1. Difficult Conversations
For Training Purposes Only

2. During this session, we will . . .
Session Objectives
During this session, we will . . .
Introduce five best practices that will increase appraiser confidence when navigating difficult conversations concerning appraisal ratings.
Build appraiser skill by using best practices to execute difficult conversations for 5 common scenarios.
For Training Purposes Only

3. Objective #1: Introduce five best practices that will increase appraiser confidence when navigating difficult conversations concerning appraisal ratings

4. PROVIDE TEACHERS WITH ACCURATE APPRAISAL RATINGS
Improving your effectiveness to execute difficult conversations is directly related to priorities 1 and 3.
Priorities
PROVIDE TEACHERS WITH ACCURATE APPRAISAL RATINGS
through frequent observations and with a shared understanding of the expectations in the Instructional Practice rubric and . . .
IMPLEMENT THE STUDENT PERFORMANCE COMPONENT
to determine whether teachers’ instruction is having a positive impact on student learning to help
IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENT NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERY TEACHER
and provide useful feedback to drive continuous improvement.
All of the above ensures that we have enough information to . . .
MAKE SMART RETENTION DECISIONS
where low performing teachers aren’t left in the classroom and the best teachers stay.

5. Factors that make sharing feedback more difficult
Even though there are many factors that make sharing feedback difficult for school leaders, it is a process that employees value and respond positively to.
Factors that make sharing feedback more difficult
Relationships
Experience
Manager knowledge/ skill
Impact
Feelings
Morale
Time
A 2009 Gallup Inc. study of over 1,000 US bases employees found that those who received predominantly negative feedback from their manager were over 20 times more likely to be engaged than those receiving little or no feedback.
3 minutes
Ask participants if there are other factors that make giving feedback difficult at times.
Main message: It is a myth that employees don’t like feedback. Employees want to hear feedback even if it is difficult to hear and sometimes engage more when its critical.

6. Teachers crave constructive feedback, even though it may make for a difficult conversation at times.
“I would have liked her to be more critical of my teaching. I have never received any constructive feedback, only lists of things she likes about my teaching. This is only my second year teaching, and I have many things I know I can improve on.”
- HISD Teacher
“This feedback needs to be constructive with great, thought-out examples for the teacher to see how they are to change. ”
- HISD Teacher
2 minutes
Have participants read out the quotes.
Facilitator will ask appraisers:
Why did you choose this break out session?
Why do you feel that his is an important skill to build when trying to work towards the priorities outline in the morning sessions?
How do these quotes make you think differently about teacher feedback?
“I don't feel like I was provided much feedback on how to improve. Even though I had a good rating, I would still like to improve and be told how I can do so.”
- HISD Teacher
Source: End-of-Year Appraisal and Development Teacher Survey

7. Feedback is not about the manager.
We know a lot about what makes feedback conversations more effective regardless of difficulty.
Feedback is not about the manager.
Feedback is more effective the sooner it is given.
Feedback is about the future.
Feedback is about behavior not motivation or attitude.
5 minutes
Feedback is not about the manager: Feedback is about the teacher. Feedback is not about how the appraiser feels but about how the teacher recieves the message and what he/she is able to do as a result of it. Appraisers must get over any fears of conflict in order to support the teacher’s development (we will talk about how to do that today)
Feedback is more effective the sooner it is given: the farther out the feedback is given, the less clear the details are. Both the appraiser and the teacher can forget the details of the lesson or behavior. When you give adjusting feedback in the moment it resonates more with the person receiving the feedback and it sends a message that the behavior did not go unnoticed and that its important to you that it is corrected.
Feedback is about the future: feedback is either affirming or adjusting. It is not about the moment of giving the feedback but it has everything to do with how the teacher receives the feedback and what can and is done about it in the future (does the behavior continue or is it adjusted).
Feedback is about behavior not motivation or attitude: feedback should be rooted in evidence, data, and facts and should be about the behaviors the person is exhibiting not his or her character, motivation or attitude.
Feedback is a sign of strong leadership: Leaders who give constant and timely feedback year round empower their teams to make changes and modify behaviors on the fly, while results can still be affected. It is also a sign to your teachers that you care about their professional growth and that you are serious about seeing them succeed.
Feedback is a sign of strong leadership.
Horstman, Mark and Auzenne, Mike. Manager Tools. 2012

