Ideas for Documenting Standard 1: Professional Knowledge

Here are some suggestions and ideas for providing evidence for the TKES process for Standard 1. As I have become aware--as in a court of law--evidence is not evidence if it is not allowed or reviewed. Similarly, if you provide documentation but it is never reviewed by the Evaluator, it can not affect your rating. I had 220 pieces of detailed evidence for Standard 1. Most Evaluators use the documentation to support what they see in the classroom; so, you may think twice before putting too much work into the documentation. Some friends of mine received IVs with no additional evidence provided.

1. Addresses appropriate curriculum standards and integrates key content elements.
1. Your content standards and any correlation to the national standards or Common Core
2. List of Essential Questions or Lesson Prompt questions associated with your lesson plans.
3. Several Lesson Plans
2. Facilitates students’ use of higher-level thinking skills in instruction.
1. List of Depth of Knowledge (DOK) levels with most often used words circled.
2. Sample DOK questions used in class.
3. Sample Lesson Plans show planned use of DOK questions
3. Demonstrates ability to link present content with past and future learning experiences, other subject areas, and real-world experiences and applications.
1. Index and samples of learning experiences, inter-related subject material, and real-world applications.
2. Flyers, programs, and copies of announcements for real-world experiences or applications.
4. Demonstrates accurate, deep, and current knowledge of subject matter.
1. Copies of final transcripts from all degrees earned.
2. Copies of certificates, areas of specialization, professional development, or webinars.
3. Letters or electronic mail recognizing honors or awards earned.
4. Pamphlets or news articles detailing involvement in community, region, state, national, or global level.
5. Copies of the title page (or in its entirety) your published articles, essays, or handbooks.
5. Exhibits pedagogical skills relevant to the subject area(s) taught and best practice based on current research.
1. List of instructional strategies you use throughout the year (see 72 Instructional Strategies or The Nine Most Effective Instructional Strategies)
2. Examples of the use of instructional strategies from lesson plans.
3. Examples of handouts that use different instructional strategies, differentiation, or modalities.
4. Examples of extending, acceleration, or remediation used.
5. Copies of articles, handouts, and examples of how the ideas were used in lessons.
6. Photographs of student engagement during best practices.
7. Research you have conducted or reviewed on best practices.
6. Bases instruction on goals that reflect high expectations for all students and a clear understanding of the curriculum.
1. Handouts of your syllabus or expectations for the year.
2. Examples of student work, student reflection, and graded student work.
7. Displays an understanding of the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development of the age group.
1. Highlighted articles showing your review of articles related to your students' age group.
2. Examples or essay of how you applied article's ideas to your students.

Steps to prepare for your observation

As I become more aware of my responsibilities for the TKES evaluation, I am trying to become more efficient (to reduce my stress!).  For my next evaluation, I followed this process:

1. I decided to make my lesson plans according to the TKES Lesson Plan design I created last year (see sample here) and make sure all drop down fields were accurate and up to date.
2. I typed up what will go on the SmartBoard for the students to know what we are doing in class that day.  I copied and pasted the student version to a new page in the same word processing document.
3. I slowly read through all 72 TAPS elements, and  as I saw an Element that may apply to my lesson that day, I inserted the outline number of the Element (say, 2.6 or 4.5) into the SmartBoard outline that I will give to the Evaluator.  
4. After reading all Elements, I have two documents that I  give to the Evaluator: a formal TKES lesson plan, and a student version of the lesson with the Elements identified.
5. I still have my TAPS notebooks with evidence in the cabinet as well as just the outlines of my evidence in my lesson plan notebook in case the Evaluator wants to see them.

What I noticed is that even some of my reminders to the students about upcoming activities or after school events can be tagged with an Element.  An after school practice, rehearsal, or event can count as 4.2, 4.3, &/or 4.6.  Reminding them about upcoming tests or units could count as 2.6, 3.2, &/or 4.6.

Sample portion of student version of lesson given to Evaluator

Give yourself a grade (1-5) on your progress today! [6.7] 6th grade: Brass: Lip Slurs [1.4, 1.6, 3.2, 4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 5.3, 6.1, 6.3, 6.6, 8.3, 8.5, 8.7]; Bells: Octave/Chromatic [1.4, 1.6, 3.2, 4.1, 4.6, 6.1, 6.3, 6.6, 8.3, 8.5, 8.7]; Flutes: Aperture control [1.4, 1.6, 3.2, 4.1, 4.5, 8.3, 8.5, 8.7]; Clarinets and Saxophones: register slurs to determine embouchure, tongue placement, amount of mouthpiece, reed quality, air stream, hand position [MMSBB.2.b, MMSBB.3.a] [1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 3.2, 4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 6.1, 6.3, 6.6, 8.3, 8.5, 8.7]

These steps are also outlined in "How to pass all 10 TAPS in one lesson" and "District Walkthrough"  here.

