Now is the Time of the Year many #Schoolleaders get serious about observations and evaluations...yet, most start without a good plan and execute their plans in a haphazard fashion at best. As someone who was charged with observations and faculty evaluations for several years at a school, I hated the feeling I had as a supposed watchdog. I also hated planning elaborate faculty meetings and PD days that I knew had relevance to only a fraction of the faculty body.
Does the simple thought of this give you a headache as well?
As a school leader, you know intuitively that this process should be different. Instead of a chore for the school leader, and a dog and pony show for the teacher, it should be an affirming process with lots of growth. Ideally, it should be both authentic and help keep the faculty member accountable. Better yet, a great model should a continuous loop of useable feedback and long-term growth.
Would a plan like that be possible for your school? It certainly is. I have designed one in concert with the faculty of one of my previous schools. Designing it gave me insights into what the faculty felt they needed. The design also made the plan personalized; each faculty member made decisions along the way to shape their plan. This was no one-size-fits-all faculty PD model that would fail due to lack of teacher enthusiasm.
On the other side of things, the plan has accountability tied in. No faculty member will keep up with a plan, no matter how good it is if they are not held accountable. Behavioral psychology research suggests that we all want to be held accountable for our actions if we had a hand in developing them to begin with in the first place. Want to lose weight? Many of us are in a group that helps us set a goal weight and has us weigh in regularly. Weight Watchers comes to mind there. Want to exercise to become healthier? Many of us will join a group and know that the accountability is crucial to staying with the plan. (For a more detailed discussion on the behavioral psychology and economics behind accountability nudges see the work of Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, Nobel Prize winning economists in this article. )
My plan is similarly constructed. It is called "Metamorphosis: A Framework for Authentic and Accountable Faculty Growth." It has 9 steps that can be tweaked with faculty feedback. It is a great way for a Principal, Dean of Faculty, Division Head, or Head of School to promote professional growth in their school.
Are you looking for a way to make those observations less of a dreadful chore and more of a mission to support your faculty?
Are you looking for a way to bring your faculty closer together through trying times with a focus on a better future for them and for your students?
Are you looking for a way to digitize, consolidate, and organize the faculty growth process at your school?
Are you sick of the dog and pony show evaluation process?
Would you like to authentically build teacher leadership from within your building?
All of these things can happen with this Metamorphosis Framework. Let me help you avoid the meaningless work I toiled through. Instead let RoundTable and our seasoned advisors help you construct this with little cost to you.
To support your faculty and to have a bunch of beautiful people flying around your building fulfilled in their calling,
call us at 334.235.4638, email at mike@rtedllc.com, or reach out to Michael Zavada on LinkedIn