assessment and documentation - ccie.comccie.com/library_bw/8218400.pdf · try out what you see...

n seeing children by Deb Curtis

n documenting children’splay stories to enhancelearning by Stuart Reifel andShelley Nicholson

n developing a childassessment plan:an integral part ofprogram quality by Fredalene Barletta Bowers

n the 360° evaluation in aneducational setting by Mary Beth Claus Tobin

n training suggestionsby Kay Albrecht

A future Out of the Box Training Kit will be based on the article:Seeing children by Deb Curtis

An increased emphasis on child and program assessment is a result of the trend toward increasing accountability.

Both No Child Left Behind legislation and accreditation criteria have raised the bar on assessment. How can

early childhood educators make sure they are on the right track with child and program assessment?

Curtis starts the discussion by reminding us that being seen is an inherent right for each child in our classrooms

and then gives us concrete ways to make sure we are seeing each child. Then Reifel and Nicholson share one

strategy for collecting assessment information that grounds us in children’s play and their emergent interests while

connecting assessment to observations of play. Developing a child assessment plan comes next as

Bowers shares the content of such a plan and the techniques to use to implement it. Finally, Tobin rounds out

this issue of Beginnings Workshop by reminding us that the goal of collecting assessment information about

the success of our teaching and administration can be meaningful and the foundation of growth and reflection.

For reprint permission, contact Exchange, PO Box 3249, Redmond, WA 98073(800) 221-2864 • [email protected].

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ASSESSMENT AND DOCUMENTATION 37NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008 EXCHANGEBeginnings Workshop

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38 ASSESSMENT AND DOCUMENTATIONEXCHANGE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008

If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present

moment, we miss everything. When a child presents

himself to you with his smile, if you are not really

there — thinking about the future or the past, or pre-

occupied with other problems — then the child is not

really there for you. The technique of being alive is to

go back to yourself in order for the child to appear like

a marvelous reality. Then you can see him smile and

you can embrace him in your arms.

— Thich Nhat Hahn

The daily reality of working with a group of young

children presents many demands for adults in early

childhood programs. There are the ongoing chores of

caretaking and cleaning up, planning and providing an

engaging curriculum, communicating with families and

coworkers, and the ever-growing pressures for out-

comes, assessment, and documentation to prove that

children are learning when they are with us. These

pressures compete for our attention, making it difficult

to keep the child at the center of our work. Most of us

went to work with young children because we love

their view of the world and wanted to share it with

them. Yet, with all of these preoccupations and

problems, how can we possibly stay truly present in

the moment and really see children as Thich Nat Hahn

suggests above?

In my work with toddlers, I continually remind myself

that although I may feel the challenges and pressures

of regulations and outcomes, I am the one in the room

with the children making decisions about what to pay

attention to and how to respond. I essentially do have

the power in every moment, with every interaction to

be present and truly see children.

Learning to see children takes time and practice, both

when I am with them and when I take time to reflect

on my work. The extra effort is worthwhile as it is

much better to share in children’s insatiable curiosity,

deep feelings, and pure delight than it is to be the

toddler police, focusing only on fixing behaviors,

teaching to outcomes, or checking boxes on official

forms. How useful or authentic are assessments

without the child being fully present in them? To learn

to see children and keep them at the center of my

work, I have adopted the following practices as a

regular part of my daily life.

Notice and suspend adult agendas

It was lunch time and I was very preoccupied rounding

up the ten one-year-olds I work with to get hands

washed, bibs on, and everyone in chairs ready to eat.

Through the chaos and noise I had been practicing

suspending my adult agenda, even for a just a second,

to look closely and delight in the many moments

unfolding before my eyes. I carry my camera in my

pocket to record and revisit the moments when I have

Deb Curtis is a toddler

teacher at the Burlington

Little School. She is co-

author with Margie Carter

of the book Learning

Together with Young

Children (Redleaf Press,

2007) from which this

article was adapted. She

and Margie have been

leading professional

development institutes to

help teachers study with

the Thinking Lens. She

dedicates this article to

Tom Hunter who always

noticed and delighted in

the details.

seeing children by Deb Curtis

Reprinted with permission from Exchange magazine.Visit us at www.ChildCareExchange.com or call (800) 221-2864.Multiple use copy agreement available for educators by request.

