School Improvement Network

Video Summary

Evaluation as a Form of Continuous Learning

From the Training Paraprofessionals program.
School Improvement Network, the leader in online professional development for educators, provides you with instant access to thousands of training videos through PD 360, the companys premiere PD platform. The following is an excerpt from a PD 360 video:
Evaluation as a form of continuous Learning for the paraprofessional provides ongoing support and growth. Jill Morgan, education consultant in Swansea, Wales, gives a presentation to an audience of professional educators, and discusses the evaluation process. A good professional approach here to the evaluation is to look at the positive aspects, she says. There are always things you can find to criticize. You can always find dust if you want to look for it. Lets take a positive approach to evaluation and supervision. Evaluation is a natural extension of classroom practice focused on improving services to students. Evaluation is important, Morgan asserts. Lets shift this to think about evaluation of students. And then well think about evaluation of adults. Why do we evaluate students? she asks. To see their progress, answers an audience member. Yes, says Morgan, who writes See their progress on a board behind her. So that evaluation tells us where the student is and therefore where we go next with the student, where to take them next, doesnt it? she asks. And after weve taught or re-taught as you say, if theyve not understood, what do we do then? Evaluate again, an audience member says. We evaluate them again, repeats Morgan, to see if we can take them to the next step in the learning process. Okay? So weve got this cycle, havent we, of teaching a little, check if the students have understood, or evaluate the students understanding, teach, evaluate, teach, evaluateand thats just a process that we go through minute by minute in the classroom. Give me some ways that we evaluate students. Observation, an audience member offers. Observation, Morgan repeats, writing the word on the board. Point sheet, check list, we have it all, says another audience member. So you may have some sort of check list against which youre evaluating the student, Morgan interjects. These are the things we wanted to know or want them to do. Is she doing them? Does she know them? A written test, says a woman in the audience. You may give a written test, okay, Morgan affirms. Formal testing, a man in the audience adds. Formal testing. Such as what? Jill Morgan questions. Norm reference tests. Those formal standardized tests that you have to give students periodically. Performance based. Like a project, or a report, or an activity, where they have to show to a specific rubric, states a woman in the audience. Conference with the parents to see if theres been improvement at home, adds another woman. You discuss the students progress with parents, Morgan nods as she writes the audiences answers on the board. Have they seen changes, an audience member offers. Okay, agrees Morgan. Or even with the student themselves. Yes? You might talk to the student. Do questioning, says a woman in the audience. Okay. Questioning, Morgan writes as she continues to direct the discussion. Okay, so we have a written test but we also might have oral tests of different sorts. Right?

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Video Summary

Evaluation as a Form of Continuous Learning

From the Training Paraprofessionals program.
These methods that we use for evaluating students can they be used by a teacher to evaluate a paraprofessional. Can the teacher observe the paraprofessional? Yes, of course they can. But do you know weve had teachers say to us no. I never observe my paraprofessional. They work in the same classroom. No. No. No. And should the teacher be observing the paraprofessional? Yes, Jill Morgan answers her own question. Of course. Thank you. Because its a critical part of supervision. Paraprofessionals should you be offended by being watched? No, not at all. In fact you should be pleased that your teacher is interested enough in what youre doing that theyre watching you and theyre taking note of you. Okay? Thats got to be understood, doesnt it, as part of professionalism and part of the need for supervision? Morgan asks the audience. Teachers must do it. Paraprofessionals need to accept it, but not just as an oh gosh, a necessary evil, but welcoming it as part of this process of the ongoing, continuing learning as an educator. In Redmond School District in Redmond, Oregon, observation is a key part of evaluation. Jill Morgan and Betty Ashbaker consulted with Barbara Garland and Sandy Bishop in Redmond, helping them to develop a paraprofessional training program. We developed three levels with number one training, which we call Para Educator Basic Training. And we developed certain topics that we felt were really important for them to know about. Some examples are roles and responsibilities, communication and communication styles, effective teamwork, human growth and development, behavior managementa variety of topics that in their job they need some knowledge of. The training model includes a specific observation component to help paraprofessionals apply and perfect what they learned. Special education teacher Kate Barker at the Redmond High School Transition Center worked with Barbara and Sandy to implement the model with the paraprofessionals she supervises. And we really did sit down, the three of us, and talk about their goals and what they would like me to observe, Barker explains. And then we all sat down together and talked about the observation. Its more of a lets look at what were doing and what were doing well, and what maybe we can improve on, instead of judgment, which so many people associate with an evaluation. This group of teachers and paraprofessionals at John Tuck Elementary in Redmond are reviewing their portfolios of professional development. And then we also had someone observe, which Joyce did mine, says Sherry Thrasher, EA ILS at John Tuck Elementary. This was a big help, because she could see where we needed help, and where we could change things, to make it better for the student and for us. Dr. Barbara Garland, psychologist in Redmond School District, explains the way that professional evaluations work in their schools. The other component is the evaluation component, she says. What they do, after they have the basic training in Level I, is they take post-tests and they collect that information. As they go through the teamwork training, we document the competenciesthe standards as they complete them. Then they develop a portfolio that contains letters of reference and the different sites theyve been trained in. At this point the portfolios are presented at the Board, and the Board actually takes the time to look at the portfolios that they developed. And our paraprofessionals receive a certificate of completion, which also is one of those No Child Left Behind components that has to be addressed. Tanya Toles, special education coordinator of professional development in Alpine, Utah, describes her districts evaluation process. Theyre evaluated for the most part by their direct supervisor, she says. The principal at the school is actually the person who is responsible to evaluate them, but most of our principals will ask the teachers working with them to do an evaluation. Its pretty much an exemplary/satisfactory/unsatisfactory kind of thing. And most of them are incredible at what they do, so they do very well.

