Staff Evaluation in Early Childhood Settings Connecting Observation to Professional Goals and Child Outcomes Jean Ubbelohde (Millard Public Schools) Patti.

Staff Evaluation in Early Childhood

Settings

Connecting Observation to Professional Goals and Child

OutcomesJean Ubbelohde (Millard Public Schools)

Patti Drewes (Papillion-La Vista School District)

Session ObjectivesO Participants will understand formative and

summative staff observation/evaluation in early childhood settings

O Participants will discover what to look for during formative and summative observations

O Participants will identify post-observation questions that will assist staff with the development of professional goals that link directly to child and family outcomes

Evaluation Cycle

Summative EvaluationO Summative Evaluation is an evaluation used to

arrive at a rating on each standard, an overall rating, and as a basis to make personnel decisions

O The summative evaluation includes the

evaluator's judgments of the educator's performance against performance standards and the educator's attainment of goals set forth in the educator's plan

O Summative evaluation is something done “to” the staff member

Summative EvaluationO The State of Nebraska has approved two specific

frameworks for observation Marzano and Danielson

O Both provide Nebraska Administrators a framework for what teachers should know and skills they should demonstrate to impact student learning

O Administrators not familiar with early childhood settings may have difficulty applying the frameworks in meaningful ways during summative observations and in subsequent summative evaluation conversations with staff

Meaningful Summative Evaluation in Early Childhood Settings:

O Evaluator needs to understand “quality” in early childhood settings

O Tool/Resources for understanding quality

Evaluation Cycle

Developing and Supporting Quality Early Childhood Staff

O Summative Evaluation is important—the ongoing review and support for staff can make the greatest impact with children and families

O Formative Evaluation is the process used to assess progress towards attaining goals set forth in educator plans, performance on performance standards, or both.

O This process is ongoing and may take place at any time(s) during the cycle of evaluation.

O Some Districts require “walk through” or brief observations of staff members engaging in instruction and/or other duties

Formative EvaluationO Teacher growth and improvement of

pedagogical skills should be valued to a greater degree than competence

O Why do we need to know what to “look for” in early childhood settings?O We are not effective coaches when we

don’t know what quality looks like in the first place!

Formative EvaluationO Formative evaluation is done “with”

the staff member through coaching and supportive conversation

Growing the Skills of your Early Childhood Staff

OGrowth Occurs through:OTeacher self-reflectionOTeacher self-observationOObservational data from

coaching, walk through, AND previous summative evaluation

OReflective/supportive questioning

Walk Through Observations in Early

Childhood SettingsOLogistically challenging: community settings, home settings

OPrincipals/Administrators may have multiple responsibilitiesO Not as familiar or comfortable with early

childhood settings

Suggested “Look For’s”OClassroom environment

OClimate: Child/Adult

Interaction

OHome/Community Settings and Team Meetings

Quick “Look Fors” Home Setting and Team

MeetingsCommunication and interactions are respectful and warm 

Staff member asks open- ended questions or follow-up questions

Staff member links previous home visit (and learning) to current visit.

Staff member follows parent and child lead in family activities & routines

Staff member is flexible and goes along with parent/child ideas and interests.

Staff member and parent are relaxed and parent shares information, problems or concerns openly.

Staff member is respectful and shows acceptance of the family system.

Staff member encourages parent/child interactions

Staff member models engagement in activities to encourage interest and expand involvement.

Staff member uses materials already in the home (not materials brought into the home by provider) to promote parent child interactions.

At the end of the visit, staff member summarizes the session and gives the parent strategies to use in the coming weeks.

There are back and forth exchanges between staff members/parent.

In team meetings, concerns regarding individual children are brought to the team for problem solving.

In team meetings, professional collaboration/problem solving is the norm.

In team meetings, mutual respect is evidenced by:Active listeningStaff member is open to ideas 

In team meetings, an agenda is provided and scheduling of evaluations/IFSPs is not the dominating topic.

Quick “Look Fors” Community Childcare

SettingCommunication and interactions are respectful and warm 

Staff member asks open- ended questions or follow-up questions

Staff member links previous community visit (and learning) to current visit.

Staff member follows staff or child lead in activities & routines

Staff member is flexible and goes along with staff/child ideas and interests.

Staff member and childcare staff are relaxed and childcare staff shares information, problems or concerns openly.

Staff member is respectful and shows acceptance of the family system.

