Ideas for Documenting TKES Standard 3: Instructional Strategies

Instructional Strategies: The teacher promotes student learning by using research-based instructional strategies relevant to the content to engage students in active learning and to facilitate the students’ acquisition of key knowledge and skills.

1. Engages students in active learning and maintains interest
1. An essay that encompasses your overall emphasis in student engagement and mastery of standards.
2. Lesson plans that show standard, concept, practice, and application of new ideas.
3. Examples and lesson plans of how the lesson builds on students' prior knowledge.
4. Pictures or copies of handouts of how you maintained students' interest
2. Builds upon students’ existing knowledge and skills
1. Lesson plans that consistently show activating students' prior knowledge
2. An essay that would detail how you regularly build on your students' pre-existing knowledge and skills.
3. Examples of handouts/worksheets that show scaffolding of knowledge
4. A list of the different ways you activate students' prior knowledge
3. Reinforces learning goals consistently throughout the lesson
1. Lesson plans that detail how the learning goal is reinforced throughout the lesson
2. Examples of depth of knowledge questions used during a lesson.
3. Words, sequencing, or structure that shows your regular reinforcing of the lesson.
4. Uses a variety of research-based instructional strategies and resources
1. Lesson plans that show differentiation of content, process, and/or product (differentiation can be one, two, or all three of those; additionally, it can be differentiated groups, locations, environment, etc.)
2. Provide pictures of differentiated classroom.
3. Lesson plans that detail acceleration and remediation
4. Lesson plans that show pacing, transitions, and expectations.
5. List of instructional strategies used for that learning goal (use the "75 Instructional Strategies" or the "Nine Most Effective Instructional Strategies" links for ideas)
5. Effectively uses appropriate instructional technology to enhance student learning
1. Examples (list) of technology used in learning goals and how they were used.
2. Lesson plans listing technology used for that lesson.
3. Examples of SmartBoard pages used for lesson
4. Examples of handouts, visuals, non-linguistic representations which help supplement learning
6. Communicates and presents material clearly, and checks for understanding
1. Examples of handouts, visuals, pictures, links that have been used to supplement students' learning.
2. Examples of the aural, visual, and kinesthetic means used to supplement students' learning.
3. Essay: 3.6; Checks for Understanding
4. Lesson plans showing depth of knowledge questions and sequencing of lesson
7. Develops higher-order thinking through questioning and problem-solving activities
1. Lesson plans detailing the sequencing of material for a learning goal; list higher order thinking questions, problem solving activities, and grouping activities; be sure to state how and why the students are grouped in the way they are.
2. Provide pictures with explanation of problem solving activities
8. Engages students in authentic learning by providing real-life examples and interdisciplinary connections
1. If you link your subject to real life examples or other subjects, this should be easy. Provide a copy of the program, the study guide, the other subject's connection to yours, etc.
2. Provide lesson plans of the integration of the interdisciplinary connections
3. Provide pictures of the out-of-classroom (real life) connectedness.

Ideas for Documenting TKES Standard 2: Instructional Planning

Instructional Planning: The teacher plans using state and local school district curricula and standards, effective strategies, resources, and data to address the differentiated needs of all students.

As a reminder, it is my understanding that most Evaluators use the evidence and documentation provided to confirm what they see in the classroom observations. So, if you had hundreds of samples, but they never saw how you used it or applied it, you evidence would have little weight. I had approximately 150 pieces of evidence to support Instructional Planning.