School Improvement Network

Video Summary

Evaluation as a Form of Continuous Learning

From the Training Paraprofessionals program.
Jean Sacheli, lead elementary paraprofessional at Jefferson Avenue Elementary Fairport, New York, talks about how evaluations occur in her district. There are three levels in the paraprofessional program standards, she says. Each one deals with something just a little bit different, but all of them require in-service hours. All of them require community activity in one way or another and a very high standard or record on your evaluation because youre evaluated each year by one of your supervisors. Most teachers or administrators are required to conduct formal evaluations of their paraprofessionals at least once per year. Jill Morgan talks about the importance of periodic evaluations. This is a wonderful example there of what we said about teach and evaluate. You get evaluated and then it teaches you something. You know and you make some changes and you get evaluated again and you make some changes according to the feedback you get. And then you get your final formal evaluation and youre ready for it. Tracey DeMay, special education teacher at Jefferson Avenue Elementary, describes the evaluation process in her district, and how frequently it takes place. Its a written form that we fill out, she says. Well get something from the administration giving us a brief update, letting us know how things are going and what needs to be improved. So, its more a written evaluation, but we do sit down and collaborate with the paras. And they say, you know this is whats going to be written down on paper, lets talk about it. This is a yearly evaluation. Observation is only one part of evaluating paraprofessionals, as Jill Morgan explains to her audience. Might you have a check list of some sort against which you check with your paraprofessionals with performance or behavior? she asks. Yeah? There wouldnt be any problem about that. Might there be a written test? No, says the audience. But there are written tests, Morgan says. There are written tests for paraprofessionals that are being developed, particularly in response to No Child Left Behind, which is requiring higher qualifications of paraprofessionals. And what about oral tests? Morgan continues. What do you do as a teacher thats like an oral test? You ask questions. You have conferences. Yes? You talk to each other as a teacher. You ask your para, hows so and so doing? What do you do when he misbehaves? What do you do to get the retention? How did you manage to get her to do okay? Might you give your paraprofessional a project or an activity to carry out and then see how they do? Yes? So evaluation is inevitable and its necessary, Morgan concludes. It happens anyway. Were constantly watching and collecting information arent we? Weve got our antenna going all the time to see whats going on. And as teachers youve got to do that. And as paraprofessionals thats fine. Youre watching the teacher. Dont tell me you dont watch them, because you do. You watch them to see how things should be done. How things can be done better. How does she get him to do that? How does she manage when that child will or wont do? Get the full video on PD 360 by signing up for a free 30-day trial. Would you like weekly strategy updates? Sign up for Strategy of the Week for fresh ideas sent straight to your email inbox. Segment length: 10:03