BeginningsW

orkshopmore time. When I saw Hannah looking at herself in

the mirror, I snapped this photo.

In the midst of this busy lunch routine I was reminded

of the deeper significance of my work. As I study the

details of the photo, I can see that Hannah sees her-

self and this moment in her life as extraordinary. Her

own image reflected back to her in the mirror brings

her absolute pleasure. When was the last time you

looked at yourself in the mirror this way? Can you

remember why you stopped? If we still looked at our-

selves and each other in this way it could transform

how we live together.

We can only see through our own eyes and hear

through our own ears and relate to what is unfolding

through our own experiences. It is mostly impossible

to be objective as we walk around in our own skin,

especially with all of the demands pulling on us. The

most useful way to see outside ourselves and our

adult agenda is to be aware of our own perspective as

we relate to children and the daily challenges of our

work. Once we are aware of it, we can choose to put

our adult agenda aside to really see children. Doing

this brings so much richness to our lives, inspires us

to slow down, and enables us to truly acknowledge

the children in our lives.

Study photos to see more

With digital technology comes an abundance of

opportunity to take photos. For a while I was taking so

many photos I didn’t know what to do with them. I

decided to use the photos to tell the stories of the

children and their work. While contemplating which

photos to use for the stories, I discovered that if I

studied them carefully I could learn so much more

about the children’s ideas and points of view.

I’ve since been re-focusing the photos to highlight

aspects I want to see more clearly. I crop the photos,

cutting out the background and then enlarge the

elements I want to emphasize. The example here of

the two children outdoors exploring the hole helped

me see the details of textures, shapes, and shadows

the children appear to notice as they use their hands

to explore. I understood more powerfully the appeal of

the dark opening surrounding the utility cover,

appearing as a mysterious, deep hole with the

promise of a surprise if you reach inside.

I also crop photos to highlight what the children are

doing with their hands or looking at with their eyes. I

discovered when I study their intent in this way it is

impossible not to take what they do seriously. When

you examine these elements, you can clearly see the

intelligence, skill, and serious intent that children

bring to their work.

Try out what you see children doing

A few years ago when I was teaching preschool I

discovered that I could learn to see the children’s

perspectives in very powerful ways if I observed them

closely and then tried out what they were doing. I had

been frustrated with a group of boys who had taken to

zooming the small cars off of block ramps that they

The most useful

way to see

outside

ourselves and

our adult

agenda is to be

aware of our

own perspective

as we relate to

children and

the daily

challenges of

our work.

ASSESSMENT AND DOCUMENTATION 39NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008 EXCHANGE

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built. They would fling the cars across the tilted ramps,

watching them fly through the air, hitting the ceiling,

the windows, and sometimes people. I spent a lot of

time trying to stop their behavior, but to no avail. After

the boys left one day, my co-teacher and I decided to

try out the cars and ramps ourselves. Much to our

surprise we had a blast! We experienced the

excitement and challenge as we built the ramps and

zoomed the cars. With this new perspective, we

approached the children’s work in a very different way.

We offered the boys challenges to build their ramps

more carefully and control the speed more accurately.

They took up our suggestions and the activity became

a focused, complex learning experience for all. Since

then, trying out what they are doing has become a

regular practice for me to see children more clearly.

See children’s strengths

As she got absorbed in her play, Wynsome dropped

her binkie and forgot about it until she saw the one

that T’Kai had in his mouth. She went up to him and

yanked the binkie out of his mouth and put it in her

own mouth. T’Kai began to complain loudly. My first

instinct was to launch into the conflict resolution

techniques that I have learned over the years. Instead,

I decided to practice seeing more details to help me

find the deeper meaning underneath this incident for

the children.