1. Analyzes and uses student learning data to inform planning.
1. Individual student metacognitive tracking results
2. Summative assessments
3. Section summative assessment reports linking the assessment with future planning and lesson plans.
4. Assessment reports that detail how grouping was determined.
5. Progress report data.
2. Develops plans that are clear, logical, sequential, and integrated across the curriculum (e.g., long-term goals, lesson plans, and syllabi).
1. Series of lesson plans that detail: routines, rituals, classroom expectations, high expectations, plans and means for differentiating instruction, long-term goals, connection of individual learning elements to state standards, and results/reports showing mastery of elements with standards.
3. Plans instruction effectively for content mastery, pacing, and transitions.
1. Series of lesson plans that detail: integrated curriculum to long-term goals, examples of Essential Question for the day, transition strategies
2. Pacing guides, curriculum maps
3. Examples of multi-modal presentations to aid in student learning, extending and accelerating activities, graphic representations to aid learning, and application of new concepts.
4. Plans for instruction to meet the needs of all students.
1. Show examples of differentiated products for summative assessments.
2. Show examples of lessons, plans, assessments, and follow up assessments showing planning and assessment tracking of student progress.
3. Lesson plans detailing multiple means of presenting material allowing for students' different prior knowledge, ability level, and learning modalities.
5. Aligns and connects lesson objectives to state and local school district curricula and standards, and student learning needs.
1. Lesson plans that show exact connection between lesson goals, state standards, and how the curriculum will help the students.
2. Copies of samples of how visuals are used to help explain material.
3. Samples of how instruction goes from general to specific or how the different developmental needs of the students are being met.
6. Develops appropriate course, unit, and daily plans, and is able to adapt plans when needed
1. List of priorities and details of how lessons meet standards and student learning needs.
2. Summary assessment reports.
3. Correlation of lesson plans, state standards, and/or national standards.

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.

Read This: Your TAPS Evaluation Score is up to You--Not Your Evaluator!

It is becoming apparent that my early predictions a year ago of defending your job by collecting, organizing, and updating evidence in notebooks (called paranoid back then) is becoming reality and possibly a necessity.

Your Evaluator may only look for as much evidence as they want to, take time to, or have time to - and then give you a score.  The score may not be a huge concern to them (even if it is a 2 or 1) because the score is not directly related to their certificate.  The teacher's evaluation score is up to the teacher, not the Evaluator.  Let me explain.

At the mid-year evaluation a friend of mine received a 2 on TAPS #6.  The Evaluator looked at two students' grades in the electronic grade book and out of 9 summative grades, those two students had either turned in none or one.  The Evaluator concluded that the teacher was not assessing well and summarily gave the teacher a 2.

The REAL story is that our of 30 or so students in the class, the Evaluator picked the two students who are ill-behaved, in ISS (in school suspension), frequently absent, and/or are two of the most troubled students in the school.  The Evaluator did not look at the entire class' grades, average, or completion status (which s/he was able to do), only the two "problem children."  Now, to me, that is either trying to be a "gotcha," a vendetta of some sort, ill-trained, or incompetence on the part of the Evaluator.  As people say, "That ain't right."  The TKES/TAPS process has been presented as a "totality of the evidence," but the evidence has to be reviewed first.

As a result, the teacher, in his/her defense (and anxiety) had to spend quite some time point out to the Evaluator other students in the same class.  The project turn-in rate and grades were quite high in fact.  Seeing the data, the Evaluator changed the 2 to a 3.

If you have ever been in a position where you had to regularly defend your job, you know the stress it creates, the morale it devastates, and the decrease in your effectiveness.  It creates a terrible work environment - especially mentally.  That teacher looked defeated.

However, in my mid-year conference, my Evaluator indicated that s/he had reviewed some of the evidence I had uploaded into The Platform (I think I have scanned and uploaded about 300 items).  That sounded good to my ears.  To me, that is an indication that s/he is trying to review the totality of the evidence, is doing his/her due diligence, and if there is a question, we can refer to it during the conference in The Platform.

I urge the effective teachers of this state to collect past and present evidence for the TAPS elements, organize it in some fashion that can be easily accessed, and take the evidence to meetings.  If you need suggestions on how to collect evidence, organize it, present it in notebooks, or uploading it into The Platform online, please see earlier blog posts of mine--also review my blog "How to pass all 10 TAPS in one lesson."  If you are going to the GMEA convention in January, stop by the poster presentation session or the Friday evening concert and let's talk.  We'll talk TKES.

