Transforming Evaluations into Growth Opportunities - PBL Model School Principal | E6

Season #1

This episode features Josh Giebel, a former teacher at PBL model school CSA NewTech, and now principal, to discuss evaluations from an administrative perspective. After leaving to start a virtual school in the district, Josh was brought back to be principal after the previous principal retired. The school has a K-12 track within a larger district, with an established PBL focus.

As a teacher, Josh's "why" was to make a real difference in the lives of students and help them achieve their goals. As a principal, his "why" includes wanting teachers to be successful and wanting the community to be proud of the school. He wants students to be "good humans" who interact with and give back to the community.

Evaluations in a PBL Environment

  • The district requires a minimum of two formal evaluations per school year.
  • Josh allows teachers to choose when they want him to come in for evaluations, and he also makes frequent classroom visits.
  • He begins the year with goal-setting conferences with teachers and revisits the goals during evaluations.
  • Formal observations last at least 45 minutes and are followed by a post-observation meeting within a week.
  • Josh seeks teacher feedback on what they want to learn from the evaluation process.
  • He observes for relationships, PBL elements, teaching practices, and the teacher's movement in the classroom.
  • He also asks students questions during evaluations.
  • Josh acknowledges that some days may look more traditional, and that is okay. He is also looking for PBL moves.
  • He encourages teachers to use PBL moves, such as "need to knows," even in traditional units.

District Evaluation Tool

  • The school uses the district's evaluation tool, which includes a custom rubric that was approved by the state.
  • 50% of the rubric is based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a district-wide initiative.
  • 25% comes from PBIS and relationship building, and the remainder from academic citizenship and student success.
  • New teachers receive onboarding from a mentor teacher or UDL facilitator to discuss the UDL portion of the rubric.
  • The school has developed checklists for learning walks that help teachers implement the rubric in a PBL classroom.
  • Josh notes that while the language may be different, the actions that make PBL great also align with the evaluation rubric.

Addressing Teacher Anxiety

  • Josh normalizes his presence by being in classrooms often.
  • He encourages teachers to invite him into their classrooms to showcase their work.
  • He emphasizes that one observation is not reflective of day-to-day work and that it does not need to be perfect.
  • He invites teachers to communicate about what they are trying to do.
  • He encourages teachers to share lesson plans with him to communicate what they are trying to accomplish.
  • He believes that teacher success leads to student and school success.
  • He sees evaluations as a way to help teachers get better, no matter where they are in their career.
  • Communication is key. He encourages teachers to communicate their goals and needs.
  • He emphasizes that asking for help does not mean a lower evaluation, as the goal is the same for teachers and administrators.

Encouraging Communication and Collaboration

  • Teachers can invite their principal into their classroom for feedback and advice.
  • Josh uses the tuning protocol and encourages its use. He invites teachers to invite him into this process.
  • He makes it a point to send notes after classroom visits, highlighting things he liked or including "wonders".
  • He asks a lot of questions to facilitate learning and reflection and to capture different views.
  • He sees evaluations as a learning process and a way to map teacher goals.
  • He views evaluations as a method to provide scaffolding and support.
  • He views it as a partnership between teacher and evaluator.

Final Thoughts

  • Transparency is important in the evaluation process.
  • Teachers should invite administrators in on days when they want specific feedback.
  • Evaluations should be collaborative and serve the teacher's growth and should be a partnership.
  • Teachers can ask their administrators to help them get better and can make their evaluations serve them.
  • Asking for help honors the principal and invites them to be a part of the learning process.

Call to Action

  • Consider evaluations as learning opportunities!
  • You can submit your Need to Knows at pblshare.com to be featured on the podcast.

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