C&S563--#6

Models of Staff Development

and
Differentiated Supervision: A
Vehicle to Promote Teacher Growth
Dennis Sparks and Susan Loucks-Horsley
NSDC, 1990
#1: Individually Guided Staff
Development

Assumptions:
Individuals can best judge their own learning needs and
are capable of self-direction and self-initiated learning.
Adults learn most efficiently when they initiate and plan
their learning activities.
Individuals will be most motivated when they select their
own learning goals based on their personal assessment
of their needs.
Phases of Activity:
• Identification of a need or interest
• Development of a plan to meet the need or interest
• Learning activities
– Assessment of whether the learning meets the identified need or
interest.

Drawbacks:
• May be reinventing the wheel.
#2: Observation and Assessment
Assumptions:
Reflection and analysis are central means of professional development.
Another observer can enrich reflection on one’s practice.
Both observer and observee can benefit by the process.

Phases of Activity:
Pre-conference, observation, data analysis, post-conference, assessment
of process.

Drawbacks:
Many teachers see it as a form of evaluation
#3: Involvement in a
Developmental/Improvement Process

Assumptions:
– Adults learn most effectively when they have a need to
know or a problem to solve.
– People working closest to the job best understand what is
required to improve their performance.
– Teachers acquire certain knowledge and skills through
their involvement in school improvement or curriculum
development processes.
Activities:
– Identification of a problem or need by an individual or
group of teachers.
– After a need has been identified, a response is formulated.
– Plan is implemented or the product developed.

Drawbacks:
• Available time for groups to meet.
#4: Training
• Assumptions:
• Behaviors and techniques exist that are worthy of replication by
teachers in their classrooms.
• Teachers can change their behaviors and learn to replicate behaviors
in their classroom that were not previously in their practice.
• Activities:
• Participants serve on planning teams that assess needs, explore
various research-based approaches, select content, determine goals
and objectives, schedule training sessions, and monitor
implementation of the program.
• Drawbacks:
• Impact depends upon the objectives and the quality of the training
program.
#5: Inquiry
Assumptions:
• Teachers can formulate valid questions about their own
practice and pursue objective answers to those questions.
• Teachers are intelligent, inquiring individuals with
legitimate expertise and important experience.
• Teachers are inclined to search for data to answer
pressing questions and to reflect on the data to formulate
solutions.
• Teachers will develop new understandings as they
formulate their own questions and collect their own data
to answer them.
Activities:
Identify a problem
Explore ways to collect data that may range from
examining existing theoretical and research literature to
gathering original classroom or school data.
Analyze and interpret data.
Make changes and gather and analyze new data.
Drawbacks:
Organizational support and/or technical assistance may
be required throughout the phases of an inquiry activity.
Differentiated Modes of Supervision
to Promote Teacher Growth
 Distinction Between
Supervision/Evaluation

DIMENSION EVALUATION SUPERVISION

purpose Insure satisfactory Promote growth beyond

performance current level of performance
scope Broad Narrow

rationale State obligation Complexity of teaching

process Instrument driven Individualized

expertise Evaluator as expert Shared expertise

 * utilizes a single paradigm
* lacks collegiality
* lacks self-reflection
* does not direct professional

What is Wrong with Current

growth Practice in Supervision

Green & Snyder (1996)

What Happens in a
* Teachers sometimes:
Traditional
put on a “show”
Supervisory Structure
dust off a “tried and true”

lesson
weave teaching to
 * teachers in some way are broken and need fixed
* because of some incompetent teachers, the system

of remediation is applied to all

* ranking of teachers somehow relates to improved
* without being

instruction
Rooney (1999)

watched, Assumptions of a Traditional Teacher

teachers will
Supervision Model

stop trying to improve

* 1 classroom visit per year is adequate

* teachers who are * certain instructional behaviors are always a sign of

superior teaching
* certain instructional behaviors always result in

watched will
 DIFFERENTIATED MODES OF SUPERVISION

Directed Supervision Clinical Supervision Instructional

Focused Assistance Systematic Classroom Leadership Roles
Intensive Assistance Observation Trainer of Trainers

Administrative Portfolios
Monitoring Peer Coaching
Colleague Reflective
Maintenance Journals
Consultation
Drop In Visits Videotapes

Self-Directed Professional
Colloquium
Individual Contracts
Book Talks
Action Research
Study Groups
 FOCUSED ASSISTANCE
_ A process of supervison/evaluation used to
assist in making decisions regarding
continued employment for:
_ non-tenured faculty
_ new teachers to the district
_ at-risk staff who have been identified with a
need for improvement or who have received
an unsatisfactory rating
Focused Assistance
• Includes 4-6 formal
observations per year
• Administrators (more
than one) focus
intensive efforts on
those who need their
attention and help
• Eliminates ritualistic
observation
 Administrative Monitoring
Maintenance
Drop-In Visits

* Typically principals are responsible for monitoring.

