Articles

‘Evaluation alone will not improve practice. Productive feedback must be accompanied by opportunities to learn. Evaluations should trigger continuous goal-setting and […] can be used to stimulate meaningful professional learning as teachers set goals and pursue them with the assistance of administrators and colleagues’. Darling-Hammond, 99:2013)

‘Observation plays a fundamental role in the improvement of teaching and learning. It is the most exciting and dynamic engine for whole school renewal and change, and it’s a powerful way to inspire and motivate. Unfortunately, for many teachers […] observation is about as welcome as a poke in the eye with a sharp stick’ (Watson-Davies, 2009:5)

‘One serious shortcoming of teacher evaluation reforms is that they have often focussed on designing instruments for observing teachers, without developing the structural elements of a sound evaluation system’ (Darling-Hammond, 2013:ix)

In these two videos, Dan Humm Soriano and Loraine Kennedy discuss how appraisals are organised where they work.

In this article Karen Waterston discusses ideas and tools we can use to monitor teacher progress in the classroom.

This guide provides valuable information and suggestions on how to make formal observations effective and useful.