Effective teachers, effective strategies, and effective assessments may not get noticed through TKES/TAPS evaluation

There are 2 elements to this post: actual effective teaching through effective instructional strategies and assessments, and documenting effective teaching through effective instructional strategies and assessments for TKES/TAPS.

Actual Effective Teaching: The result of my doctoral study was a research based lesson plan design that was flexible for all subjects, all grade levels, and would help the teacher offset some of the effects of low-socioeconomic situations on middle school students’ learning.  It is a very simple design, and it works.  You can view it here: https://sites.google.com/site/gcason123/lesson-plan-design   Briefly:

Relevant Literature:  As the research base increases, there is an emerging picture suggesting that low-SES factors do affect student achievement, students from low-SES environments are likely to have less prior knowledge than their higher-SES peers do, and prior knowledge is a critical variable for learning new content (Barton & Coley, 2009; Planty et al., 2009; Stewart, 2008; Wyner et al., 2008) .  Past researchers have shown that an effective classroom teacher can offset some of the low-SES effects [emphasis added] (American Psychological Association, 2008; Brown, Anfara, & Roney, 2004; Marzano, 2000, 2003; Marzano et al., 2000; Williams, Kirst, & Haertel, 2005). As Marzano (1998) pointed out, there is a relationship between APK and increasing student achievement for low-SES students [emphasis added]. Marzano (2003) also noted that effective teachers increase student achievement approximately 50 percentage points in 1 school year….  Goodwin (2010) noted that the difference in student achievement in a single school year from a highly effective teacher could be a gain as much as a year and a half  [emphasis added] versus a highly ineffective teacher who could increase student achievement a little as one half year—a potential difference in student achievement of an entire school year.

Results:  (Simply put, the students in the classroom whose teacher APK scored 5 points higher than the other classes with a 99.99% certainty.)  The classes where teachers APK had a statistically significant greater increase in achievement, controlling for the pretest and grade-level effect as indicated by their standardized posttest scores, F(1, 863) = 35.398, p < .000, than the students whose teachers did not APK and only used LFS.  The critical region for the F ratio was 3.86, α = 0.05.

Here are the elements that need to be in the lesson (note that every element is the summation of high quality research findings): 

Assumptions: Expectations must be clear to the teacher and clearly and directly communicated to the students.  Learning goals (concepts, skills, and/or relationships) must be specific and directly linked to prior knowledge.  Students’ prior knowledge must be activated before proceeding with the instructional component.  Explicit classroom behavior, participation, and outcome results must be clear to the teacher, and explicitly and directly communicated to the students.  Identifying similarities, differences, and relationships for new content and as they relate to prior knowledge is the strongest instructional strategy.  Practice/homework provides self-pacing and exploring required concepts and skills.

Components: specific curriculum standard, specific learning goal, specific learning activities, general and specific prior standards, specifically activating prior knowledge, essential question, specific explicit directions, specific learning activity structure (beginning, middle, end), specifically identify similarities, differences, and relationships; specific practice opportunities; specific directions for orderly classroom.

Why do I bring that to your attention?  To demonstrate the absurdity of what a teacher might have to do to document effective teaching for Evaluators, Observers, and Teachers in the TKES/TAPS walkthroughs.

Our school had a district walkthrough this past week.  Principals, TKES Evaluators, Assistant Principals, and the like, walked our hallways, went into classrooms with their clip boards, took notes, and had meetings to provide a “snap shot” of the quality and effectiveness of our school.  In the end, they provided a list of areas that were “glow” and areas of “grow.”

Documenting Effective Teaching: The following sample is what I wrote on the board for the day’s lesson.  I literally read every Standard and Element and typed out how/if it applied to the lesson that day.  Simply put, the students had their weekly Thursday playing test.  Because the students know how the procedure works, I normally would write on the board, “TEST: #49.”  But for those who are not familiar with my procedures, subject matter, and instructional techniques, I wrote it all out so that I would get “credit” for meeting the Standards, Elements, and being a good teacher for our school (obviously, there is more to being a good teacher than just this….)

