Beginning Teacher Evaluation 1

Beginning Teacher Evaluation

Katia Sachoute

College of Education, Grand Canyon University

EAD-530-O501: Improving Teacher Performance and Self-efficacy

Dr. John Whalen

April 12th, 2023

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Beginning Teacher Evaluation

Beginning teachers require a large amount of support in the early stages of their career to

improve their skills within their new career. It is the principal’s responsibility to perform

observations and proving coaching opportunities to assist with teacher development. During the

observation process I was able to spend time in a first-year 3rd grade teacher’s classroom. The

observation goes through three components, starting with the pre-conference, the classroom

observation, and the post-conference. Throughout the process we were able to recommend

possible improvements to assist the beginning teacher in facilitating growth.

Pre-Conference, Observation, Post-Conference

During the pre-conference, we were able to discuss with the teacher what the lesson

would cover. The different areas that we should focus on specifically while in the classroom and

what is the goal that students will meet at the end of the lesson. Stephen Barkley stated that “a

pre-conference is an essential part of good coaching. A pre-conference with a teacher result in an

agreement on what to observe. I know what to monitor and document throughout my observation

because of an excellent pre-conference” (Barkley, 2019). I believe that during the pre-conference

we had the opportunity to learn more about the teacher and assisted her in becoming more

comfortable with the process. She explained the different instructional strategies that would be

used during the lesson would be chucking of the text, a graphic organizer and guided reading.

She also went into details about the accommodations that she would provide to the students with

504 or IEPs in her classroom.

` We were able to go into her classroom and observe the lesson during a whole group

instruction. The teacher was covering the fifth lesson in a two-week language arts unit, she

focused on the benchmark of student’s being able to explain the author’s perspective in an
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informational text. Students had their textbooks and as a class they independently read “Our

Spanish Beginnings”, after a few minutes of silent reading the teacher got the class’s attention

again and started chucking the text. While chunking the text, student would stop after going over

each section and add details to their graphic organizer to identify the central idea of that section,

relevant details and the author’s perspective regarding the information provided in that section.

Students remained engaged throughout the lesson and worked together to complete the graphic

organizer.

“The post-teaching conference is too often feared by student teachers and beginning

teachers because being judged can be intimidating” (Mitchell & Bott,2015). After the

observation we spoke with the teacher during the post conference. We were able to highlight the

teacher’s strengths and weaknesses to help focus on the areas that needed additional coaching

and support. The classroom management was phenomenal, and you could see that the rapport

that she had with the students during the observation was evident. The lesson was aligned with

the posted benchmark and the task provided rigorous, high-level thinking. Mrs. Brown

introduced the spotlight benchmarks for the week and reviewed the graphic organizer focused by

having students explain the definition of each part of the graphic organizer - Content, Structures,

Word Choice. Students were given multiple opportunities to turn and talk about the benchmarks

and terminology used. Once students shared with their partners, students were selected to share

with the whole group. The areas that we discussed could have been improved would have been

to at the beginning of the lesson to quickly review the information that was previously taught to

quickly help students make the connection from the previous lesson. Also, as we walked around

the room there were a few misconceptions about what the author’s perspective was for the entire
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text, Mrs. Brown was encouraged to monitor the student talk more in the future to help with

instant clarifications.

Recommendations and Technology

I would like to recommend the integration of technology within this lesson to help

increase student engagement in the task. Instead of the graphic organizer being on paper, I would

say upload it as an annotated tool on a student platform and allow them to type in their

responses. Also, to check for student learning possibly using a Nearpod or a Google Form to

provide an exit ticket that quickly assess at the end of class. Additional student sharing would

have also been encouraged to help support students that may have need that additional practice.

Collaboration, Trust, Learning Environment

“Professional collaboration focused on instructional decisions can help all teachers but

are particularly beneficial for new teachers. If they are not supported by a community, new

teachers can become frustrated and alone when they are left to figure out their profession in

isolation. There is so much that a new teacher needs to learn and do to manage and engage a

class of young adolescents” (Martin, Buelow, & Hoffman, 2016). Coaching can help to build the

capability of an educator and the foundation that they need for a successful career. Coaching

promotes the continuous improvement plan that is at the school, as we discussed with Ms. Brown

the collaboration of the observation process helped to build a constructive and supportive

relationship. It was clear that she had trust in the process and the principal as we delivered the

feedback of the observation. The focus was on what areas could be improved to foster the

highest level of student learning, allowing everyone involved to come together and talk

everything through. We discussed the importance of also understanding that this process should

be personalized to fit the needs of her classroom and herself. The observation showed us that she
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provided different opportunities for students to get specific assistance to personalize their

learning, even though the same benchmark was being taught.

Self-Awareness, Vulnerability, Transparency, Ethical Behavior

When thinking about effective leadership there are four components that are critical to

ensure success. Self-awareness, vulnerability, transparency, and ethical behavior provides the

needed components of a leader that promotes effectiveness and what is needed to provide

coaching. Merriam-Webster defines self-awareness as “an awareness of one’s own personality or

individuality,” which allows a coach to come to better conclusions and assist with decision

making. During the observation, I was self-aware that I was there to learn just as much as the

beginning teacher, this allowed me to have a clear understanding of the benefits of the

observation. I believe to be a lifelong learner; vulnerability is necessary and valued. It was

necessary for the teacher to be vulnerable during the process, to be objective and take the

feedback as well as implementing it. I also feel moments of being vulnerable as well because

there was a lot of different areas that I did not know, and humility works with our level of

vulnerability as well.

During the coaching of the teacher transparency was extremely important. We explained

the tool that would be used during the observation process, what exactly would be observed in

the classroom and during the post-conference the result of the observation. Ethical behavior

should always be emphasized throughout the coaching process. To be successful the teacher

must know that you are on their team and are there to help them be successful. They should also

be aware that they can trust you through the experience and to believe that anything discuss will

remain private and protected.

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As a future school leader, I believe that it is important to take this experience and apply it

to my future practice. Coaching will continue to be a necessary process to provide teachers with

the opportunity to grow and develop. To make it a useful tool however it must be properly

implemented. Teachers should not feel as though they are uncomfortable during an observation,

or that it is a situation for them to be caught in a trap. It is necessary to create a culture that will

encourage continuous learning and the openness to improve.

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References

Martin, K. L., Buelow, S. M., & Hoffman, J. T. (2016). New teacher induction: Support that

impacts beginning middle-level educators. Middle School Journal, 47(1), 4–12.

https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/00940771.2016.1059725

Mitchell, M., & Bott, T. (2015). Preparing Student Teachers and Beginning Teachers for the

Post-teaching Conference. JOPERD: The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation &

Dance, 86(2), 10–13. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/07303084.2014.988375

Steve Barkley (2019) Pre-Conferencing: A critical element of effective coaching, Steve Barkley.

Available at: https://barkleypd.com/blog/pre-conferencing/ (Accessed: April 1, 2023).