Summer 2014 Training
The first training for the PE/PG systems is a course call Analyzing Teaching for Student Achievement. The course will be held in the Superintendent’s conference room at the Hawthorne School in Brunswick on August 11th and 12th and at Gray-New Gloucester High School on the 13th. The course will utilize two books: The Skillfull Teacher by Jon Saphier and Robert Gower as well as The Skillfull Leader III by Andy Platt and Caroline Tripp from Research for Better Teaching.
Between sessions all participants will be doing some reading to prepare for classes and class discussions. All writing submitted to the instructor will result in feedback from the instructor. The course will consist of examining inter-rater reliability as regards assessing teaching. Some videos will be viewed to discuss what participants can come to consensus as to just exactly what type of instruction is “good enough.” After the first 3 days of the course, there will be a focus on classroom observations, evaluations, and analysis of instruction by course participants at both districts. (Coaching Model). It is very important that each participant attend every session as we will need to have as much practice as possible in order to sharpen our observation/evaluation skills to become good evaluators. Like anything else, practice is important for improvement. The instructor requests that our Superintendent attend the first session so he can see what the course is all about and support our training.
Course Outcomes:
To influence the decisions teachers make in a classroom to enhance student learning.
Encourage people to develop a strong growth mindset and to have teachers and supervisors become more aware of how much all of us can grow and improve over time with concerted effort.
Develop solid understandings of “pedagogical outlines”; know what levers impact student learning.
Commitment to “high expectations” for all students.
Collect good data about teaching and learning for analysis.
Being able to effectively communicate both orally and in writing about our evaluations.
This course is now full.
Greg Bartlett Assistant Superintendent
Brunswick School Department
46 Federal Street
Brunswick, Maine 04011