Clinical Supervision

…has as its goal the professional development of teachers, with an emphasis on improving teachers’ classroom performance. (Acheson & Gall, p. 1) Clinical Supervision

Teachers are not born…they grow Jones’ Law #1

Most teachers Are good teachers some of the time and not so good (or downright awful) at other times

Classrooms are incredibly busy places …classrooms are complex environments in which teachers often must make quick decisions while using incomplete information

Classrooms are incredibly busy places Philip Jackson, Life in Classrooms (1968) - over 1,000 interpersonal interactions in a single day

Classrooms are incredibly busy places Philip Jackson, Life in Classrooms (1968) Over 1,000 interpersonal interactions daily

Supervision Problem #1 – Determining what professional teaching looks like

Consider the Inquiry Teacher The Perfect The Perfect The Perfect Classroom Teacher Lesson (classroom management, instructional methods, presentation style, etc.) (how it looks, smells, feels, etc.) (subject, duration, type of activity, etc.) After Borich, 2003

Consider the Inquiry Teacher A Terrible A Terrible A Terrible Classroom Teacher Lesson (classroom management, instructional methods, presentation style, etc.) (how it looks, smells, feels, etc.) (subject, duration, type of activity, etc.) After Borich, 2003

Wonderful Classroom Kids engaged (bad pun) Student work displayed Cooperative Learning Confidence level of students is high Smells good (dissected sharks?) Spacious and comfortable Colorful, bright Displays evidence of learning Non-threatening Teacher’s positive attitude Warm and inviting (no yelling) Accepting PROBLEMS EVIDENT Teacher is facilitating

Not-so-Wonderful Classroom Cluttered in a non-organized manner Sterile Blank walls Quiet, no-academic interaction Dirty, smelling Students uninvolved Statements instead of questions Austere, cold Teacher centered Desks all in a row Blank stares… Stacks of paper Smells old

Teachers’ Roles Subject-matter Knowledge Action-System Knowledge After Leinhardt, Putnam, Stein & Baxter (1981) Teachers’ Roles Subject-matter Knowledge Includes the specific information needed to present content Action-System Knowledge Skills for planning lessons, making pacing decisions, explaining materials clearly, responding to individual differences..

Dunkin and Biddle Study of Teaching (1973) Teacher intelligence, motivation, training… Presage Test scores, graduation rates, … Process Product Class size, bussing, … Questioning, models, management… Context Student background, motivation…

From Transactional Analysis, we know… Pre-ignition Afterburn

Success Bomb

Observation Skills But toward what end? -Research? -Teacher Assistance? Reward/Punish?

Views of Data Recording (after Evertson & Green) Everyday Deliberate Systematic Deliberate Systematic Everyday Tacit Less Highly Formal Formal Question- Specific Observations Situation- Specific Observations Observations

Purposes of Teacher Assessment To assist in institutional and administrative decision making Whom to promote, place on growth plans, recommend for licensure… To increase instructional effectiveness

From Evaluation to …. Inspectors To meet contractual requirements, e.g. punctuality, attendance, extra-curricular assignments… To certify the effectiveness of instruction to the board, public, staff. To illuminate and made commendations for excellence in instructional practices. To meet legal requirements as determined by legal mandates. To apply district/school adopted criteria for judging instructional effectiveness.

Top Down From Evaluation to …. The power to evaluate is bestowed by Board, Administration, State... Top Down From Evaluation to …. To monitor professional conduct: e.g., dress, continuing to learn, participating in district improvement tasks, enthusiasm, etc. To identify instructional deficiencies and plan learning opportunities to remediate those deficiencies. To guarantee minimum uniformity.

Is it any wonder….? “Under the supervisory structure used in many schools, teachers may view feedback from supervisors with suspicion or hostility” (Good & Brophy)

Leadership Styles…. Theory X Theory Y The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if (s)he can People have to be coerced, controlled, directed, threatened to get them to put forward appropriate effort People prefer to be be directed and avoid responsibility; most have little ambition and want security above all The expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest Humans exercise self-direction in the service of committed objectives Commitment is a function of rewards associated with their achievement The average human seeks responsibility Imagination, ingenuity, and creativity are widely distributed Human intellectual potential is only partly utilized After McGregor

Clinical Supervision …. To improve teacher performance To enhance classroom climate for learning. To improve the organization of instruction. To align teaching processes and learning activities with theory and learner needs. To identify and resolve school and classroom problems that may be hindering learning.