Go straight to your instrument, straight to you chair, and prepare for your playing test.  You may warm up on your own.

1.      Today you will be demonstrating your prior knowledge of Standards 2 and 7 through individual playing in a formal summative test.  Sixth grade will play the first four measures of #49 (you want to demonstrate mastery of notes), and the seventh and eighth graders will play #82 without the repeat (you want to demonstrate mastery of rhythm).
2.      You all need to have a pencil and paper.  You will grade each other, make a brief note as to what needs improvement, and compare your grade with what I give them.  You may not talk during the test.
3.      Grade yourself as well; if you do not like your grade, practice at home some more, and you play it again for a higher score.
4.      To give the best, accurate grade, identify similarities and differences in what you see on the page and what you hear.  Ask, “How does what I hear compare with what I see?”

Prior knowledge to be graded:
Posture, embouchure, tonguing, fingerings, rhythmic understanding, articulation, tone, air speed, rhythmic accuracy, key signatures, steady beat, counting, time signature, evaluating musical performances, listing strength and weakness of performances, and effectiveness of performances

These exercises will be used to develop your skill for the concert December 18 in the gym at 7pm.  We’ve prepared for this test through a series of similar exercises in the book, so I expect you all to make at least an A—probably a 100.  If you want to take a risk, you can play the exercise (correctly) from memory, I can give you 5 points extra credit.  If we have time, we will work on concert music.

If you are familiar with the TAPS standards, you probably see the Standards and Elements in the lesson; you may have seen how I incorporated findings from my doctoral study.  However, to itemize, here is what each statement addresses—in my estimation:

Go straight to your instrument, straight to you chair, and prepare for your playing test [2.6, 7.2, 8.1, 10.4, 10.5, explicit behavior expectations and orderly classroom].  You may warm up on your own [10.5, specific opening of class, activating prior knowledge; differentiation of process, specific practice opportunities].

1.      Today you will be demonstrating your prior knowledge [specific learning goal] of Standards 2 and 7 [1.1, 2.5, explicit curriculum standard] through individual playing [3.4, 5.6, specific learning activity] in a formal summative test [5.1, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.2, 9.1, 10.5, learning goal is clear to the teacher; explicit directions communicated to students].  Sixth grade will play the first four measures of #49 [5.1, 5.3, 10.5] (you want to demonstrate mastery of notes) [explicit outcome], and the seventh and eighth graders will play #82 without the repeat [5.1, 5.3, 10.5] (you want to demonstrate mastery of rhythm) [1.4, 1.5, explicit outcome].

2.      You all need to have a pencil and paper [7.2, 10.5].  You will grade each other [explicit participation], make a brief note as to what needs improvement [8.2, 10.1, explicit participation], and compare your grade with what I give them [1.7, 3.1, 6.5, 6.6, 7.2, 7.4, 8.3, 10.1, 10.5, explicit participation, specific learning activity].  You may not talk during the test [7.2, 10.5, explicit participation and orderly classroom].

3.      Grade yourself as well [5.2, 6.7, 7.2, 10.5, explicit participation]; if you do not like your grade, practice at home some more [practice/homework], and you play it again for a higher score [6.7, 8.2, 10.5].

4.      To give the best, accurate grade [6.7], identify similarities and differences in what you see on the page and what you hear [10.5, 6.7].  Ask, “How does what I hear compare with what I see?”  [1.2, 4.5, 6.5, 6.7, identify similarities and differences, specific learning activity]

Prior knowledge to be graded: [2.2, 2.3, 3.2, 6.7, 8.6, learning goal specifically and directly linked to prior knowledge]

Posture, embouchure, tonguing, fingerings, rhythmic understanding, articulation, tone, air speed, rhythmic accuracy, key signatures, steady beat, counting, time signature, evaluating musical performances, listing strength and weakness of performances, and effectiveness of performances

These exercises will be used to develop your skill [1.4, 2.3] for the concert December 18 in the gym at 7pm [1.3, 3.8, 6.4].  We’ve prepared for this test through a series of similar exercises in the book [2.2, 2.3, 3.2, learning goal specifically and directly linked to prior knowledge, general prior standards], so I expect you all to make at least an A—probably a 100 [1.6, 4.6, 5.5, 8.5].  If you want to take a risk, you can play the exercise (correctly) from memory [10.5], I can give you 5 points extra credit [1.6, 2.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.6, 5.2, 5.6, 7.2, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7].  If we have time, we will work on concert music [2.3].

