While building my Teacher Evaluation box, I couldn't help but notice that much of the expected evidence was already on hand. It is an excellent idea to make a list of artifacts you have in your filing cabinet or in your laptop computer that are ready to stuff in some folders NOW. Even though I have had to do some revisions, my list of "ready to go" or "needs five minutes" artifacts makes me smile. Without much ado, a chunk of Section One will not overwhelm me when I go back to work in the fall.
Here are the files I will stuff before the end of June:
- Transcripts & Certificates (summer class and all those professional development events I go to)
- Journals/Notes: Reflections on Teaching (put in a reflection for the end of the school year and what you hope for with the next class of students who will enter your classroom. If you go somewhere and suddenly have a great idea about how to incorporate it in a lesson, WRITE ABOUT IT! Do you know that I already have a scribbled note to myself about a teaching idea--scribbled on a Starbuck's cup wrap? It's in the file!
- Samples of Original Lessons: Well, when you develop an idea, stick a copy of your notes and the finished product in this file. You have been creating things from scratch for a while now. The Treasure Trove box jus give you a place to store the lesson so you get recognized for your genius.
- Sample of Lesson or Unit Plan: At some point in the summer, I evaluate the outcomes of a unit I have developed from scratch. After several uses, I tend to know if it's a keeper or a tosser. I fine-tuned a unit last school year, added some new material to match the new standards and spiced up the graphics for a few activities. I put printed the revised unit and put it in the file. If I don't add anything else, I am sure the unit will look great when my principal pulls it out to examine the materials to check content, method, and student engagement. To be on the safe side, I did create additional pocket folders for First Semester and Second Semester.
- Course Syllabus (Duh! That's easy--after you have made necessary updates.)
- Substitute Lesson Plan (I know I am going to be at the Virginia Middle School Association's annual conference in late October/early November. I also know that Friday is Computer Lab Day, so I can create a great lesson plan for my substitute teacher to use. I can do that lesson plan during the summer and have it ready. OR it is possible to create an emergency substitute lesson plan in case I have an unplanned absence. That kind of lesson plan can go in this folder as well.
- Annotated Learning Objectives: I can get a start on this one. I always do three activities to get students all fired up when they come back to school. Because this is the instruction time I set aside for getting to know students, I know I can generate a list of learning objectives (boldface text) and then write about why I do these activities, why I use chose them, how they build a sense of family in the classroom, and give me insights into new students who know each other but don't know me. Building relationships is a cornerstone in student achievement. Anyone wanting to see my three fun activities to build classroom community may contact me. Most teachers have their favorite kick-off activities, and I don't mean to mess with that.
- Classroom Rules: I find that I have to work on these from time-to-time so that my expectations are worded in a way that is understood. While I do have the basic list on a piece of posterboard, my absolute way to get the rules across is a giant handprint poster I made. I cut the hand out and wrote "Please do not dis-" in the palm. The fingers have the five dis-words...disrespect, disrupt, disobey, dispute, and disappoint. Anyway, it is very easy to create a Classroom Rules handout or to take a picture of your poster! Get it done and stuff it in the file now. Don't wait for the school year to start.
- Student Survey: We are asked to do one at the beginning and end of the eyar as a minimum. I do lots of little surveys all year long, but I love the beginning one because it has questions that are designed to disarm a student who has had a bad experience in. English Language Arts is tough enough without having to worry about what might have gone wrong one or two years ago. I want to know what the attitudes are. I also use surveys to assess what a student knows about a topic, mostly because I get tired of pre-tests.
- Behavior Plan Explanation: It is very important to explain how discipline works in the school as well as in your classroom. There is school policy, but when it comes to controlling the behavior in your classroom, you have to spell things out so you are not "what-if"ed to death! Basically, I explain that I am queen of the classroom. In the end, it's up to me to decide what to do with an ill-behaved student. Even if I send a student to the office, that student has to do community service in my classroom as restitution for whatever disrupted class. Restitution comes in many forms...filing leftover handouts in folders and putting them in the filing cabinet, punching holes in future handouts, helping another student catch up on missed work after being absent, helping maintain records for the classroom library. I quip, "If you want to do one of those jobs, don't act up. Just ask me." The most difficult thing my students have to handle is that there is a difference between a mistake and choice. Mistake means you didn't realize what you did was wrong. A choice infers that you knew it was wrong and did it anyway. Choices have consequences! Whatever your philosophy and behavior plan is, make sure you create a document for your students and parents to sign and return for your files. It will be worse than a mistake if you don't!
- Schedule of Daily Routine: Teachers know about this one, but because we memorize all the times and routines, it rarely crosses our mind to include information on routine in our teacher evaluation files. In my mind, there are two important aspects to document. First, there is the bell schedule. Put that in there. Now, spend some time on this aspect of the daily routine because it can save you some time in lesson planning! There are specific daily tasks that students perform. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there are two daily tasks. On Fridays, I do something entirely different from the other days of the week, so it is important to take all these facets into account. By providing a schedule for daily routine, a teacher could (with permission of the paperwork-burdened administrator) could include a copy of the schedule of daily routine to go with the nitty gritty lesson plan for specific dates. If you take this option, make sure you include the rationale for line items in the daily routine. By doing so, you no longer have to itemize them on the lesson plan. An elaborate annotated daily routine document will streamline up to a third of your detailed lesson plan. That adds up to hours of time!
- Other Information on Classroom Environment: Discussing your classroom environment has to do with the condition of the classroom as a physical place, the condition of the furnishings, and the atmosphere of the whole setup. Is your room safe and friendly? What does the furniture arrangement say about your teacher style? What do you have on the walls and in the bookcases? There have been years that parents comb through the room looking at every nook and cranny. I've even had comments on the quality of the electric pencil sharpener that is located near the light switches and trash can. One of the most important influences on the classroom environment is the teacher's mood. What if there is drama in the hallways that comes into your classroom? How do you set the tone? There are lots of issues that can impact what kids learn on any given day, so the consistency of classroom environment is very important. What stability do you offer? What is important to you? How can kids tell (in nonverbal representations) what matters most?
- Professional Development: I have three folders--Summer PD, 1st Semester PD, 2nd Semester PD. I can whip the summer professional development activities off just like that. I put all the backup in the folder and make sure I have entered activities on a chart that I created using Word. This sure does make life easier, and when I get this task done, I can model it for others.
- Academic Goals for the Beginning of the School Year: It is not too early to write your academic goals for the upcoming school year. Write it as a DRAFT or as a journal entry, and put it in your Treasure Trove. When you see that testing data and take a hard look at your newest crop of students, you should have a fair idea of where you are and where you need to get to by the end of October. We are talking about generalities here--not specifics. If you generalize on a graphic organizer, it will be easier to narrow down the finer points at the start of the school year. It's like planning when to get your hair cut and when to visit the dentist. You don't go on the same day you decide to have work done, right? Your biggest goal for yourself should be to not panic about all the work. In most cases, you are doing it in you head or penciling brief notes in your plan book. Think of it as a brain dump. Then dump a lot...often.
In the end, griping and complaining about the teacher evaluation didn't do any good. It's still here. What we need to do is figure out ways to work the evaluation system so that we are no longer burdened. We need to help each other document what we do. We have to do this on our own time, of course, for we do not want to sacrifice what little time we have in the day to get some sleep at night.