Staff member encourages childcare staff/child interactions

Staff member models engagement in activities to encourage interest and expand involvement.

Staff member uses materials already in the center (not materials brought into the center by provider) to promote childcare staff/child interactions.

At the end of the visit, staff member summarizes the session and gives the childcare staff strategies to use in the coming weeks.

There are back and forth exchanges between staff members/childcare staff.

So you did a Walk Through…Now What? Reflective Questions

Add reflective question sheetWHEN Ongoing Fall Checkpoint

Due 10/31/14Winter CheckpointDue 2/14/15

Spring CheckpointDue 5/31/2015

QUESTIONS TO ASK What reports have you run in GOLD to help guide your instruction? How does your PLC use reports from GOLD? What modifications have you made to your classroom environment based upon your last ECERS-R observation? What methods of data collection do you find most useful?  When a child demonstrates a weakness in one of the domains, what resources do you find helpful when coaching aparent/childcare provider?

How did you utilize the entry data for one your newly verified children?  

What patterns of strengths/weaknesses show in the fall checkpoint data? When looking at the Class Profile Report, how have you adjusted your instruction? When your team reviewed the OSEP entry scores, do you have confidence in the data?  

Which students are performing below age expectations? What other data do you have to show progress with students who are performing below age expectations? What patterns do you see in the data? What have been areas of growth thus far? What areas continue to be a challenge? What are some steps you plan to take to address those challenges? What are your hunches as to why XXX area of development (or student name) is below expectations?

What were the greatest areas of growth this year? What might your indicators be that you are successful? What reports in GOLD did you find helpful when coaching families andchild care providers? What percentage of students met or exceeded expectations in each domain on the Widely Held Expectation report? Based upon the Widely Held Expectation report, what are your thoughts on a professional goal for the next school year? 

GOLD REPORTS TO USE   Widely Held Expectations Report

Individual Child Report Class Profile Snapshot Report Alphabet Knowledge Number Concepts Shapes

Performance & Growth Reports Growth Report Individual Child Report Class Profile Alphabet Knowledge Number Concepts Shapes

Performance & Growth Reports Growth Report Individual Child Report Class Profile Alphabet Knowledge Number Concepts Shapes

REPORTS FOR ADMINISTRATORS TO USE IN GUIDING CONVERSATIONS

    Comparative Report Comparative Report Kindergarten readiness Report OSEP Entry/Exit score report SOSR Data Summary

So you did a Formal Observation….Now What?

Formative Conversation - Coaching

Coaching sheet add inPrompts Environment Teacher-Child/ Child-

Child InteractionsActivities Behavior Management

I saw…. I thought…. I saw X, what do you think…. How do you think….. What might you change….

I thought the way you arranged the children at circle time facilitated peer interactions and overall attention. How do you think the classroom set up encourages peer play? I saw that the children seemed to be lost in the center of the room. What might you change about the classroom set up to help in this area?   

I saw many great examples of positive expectations in the classroom. I thought the way you interacted and conversed with the children demonstrated a positive relationship. How do you think the peer interactions are going? I saw some peer aggression occur. What do you think could help to stop this behavior?  

I saw a long time spent on transitions. What could you do to help make transitions faster or more efficient? I thought the way you had the materials on hand and ready to be used really helped with managing the routine. The children seem to have a good understanding of the routine.  What might you change about the transition from center time to table activity?

I saw that your classroom rules are posted. How often do you review these with the children? I saw great use of proactive skills to manage behavior.  I saw children demonstrating undesired behaviors during transitions. What could you do to help make transitions more successful?   

Evaluation Cycle

Data Sources to Set Professional Goal

O Teaching Strategies GOLDO CLASSO ECERSO Ages and StagesO Get it, Got it, Go.O What else is being used?

Difficulties with Data Sources

O Difficulty is in creating appropriate growth targets that are rigorous but realistic

O Lack of appropriate assessments is also a barrier

O Data points are not frequent enough

Professional GoalsContinuous Improvement

O IDEAL Goal process—incorporate formative observation dataO Identify: Staff monitor assessment dataO Describe: Data is used to identify

strengths/weaknessesO Evaluate: Ideas generated improve teaching

and learning for allO Act: Actions/strategies are evidence basedO Learn: Professional Learning is aligned with

child outcomes—know what works/what didn’tMueller, M. & Hanson, R. (2014). Leading in learning: Nebraska district nets

success with evidence-based learning, Journal of Staff Development, 35(4), 56-59.