After spending many days with these two children, I

have come to understand that Wynsome and T’Kai

share a strong connection around their binkies. They

know firsthand how important binkies are and I think

they associate their own feelings with each other. I’ve

seen them offer a binkie to each other when they are

playing side by side. I also think that sometimes taking

the binkie from the other is about trying to get closer

by climbing inside each other’s experience. It seems

that Wynsome wants T’Kai’s binkie rather than a

binkie or her own binkie. Rather than seeing this inci-

dent as evidence that the children needed help with

social skills, I see it as an indicator of their desire to

be in a relationship.

With this in mind I wanted to find a way for the

children to work together. I invited T’Kai to go with me

to find Wynsome’s binkie so he could have his binkie

back. T’Kai accepted this idea readily and we searched

the play area together. When we found Wynsome’s

binkie, I suggested that we go to the sink to wash it

off. Wynsome, listening to this exchange, eagerly

joined us at the sink, bringing T’Kai’s binkie with her

so it could be washed, too. Wynsome willingly gave the

binkie back to T’Kai and with the binkies in their right-

ful owners’ mouths the children spontaneously gave

each other an exuberant hug. The children’s eager

participation with my suggestion showed me that I was

on the right track. I marvel at their sweet connection

with each other and see that sharing experiences is

really what the children are looking for. I’ve discovered

that my daily practice of seeing and taking action on

behalf of children’s strengths helps them live in their

own competence.

Meet up with children’s minds —not their behavior

I immediately knew from my previous observations of

the children that they would love the plastic, sparkly

bracelets I found at the Dollar Store. As I observed

them with these materials, they were absorbed in

using them just as I predicted. They focused intently

on putting the plastic rings back into the cups and

carefully putting the lids on. I’m always so intrigued by

how seriously toddlers take this kind of work.

When I saw Kiran deliberately throwing the bracelets,

my initial reaction was to jump in and stop this

behavior. One of my ongoing goals is to help the

children see how to care for our materials. Fortunately,

before I jumped in, I stopped to look at the situation

from his perspective. What I realized is that Kiran had

discovered that if he threw the rings just the right way,

they would spin around and around like a top and then

slow down and stop. I was thrilled to learn this new

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I’ve discovered

that my daily

practice of

seeing and

taking action

on behalf of

children’s

strengths helps

them live in

their own

competence.

A Thinking Lens for Reflective Teaching

Knowing yourself

How am I reacting to this situation and why?

What in my background and values is influencing my response to

this situation and why?

What adult perspectives, i.e. standards, health and safety, time, goals

are on my mind?

Examining the physical/social/emotional environment

How is the organization and use of the physical space and materials impacting this

situation?

In what ways are the routines, adult behaviors and language undermining or

strengthening the children’s ability to demonstrate their competence?

How could we strengthen relationships here?

Seeking the child’s point of view

How do I understand the children’s point of view in this situation?

What might the child be trying to accomplish?

What developmental themes, ideas or theories might the child be exploring?

Finding the details that engage your heart and mind

What details can I make visible to heighten the value of this experience?

Where do I see examples of children’s strengths and competencies?

What is touching my heart and engaging my mind here?

Expanding perspectives through collaboration and research

What other perspectives could enhance my understanding of the meaning

of this situation, i.e., perspectives of families, co-workers, colleagues?

How might issues of culture, family background or popular media be influencing this

situation?

What theoretical perspectives and child development principles could inform my

understandings and actions?

Considering opportunities and possibilities for next steps

What values, philosophy and goals do I want to influence my response?

How can I build on previous experiences of individuals and the group?

Which learning goals could be focused on here?

What action should I take from my teaching repertoire and why?

© 2007 Deb Curtis and Margie Carter, Learning Together with Young Children

In collaboration with Ann Pelo

Meeting up with

children’s

minds has

become a

regular

approach I use

to see children.

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way of exploring the bracelets, and called

the other children’s attention to Kiran’s

idea. I was just amazed that he figured this

out; he’s only 14 months old! His discovery

is now a part of the learning games we play

with the bracelets, and the children are

getting quite good at controlling this small

aspect of the science of physics.

