This document provides tips and strategies for teachers to earn an "excellent" performance rating in their evaluations. It discusses key areas evaluators will assess such as classroom environment, instructional practices, assessment, reflection, professional responsibilities, and planning. Specific tips are given for engaging students, using questioning techniques, communicating expectations, conducting observations, providing feedback, and participating in professional learning communities. Teachers are encouraged to set high expectations, demonstrate content knowledge, use formative assessment, reflect on their teaching, and communicate regularly with families.

1. Tips For Classroom Teachers To
Earn “Excellent” Rating
Dr. Richard Voltz, Associate Director
Illinois Association of School
Administrators

3. Do you believe students of today
learn differently?
What effect has technology had on
student learning?
Are there more distractions today?

5. A Vision of Students
Today
Dr. Wesch Video

6. Teacher Quotes

7. “Teachers can no longer
afford to close their
doors and hope to ‘live
through’ their dog and
pony show every two
years.”

8. “If this is done
correctly, is will
improve every
teacher and student
achievement will
naturally increase.”

9. “We want to
understand how we
will be measured and
how we can achieve
excellence.”

10. “We don’t want this
to be about ‘got ya;”
we want it to be
about truly helping
people improve.”

11. Are some teachers
changing?

13. No more…

15. Increased observations

16. It needs to look more like a Gallop Poll,
random and 10 times per cycle.

17. What are the benefits of an
administrator visiting a
classroom frequently?

18. The more frequently a principal visits...
- The more accurate a picture of daily instruction
- The safer for teachers - accurate sampling
- The more thoughtful the feedback
- The better the quality of instruction

19. What are the detriments of
infrequent classroom
observations?

20. The less frequently a principal visits a
classroom...
- The more chance for an inaccurate impression
- The riskier for teachers - caught in a bad moment
- The more teachers do their own thing
- The more teachers get into bad habits

21. The more frequently a principal visits...
- The more accurate a picture of daily instruction
- The safer for teachers - accurate sampling
- The more thoughtful the feedback
- The better the quality of instruction

22. What are the detriments of
infrequent classroom
observations?

23. The less frequently a principal visits a
classroom...
- The more chance for an inaccurate impression
- The riskier for teachers - caught in a bad moment
- The more teachers do their own thing
- The more teachers get into bad habits

24. What you need to do to be rated

25. As an evaluator I expect
all teachers to…

26. Have high expectations
for all students
2b.

27. Manage classroom
procedures well
2c.

28. Manage student behavior
well
2d.

30. 3c: Engaged Learning

31. Danielson definition of
engaged learning…
The student is
intellectually engaged in
the work.

32. Think about this…if you were an
evaluator how would you record
evidence of student engagement?

33. Develop a definition of what
engaged learning looks like for your
subject, grade level and students.
Share this with your evaluator.

34. When a teacher is engaged in a
teacher centered activity how can
the evaluator record evidence of
student engagement?

35. 3c. Engaged Learning
• Virtually all students are engaged
• Students take initiative to modify a learning
task to make it more meaningful
• Students have extensive choice on how to
learn
• Students are involved in group work and
suggest modifications to grouping patterns
• Students have reflection and closure on the
lesson

36. Strategies
• Small group work without teacher
• Project based work
• Flipped classroom approaches
• Hands on assignments for students
• Labs
• Student decision on how to demonstrate
knowledge of lesson goal
• Use of group response strategies instead of
individual response strategies

37. Who says lecture is right
for all students?

39. Flipped Classroom
How does this work for all
learners?
Video

40. 5Essentials Questions
• This class really makes me think.
• I’m really learning a lot in this class.

42. 3b. Using Questioning & Discussion
Techniques
• Use open ended questions
• Encourage students to initiate higher-order
questions
• Use wait time to encourage (demand) all
students to participate
• Encourage students to ask questions
• Encourage students to answer other student’s
questions

43. It is the evaluator’s responsibility
to record all questions asked and
categorize by level of difficulty.
What does this mean for you?

