As the standards movement has taken hold, standards for teaching have been far less visible than content standards. Yet identifying the elements of good teaching can be "an extraordinarily powerful influence" in improving teacher performance, said Tom McGreal, professor of educational administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and co-author (with Charlotte Danielson) of Teacher Evaluation to Enhance Professional Practice.
Tom McGreal
There is growing consensus on what constitutes effective teaching, McGreal said, as reflected in landmark books such as Classroom Instruction That Works by Robert J. Marzano, Debra J. Pickering, and Jane E. Pollock. The education profession has developed a clear picture of what good teachers do, he said. "There is a set of basic teaching skills that we have a right to expect every teacher to demonstrate for us."
There is growing consensus on what constitutes effective teaching, McGreal said, as reflected in landmark books such as Classroom Instruction That Works by Robert J. Marzano, Debra J. Pickering, and Jane E. Pollock. The education profession has developed a clear picture of what good teachers do, he said. "There is a set of basic teaching skills that we have a right to expect every teacher to demonstrate for us."
The East Grand Rapids (Mich.) Public Schools, for example, have teaching standards that address (1) the classroom environment, (2) preparation and planning, (3) instruction, (4) assessment, and (5) communication and professional responsibilities. Weighting the standards—putting an asterisk next to the ones that are really essential—can give administrators the support and courage to confront the issue when teachers fail to meet those expectations, McGreal said.
He recommends a three-track system for teacher evaluation. In the first track, probationary teachers (novices and teachers new to the district) are formally evaluated—through classroom observations and portfolios—to ensure that they have a solid grasp of the fundamentals of teaching.
In the second track, teams of experienced teachers write long-term professional development plans that are driven by building or district initiatives. "Individual teacher interests are no longer an acceptable guide for staff development," he said. "Every plan has to be approved by the principal, and there has to be a product."
The third track is for teachers who are struggling. In East Grand Rapids, this track is designed to provide targeted staff development to teachers who are unable to meet the expectations set forth in the district's teaching standards. After a teacher is put on notice, a specific plan for improvement is developed. If the teacher's performance fails to improve, a disciplinary phase begins.
This kind of evaluation system conveys the message that inadequate performance will no longer be tolerated, McGreal said. "We've let [poor teachers] ride through the system for years," he noted. New evaluation systems are much more aggressive in pushing principals to identify teachers whose skills need improvement.