Feedback as it relates to growing is KEY!

Good morning Mighty Manatees, 

Grace and I recently went to a very valuable training on inter-rater agreement (Marzano elements). We were trained on how to give informative feedback to drive instruction which ultimately produces student achievement. We spent hours digging into video footage- rating observations on the scales and rubrics, and taking accurate data collection notes that is pertinent to each element. We learned that your role in this process is very important, if not the most important. Our biggest take away from the training was learning how to script what we see and hear, and then share it with you can reflect on ways to enhance your teaching practices. 

As with anything, we have goals. You have student and grade level goals and we have goals as leaders. Goals within our district and goals with helping teachers learn and grow through valuable and reliable feedback. 

Our learning goals....
We will:

1. Be able to develop a common language and understanding of the elements and the research on which they are based upon. 
2. Be able to develop and refine our skills in observation and data collection during classroom visits. 
3. Be able to align teacher and student data with the appropriate elements included in the districts teacher evaluation instrument. Furthermore, leaders will be able to discern between high-impact and low-impact instructional behaviors. 
4. Be able to accurately rate teachers performance using the scales included in the instrument (inter-rater agreement)
5. Be able to plan and deliver feedback to teachers using conferencing strategies that reinforce effect teaching behaviors and increase the probability of influencing behavioral change. 

Marzano elements are no longer just used to evaluate teachers, they are MORE than that. Honestly, it should never have been viewed that way. The perception has been evaluation, but in reality it is used to teach. It's simply "good teaching." We are changing our views as it was meant to be: Learning, Teaching, and Evaluation. The expectation is that teachers use this to drive their instruction, it is a teaching tool. To understand teaching, one must understand learning. We have to learn what the elements mean and entail. What do they mean to you? What do they mean to your students? What do they mean to your classroom instruction? What do they mean to student success? What do they mean to getting an A? It's time to unpack the elements like we unpack the standards- dig deeper! Learning is knowledge of skills and strategies that help us be SUCCESSFUL! 

6 processes for influencing instruction

• A shared vision of quality student work
• Shared vision of quality instruction
• Sense of urgency for instructional improvement
• Effective monitoring and feedback on teaching and learning
• Frequent collaboration about teaching and learning
• Sit based, job-embedded professional development focused on strengthening instruction

Student’s achievement- what supports this?

• Quality of instruction (has a direct impact on student achievement)
• P and the P- People and Process
• Leadership- do not focus on structural changes, focus on instructional changes.

You are all leaders, you influence students' lives everyday. You encourage, motivate, and promote student achievement. Students come to school to gather, process, store, and retrieve information. They are learning how to learn. Effort plus attitude equals intelligence. We want them to take control of their learning like we do ourselves. They need to reflect on the process. Learning these elements is in our control. It's time we take control, we need to learn and reflect on the Marzano elements. As a school, we are going to move further to understand the elements to promote learning and growing. Yes, this will require time and effort, but in the end the outcome will be valuable.