8. Practices That Make Conversations Less Difficult
Set Expectations Early
Do It Often
Plan
Utilize Evidence
1 min
Horstman, Mark and Auzenne, Mike. Manager Tools. 2012

9. Set Expectations Early
How do you communicate expectations to teachers?
What role do the expectations play in the conversation?
What is the impact?
9 minutes total (1 min to review slide, 5 for share out, 3 for questions)
AP at Cullen shares about her experience with setting expectations:
How and when expectations were communicated to teachers. (acknowledge that verbally setting expectations is just one way to do this. Facilitator will solicit suggestions from appraisers about other systems and requirements the also make expectations crystal clear to folks)
How she references the expectations in her feedback conversations.
How setting expectations early on makes conversations less difficult later on.
Reserve 5 minutes for questions

10. Practice makes perfect
Do It Often
No news is good news
Breathe easy
Practice makes perfect
4 min total (2 min to share slide, 2 min share out from questions at the bottom)
No news is good news: When you don’t say anything, teachers are still getting feedback. By not sharing the difficult feedback you are ultimately sending the message to the teacher that their behavior is acceptable and meets your standards. If teachers don’t hear adjusting feedback often, they become comfortable with less than top performance.
Breathe Easy: Sometimes we experience fear with difficult conversations because of our emotions or because of a lack of skill. We hold back, or hold our breath as opposed to just sharing the feedback (no matter how difficult) and breathing easy. Teachers are smart and they know when they are not meeting expectations. They also know when you are holding your breath and could interpret that as you being unable or unwilling to provide the feedback and their view of you as a leader goes down.
Practice Makes Perfect: the more you engage in conversations that could potentially be difficult, the less difficult they will become. If you consider feedback to be a regular part of your routine, so will teachers and after a while adjusting feedback wont seem so scary to everyone involved. Once you know how to deliver adjusting feedback your fear of conflict goes away. You will learn and grow as a leader.
Which of these resonates most with you? Why?
What are some steps that come to mind that you could/will take to ensure you Do It Often?
Which of these resonates most with you? Why?
What are some steps that come to mind that you could/will take to ensure you “Do It Often”?
Horstman, Mark and Auzenne, Mike. Manager Tools. 2012

11. Determine your key messages before the conversation Have an approach
Plan
Determine your key messages before the conversation
Have an approach
What is your typical approach?
How does the recommended approach differ/align with what you typically do?
6 minutes (3 minutes for the slide and 3 minutes share out)
Determine your key messages for the conversation: These should be simple, direct, and clear. For short conversation you should only have 1-2 key messages (3 at most).
Have an approach: Know your audience and determine how you will approach the conversation. Ask yourself and plan in advance: In what order will you share your feedback (try: Ask the teacher if you can give them some feedback, describe the specific behavior you saw, describe the impact of that behavior, ask what they will do differently)? Who will do most of the talking? What response do you expect to receive from the teacher? Is there anything you can do to make the teacher more receptive to the feedback (for example: where will you choose to hold the meeting? What time of day will it be? What class period will the teacher be coming from?)
What is your typical approach?
How does the recommended approach differ/align with what you typically do?
Horstman, Mark and Auzenne, Mike. Manager Tools. 2012

12. Talk about the behavior not about attitude or motivation
Utilize Evidence
Talk about the behavior not about attitude or motivation
Reference low-inference evidence
1 minute
Talk about the behavior: the motivation and attitude do not change the behavior. It is important that difficult conversations are rooted in behavior as opposed to character traits.
Low inference evidence example on next slide.
Horstman, Mark and Auzenne, Mike. Manager Tools. 2012

13. Low-Inference Evidence
2 min review slide/ 2 minutes for activity and any discussion
There is a lot we could infer. For example, we could say that the teacher in this picture is creative, energetic, and fun. However, we don’t know for sure that this is the case. It could be that the students in this picture just woke up from their nap time and are taking a stretch.
(click to reveal the note about low inference evidence on the slide) Low inference evidence is anything you can see or hear. It is important to use low inference evidence because it is fact and it takes your bias and interpretations out of the equation (and remember attitude and motivation don’t matter in this regard). “creative”, “energetic”, and “fun” are describing the teacher’s attitude/motivation and are not things we can actually see or hear (you cant see or hear “energetic”).
Activity: Name the low inference evidence from this picture.
After responses have been given: Yes, ee can only see that students have their arms raised, the teacher is standing with the students, the teacher is smiling and talking/singing, the students are standing, there are posters on the wall, the chart paper is blank. That is the low inference evidence.
When giving teachers feedback use low inference evidence (collected from the classroom observation or campus interactions) and align it to bullets on the rubric.
Low-inference evidence refers to things you see and hear.