Substantial Poverty in Georgia...is there anything teachers can do?

• (Dusen, p. 6)"About 57 percent of the students in Georgia's public schools are considered low-income...."  "With 27.2% of the state's children living in poverty, Georgia now has the 6th highest childhood poverty rate in the nation. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Profile, September, 2013"
• (p. 7) "...87 percent of the school districts in Georgia serve a majority of low-income students."  "...the 2015 state budget includes a $350 million increase in education funding, but...this will do little to reverse the $8 billion in austerity cuts they've suffered in the past decade."  "'People recognize that poverty has increased, but I don't think they understand the full impact it has on the child,' says Reada Hamm...."
• (p. 8) "Poverty Rates of Georgia's 5 Largest Cities: Augusta: 27.4%, Macon: 27.4%, Savannah: 20.3%, Atlanta: 18.9%, Columbus: 18.5%"  
• (p. 9) "More than 1 in every 4 Georgia children are food insecure--28.8%.  That's more than 700,000 children under the age of 18."
• and again:  (p. 12) "87% of the school districts in Georgia serve a majority of low-income students."

As a teacher in a low-income county and school, the effects of low-income (low-socioeconomic and poverty) are real.  In Georgia, students are tired because they are taking care of siblings when they get home, students do not know when the lights may go out or the water will be turned off, parents are taken to jail, students live in homes where multiple families are sharing inadequate space, mothers have multiple boyfriends, students come home to find their belongings on the front lawn, students may not even live in a home but a storage unit.... (Dusen)

I may not be able to make changes to "the system" so that poverty is eliminated, but I can make a difference for those students in my classroom.  I found this out: A teacher can offset some of the factors of low-income situations (Cason, 2011).  My doctoral research was driven by the fact that the students in my Title 1 school were not achieving as high as the students in the higher-SES schools in the same county.  This should not be the case!  We have the same curriculum, same lesson plan design (which was the problem), and good principals, teachers, and facilities.  Why is there a disparity?

Having learned, through research, the effects of poverty and low-SES environments on students and their families as they relate to getting an education in public schools, I turned my focus on the area(s) where a teacher can specifically work to counter-act some of those effects so that students from low-SES settings can achieve.

To review the entire study, including problems, data, research, findings, and literature review, please refer to this link: Doctoral Study.  To review just the specific doctoral project lesson plan, click, "GC-Doctoral Study Project-Presentation here.  The lesson plan really makes a difference in student achievement (F(1, 863) = 35.398, p < .000).  In simple terms, the students in the classrooms where the teachers who used the lesson plan scored at least a half letter grade higher than the control group.  The lesson plan is adaptable to all grades, all subjects, all levels, and is compatible with TKES.

Comments from the web site:

In this section I have attached my doctoral study entitled "Activating Prior Knowledge With Cues and Questions as an Key Instructional Strategy to Increase Student Achievement in Low Socioeconomic Middle Schools" for your review. 

Using archival data, this ex post facto study found a statistically significant difference using an ANCOVA, F(1, 863) = 35.398, p < .000, for the research question investigating the effect on student achievement when teachers specifically activate students’ prior knowledge before using the LFS model of instruction.

The resulting project from my doctoral study was a lesson plan design that incorporated activating students' prior knowledge before starting the main learning goal(s).  Prior knowledge is a critical component of learning new material, concepts, or skills; unfortunately, it is often overlooked in a rush to 'get on with the lesson.'  

"Curriculum coverage is not synonymous with learning" (p. 3)

Teachers, even though our evaluation system has changed and our stress has (probably) increased, teach.  Use the best instructional strategies (document 1), the best methods (document 2), specific goals, and direct instruction to offset some of the effects of poverty and low-socioeconomic situations.  Teachers can use the lesson plan in non-poverty areas as well.

References
Cason, M. G. (2011). Activating Prior Knowledge With Cues and Questions As a Key Instructional Strategy to Increase Student Achievement in Low Socioeconomic Middle Schools. (Ed.D. 3469058), Walden University, United States -- Minnesota. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/gcason123/doctoral-study  

Dusen, C. V. (2014, August/September). The Growing Face of Poverty. PAGE ONE, August/September, 32.

