What does it really mean, and what does it really take, to be an “exceptional teacher”?
Already renowned for commitment to on-going faculty professional development and innovative curriculum design, MKA took this fundamental question as the starting point for an innovative look at faculty observation and evaluation.
Guided by the principle that “MKA teachers are committed professionals; they deserve to participate in an authentic, collaborative, self-evaluation process that continuously revitalizes them and supports their learning,” a committee of faculty and administration, led by a chair from each of MKA’s three campuses, spent fourteen months of “hard work, commitment and inspiration” developing a model for professional growth that they believe can be transformative to teaching at MKA.
“In looking at successful evaluation models, we reached out to schools and corporations throughout the country and throughout the world.” Explains committee co-chair and Middle School math department chair Deborah Gordon, “We also studied the works and research of Charlotte Danielson and the words of Patrick Bassett, and we spent a lot of time with our teachers, asking them to reflect on their own teaching and consider ways in which their skills could be developed.”
“What was particularly striking,” notes co-chair and Assistant Head of Upper School Stephen Valentine, “was that when we asked our committee to share their most vivid memories of a “transformative” evaluation or observation experience, not one of them mentioned receiving any feedback in a classroom setting that had led to profound professional growth.” Designing a tool that is as effective for a primary school teacher as it is for a high school teacher comes with its own challenges, as Valentine explains, “While it is simple to say that everything we do at MKA is for the benefit of our students, to articulate how well we demonstrate the effects of salt on ice to a first grader compared to how effectively we teach advanced calculus to a senior is not so simple. What we had to do was envision what excellence might look like in an environment that really nurtures it.”
What was needed, the committee concluded, was a seismic shift away from the traditional annual short-term goal writing effort to an on-going, three-year Professional Development Plan based upon guided self-reflection. With extensive input from faculty, a comprehensive Lifelong Learners’ Rubric was developed to help teachers identify areas of accomplishment as well as areas in which they would like to improve. Along with allocating time and space for frequent reflection and constructive conversation with students and colleagues, the process requires all faculty to participate in the Independent School Educators Network NING, which allows for additional support and growth through interaction with a network of other professionals.
A detailed timetable for professional development goals for teachers in grades Pre-K-5 and 6-12 was provided, as were prompts to assist them in looking, reflecting, planning and acting. In developing personalized Development Plans, faculty can select from six major categories of teaching varying from “Using assessment to plan instruction and improve student performance” to “Contributing to the learning culture of the community as an effective professional,” all designed to provide them with a better understanding of how they impact and support students and their learning both within and outside the classroom. “I truly believe,” says Head of Primary School and committee co-chair Ginger Kriegel, “that this group of educators who hadn’t worked together or known each other that well before, have created an evaluation process that is completely innovative and truly transformative.”
The new model was presented, explained and taught by committee members at a faculty in-service day in February, and reaction was overwhelmingly positive. New Middle School science teacher Tatiana Kurjaninow commented: "Using the rubric I can see exactly where I am strong and where I need to improve. I like that there are specific qualities I can focus on … Instead of overwhelming myself with "I want to improve in how I understand 5th graders" I can focus on how I connect to students … in certain ways to then improve how I teach them." And veteran Primary School Arts chair Barbara DuRant enthused: “I think that this in-service stands as the single most important in-service we have had since I began working here. The work that the committee accomplished is astounding. The documents are meaningful and supportive of professional growth. It just pulls it all together, and the beauty of it is that it can all be tailored to fit the individual's needs.”
“We hope our faculty seize this opportunity to truly get better, to have the courage to be true colleagues, to think honestly about their teaching and to try something new.” Concludes Valentine, “and we believe that we have built a system that will allow us to attract and retain some of the best teachers in the country.”