Teacher appraisal - school case studies
What is the purpose of teacher appraisal?
Teacher appraisal is a thorny issue for a number of reasons. If we are going to evaluate teachers, we need to know what we are looking for.
- What is the purpose of teacher evaluation? Is its primary purpose evaluative or developmental?
- Do we have an agreed understanding of what makes a good | excellent teacher? How has this understanding been agreed at – do you use a national matrix as a benchmark, a recognized framework such as the Danielson Framework for teaching based on competencies for teaching or do we make up our own?
- What is the connection between teacher evaluation and its impact on student performance? How do we measure when good student learning has taken place as a result of teaching? What matrixes to we use? In cultures of high stakes testing it is tempting to use raw test scores; in other cultures, the focus is on the added value that teachers give to a students’ learning
IB resource
The IB have produced a free webinar on Evaluating the work of teachers: a research-informed model led by Dr. Gerard Calnin of University of Melbourne. Click HERE to access it.
Danielson Framework for teacher evaluation
Introduction
“Current approaches to assessing teacher effectiveness aren’t working. The instruments used for observation are overly complicated, and training for observers is often inadequate. Furthermore, the challenges associated with the use of student achievement data, and the political nature in which these processes were mandated in the first place, all make this a very challenging problem to address. Indeed, a recent report by the Brookings Institution suggests that “teacher observations have been a waste of time and money.” (Edutopia)
" I was principal in a school where the appraisal process was designed by the HRD department - not the educators. As such it was judgemental, evaluative and competitive as it was salary linked. Over several years in consultation with middle managers and she teachers I revamped this to be a system based on individual goals, dialogue and collaborative support in a professional learning environment. But it took a long time to shift the culture for everyone and even after some years many teachers still feared 'appraisal'. The message I guess was that the original system was never introduced with any form of empathy in mind." (Helen Morschel)
To quote former U.S. Secretary of Education John King, “If teacher evaluation feels like a ‘gotcha’ system, it won’t work.”
Teacher appraisal does, however, have an important role in ensuring quality teaching. So how do we make the evaluation cycle meaningful for both teachers and students. So, we need to consider teacher evaluation systems that are more about development than compliance.
The case studies on this page indicate that instructional coaching is an effective strategy for improving instructional practice. Their work is supported by recent research on ‘The Effect of Teacher Coaching on Instruction and Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of the Causal Evidence’. And isn’t the evaluation cycle really just a formal coaching cycle? If not, why not?
Craig Randall's experience as a school counselor, coach, teacher, and principal in schools across the world has led him to develop a model of teacher observation focused on building trusting relationships that spark teaching and learning growth. He discusses his journey and the book Trust Based Observations - Maximizing Teaching and Learning Growth.
“In any field, practitioners need honest, well-intentioned, and trustworthy feedback in order to succeed and improve. If the feedback process is compromised by suspicion and anxiety, it quickly becomes useless, even counterproductive. In this thoughtful and empathetic book, Craig Randall details how teacher observation has gone awry and how to put it back on track. He offers a sensible, empirically grounded technique, as well as indispensable advice on how to build trusting relationships among educators.” (Ulrich Boser, Author of Learn Better and The Leap: The Science of Trust and Why It Matters)
“Craig’s book has many deeply insightful and compelling ideas. And indeed research shows that when students trust that educators believe in them and their development, their learning can be significantly enhanced.” (Carol Dweck, Author of Mindset)
Cambridge Assessment Internation Education define peer observation as:
Peer observation is when a teacher observes another teacher in order to develop their classroom practice. A peer can be any colleague willing to support you. They may be from a different department or year team, have recently joined teaching, or be a member of the senior leadership team. Peer observation is a two-way process that can benefit both the observer and the teacher being observed, with the goal of improving learning and teaching.
They have a very helpful website that provides you with a rationale for carrying out observations as well as protocols. It is well worth a look - it is a quick read! Click HERE.
Some schools are putting teacher-led research as a core component of their appraisal process. Each teacher identifies a research question linked to their professional practice and school priorities, which they investigate over the academic year.
Here are four teacher-led research questions focused on improving student outcomes:
- How can differentiated instruction be optimized to better support students with diverse learning needs in mathematics? (Class teacher)
- What strategies can be implemented to increase student participation and engagement in science homework? (Head of department)
- How can mentoring programs reduce behavioural incidents and improve overall well-being in Year 9 students? (Pastoral leader)
- What approaches can be used to enhance the critical thinking skills of girls in STEM subjects across the school? (Senior leader)
These questions target specific challenges that, when addressed, could significantly impact student performance and engagement.
The research-driven system allows teachers to address specific classroom challenges and areas of improvement, such as enhancing formative assessment or boosting student engagement. The appraisal process retains structure, with trained appraisers and moderation to ensure rigor. It fosters a high-challenge, low-risk environment, encouraging teachers to take risks and innovate, ultimately enhancing their practice through targeted, reflective research. (This case study is based on an article Edmenson, L., & Aubrey, E. (2024). How teacher-led research can meaningfully contribute to appraisals. Impact, Autumn 2024)
I am very grateful to Hege Myhre, for her willingness to share this example from her school.
A summary: My previous school had a truly heavy and old-fashioned appraisal system when I started quite some years ago, outlined in an appraisal document no less than 59 pages, and the process was mostly focused on rating whether the teachers were good enough by some defined standards. As the school developed the collective and shared understanding of good practice, we quickly moved into better growth mindset models. In addition, the MYP section of the school worked quite systematically with ASP (Active Student Participation) at all levels, actively fostering an environment of equal power balance in the learning community where students and staff are equal partners, despite having different roles and responsibilities. To make a VERY long story short, students, teachers and leaders worked together on a totally different process and designed an Individual Professional Development Plan (IPDP) to be used as a tool for continuous growth and development throughout the year, with collaboration between various stakeholders as the key.
We moved from one annual check-up process, artificial and judgmental, to an on-going process and regular collaboration meetings where topics of the meetings and actions where defined by the goals set out for the year in the IPDP. Further, when setting the goals, the involved parties also decided what would be useful and reliable evidence of achievement - in other words, what would be the success criteria for each individual goal, and how would you gather data towards this. The point is - the entire process developed into a very positive collaboration across different stakeholder group, and we completely removed the feeling of "inspection", moving into shared development.
At the American School of Mozambique (AISM) the word appraisal is changed and replaced with activities and experiences that nurture and develop self-reflection, collaboration and ultimately transformative learning that impacts student learning. They build their reflection on teaching on Charlotte Danielson’s domains of good teaching practice. Appraisal is framed as a process of self-evaluation; peer evaluation and collaboration look like in practice that would inform teachers on areas of improvement and lead to best practice in teaching for change? The model practiced at AISM, includes goal setting, goal sharing, peer evaluation and feedback sessions, and portfolio compilations. This policy provides a good description of a professional portfolio as well as a reflective tool based on an essential agreement.
You may also like to consider the What? So what? Now what? reflective protocol to reflect on practice and brainstorm ways forward. Although it was not originally designed as a lesson observation tool it is a helpful collaborative tool to improve practice in a non-threatening way.