14. Objective #2: Build appraiser skill by using best practices to execute difficult conversations for 5 common scenarios

15. PLANNING ROLE PLAY HOT SEAT FEEDBACK
2 minutes
PLANNING
3 minutes
ROLE PLAY
HOT SEAT
FEEDBACK
3 minutes
Facilitator will present each scenario to all appraisers.
After the 2 minutes for planning, there will be 2 minutes for you to role play with a partner (partner A will be the teacher for scenarios 1, and 3 and partner B will be the teacher for scenarios 2 and 4), the facilitator will then ask for a volunteer to sit in the hot seat and participate in the role play in front of the group (it’s fine for you to volunteer your partner for the hot seat if you think he/she did a particularly good job and would be a great model for the group)
The group will watch and be ready to share feedback on the approach and/or share alternative ways to approach the conversation.
Remind appraisers to:
Use low inference evidence (they can make it up as the situation is hypothetical)
Make a plan with key messages
Have an approach ready (4 steps)
Stay away from I statements
Share Difficult Conversations Handout with participants: explain that for each of the scenaios they can use this sheet as a guide for planning their messages and approach.

16. HOT SEAT #1 Poor performance/Great attitude and effort
You are meeting with a teacher for a feedback conversation. You observed the teacher earlier today and this is what you observed. (click here to view video)
The criterion area that stand out as your biggest concern is her ability to communicate concepts clearly (I-6). Even though she did not consistently communicate the key points of the lesson, you know she has really been working on her skills in this area, is liked by all the teachers on campus, is a coach for the soccer team, and parents think she is very kind.
2 minutes
PLANNING
Based on your observation what low-inference evidence do you have in I-6 to show that the teacher is at a level 2?
What specifically is the teacher missing to rate her a level 3?”
3 minutes
ROLE PLAY
HOT SEAT
FEEDBACK
3 minutes video (full-length video-start at beginning and stop at 3:58).
11 minutes activity
Video (first grade reading lesson)

17. HOT SEAT #2 Does not agree with feedback
You are meeting with a teacher for a feedback conversation. You observed the teacher earlier today and you have rated him a 2 in the I-8 criterion (students actively participating in the lesson activities). During the conference , you share your feedback and he begins to argue with the rating and says he does not agree.
2 minutes
PLANNING
3 minutes
ROLE PLAY
HOT SEAT
FEEDBACK
11 minutes

18. HOT SEAT #3 Getting a lower rating this year than last year
You are meeting with a teacher for a feedback conversation. You observed the teacher earlier today and you have scored him a level 1 in the I-3 criterion (differentiates instruction for student needs by employing a variety of instructional strategies) when last year he was rated a 3. He shared with you that he is not doing anything differently this year, but you are confident that your rating is accurate because you collected low-inference evidence from the classroom observation (all students were assigned the same vocabulary activity, all students stayed in their own desks during independent practice, and when students finished they were all asked to start on their homework) that supports your rating.
11 minutes
2 minutes
PLANNING
3 minutes
ROLE PLAY
HOT SEAT
FEEDBACK

19. HOT SEAT #4 Poor performance/Strong relationship
You are meeting with a teacher for a feedback conversation. You observed the teacher earlier today and you have rated her a 2 in criterion I-2 (checks for student understanding). She asked 5 questions of her students, but did not adjust the lesson when students answered incorrectly. The teacher said “no, that is not the right answer” and moved on to another student. She did this for 4/5 questions asked. This teacher has been teaching on your campus with you for 8 years and you have built an amazing friendship. She even attended your son’s birthday party last year.
11 minutes
2 minutes
PLANNING
3 minutes
ROLE PLAY
HOT SEAT
FEEDBACK

20. What will you take with you from this session?
Closing
What will you take with you from this session?
How does this help you to achieve more accurate ratings?
3 minutes