Project Description (Draft 4/25/08)
1. Project Idea
Improving teacher fidelity of practice.
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Student performance is tied directly to teacher performance
Students are motivated and inspired by good teaching
Students benefit and learn more from good teaching
Students are more motivated and learn more when teaching is relevant to their
current or future lives/careers/interest
What is the Issue or Problem?
Teacher Isolation
 Teachers rarely interact with other teachers on a professional level
 Teachers and administrators rarely interact with each other on a professional level
(curriculum, daily lessons, new innovations or programs)
 Teachers are unaware of how their classroom environment, evaluations, and
student performance compare to others within/outside of their own school
 Administrators spend a large amount of time discussing initiatives and directives,
but teachers rarely benefit from these discussions
o Schools of Study
o Core Content
o Best Practice Instruction
o Technology
 Administrators only see teachers teaching when they are officially evaluating
them during their observation schedule
 Administrators constantly have to make decisions based on the performance of
teachers, but we usually have to rely on hearsay and reputation
How will you know if the changes/interventions did work?
Design a program which does the following:
 Places and tracks administrators in teachers rooms on a regular basis
 Encourages teacher-administrator conversations on the professional level
 Involves more teachers in leadership roles
 Supports teachers in comparing their performance and the performance of their
students to others within and outside of the school
Note: Why work together? – Mr. Sapp and Mrs. Banta have the unique opportunity
to directly impact a school using some of the methods above. This is a real work
situation, because any school wishing to replicate would have at least two people
working together for improvement.
Inquiry: Habits of Mind
This strand is related to Signature Pedagogy#1
Identifying and solving the right problems.
Construct #1
[Critique existing qualitative and quantitative research across disciplines.]
 Critiquing research related to teacher fidelity.
 Meta-analysis of research related to teacher fidelity.
Construct #2
[Critique existing qualitative and quantitative research across disciplines]
 Student performance is tied directly to teacher performance
 Students are motivated and inspired by good teaching
 Students benefit and learn more from good teaching
 Students are more motivated and learn more when teaching is relevant to their
current or future lives/careers/interest
Construct #3
[Collect, analyze and interpret appropriate data to solve organizational challenges]
 Drop ins
 Surveys
 Teacher/parent/student surveys
 Related school data, i.e. Grade distribution, discipline, Standardized test data,
community data
 Safe Schools survey
Construct #4
[Analyze and evaluate educational processes, programs, policies, and institutions in order
to lead improvement initiatives]
 Site base policies
 Administrative behavior
 Advisor/advisee groups
 Vision team meetings
 District policies
 School improvement plan
Construct #5
[Provide recommendations and solutions that are grounded and will lead to improved
student learning]
Design a program which addresses the following:
 Places and tracks administrators in teachers rooms on a regular basis
 Encourages teacher-administrator conversations on the professional level
 Involves more teachers in leadership roles
 Supports teachers in comparing their performance and the performance of their
students to others within and outside of the school
Action: Habits of Hands
This strand is related to Signature Pedagogy #2
Being able to get work done within a variety of communities
Construct #1
[Understand theories and research of student contexts (psychological, family, cultural)
and implement them to impact student achievement]
 Positive change in teacher behavior will change student learning.
 Teachers will examine student work under the guidance of administration.
Construct #2
[Understand theories and research in teaching and learning and implement them to impact
student achievement]
 Teacher behavior changes when expectations are set and monitored.
 Teachers will meet regularly and review and discuss student work.
Construct #3
[Understand theories and research of leadership and organizational culture and behavior
(vision, instruction, management, leadership) and implement them to impact student
achievement]
 Each administrator will visit each classroom weekly for a minimum of 5 mins
 Tracking instrument will be used to document the visits
 Teacher specific data will be collected, analyzed and discussed on a regular basis.
 Each teacher will meet for one hour with administrators in the summer to
individualize strategies for improvement in the classroom.
Construct #4
[Employ strategies of engagement, support-building, communication, psychology,
motivation, and marketing to explain issues to others and garner support]
 Research, data, teacher collaboration will be emphasized in Faculty meetings –
Professional development, meaningful conversation
 Practice also used for Teacher Union, Parental meetings and Central Office.
Advocacy: Habits of Heart and community
This strand is related to Signature Pedagogy #3
Being a change agent for social justice.
Construct #1
[Use education to promote ethical decision making]
 Intervene with teachers who need additional support to achieve standards
 Application of policy equitably
 stewardship
Construct #2
[Use education to promote social justice]
 Educating students with IEP’s, using ILP’s to further student education.
 Gap analysis as part of the data examined
 Differentiated curriculum
Construct #3
[Demonstrate stewardship of the profession]
 Be ambassadors of the pedagogy
 Active members of the professional community – ie – presenting Capstone
projects.
Construct #4
[Demonstrate empathy and understanding of various points of view]
 In meeting with teachers, be sensitive to the differences in teaching styles and
culture
 Design and implementation of the program with input from teachers and students
Construct #5
[Demonstrate the capacity for lifelong learning through a natural curiosity and passion
for educational issues]
 Design and implementation will be constantly adjusted to meet the cultural
changes and modernization of the educational process
 Explore ways to implement this process in other situations, schools and
communities