The ArtisanTeacher

A recent success that I've had was when I implemented the feedback strategies from Mike Rutherford. Mike Rutherford is the author of The Artisan Teacher: A Field Guide to Skillful Teaching. During a professional development session, Dr. Rutherfod conducted a Skillful Observation and Coaching Laboratory (SOCL) at my high school during second semester. The semester was almost over and did not get an opportunity to implement the strategy. A SOCL is a two-part classroom observation where a teacher is observed and the teacher returns to hear the feedback with a group of other educators. During the session uses twenty-three teams to describe the teacher's behavior in the classroom. As the sessions continue, the observers can now recognize themes present in skillful teaching. Recognizing the themes allowers observers to provide specific and timely feedback to teachers. 

I began using this technique at the beginning of the year. I told the teachers that I wanted to provide them with some informal feedback separate from their formal observation instrument, Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES). I would observe the teacher for about twenty minutes. After the observation, the teacher would come to my office during their planning period to receive the feedback. The feedback had to be given the same day. There was not anything extensive that had to be written for the feedback. The teachers loved it and I was able to ask more poignant questions about what was going on during the instructional time. class. During the observation, I tried to find at least four themes. If I couldn't identify any skillful themes,  I would discuss my findings with the teacher. As compared to formal evaluations, teachers are reluctant to openly talk to you about their behaviors because of the formality associated with the observation. Teachers seemingly are more receptiveness about feedback when they believe the observation "did not count." The teachers encouraged me to come back to their rooms and they strived to utilize more thems during their classroom instruction. 

 The themes used by Dr. Rutehrford can be cross-walked with TKES. For example, the ability of a teacher to set clear learning goals can be cross-walked to TKES standard 7, positive learning environment. I have enjoyed the conversations with the teachers and this particular feedback strategy is one that I will continue throughout the year. Overall, I believe the informal feedback has allowed me to be a better evaluator.