2. Collaborating with the QAS Sandra Martinaitis & April Nix Observations at Georgia Virtual are designed around making YOU the best instructor you can be for your students.

3. Develop a Relationship with QAS The role of your QAS is to offer experienced feedback. QAS will be a resource to you in reaching your goals.

4. Checklist  Introduce yourself to your QAS if he/she has not contacted you  Let them know if there is an area you are working on for improvement  CC your Course Updates  CC any positive emails/feedback – don’t be shy!

5. Reflection Set Monthly Goals When you receive your monthly observation set aside time for reflection and goal setting. Small changes over time can make a huge difference in your professional growth.

6. Checklist  Any Needs Attention? – Work on these first!  Mastery? – Do you want to go to the next level? What does it take to bring Mastery to Exceptional?  Scan the rubric and see if there are suggestions that you don’t know how to address.  Set specific, attainable monthly goals.  Share your goal with your QAS.

7. Know the Rubric verbiage matters Grading Policy Communication Homepage Discussions Data Analysis Differentiation

8. Caution Each Observation is a brand new look at your course QAS will look for different things in the beginning, during and end of the semester

9. Overall Indicators Mastery The standards for quality instruction at the Georgia Virtual School are set very high. Our program is nationally recognized for the breadth and depth of our courses. Teachers that meet the expectations are by default among the best teachers in the state and at the forefront of online education in the nation. Exceptional Teachers that display the skills and effort necessary for this rating are considered experts in the category. Their work is exceptional and should be shared in professional development opportunities. Generally, only one aspect of exceptional needs to be met for this distinction. All indicators for the meets category must be met before exceptional is considered.

10. GRADING The Most Important Feedback for Students and Parents MASTERY  Grades within 72 hours  Feedback is specific and individual for ALL discussions, quizzes, and dropbox items  Grading and Feedback adhere to late policy  Late submissions are documented in feedback  Specific dates for late work is provided  Feedback includes video, audio, and images as appropriate EXCEPTIONAL  Consistently grades assignments within 24 hours  Consistently provides feedback  Feedback includes links to outside resources  Feedback provides dates for future late submissions  Exemplars are provided

11. POLICY It is important that you...  Understand the policies of GaVS as explained in the school handbook  Check email and respond daily  Respond to instructions from Department Chair and Instructional Leaders and Administration according to guidelines and timelines  Communicate with your Department Chair and Coordinator of Instruction when you are unsure of how to proceed in a situation  Document all deviations from policy in the Communication Log  Ensure all Special Education students are being serviced and accommodations put into place within 72 hours

12. COMMUNICATION Your Relationship With Your Students and Stakeholders MASTERY  Communication Log in TheSIS reflects all welcome calls and emails  TheSIS reflects communication with failing students, serious issues and special education modifications  TheSIS reflects communication on student schedule and approved adjustments  Instructor responds to all communication within one school day  Communication is professional and courteous  Consistent bi weekly course updates  A variety of communication, including news announcements, emails, pages, phone calls  All communication conforms to FERPA EXCEPTIONAL  Communication consistently and quickly provided  Variety of formats – phone calls, newsletter, video, synchronous sessions,  Bi weekly Course Updates are attractive, interesting and informative  Potential issues addressed proactively and documented  Consistently reaches out to share positive info and encourage for improvement  Maintains constant,productive communication to encourage  Displays innovation in communicating with students

13. HOMEPAGE The First Impression of Your Classroom MASTERY  Weekly announcements posted weekly  Start and end date indicated on all announcements  Announcements are current, interactive and display valuable information and/or additional learning opportunities  Information easily identified  Directions that navigate student away from homepage are clear EXCEPTIONAL  Classroom is student centered and source of encouragement  Displays student work as exemplars  Use of conditional released items and data to provide differentiation  Individualized feedback with external resources, innovative technology tools beyond those provided such as YouTube, Twitter, Jings, Voki  Announcements updated several times per week

14. DISCUSSIONS Give Your Students Voice to Explore Non-Punitively MASTERY  Monitors discussion topics daily  Teacher focuses discussions on critical thinking and course content  Discussions enhance content and work  Discussions facilitate student voice (each department has specific guidelines for discussions) EXCEPTIONAL  Instructor responds to discussion threads daily  Posts enliven and enhance the discussion through explanation, remediation, and enrichment  Instructor encourages student ownership of dialogue  Socratic method employed leading to critical thinking and independent learning  Audio/video is effectively utilized  Outside sources and current events are linked

15. DATA ANALYSIS MASTERY  Instructor reflects on specific data source/report in e Portfolio according to protocol  Reflections include analysis of source and specific action plan that could be enacted  Instructor utilizes various streams of data to create individualized learning plans or specific actions that benefit student success  Instructor analyzes standardized test results and institutes specific curriculum differentiation EXCEPTIONAL

16. DIFFERENTIATION Remediation & Enrichment MASTERY  Offers alternative assignments and resources that are designed for different learning styles  Provides targeted enrichment and remediation experiences for students  Records audio/video feedback for alternative learning styles  Provides lessons for multiple learning styles through synchronous sessions  Documents differentiation in e Portfolio according to protocol deadlines  Tests all students to determine learning styles  Offers multiple alternative assignments designed for learning styles  Consistently records audio/video to augment written feedback  Uses web 2.0 to cater to learning styles  Offers additional remediation through recorded demonstrations, Jing, Snagit or similar tools  Offers integrated instruction in 21 century skills EXCEPTIONAL

17. Resources Tap in to These Opportunities Teacher Forum Faculty Meetings Professional Development Collaboration with co workers Edmodo Professional Development Groups – Links for each month’s topic with fantastic examples from teacher courses Teacher Toolbox: how-to videos and tools to use

18. “Be a Yardstick for Quality.” “Some people aren‘t used to an environment where excellence is expected.” Steve Jobs

19. Questions