Zero TKES/TAPS Stress Now...

I must say, that after realizing how I could document and pass all 10 standards on a day where I was not even teaching has been very liberating.  I am not going to upload any more documents into The Platform.  I am not going to save copies of any more grade reports or data samples.  I am not going to update my notebooks.  I am not going to worry about any more evidence.

If you have not seen the blog post, handbook, or PowerPoint on what I did, I recommend you take a few minutes to view it--it will save you time.

I incorporated the lesson plan from my doctoral study (Doctoral Study Lesson Plan) with the TAPS Standards and Elements and made notations in my lesson for the Evaluator on how I was meeting each Standard that day.  I think it is comprehensive and convincing.  A friend of mine, who hopes to be a principal soon, said that s/he would use it to help prepare his/her teachers for TKES.

The handbook and PowerPoint can both be found on my website on this page: GC-District Walkthrough-PPT.  I prefer the PowerPoint for viewing...

Respectfully,
Glenn

TKES Conversation-January 2015

If you are going to the Georgia Music Educator's Association state convention in Savannah January 29-31, why not stop by have a conversation, share ideas, and discuss TKES?  I'll be at the poster session presenting the results of my doctoral study: "Activating Prior Knowledge with Ques and Questions as a Key Instructional Strategy to Increase Student Achievement in Low Socioeconomic Middle Schools."  The result was a lesson plan introduction that dramatically increased students' achievement compared to the teachers who did not use the lesson plan.

Using archival data, this ex post facto study found a statistically significant difference using an ANCOVA, F(1, 863) = 35.398, p < .000, for the research question investigating the effect on student achievement when teachers specifically activate students’ prior knowledge before using the LFS model of instruction.

The lesson plan from my doctoral study is used in my TKES lesson as well.

I will have copies of my "Saxophone Handbook" for you to review, "How to pass all 10 TAPS in one lesson," and other items that could assist you in a) teaching, b) TKES, c) saxophone instruction, or d) lesson plans.  All of the information is free.

I will be performing at the Friday night concert as well; it should be a good program of music.

Hope to see you there.

Observation Preparation--upon further review

I do not like uncontrolled variables that affect me (or my certificate).  I do not want documents uploaded into The Platform if at all possible.  It was my assumption that I would have my first 20 minute observation this past week, potentially Thursday, then Friday; I was not observed.  However, during that time, I decided that one variable that could slip past was my Evaluator not looking into the cabinets were my lesson plans and evidence were located even though I had informed him/her where the materials were.  To remedy that, I put both on the table where s/he would observe me (I did not have the lesson plans standing up like that; I did that for the picture.)

I also learned something about the teaching process, student interaction process, and the communication process in anticipation for my observation - as I had 12 class periods to anticipate being observed.  I will post that information soon.

Observation Preparation

A colleague of mine was observed the other day.  The Evaluator did not see the lesson plans for the day, which were printed and in a notebook a few feet away.  When the observation was over, the Evaluator requested a copy of the lesson plans (i.e., "evidence," "proof") so that s/he could load them in to The Platform online.

Because we have not gone through this process before, I am still very skeptical and leery of The System.  It has been made clear to us (through meetings & document from the Ga DOE) that if the Evaluator does not see something, then we can submit evidence within 24 hours and it will be uploaded into The Platform.  To me, that automatically implies (a year from now when someone is reviewing your file) that you didn't do something in real time, were told to submit proof so that you could received a good score, you prepared some sort of document, sent it to the Evaluator, and s/he uploaded it to The Platform so that they could backward-document your performance on that element.  I don't think that will look good....

Now, thinking ahead a couple of years...  If I were an Administrator and were to look at a file in The Platform and saw that someone had multiple documents loaded into The Platform for many of the elements, that would be "a red flag" to me that many of the elements were not being demonstrated in real time--the teacher had to keep providing proof that they were doing their job!  Even if the evidence was appropriate, it would be a red flag.  I have been in the legal field as an Administrator, and after reading a bazillion resumes (pardon the slang), I have noticed that some patterns tend to reveal how people really are--not how they say they are.

I suggest to you that all the evidence you have collected and your lesson plans be located in close proximity to the Evaluator's location, AND that the materials be labeled clearly.  We have been told that the Evaluator has the opportunity to review evidence while they are still in the classroom and if they see the documentation, then they do not have to ask for it later, and it will not have to be loaded into The Platform.  Translation: if they observe the behavior in real time &/or see it in your notebook while they are in the room, then they don't have to upload it into The Platform.  This should keep The Platform clean and simple (i.e., you are a good teacher in real time.)