The point?  I make an effort to be a highly effective teacher through research based instructional strategies, techniques, lesson plan design, assessments, paying close attention to the engagement and understanding of my students (formative assessments) etc. on a daily basis,  But, if I were to put “TEST: #49” on the board and proceeded with the test in the manner I did, I would probably have failed the observation walkthrough for that day (and received a “grow”) because the Evaluator/Observers did not understand the depth of what was actually going on.  My attention to detail is driven by the number of 2s given out to teachers, and the vast differences in Observer's and Evaluator’s recording of minutia (to the teacher’s detriment) or omission of details (also to the teacher’s detriment).  It appears that if the teacher does not make everything explicit, it may get overlooked.

I am planning on creating a detailed description (such as the first example above) to go on the board for each walkthrough and observation—especially when the Evaluator is looking for all 10 Standards in a single lesson.  I probably will label the statements with each Standard and Element (such as the second example) and give a copy to the Evaluator when they enter the room.

2s, 2s, 2s....

Please pardon the informality, but in my neck of the woods, they are passing out 2s like candy at Halloween.  I am under the impression that I am to be observed again soon, this time with the emphasis on Section 10: Communication.  I looked through my book to see what I had, when it was used, and the current relevance of my material.  I decided to keep what I had, but  update several areas.  I now have 51 pieces of evidence for Standard 10.  The type of evidence varies based on the Element.

I believe that there are administrators who are judging the teachers without ever asking for, or searching for, evidence; it appears some administrators are going to only judge what they see in the classroom.  I decided to update the material for Section 10 this week, update my table of contents, print out the new TOC, add it to the notebook, and upload it into the TLE Platform.  In addition, I e-mailed my evaluator to let him/her know that I had new evidence located in my notebook and s/he could review the summarized TOC when they came in.  I received a reply of, "Thank you."

It is my understanding that some evaluators will never ask for evidence and never look into the Documentation section of the TLE Platform.  This willful omission and oversight could cause a problem for teachers.

I believe that many of the teachers who received 2s probably did not have evidence/documentation ready or nearby or did not notify their administrator, but I do not know that for a fact.  Perhaps teachers are taking this lightly and thinking that they are "highly qualified" and will do just fine.  It is my recommendation that you keep your evidence current, applicable, and uploaded into The Platform.  If nothing else, it will serve as dated and timed evidence if you ever have to rebut a low score.

In my current estimation (and the way I feel), it is not about highly qualified or even highly effective anymore; it's about highly documented.

Effectively Organizing the TLE Platform

I am very good at doing things twice: first the cumbersome way and then a better way; I've discovered that long-term "learning style" again through uploading documents into The Platform.  My initial uploads seemed precise to me, and then after reviewing them, they were overly complicated and unclear (and probably would irritate the Evaluator).  I offer this procedure:

1.  When you upload a document, you have to specify which Performance Standard with which it will be associated before you are allowed to upload the document.  In the description section on the left, I put the section and element number and the descriptor, "Section 2.3: Plans instruction effectively for content mastery, pacing, and transitions."  Under that, I put the exact titles from my table of contents from my notebook (copy and paste).  It looks like this:

Section 2.3: Plans instruction effectively for content mastery, pacing, and transitions.