* Most often it involves either announced or unannounced
visits followed by brief notes or face to face
discussions.
* All teachers are subject to monitoring each year.
* This mode allows the building administrator to keep
abreast of curriculum offerings and provides a
means to be visible to staff and students.
* This mode is usually not chosen by teachers as their sole
supervision mode for the year.
 What is Peer Supervision?
_ A confidential process through which
competent professionals who are adequately
trained to do so observe one another, share
their expertise, and provide each other with
feedback, support, and an opportunity for
reflection
_ The purposes of colleague consultation are
to refine present skills, learn innovative
instructional strategies, and/or analyze and
seek solutions for classroom-related
problems
 Advantages of Peer
Supervision
_ Builds bridges across classrooms, reducing
teacher isolation
_ Provides for a more collaborative workplace
_ Capitalizes on sharing the talent and
expertise of a diverse faculty
_ Energizes teachers to take risks in a non-
threatening environment
_ Enhances student learning by stimulating
continuous professional growth
 Self-Directed
¥ Teacher develops and carries out an
individualized plan for professional growth
¥ Teacher sets goal and activities to achieve goal :
college course work, conferences, workshops,
professional readings
¥ Teacher does a self-analysis of goal attainment
and sends report to principal
Action Research
• Data are quantitatively collected.
• Many times questions start with a feeling
or tension.
• Questions must be posed in a way that can
be answered by description and
observation.
• Questions should be narrow and specific
– Too big:
• What works well in writing workshop?
– Specific:
• How are Joan’s perceptions of her role in writing
response groups changing over time?
• To begin, ask self, “Is there anything I
wonder about in the classroom?”
• If I had an extra set of eyes...
Literature Study
• Conceptualize your question and research
in a larger framework by looking at the
existing literature.
Data Collection
• Anecdotal records
• Journal
• Surveys
• Artifacts
• Interviews
Data Analysis
• “Cook” the data
• Triangulate
 COMPONENTS OF
CLINICAL SUPERVISION

GOAL: the professional development of teachers with an emphasis on

improving teachersÕclassroom performance.
CLIMATE: risk-taking and experimentation
collegial approach
active participation by teacher
shared expertise
CYCLICAL PROCESS: pre-conference
observation
data analysis
post-conference
critique/reflection
 Collegial Study Groups
_ A form of
professional
development in
which teachers
meet as a group to
read articles and
books, share ideas,
and reshape their
practices.
 Collegial Study Groups:
Key Components
_ Focus on a topic or issue of common concern
_ Share readings and information
_ Discuss multiple perspectives within the group
_ Dialogue without any one individual dominating
the group
_ Experiment with new ideas and classroom
practices in a safe environment
Instructional Leadership Roles
•Teacher assumes particular position of
instructional leadership for the year.
•Possible positions include trainer of trainers
and chair of a district-wide committee.
•Qualifications: time commitment required,
necessity to utilize leadership skills
•Opportunities to grow professionally and
potential to improve the quality of
education in the school district.
 Portfolios
¥ Generate numerous artifacts and then
select those which demonstrate
standards of excellence in meeting goal
¥ Contain yearly goal statements, lesson
plans worksheets, homework
assignments, tests, communications to
parents, and writing samples
¥ Meet with supervisor periodically to
discuss selected artifacts
 GUIDING QUESTIONS
_ Where are we now and what is our vision
about where we would like to be concerning
supervision and evaluation in our district?
_ Where are we now and what is our vision in
terms of classroom observation and
conferencing?
_ What forces are likely to hinder our
progress?
Guiding Questions Continued
• What steps are necessary to overcome these
obstacles and meet our goals?
• Who needs to be involved to ensure success in
completing our vision?
• What resources are available to us?
• How does our S& E process affect student learning?
• How will we know when and how well we’ve
accomplished our goals?
(Adapted from Pajak)