Clinical Supervision …. Teacher Supervisor Clinical Supervision …. To identify and remediate students’ behavior problems. A central objective … is the development of the professionally responsible teacher who is analytical of his/her own performance, open to help from others, and withal self-directing (Maurice Cogan) Guides teachers toward self-evaluation Bridges the real-ideal gap The power to coach or supervise is bestowed by teachers

Supervision Problem #2 – Who should do the supervision Superordinate Colleague Teacher

Clinical… …meant to suggest a face-to-face relationship between teacher and supervisor and a focus on the teacher’s actual behavior in the classroom Teacher-centered supervision (paralleling Carl Rogers’ “person-centered” counseling)

George C. Kyte (1930) Planning for the observation of teaching Getting the most out of the observation period Analyzing the teaching observed

George C. Kyte (1930) Identified two kinds of conferences After a supervisory visit or the products of pupils’ efforts have been submitted to a supervisory officer Preparatory – first conferences with a new teacher, consultations based on requests of teachers, interviews for for planning classroom experimentation

Approaches to Clinical Supervision (after Edward Pajak) Collegiality and mutual discovery of meaning Original Models (1960’s - early 1970’s) 1962 Harvard-Lexington Summer Program of Harvard’s MAT program* Robert Goldhammer (1969) (Anderson, Krajewski (1993) Maurice Cogan* (1973) Ralph Mosher & David Purpel (1972)

Clinical Supervision …. Popular assumptions Learning to teach is easy; the preparation for teaching should therefore be short and simple Teachers’ 12+ years as students provide teacher education students with certain models of what teachers are and do Professionals need little face-to-face interactions from other professionals

Clinical Supervision …. Big Changes… Face-to-face relationships between supervisors and teachers Detailed observational data Intensity of focus in professional relationships

Clinical Supervision …. – “of, relating to, or conducted in or as if in a clinic” and “involving or depending on direct observation…” “the presentation, analysis, and treatment of actual cases and concrete problems in some special field” General supervision subsumes supervisory operations principally outside of the classroom Clinical supervision focuses upon the improvement of the teacher’s classroom instruction Assumption – teacher education is continuous – becoming a teacher is developmental

Early Clinical Supervisory Moves Robert Goldhammer (1969) 1. Pre-Observation Conference 2. Observation 3. Analysis and Strategy 4. Supervision Conference 5. Post-Conference Analysis Morris Cogan (1973) 1. Establishing the teacher-supervisor relationship 2. Planning with the teacher 3. Planning the strategy of observation 4. Observing instruction 5. Analyzing the teaching-learning processes 6. Planning the strategy of the conference 7. The conference 8. Renewed Planning

Approaches to Clinical Supervision (after Edward Pajak) Humanistic/ Artistic Models (mid 1970s to early 1980s) Blumberg - Counseling the key Eisner - Artistic Approach - “hear the music” as well as observe the action Positive and productive interpersonal relations with holistic understanding of classroom events

Approaches to Clinical Supervision (after Edward Pajak) Technical/ Didactic Models (early to mid 1980s) Acheson & Gall Hunter Joyce & Showers Effective teaching strategies, techniques, and organizational expectations

Approaches to Clinical Supervision (after Edward Pajak) Developmental/ Reflective Models (mid 1980s to present) Glickman, Schon, Costa & Garmston, Zeichner & Liston, Garman, Smyth, Retallick, Bowwers & Flinders Teacher cognitive development, introspection, and discovery of context-specific principles of practice Coaching and Cognitive Coaching

The Three Phases of the Clinical Supervision Cycle After Acheson and Gall

Supervisory Assumptions • Instructional improvement is not a superficial process; it requires considerable time and effort • When dealing with adult professionals, no one changes another person’s behavior • Goal directed behavior is more effective in achieving instructional improvement than behavior that is not focused on specific outcomes • Objective recording and descriptive reporting of teaching data are more useful for instructional improvement than subjective, evaluative statements • Teaching, as an intellectual and social act, is amenable to intellectual analysis • Supervisors demonstrate leadership most effectively as a participant of educational growth

An Effective Teacher Satisfactorily Provides instruction in academic knowledge and skills’ Provides an instructional climate that helps students develop positive attitudes toward learning and self Adjusts instruction in response to students’ abilities, ethnic identification, home background, and gender Manages the learning environment so students are engaged in learning Makes sound decisions and plans Implements agreed-upon curriculum decisions After Acheson and Gall, p. 44

… this course Will provide you background and skills to assist in this growth by Understanding the theory of supervision Mastering observation skills Becoming adept at conferencing and feedback Being able to tie classroom efforts with a research base

Slides courtesy Dr. Howard Jones