Lesson Plans (dated 8/30/13) showing sequential process for section assessment

Lesson Plans (dated 9/9/13) showing integration of curriculum to long-term goals

Example of all Essential Questions for the year for each lesson with mastery items underlined

Essay: §3.4.2 Understanding the Content and Mastering the Skills Through Research-Based Instructional Strategies

Then, click the check box for Standard 2 from the right side of the window, and then click, "Done."  This will create a section on the right that has a tab, "Attach File."  Like other "attach" tabs, it will open a "choose file" where you can select the document, then click, "OK" and it uploads.  You can upload electronic documents from your computer or scanned files.  Use electronic documents if you have them.  I had many samples of handouts I created for class as well as TKES essays - that had identifying titles - and loaded those into The Platform.  The titles of the documents load into The Platform.  

This is where it gets a little odd: I have scanned many documents (300+) into my computer to upload into The Platform.  Each scan automatically gave it a scan number (Scan0235).  I did not rename each file - that would take too long.  To help organize The Platform, I attached the scanned documents in scanned order with the associated Element descriptor in order of the scanned documents.  Meaning: if the Evaluator wanted to see the, "Example of all Essential Questions for the year for each lesson with mastery items underlined," s/he would look at the third scanned document under Section 2.3.

I have documents in my computer in folders such as, "Teaching Techniques," "Handouts," "GC-Publications," and "GC-TKES."

2.  What do you do with all of those scanned documents?  I occurred to me that I file them somewhere for safe keeping.  So, I created a folder, "GC-TKES/TLE Upload Documents/TO DO."  These files were scanned in order from my notebook, so as I use my table of contents from my Word document, I can put them in the right section of The Platform.  I did not scan all of my documents; only the clear, precise ones that showed excellent evidence.

3.  What do you do with the scanned files after you upload them?  They are still located in your, "TO DO" subfolder.  I decided to create a subfolder entitled: "GC-TKES/TLE Upload Documents/Section 1" then one labeled, "Section 2," etc.  That way, if I need to go back and double check a scan/file, I can find it easily.  I know now which scans have been uploaded into what section and what scans I still have to upload.  It looks like this:

GC-TKES

TLE Upload Documents

Section 1

Section 2

etc...

TO DO

Table of Contents

You may recall that I decided to enter my entire table of contents (TOC) into each Standard to show the totality of my evidence.  (You would be correct in inferring that I have a, "preponderance of the evidence" philosophy with this new system.)  I will reload the TOC as my evidence notebook changes.

Examples of Documentation Evidence

Georgia Department of Education. (2014). Teacher Keys Effectiveness System Handbook.  Atlanta:  Retrieved from http://legisweb.state.wy.us/InterimCommittee/2012/TKESHandbook.pdf

“All Rights Reserved”

p. 64

Examples of Documentation Evidence

Evaluators may request documentation from teachers when a standard is not observed during an announced or unannounced observation. The examples below will provide ideas that may be helpful when needing further documentation. This is not a comprehensive list of examples and should not be used as a checklist. [emphasis in original] Documentation may also need to be supplemented with conversation, discussion, and/or annotations to clarify the teacher’s practice and process.

Standards and Examples of Documentation

1. Professional Knowledge

• Summary of a plan for integrating instruction

• Class profile
• Annotated list of instructional activities for a unit
• Annotated photographs of teacher-made displays used in instruction
• Annotated samples or photographs of instructional materials created by the teacher
• Lesson/intervention plan (including goals and objectives, activities, resources, and assessment measures)

2. Instructional Planning

• Course Syllabus
• Lesson Plan
• Intervention Plan
• Team/Department Meeting Minutes
• Substitute Lesson Plan

3. Instructional Strategies

• Samples of handouts/presentation visuals
• Technology samples on disk
• Video of teacher using various instructional strategies

4. Differentiated Instruction

• Summary of consultation with appropriate staff members regarding special needs of individual students
• Samples of extension or remediation activities
• Video or annotated photographs of class working on differentiated activities
• Video of teacher instructing various groups at different levels of challenge