To that end, here is what I sent to my Evaluator today:

Information for my observation/evaluation: all paperwork/evidence for your review is located in the tall wood cabinet to the left of the main door near the "panic buttons."  On the shelf are: daily lesson plans, TAPS evidence for standards 1-10, and extremely detailed lesson plans for 6th grade as they relate/correlate with the Georgia Performance Standards and the Nation Standards.  Notebooks with evidence have table of contents with brief definitions so that you can discern the purpose of that evidence.

I intend that when he enters my room, I will either formally (verbally) or informally (through gestures) ensure that he has located the lesson plans, the TAPS notebooks (Volume 1 & 2), and my National Standards correlation.

Further information to assist you....

Apart from this ongoing blog presentation of descriptions and ideas, I wanted to point to you a series of handouts that may be helpful.  They're located on this blog, in part, and on my online portfolio (https://sites.google.com/site/gcason123/).  Brief descriptions:

Advice and Teaching Methods:
Sight Reading at Concert Festival (a.k.a. LGPE: Large Group Performance Evaluation)
Saxophone Handbook (comprehensive manual for teaching/playing saxophone)

Some ideas for new teachers....
Some teaching ideas....
Some procedural ideas....
Some ideas for question....
Some "behavior modification" (i.e., discipline) ideas....
Some physical management ideas....

Surviving a Doctorate: Year 1.  Practical advice on ideas and methods to make sure you finish your degree!

Handbooks and Other Resources:
Classroom Instruction That Works, 2nd ed. Results (very good)
Instructional Strategies That Work (very good)
Saxophone Handbook
Surviving a Doctorate: Year 1

TKES-Specific Ideas and Essays:
TKES: Lesson Plan Design
TKES: Checks for Understanding
TKES: Differentiation
TKES: Mastering Concepts and Skills
TKES: Remediation and Enrichment
TKES: Keys to Your Successful Evaluation
TKES: Lesson Plan Design for Band

School Law:
Thoughts & Quotes Regarding "A Teacher's Pocket Guide to School Law" (very good refresher)

Instructional Strategies:
Instructional Strategies That Work
The 9 Most Effective Instructional Strategies That Work--Updated

TKES/TAPS Observation: DOK, What to say

There is a fair amount of discussion about depth of knowledge (DOK) right now.  Some teachers think their curriculum is a mile wide and an inch deep, and they are still expected to ensure their students have a true depth of knowledge that is substantial and verifiable.  As part of my new TKES/TAPS lesson plan design (see: Lesson Plan), I included a Depth of Knowledge section that includes 4 areas of DOK.  My earlier iterations of the lesson plan had words only, but then it was suggested that we have actual sentences we might use during class.  To that end, I changed my DOK section and recommend that you include elements such as these in your lesson plan as well as statements to include when the observer is in your room.  I have a list that I keep at my podium where I can cite these, in some form or another, as needed.  As has been mentioned in other posts, my evaluator has indicated on more than one occasion that, "if it isn't in the lesson plan or isn't seen, it doesn't exist."  I intend to make sure it is in the lesson plan and it is observed.

Level 1: 

How do you define this?

Can you identify which one is the ___?

Tell me know you know ___.  (One of my favorites.)

Name all of the ___.

Recite all of the ___.

Level 2:

Identify patterns in the ___.

Compare between these elements.

How do you interpret that?

What observations can you make about that?

Show me that you know it.  (One of my favorites.)

Summarize those ideas for me.

How do you relate that to what we did before?  (One of my favorites.)

What cause and effect do you see?

Estimate that for yourself.

Level 3:

Compare between these elements.

What conclusions can you draw from that?

Critique this for me.  (One of my favorites.)

Cite evidence for your decision on that.

Construct and support your answer.

How would you differentiate between these?

Hypothesize: what would happen if ___?  (I like this one too.)

Formulate ___.

Level 4:

Analyze and synthesize information from multiple sources.  

Critique that for me.  (One of my favorites.)

Apply concepts to illuminate a problem or situation.

Connect that to something you learned the other day.  (One of my favorites.)

Create ___.

Prove ___.

Reasons: Teacher will ask students to use multiple levels of DOK during instruction, work session, and summary.

Respectfully,

Glenn