Seeking leverage for support . . .

Today was one of those days that I was able to be in classrooms with principals, days that are energizing for me and that always result in much reflection on my part.  My goal is to support principals as they gather data and search for the one point of leverage to support teacher reflection and growth.  Our time together is spent sharing the data that we collected, referring to 5D+ and our learning target documents, and then discussing possible leverage points.  In this process, we discuss clarifying questions and make decisions on a course of action using the protocol below.

With experience, we are refining the process, gaining deeper understanding of 5D+, and increasing our capacity to support teacher growth.  We know that feedback is an essential component of growth and this protocol is designed to identify feedback that reinforces and feedback that leads to growth.  The process is easy to describe but more complex to implement effectively as there are many additional variables to consider before determining the leverage point for support.

I believe that through this process I am increasing my capacity to ask questions of principals and provide feedback that leads to meaningful interactions between them and teachers.  As we move into a new teacher evaluation model we must continue to grow in our capacity to support teacher growth and this is one process  supporting that growth.  Perhaps one of our principals or teachers receiving feedback would consider sharing their experience in a comment to this post.