Effective Management of Teaching and Learning

Workshop Objective This workshop will focus on roles and responsibilities of Middle Managers: Vice principal Heads of department Grade coordinators Senior teachers Monitoring the teaching and learning practices of teachers in schools.

Until we can manage TIME, we can manage nothing else. —Peter F. Drucker (1954)

Introduction No single individual is more important to initiate and sustain improvement in students’ performance than the instructional leader. The instructional leader must create a culture that fosters learning and including all stakeholders in the learning process.

Instructional Leader Maintain high visibility, interact daily with teachers and students to establish and maintain rapport. Forging meaningful relationship is important in fostering the developmental needs for teachers, students and staff.

Middle Managers in Education Vice Principals in charge of Programmes Academic focus (Teaching & Learning) Department Heads Grade Coordinators Senior Teachers Plan and conduct lessons Behaviour Management Classroom Management Teacher Appraisal

Questions to Consider What do you look for when you’re appraising teachers? How should the teacher planning tied into student achievement as it relates to obtaining the national goals? You want your teachers to reach the children, how do your teachers do it? How will you assess to see if this is being accomplishment? What evidence will you use?

Types of Instructional Observation Awareness/Focus Walk (Teacher Professionalism) Professional Development Instructional Strategies (Teaching Skills) Successful Teaching Strategies Monitoring Progress (Teaching Skills) Student Assessment Content Knowledge (Teacher Professionalism) Knowledge of subject matter

Awareness/Focus Walk Instructional Strategies Differentiation--Discussion, Demonstration, Modeling Content Knowledge Connects new ideas, skills, and concepts to previous or future learning Monitoring Progress Questions are interspersed throughout the lesson

Instructional Strategies Middle Managers must monitor each teacher to see if they: Created a lesson plan Start class on time Communicate lesson objective to students Creates a climate conducive to the learning process Establish rituals and routines Maximise instructional time Close out the lesson

Monitoring Progress (Assessment) The systematic observation and evaluation of student performance: Appropriate tasks (quizzes, tests, homework, etc.) are assigned to check for understanding and mastery Teacher quietly conferences with individual students about their work Teacher checks for understanding using two way communication methods

Assessment vs. Grading continuous process provides feedback to improve student achievement may be formative or summative provides a means of collecting evidence of student mastery of the content standards provides a photo album of student progress through which we can observe a student’s growth a means of assigning numerical or alphabetical grade to a student’s work may be formative or summative often represented as an average may not represent an adequate picture of a student’s growth or progress toward the learning goals 12

Characteristics of Exemplary Assessment Emphasizes learning process as well as product Requires active construction of meaning Assesses interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary skills Helps students self monitor Gives specific expectations for students Emphasizes the application and use of knowledge Has meaning and relevance to students Emphasizes complex skills Makes standards public and known in advance 13

Content Knowledge Expound on topic of discussion Builds for transfer by using familiar events or experiences to link learning to real life Activates prior knowledge to introduce concepts Points out similarities to strengthen learning and differences to avoid confusion

Monitoring Instruction Cont’d Check weekly lesson plans to ensure the curriculum is being covered Middle managers conduct “Focus Walks” and create PD around those walks Daily classroom observations using Successful Teaching Practices Upon arriving in a class, see if the lesson objective is written on the board Listen to the questions/interactions between teacher and students

Standard Exercise Teachers are committed to children in their care and effectively manage diversity to promote inclusiveness in the learning process. What are some of those performance indicators do you look for to demonstrate teacher commitment?

The Process of Instructional Planning Traditional Practice Select a topic from the curriculum Design instructional activities Design and give an assessment Give grade or feedback Move onto new topic Standards-based Practice Select standards from among those students need to know Design an assessment through which students will have an opportunity to demonstrate those things Decide what opportunities students will need to learn those things and plan appropriate instruction to assure that each student has adequate opportunities to learn Use data from assessment to give feedback, reteach or move to next level

Teacher Appraisal The responsibility to evaluate teachers does NOT rest solely with their administrators. Teachers themselves have a responsibility to evaluate their own practice Many are seeking innovative ways to reflect on their teaching (middle managers need to encourage this type of innovation)

Teacher Performance Appraisal Part One Planning for Student Learning (PSL) Teaching for Student Learning (TSL) Creating Classroom Environment for Student Learning (ESL)

Teacher Performance Appraisal Cont’d Part Two Personal Characteristics (PC) Professional Development (PD) Interpersonal Skills (IS)

Teacher Performance Appraisal Cont’d Part Three Leadership and Management (LM)

Guiding Principles of Teaching Standards Teachers know the subject(s) that they teach Teachers know how to teach the subject(s) for which they are responsible Teachers are committed to children in their care and effectively manage diversity to promote inclusiveness in the learning process Teachers sharpen their professional skills Teachers interact with parents and the community Teachers conduct themselves in a manner that will uplift the profession

Questions for You How do you know that your teachers really know their students? What are some of the indicators that you look for to show that the teacher knows his/her class? How do you explain a situation where a teachers has been appraised as an A or B, but the students are D and E…how do you explain that?

QUESTIONS

Jamaica Teaching Council THANK YOU Dr. Wayne Campbell Deputy CEO/Registrar Jamaica Teaching Council wayne.campbell@moey.gov.jm 948-7416 Office 855-1360 Cell