After identifying the right development areas, you will need to decide how the teacher will improve his or her practice. You will work with the teacher to come up with action steps. These steps should be :
Once you've planned action steps, it's important to practice these steps to make sure the teacher knows exactly how to make the improvement. Talk through the steps or role-play them together. With "Somewhat Unaware" and "Unaware" teachers, you may need to model the action step for them first.
Action steps can also involve collaborating with another teacher. For example, a newer teacher might observe a veteran who does well in the development area identified in Step 3. Watching a master teacher in action can be inspiring, and building a network of support among your teachers can be very helpful in the long run.
When developing action steps, remember to collaborate with the teacher. You can adapt the Levels of Questioning for use in this step, starting with open-ended questions and building toward greater specificity. Make sure the conversation does arrive at concrete next steps within the time you set for the meeting, though--keep moving through the levels of questioning, and if you arrive at Level 4 ("State Issue"), you can suggest a next step and ask for the teacher's thoughts. This will move the conversation forward while keeping the teacher involved.
Make sure you ask the teacher to reflect on how the action step will improve practice or benefit students. And it is often a good idea to have the teacher summarize the step or repeat it back to you, including specifics of how to implement it and why it is important to implement, to make sure you are on the same page.
© Kognito Interactive. All rights reserved.