Throwback Thursday blogs open up our vault and reshare some of our most popular content. Each week, we choose a past post to be sure you see the best and most compelling information on instruction and educator growth.
This blog was originally posted in July 21, 2015.
At this point, it's clear to all of us that great teachers lead to greater student achievement. And lately, we've seen a lot of research confirming that one of the best ways to help teachers grow is through high quality feedback on their practices.
But have you stopped to think about what great feedback really looks like? Or perhaps more importantly, where it comes from?
Fortunately, though, there are ways for school leaders to overcome these challenges and provide teachers with feedback that improves practices and leads to increased student achievement.
Here are two solutions that I shared in the article:
#1. Video
As I've explained in other posts, there's practically no end to the potential of classroom video to drive processional growth. In observation processes, video can help school leaders manage their time more effectively and increase teacher acceptance by serving as a common reference point. Video also makes it possible for the district's content experts to review lessons for more meaningful feedback and increased validity of scoring.
#2. Qualified outside observers
As I explained in another blog, The proven benefits of external observers in educator evaluations, third party observers can help alleviate the logistical challenges of observations by saving school leaders time and ensuring that teachers receive impartial, accurate assessments of their performance with content-specific feedback that improves practices.
In my article featured in Education Week's Education Futures: Emerging Trends and Technologies in K-12, I explain the three big obstacles that often stand in school leaders' way when it comes to implementing truly effective observation and feedback processes: time, content, and acceptance.
Dr. Michael Moody is the Founder and CEO of Insight Education Group. His experiences as a classroom teacher, school and district administrator and consultant have given him a unique perspective on both the challenges and opportunities in education today. Contributing regularly to the blog, Michael is always excited to start or join a conversation about helping educators grow. He tweets at @DrMichaelMoody.