This post is not about Value-Added Teacher evaluations. I could, and may, write a another post about that. This post is about a workshop that I attended that was put on by Battelle for Kids and how it changed my thinking about my teaching and my life. So if you are reading this and you are not a teacher just bear with me to the end, and you may be challenged as well.
I saw a tweet about a workshop to share some of the practices of Highly Effective Teachers as identified by the research done by Battelle. I have to be honest here. I really wanted to hate Battelle for Kids. We are constantly hearing about how education is broken and needs fixed. This whole Value-Added movement just seems like one more thing to throw at us to break us down. Little did I know that this movement seems to be more about accentuating the positives. I think we could use more of that in all areas of our lives, not just in the teaching profession.
First of all the research method used by Battelle was Appreciative Inquiry. Simply stated, Appreciative Inquiry is a type of research that looks at what is good about something and how we can get more of it. Makes sense, huh? Basically their research found that Highly Effective Teachers positive behaviors fall into 4 categories. Student-Centered, Continuous Improvement, Stability and Goal Orientation. I scored high in the Student-Centered and Continuous Improvement categories. That was not surprising to me. I thought that is where I would fall. For the final part of the workshop, we were put into groups and asked to "stretch" into the categories that we did't score high in.
I loved this. I love that we were challenged to think outside of ourselves. I am going to be thinking about this for a long time. I will be challenging myself to think about how I can put more stability into every lesson this week and beyond. The research revealed that Highly Effective Teachers have a balanced approach to teaching. I think many teachers would that they take a balanced approach. The fact is that we all have to "stretch" ourselves from time to time. Not just teachers, but as parents, spouses and friends. We need to stretch ourselves into the areas that we need to improve. So I challenge you to first identify the area you need to "stretch" into. Then challenge yourself to live in that area over time and everyday because it can help you be a Highly Effective Teacher, Principal, Husband, Wife, Father, Mother or Whatever.
