Summary Main Points of Articles:
The article Teacher Evaluation and the Problem of Professional Development examines professional development and its relationship to teacher evaluations. Smylie (2014) focuses his inquiry on two significant issues: the “weak link problem” and the “weak quality problem”. He identifies the weak link problem as the link between teacher evaluations and the lack of professional development opportunities provided to educators by schools and districts. The weak quality problem is described as poor quality professional learning that does little to improve teaching practices (Smylie, 2014).
Smylie (2014) details three recommendations that address the “weak link problem” and “the weak quality problem”. The goal of these recommendations is to improve the relationship between teacher evaluations and professional development. The first recommendation is “strengthen links to professional development within teacher evaluation systems” (Smylie, 2014, p.103). This recommendation explains that evaluations should be linked to professional learning that supports individual teacher growth and be provided to all teachers, not just beginning teachers and those who perform poorly. Secondly, Smylie recommends that the quality of …show more content…
At the elementary school where I am an Assistant Principal we have four self contained special education classrooms. Students in these classrooms have disabilities that range from moderate to profound. As a building leader and teacher evaluator I often struggle to provide the teachers in those classrooms with the same type of growth feedback that I provide to teachers in the general education setting. I can only imagine how administrators at middle and high schools feel when working with teachers in many different content
The article Teacher Evaluation and the Problem of Professional Development examines professional development and its relationship to teacher evaluations. Smylie (2014) focuses his inquiry on two significant issues: the “weak link problem” and the “weak quality problem”. He identifies the weak link problem as the link between teacher evaluations and the lack of professional development opportunities provided to educators by schools and districts. The weak quality problem is described as poor quality professional learning that does little to improve teaching practices (Smylie, 2014).
Smylie (2014) details three recommendations that address the “weak link problem” and “the weak quality problem”. The goal of these recommendations is to improve the relationship between teacher evaluations and professional development. The first recommendation is “strengthen links to professional development within teacher evaluation systems” (Smylie, 2014, p.103). This recommendation explains that evaluations should be linked to professional learning that supports individual teacher growth and be provided to all teachers, not just beginning teachers and those who perform poorly. Secondly, Smylie recommends that the quality of …show more content…
At the elementary school where I am an Assistant Principal we have four self contained special education classrooms. Students in these classrooms have disabilities that range from moderate to profound. As a building leader and teacher evaluator I often struggle to provide the teachers in those classrooms with the same type of growth feedback that I provide to teachers in the general education setting. I can only imagine how administrators at middle and high schools feel when working with teachers in many different content