Read: Multiply Teacher Talent, Principal Magazine (Nov/Dec 2014)

Multiply Teacher Talent

What if your well intended guidance stifles gifted teaching, rather than encourages it?

The research is clear: Teacher quality is the single most important school-based factor in student achievement. However, the equation that guarantees that every student experiences a high-quality teacher in every classroom is ambiguous. School leaders conduct teacher observations as a stop-gap measure to improve instruction and maximize student learning. Teacher response to observations, however, runs the spectrum. Despite principals’ desire to create a constructive, safe environment for teachers to improve their practice, social media posts like this one from a veteran teacher on the morning of his observation are common:

“Tossed and turned all night worrying about my observation at 9.”

To which his friend followed, in an attempt to console,

“I know, I just got mine done and it’s just so involved now. You just want it over!”

More often than not, the evaluation systems intended to ensure world-class teaching create stress that shuts down thinking. Whether you’re being observed for your best practice teaching or for your formal evaluation cycle, there is an inherent stress in being watched.

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