01 : 757 (NET)
Dr. Cathryn Smith
2022-2023 (Term 2)
Supervisory Policy and Practice
Course Outline
Course Overview
01:757, Supervisory Policy and Practice, was another mandatory course in the Master of Education program that I completed in the winter of 2023. The purpose of the course was to engage current and future student leaders with the process of teacher evaluation and the role of a supervisor. Two textbooks were required for the course. The first, Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation, offered suggestions on how school leaders could observe, analyze, assess, and guide teachers in their building during a very busy workday (Marshall). The second, Learning-Focused Supervision, delved into the topic of leading teachers through learning-focused conversations, centred around the four stances of calibrating, consulting, collaborating, or coaching (Lipton & Wellman). The main focus of the course was how to complete teacher evaluations and support teacher growth and capacity building. Assignments included comparing Marshall’s teaching criteria descriptors to those found in our own division’s teacher evaluation guide, a presentation on a topic related to teacher evaluation, weekly reflections, and facilitating a learning-focused conversation and then evaluating our own abilities.
This was an incredibly useful course for many reasons. I work in the Pembina Trails School Division, which places a heavy emphasis on cognitive coaching, a process in which school administrators and teacher leaders build capacity of their team members through coaching conversations. A year before taking this class, I completed the cognitive coaching course through my division’s Leadership Development Program. There were a number of similarities between what I learned in that course and this class, giving me an opportunity to continue to practice and hone my skills with learning-focused conversations. Further to this, as someone who has only ever been formally evaluated once in my career, the idea of teacher evaluation is a bit foreign to me. My school division focuses on a teacher-led growth model in which individual teachers build their own growth plans for the year and connect with their administrators about their plan in place of formal evaluations. Only term teachers, or teachers requiring intervention, partake in the evaluation process. However, if I am to move into a vice principalship role in the next year or two, I know I will have to evaluate term teachers at some point. Therefore, this was a valuable course to take. I often found myself reflecting on how I might work with teachers in need of support and guidance. Following this course, I’ve also noticed that I move into a coaching stance far more often when working with teachers looking to solve an issue than I did before. The more I engage in this coaching practice, the easier it becomes.
Artifact 1
EXPLORING SELF-DIRECTED PROFESSIONAL GROWTH PRESENTATION
For this presentation assignment, we were asked to explore a topic of interest related to teacher evaluation and then create a brief, 5-slide power point presentation with recorded audio to share what we had learned. Please note, I have included the PDF version of the power point presentation, which does not include the recorded audio. However, the essence of the presentation remains. The goal of the presentation was to address a specific topic and explain why it is important to the field of education, identify three big ideas that our research uncovered, and discuss the implication of these ideas on school administrators.
One important aspect of teacher growth that was not addressed specifically in the course material was the idea of teacher-led growth models. I wanted to explore this topic in my presentation as this is the model my school division uses in place of traditional teacher evaluations. Because this is the model used in my division, I will certainly work to support many teachers with their professional growth plans as a future school administrator and wanted to familiarize myself with how to support teachers better with it. The literature on this topic was quite positive, with teacher-growth models being associated with high levels of teacher efficacy, increased access to meaningful and impactful professional development, and increased teacher flexibility. It was reassuring to see that my school division has embraced a model with so many positive connotations. I included this assignment as a reminder of the importance of supporting teachers with their growth. The “top down” approach of leadership is often not the best approach to take and research suggests that teachers learn best when they take part in professional development that is meaningful to them. As a program leader, I often ask how I can facilitate learning that I know will connect to teachers’ current needs and be meaningful for them. This also correlates with my strong connection to appreciative leadership, which I spoke of in a previous course.
Artifact 2
LEARNING-FOCUSED CONVERSATION ANALYSIS
One of the most impactful assignments in my Master of Education program was this self-analysis of a learning-focused conversation that I facilitated with a colleague. We were asked to engage in a 30-minute learning-focused conversation with someone in the field of education and use what we learned in our textbook, Learning-Focused Supervision (Lipton & Wellman), to help them solve a problem they were facing. The conversation was recorded so that we could watch it back and reflect on our strengths and weaknesses, using the textbook’s self-assessment tool. Upon reflection, we were asked to write an analysis of our strengths, weaknesses, and next steps when using learning-focused conversations in a leadership capacity.
I included this assignment because of how beneficial it was to engage in this process. It was already helpful to engage in a learning-focused conversation, which we had done a few times in class already. Every time I had a conversation with a classmate, I had to decide which of the four stances (calibrating, consulting, collaborating, or coaching) I would need to take to best support them. With each conversation, the process of choosing a stance and leading these interactions became easier and easier. The simple act of facilitating a learning-focused conversation on its own was already a great learning experience. However, by recording it so that I could watch it back after led to even more learning about myself and my abilities. To then analyze this conversation with the textbook’s self-assessment tool was an incredibly powerful opportunity. In many ways, watching myself back helped me realize that I was stronger at coaching conversations than I believed I was at the time. However, I was also able to recognize what I still needed to work on to improve and be a better leader as a result. Of all the assignments completed in this program, this was one of the most impactful. Its inclusion in this portfolio serves as a reminder to take the time to engage in more of these learning-focused conversations, seek out participants that will let me record them, and watch them back to see what next steps I can take to continue improving as a coach.