School District Mathematic

sPLSD # of

Children

% Met or Exceeded

3 Year Olds

66 68.2%

4 Year Olds

208 94.8%

2013-2014 End of Year

School District Mathematic

s

PLSD # of Children

% Met or Exceeded

3 Year Olds

48 60.5%

4 Year Olds

218 85.3%

2012-2013 End of Year

School District Mathematics

PLSD # of Children

% Met or Exceeded

3 Year Olds (2012-13) 48 60.5%

4 Year Olds (2013-14)Spec Ed Only

62 83.8%

Special Education Cohort (3 year olds who qualify for special ed 2012-2013 move up to

4 year olds who qualify for special ed 2013-2014)

Identify (at least 2 common data sets): GOLD Comparative Report (3 and 4 year olds), OSEP end of year report

Describe (briefly) what students’ outcomes in these data sets are telling you:

Widely Held Expectations:Preschoolers have made gains in the area of mathGap exists between 4 years with and without disabilities Cohort data showed improvement with children with disabilities across a two year period.

OSEP Data2013-2014: Acquiring and using knowledge and skillsDistrict exceeded state targets for SSI (68.4) and SSII (75%)

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E: Evaluate (pose questions that address concerns about students’ outcomes/adult actions)

A: Act (strategies, activities, interventions) to improve the quality of instruction that will impact student learning) 

1) Does the amount/type of

documentation in GOLD make a difference in the quality of the assessment results?

  2) Do we need a more

standardized CSA/assessment across settings for children ages 3-5?

  3) Do we need to

implement intervention groups to address deficits in math? How do we identify students for intervention?

Discuss GOLD observation and documentation strategies in PLC by end of September 2014. Discuss methods for gathering documentation (e.g. sources of information)

  Discuss GOLD scoring rubric/revisit reliability and

consistency of scoring among teachers/providers. Compare checkpoint data/scoring following Fall checkpoint (share documentation/compare/discuss scores during PLC)

  Develop CSA, cut scores, and timeline for

administration in the area of math skills by the end of first Semester 2014-2015

   Implement intervention groups (e.g. Teaching

Preschool and Kindergarten Math, Math Right from the Start) during 2014-2015. Provide training to staff regarding interventions—fidelity)

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Millard Example—Teacher/Classroom Level

O 100% of students will demonstrate knowledge of number concepts and operations by moving one or more level higher on the Gold continuum (objective 20/dimension C) by April 1, 2015

 O All children will demonstrate comprehension of language

by advancing one or more levels on all literacy objectives in GOLD by April 1, 2015

 O All children will meet or exceed the Widely Held

Expectations in all 5 domains by April 1 2015 O Classroom staff will demonstrate application of language

modeling by scoring a score of 6 on the CLASS assessment by March 2015

 O Classroom staff will demonstrate application of scaffolding

by adapting lessons/materials and language level and achieving a score of 6 on the Quality of Feedback (CLASS) by March 2015

Evaluation Cycle

Key Take AwaysO Work with building principals to

support the evaluations of early childhood teachers

O Utilize tools to support your current teacher evaluation system

O Provide staff development to building principals on systems utilized in early childhood setting (e.g., CLASS, ECERS, GOLD, BDI)

O Use coaching and reflective questions to aid in developing current staff

ResourcesO Teacher Evaluation Support Document: PreK & K Barlas, C.,

Blanton, J., Bocchetti, M., et. al. (2013). NJ’s workgroup on teacher evaluation evidence, teacher evaluation support document: PreK & K. Retrieved from http://www.state.nj.us/education/ece/eval/Evidence.pdf

 O CEELO Annotated Bibliography: Selected Resources to

Support Early Childhood Teachers in State Educator Evaluation Systems http://static.coreapps.net/idio2014/handouts/bea98dd77cc01e8733eb1969280a6c91_3.pdf 

 O Center on  GREAT TEACHERS & LEADERS at American

Institutes for Research http://www.gtlcenter.org/ O Evaluating Specialized Instructional Support Personnel

http://www.gtlcenter.org/sites/default/files/EvaluatingSpecializedInstructionalSupportPersonnel.pdf

O The CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) http://teachstone.com/the-class-system/

Questions/ConclusionO Thank you for your efforts to strengthen

and improve quality instruction for our youngest learners!

O Have a great school year! Your feedback is always appreciated!

Patti Drewes ([email protected])Jean Ubbelohde ([email protected])