5. Assessment Strategies

• Copy of teacher-made tests and other assessment measures
• Copy of scoring rubric used for a student project
• Summary explaining grading procedures

6. Assessment Uses

• Brief report describing your record-keeping system and how it is used to monitor student academic progress
• Photocopies or photographs of student work with written comments
• Samples of educational reports, progress reports, or letters prepared for parents or students

7. Positive Learning Environment

• List of classroom rules with a brief explanation of the procedures used to develop and reinforce them
• Diagram of the classroom with identifying comments
• Schedule of daily classroom routines
• Explanation of behavior management philosophy and procedures

8. Academically Challenging Environment

• Samples of materials used to challenge students
• Samples of materials used to encourage creative and critical thinking
• Video of lesson with students problem-solving challenging problems

9. Professionalism

• Documentation of presentations given
• Certificates or other documentation from professional development activities completed (e.g., workshops, conferences, official transcripts from courses, etc.)
• Thank you letter for serving as a mentor, cooperating teacher, school leader, volunteer, etc.
• Reflection on personal goals

10. Communication

• Samples of communication with students explaining expectations
• Parent communication log
• Sample of email concerning student progress
• Sample of introductory letter to parents/guardians
• Sample of communication with peers

Teacher Assessment on Performance Standards & Documenting Performance

Georgia Department of Education. (2014). Teacher Keys Effectiveness System Handbook.  Atlanta:  Retrieved from http://legisweb.state.wy.us/InterimCommittee/2012/TKESHandbook.pdf

“All Rights Reserved”

p. 8

Distinguishing Characteristics of the Teacher Assessment on Performance Standards

The TAPS component has several distinctive characteristics. It provides:

• A focus on the relationship between professional performance and improved learner academic achievement.
• Sample performance indicators for each of the teacher performance standards.
• A system for documenting teacher performance based on multiple data sources.
• A procedure for conducting performance reviews that stresses accountability, promotes professional improvement, and increases the involvement of teachers in the evaluation process.

p. 11

Performance indicators provide examples of observable, tangible behaviors for each standard as noted in Appendix 1. That is, the performance indicators are examples of the types of performance that may occur if a standard is being successfully met. The list of performance indicators is not exhaustive, is not intended to be prescriptive, and is not intended to be a checklist. Further, all teachers are not expected to demonstrate each performance indicator. [emphasis in original]

p. 16

Step 4: Documenting Performance

Explanation

A fair and equitable performance evaluation system for an educational professional acknowledges the complexities of the job. Thus, multiple data sources are necessary to provide a comprehensive and authentic “performance portrait” of a teacher’s work.  The Teacher Keys Effectiveness System takes into account several data sources. The TAPS focuses on two data sources, in particular - observation and documentation.

Observations

Classroom observations provide key information on the performance standards. Credentialed evaluators are required to conduct two formative observations. These observations may be announced or unannounced and must be at least 30 minutes in duration. In addition, a minimum of four walkthroughs/frequent brief observations consisting of at least 10 minutes each should be conducted for each teacher. Additional observations may be conducted at the building administrator’s discretion. All observation feedback will be recorded using the GaDOE TLE Electronic Platform.

To assist evaluators, a TAPS Reference Sheet that lists the performance standards and sample performance indicators is provided in Appendix 2. Evaluators should keep in mind that the indicators are merely examples of the behaviors teachers might display if they are proficient in the standards. The indicators are not to be used as a checklist. [emphasis in original]  Evaluators are required to keep their observation notes pertaining to various standards on the Formative Assessment Report Form, making sure to annotate (check box) that the comments pertain to the observation. When it is time to make summative ratings of performance, evaluators should not assign ratings to the ten standards based solely on the observations.

Evaluators will conduct a pre-evaluation conference, mid-year conference and summative evaluation conference for all teachers evaluated by the TKES. The evaluator is also responsible for providing timely feedback to the teacher regarding the Formative Assessment Report Form through the GaDOE TLE Electronic Platform. Although feedback is required, a formal  conference after each formative observation is optional.