QUESTION
Write a note on supervising the school environment
Course: School Administration and Supervision
Course code 8616
Level: B.Ed Solved Assignment
ANSWER
ANSWER
Supervising School Environment
Supervisors verify that teachers establish and maintain a
suitable learning environment. Therefore, each teacher should develop and
implement clear classroom routines and appropriate standards at the beginning
of each school year to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of their
students. This includes maintaining a clean, safe, and orderly learning
environment that includes the establishment of good work habits and discipline.
Teachers should post and communicate the classroom standards and procedures as
well as the consequences of misbehavior with students and their parents.
Students should show evidence of respect for the rules in the classroom and on campus. Teachers should strive to be fair, firm, and consistent as they
maintain effective student control in the classroom and uphold the rules
throughout the school. Teachers should refer students to support staff when
necessary to maintain the appropriate learning environment.
Administrators should ensure that appropriate behavior is
supported with regular and ongoing recognition and reinforcement activities.
Mutual respect among pupils, teachers, and staff should be evident on campus
and in classrooms. Everyone should work together cooperatively, communicate
with sensitivity, and utilize appropriate language. Administrators and teachers
should serve as role models for students in developing self-control, a sense of
responsibility, and attitudes of tolerance and sensitivity. Emergency
procedures should be reviewed with students and practiced regularly. In
addition, administrators should verify that materials and supplies that will be
needed in an emergency, including exit routes and student information, are
readily available.
Teachers should adjust the heating, lighting, and
ventilation to promote comfort. The classroom arrangement should make good use
of space, foster good study habits, and enable students to see and hear
instruction. The classroom should have attractive and appropriate visuals and
decorations that do not distract from learning.
Good home-school relationships help create a positive
learning environment and can be enhanced by regular communication. This can
include information on what is to be taught as well as the methods and
materials that will be used to achieve the objectives. Evaluators should check to
see that systems have been established to communicate with parents regularly regarding student progress. Parents should have opportunities for
classroom visitations as well as parent conferences. Teachers should make every
effort to promptly return parents' phone calls.
Here are a few Supervision Strategies e.g. Supervision of
instruction must be built on the observer's thorough understanding and in-depth
knowledge of instructional theory, not on a checklist of what should be in a
lesson.
Gathering data: Three main sources of information help
identify a teacher's competency include: observations, interviews, and
documents. Observations should include walkthroughs conducted on at least a
weekly basis. These brief visits, lasting only a minute or two, provide a quick
look at teacher performance and classroom environmental factors. Walk-throughs help identify ongoing patterns of behavior. An informal
observation is an unannounced visit lasting more than 10 minutes during which
the teacher's behaviors or classroom factors may be observed to document
consistent trends or patterns of behavior. The informal observation can be
followed by a written summary or conference with the teacher. A formal
observation is an announced visit lasting an agreed-upon amount of time. During
the observation, the administrator records what was said by the teacher and the
students. The formal observation also includes a pre- and post-conference and a
written summary. The summary includes a description of the conference,
observation, observer's judgments, and agreements or directions for changes in
teacher behaviors, activities, or classroom environment. Peer observation is
agreed upon by the teacher and peer and can be used to verify a trend or
pattern of behavior perceived by the evaluator.
Interviews are also a helpful source of information. They can include discussions with students to verify perceptions.
At times, parents request a conference to discuss their perceptions. In
addition, other members of the administrative team or classified employees who
are assigned to work in the classroom can be interviewed to provide their
perceptions.
The review of various types of documents can help identify trends or behaviors. These include written parent and student
letters or complaint forms. Individual pieces of students' work, folders, or
portfolio assessments that contain some samples of students' work also
provide helpful information on their achievement.
Documents should include both formative (ongoing assessment
measures) and summative measures (culminating assessment) including homework,
practice exercises completed in class, examinations, and student projects.
Teacher Conference: Conferences throughout the year provide
a means to communicate the evaluation of the teacher's performance. Decisions
shared during the conference are based upon the data collected through
observations, review of documents, and interviews that relate to the assessment
and evaluation of the teacher's ability to meet the requirements adopted by the
local district governing board. The conference should provide the teacher with
the means to change unsatisfactory behavior or options for enhancement of
performance. The conference should provide an opportunity to expand the
teacher's knowledge and concepts and reinforce his or her understanding of the
missions of the school. The pre-conference is held before a formal observation
and provides the administrator with the opportunity to obtain as much
information about the upcoming observation as possible.
Post-conferences can be collaborative, guided, or directive
in nature. Each type of conference is planned by the supervising administrator
to achieve a different goal. A collaborative conference is effective when the
teacher can identify problem areas, suggest alternatives, develop a
plan, and is ready and willing to grow professionally, needing little support.
This conference is designed to conclude with mutually determined follow-up
activities that will enhance the teacher's capabilities. The conference begins
with the teacher presenting an overview and analysis of the lesson that was
observed. The teacher identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson
while the administrator listens to the teacher's perceptions. The administrator
then verifies the teacher's perceptions and offers his or her own opinions.
After this mutual exchange, possible activities for the next steps are
discussed and the conference concludes with agreement on a final plan.
A guided conference is effective for teachers who have
difficulty identifying problem areas and alternatives to current practices and
need support to carry out the action plan. In addition, the guided conference
is effective with a teacher who has little or no difficulty identifying areas
that need improvement but is unwilling or not committed to making the necessary
changes. During a guided conference the principal must provide prompts to encourage the teacher's thinking, to allow the teacher freedom to
explore various possibilities, and to enable the teacher to make a commitment.
Planning the Conference: In preparation for the conference,
the administrator will need to review the data and identify the strengths and
areas of concern. The administrator should select only one or two behavioral
changes and the professional growth activity or activities that will have the
greatest effect on the learning for the largest number of students. These
selected areas will be the focus or objective of the conference. It will be
necessary to identify specific aspects of the data collected that support the
need for growth in these areas. It is helpful to formulate questions before the
conference that will help the teacher focus on these issues or clarify aspects
of the lesson for the administrator. The administrator should identify possible
resources and personnel that could assist in a follow-up plan before the
conference. The recommendations considered should be doable and reasonable
based on the teacher's readiness and the time available. The administrator
should select the type of conference collaborative, guided, or directive) and
prepare a conference outline. A good conference should last 30-40 minutes.
Longer sessions become an ordeal for both the teacher and the administrator. It
is the administrator's responsibility to have his or her thoughts
well-organized and to keep the conference on task so it can be completed promptly.
During the conference, the teacher and/or administrator
should cite purpose, strengths, and areas of concern concerning
supporting data. A follow-up plan with the desired specific outcome,
activities, and a summary of decisions should be developed.
The evaluation conference should be held at the close of the evaluation period or at the end of the year. The purpose of the conference is to communicate the teacher's rating based upon the SB 813 performance criteria adopted by the district and should include any commendations for exemplary performance. Additionally, the conference should provide an opportunity to expand the teacher's thinking and develop means to strengthen performance. The conference provides yet another forum to communicate and clarify the school's missions, goals, and values. The administrator prepares for the evaluation conference in much the same manner as other conferences.
The administrator
should review all the data collected to date, including conference memoranda
and data prepared during the evaluation period. He or she should determine the
teacher's ratings, commendations, and recommendations, and then prepare the
evaluation forms. In addition, the administrator should identify the objectives
that will have the greatest effect on student learning, recommendations for
improvement, methods of improvement and support, and a good timeline.
The administrator should select the type of conference (collaborative, guided,
or directive) and formulate questions that help guide the staff to review
specific areas of performance.
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