44. 3b. Using Questioning and Discussion
Techniques
• If the teacher is checking for understanding,
try to use whole group responses
• Discussion occurs that allows students to talk
to one another without teacher mediation
• Teacher calls on students who do not
volunteer

45. 5Essentials Questions
• My teacher challenges me.
• I have to work hard to do well in this class.
• My teacher asks difficult questions on tests.
• My teacher asks difficult questions in class.

46. Respect & Rapport

48. 2b. Establishing An Environment of
Respect and Rapport
• Teacher demonstrates knowledge and caring
about students’ lives beyond school
• Teacher and students are uniformly respectful
to each other
• There is no disrespectful behavior
• Teacher greets students as they enter room
and makes contact with individual students
when leaving the room

50. What does having high
expectations for all students mean
for you?
How do you demonstrate this in
your teaching?

51. Do you ever think that
some students can’t,
won’t or don’t want to
learn?

52. What do you do about it?

53. 5Essentials
• My teacher helps me catch up if I am behind.
• My teacher is willing to give extra help on
schoolwork if I need it.
• My teacher notices if I have trouble learning
something.
• My teacher gives me specific suggestions
about how I can improve my work in this class.
• My teacher explains things in a different way if
I don’t understand something in class.

54. 5Essential Questions
• My teacher expects everybody to work hard.
• My teacher expects me to do my best all the
time.
• My teacher wants us to become better
thinkers, not just memorize things.

55. 5Essentials Questions
• I feel it is important to come to school every
day.
• I feel it is important to pay attention in class.
• I think that doing homework is important.
• I try hard to get good grades.
• This class really makes me think.
• I’m really learning a lot in this class.

56. Student Motivation
• I usually look forward to this class.
• I work hard to do my best in this class.
• Sometimes I get so interested in my work I
don’t want to stop.
• The topics we are studying are interesting and
challenging.

57. 3a. Communicating With
Students

58. It is critical that no
content errors are made
when communicating
with students.

59. Communicating with students
• Teacher points out possible areas of
misunderstanding
• Teacher states clearly what the students will
be learning not what they are to do
• Teacher uses metaphors and analogies to
explain content clearly
• All students understand the presentation
• Teacher invites students to explain the content

60. 3d. Using Assessment In Instruction

61. Formative Assessment
• Teacher is sophisticated and continuous in
monitoring student understanding during the
instructional process
• Teacher makes appropriate adjustments as
needed
• Feedback is specific and timely
• Students monitor their own understanding

62. Summative Assessment
• Students clearly understand what they are to
learn
• Teacher has a plan for those students who do
not learn and those who already know
• Teacher differentiates assessment
• Teacher takes into account needs of each
student
• Feedback is provided for all assessments

63. 5Essentials Questions
• I learn a lot from feedback on my work.
• It’s clear to me what I need to do to get a
good grade.
• The work we do in class is good preparation
for the test.
• The homework assignments help me to learn
the course material.
• I know what my teacher wants me to learn in
this class.

64. 4a. Reflection on
Teaching

65. Do you
engage
in
reflection
about your
teaching?

66. We learn by
thinking
about what
we do.

67. Reflective questions

68. “If you had a chance to
do it over, would you do
it the same or
differently?”

69. • What do you want students to
know and be able to do?
• How will you know if students
know and are able to do it?
• What will you do with students
who do not get it?
• What will you do with students
who already know it?

70. 4d. Participating in a
Professional Community

71. PLC
• Teacher regularly participates and leads
professional discussions
• Teacher has supportive and collaborative
relationships with colleagues
• Teacher volunteers

72. 4c. Communicating with
Families

73. Families
• Teacher communicates with families on a
regular basis
• Students develop materials to share with
parents about what is happening in class
• Teacher maintains accurate records
• Students maintain their own records and
share with families

74. Planning & Preparation
• Teacher demonstrates knowledge of content
• Teacher demonstrates knowledge of students
• Teacher teaches to district curriculum
• Teacher plans for differentiated instruction
• Teacher plans for questions
• Teacher predicts student stumbling blocks and
plans accordingly