long process is a series of formative assessments, where data is collected on each of the observation rubrics.
At the end of the year, all of the data is considered together to determine how many times throughout the year each item on the rubric was noted.
Using these tallies, the evaluator asks:
“Am I confident that each item in the first column was checked enough times to be confident this teacher is at least Developing?”
Yes [CLICK TO REVEAL Green Check]
“Am I confident that each item in the first column was checked enough times to be confident this teacher is at least Proficient?”
“Am I confident that each item in the first column was checked enough times to be confident this teacher is at least Accomplished?”
“Am I confident that each item in the first column was checked enough times to be confident this teacher is Distinguished?”
No [CLICK TO REVEAL Red Check]
This Teacher’s rating would be accomplished [CLICK TO REVEAL Green Arrow in Accomplished Row]
This aggregation and evaluation step DOES require a left-to-right progression to determine the appropriate rating.
(people sometimes misapply this rule to the observation rubric, leading to the “myth” we discussed earlier)

13. What Goes in?
NOTE: The observation cycle schedule determines when data must be collected, but it does not restrict which data may be collected.
The observation cycle schedule determines when data must be collected, but it does not restrict which data may be collected.
The checks in the first column indicate which rubric behaviors can only be seen by “watching teaching” they are not restrictions on what may be marked on the observation rubric.
The online tool presents the rubric in its entirety, any descriptors that are seen or known to be true by the evaluator may be marked on an observation rubric, so it can serve as a “data container” to carry information forward to the summary rating process.

14. Educator Evaluation is about Growth and Improvement

15. When you’re green, you grow

16. When you’re ripe, you rot

17. What do teachers need to remain Ripe and Growing?

18. Feedback is Essential What are some “Bad Dog” behaviors?
Biting the mailman
Jumping the fence
Shredding the sofa
Soiling the carpet
If the only feedback offered is “Bad Dog!” how can your precious pet know what needs to be done to be a good dog?

19. to believe there are always ways to improve
North Carolina Educator Evaluation Process Process
The evaluation process requires bravery and the ability to have challenging conversations about practice.
Bravery
to believe there are always ways to improve
to invite critical feedback
to give critical feedback

20. The Context Must Be Clear
It is important to apply close-reading techniques to the language of NCEES rubric to make distinctions between rating levels when observing, evaluating or using the rubric to self-assess.

21. Standard IV Facilitating Instruction
Do You Know It?
Do You Show It?
Is It Visible In the Actions of Your Students?
Is It Visible Beyond the Instructional Space of Your Classroom?
Knowledge
Action
Interaction
Extension
When you apply close-reading techniques to the language of NCEES rubric you can identify distinctions that exist between rating levels when observing, evaluating or using the rubric to self-assess.
Within each standard, the descriptors within the columns are characteristically similar to the others in the same column. There is variation and progression as one moves to the right.
Across standard 4, these characteristics are pretty common,
[CLICK TO REVEAL]
Column 1 asks the teacher, “Do you know it”
Column 2 asks the teacher, “Do you show it”
Column 1 asks the teacher, “Is it visible in the actions of your students?”
Column 1 asks the teacher, “Is it visible beyond the instructional space of your classroom?”
With this in mind, in standard 4, the rubric progressively measures [CLICK TO REVEAL]
Knowledge
Action
Interaction and
Extension

22. Why does it matter?

23. Artifacts and Evidence of Great Teaching
As teachers and principals think about what constitutes the best artifacts and evidence of strong teaching practice, it is important to collect the right evidence for the right thing.

24. Evidence of: Knowledge Action Interaction Extension
Lesson plans are a very important part of the instructional process, but whether you have one or one hundred in and of themselves, lesson plans alone are evidence of nothing more than knowledge.

25. Evidence of: Knowledge Action Interaction Extension
Seeing the teacher in action is what is needed to see what is in the proficient column. Notice the words that make this descriptor all about action”
Understands
Uses
Applies

26. Evidence of: Knowledge Action Interaction Extension
... At all stages of inquiry, teachers guide, focus, challenge, and encourage student learning
The National Science Foundation
Knowledge
Action
Interaction
Extension
Student actions and behaviors help to make the interaction between the teacher and student visible. Outside of direct observation, student work samples can provide evidence of interaction, as they are student-generated products that show the outcomes of instruction

27. Evidence of: Knowledge Action Interaction Extension
Teachers extend their practice by sharing strategies and supporting colleagues in applying successful instructional practices.
The distinguished column measures actions and behaviors that extend the teachers influence in ways that lead to school-level improvement beyond a single classroom.

28. Understanding the Rubric Helps Teachers
Knowledge
Action
Interaction
Extension
Do You Show It?
Is It Visible In the Actions of Your Students?
Is It Visible Beyond the Instructional Space of Your Classroom?
Do You Know It?
Use the Most Appropriate Examples

29. Using the Rubric to Give Helpful Feedback

30. Specific Feedback
Takes advantage of the language in the rubric to frame discussions about practice

31. How do you help colleagues grow?
Provide feedback within the context of the teaching standards
Promote
Probe
Push

32. Supporting Improvement
Promote
Identify behaviors or practices that were successful
Probe
Ask questions to better understand or confirm your understanding
Push
Ask questions to push or stretch

33. Standard IV Facilitating Instruction
Do You Know It?
Do You Show It?
Is It Visible In Your Students?
Is It Visible Beyond Your Classroom Walls?
Promote
Probe
Push
Knowledge
Action
Interaction
Extension
If the blue check represents where the observation was strongest, use that to craft the questions:
Promote positive behaviors you saw: “It is clear to me that you understand the importance of developing critical thinking skills. I noticed you used several different strategies to help your students to get better at critical thinking, and they seemed to be helpful”
Probe behaviors you need more information about. If the teacher had students working in groups, it may not be visibly evident how those groups were determined. Was it haphazard, or strategically planned? In order to know for sure, you would need to Probe: “So, tell me how these students came to be in these groups?”
Push to move the teacher forward (to the right) in the rubric. “What are your next steps for supporting critical thinking? Which skills will you target next? How are you helping your colleagues to develop critical thinking in their students? What tools and strategies could you share?”

34. Synthesize

35. Standard IV Facilitating Instruction
Do You Know It?
Do You Show It?
Is It Visible In the Actions of Your Students?
Is It Visible Beyond the Instructional Space of Your Classroom?
Knowledge
Action
Interaction
Extension
During post-conference discussions, principals can gain additional information about the instructional practices they observed to help them to be more confident about the evidences of practice that should be marked on the rubric. Discussions in post-conferences are an important step to help teachers grow.