I’m so glad I stopped to see what was on

Kiran’s mind rather than just stopping his

behavior. Meeting up with children’s minds

has become a regular approach I use to see

children. I’ve come to believe that I don’t

have behavior problems in my group,

because I focus on what is on the children’s

minds rather than their behaviors.

Use a thinking lens

To deepen the practice of seeing children,

Margie Carter, Ann Pelo, and I developed

what we call a Thinking Lens for Reflective

Teaching. The lens with questions for

reflection serves as a tool for utilizing the

practices described here. Use the lens to

notice your adult agendas, share in

children’s perspectives, and see their

strengths. Slow down, observe, delight,

and practice every day, for being with

children in this way is not just a way of

working, but a way of life.

Slow down,

observe,

delight, and

practice every

day, for being

with children in

this way is not

just a way of

working, but a

way of life.

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Photos — a window to a child’s mind: Collect photos of children at work and play in

your classrooms and try the strategies suggested in this article. Start by seeing which

of the strategies is a good fit with the situation, then move on to seeing how many

different strategies could be used to add information to ‘seeing’ children.

A road map is provided!: When teachers come to you with a problem, try using a

thinking lens for reflective teaching as a process for understanding what to do next.

Which one?: One idea for determining how to really ‘see’ children is to divide teachers

into five groups — one for each strategy suggested in the article (excluding the thinking

lens). Ask teachers to sort through their classroom photos using the strategy assigned

to their group. Debrief the experience to find out what teachers learned.

Using Beginnings Workshop

to Train Teachers

by Kay Albrecht

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A preschool teacher eavesdrops as three children play

in the block corner of their classroom. Using wooden

unit blocks, the children build a large platform on the

ground that they refer to as a ‘ship.’ Ivan constructs

the ship while Miguel gives advice in terms of where

to place certain blocks to make the proper shape.

Sarah watches and then eagerly jumps on board after

the ship has been formed. Ivan pronounces that he

will drive the ship. Sarah says that she hopes there

are no sharks in the water, which leads to all three

children searching and pointing out nearby sharks.

Miguel suddenly kicks at one corner of the structure

knocking blocks askew as he proclaims that a shark

has bitten the ship and that it is sinking. There is

much excitement as the three children work together

to fix the ship in the shark-infested water.

(Observation of 4-5 year olds in a child care

classroom)

Play episodes, such as the above example, are

common occurrences in many preschool classrooms.

Observation of this type of play can provide teachers

with valuable insights into children’s development,

skills, and interests. For example, the teacher might

notice that these children can play cooperatively for

an extended period of time; that Sarah moved into the

play group with ease and that the boys seem to

accept her as a playmate; that Ivan listened to and

followed Miguel’s directions; that Ivan lined up blocks

in a symmetrical pattern. The teacher might also

make note that Ivan and Miguel seem interested in

ships and ship construction and that all three children

seem to have an interest in sharks. All of these

observations aid the teacher in understanding the

children in more complex ways and can contribute to

decision-making about teaching and learning.

The teacher might also notice how this play episode

resembles a story. There is a setting (the block corner

has become the ocean), there are characters (a

‘driver’ for the ship and supporting sea-faring

characters), and there is a plot (the building of the

ship, the voyage in which sharks are seen, and the

drama in which the shark bites the ship and it begins

to sink). How might the teacher use this ‘play story’

to extend and enhance the children’s learning,

particularly literacy learning, in meaningful ways?

Our purpose in this article is to explore children’s play

stories and how teachers can document these stories

to enhance and extend other learning activities. We

shall see how daily play in the child care classroom

can serve as an important basis for literacy learning,

if the teacher knows how to build on the play.

Play stories

Many researchers and teachers have recognized how

children tell stories while they are pretending together.

By play stories we are referring to the children’s play

scripts that can be heard and seen when children are

engaged in free play, or during more structured class-

room activities such as ‘authoring’ time or circle time.

During their play, they create imaginary events (like

building a ship or a shark attack), sometimes under

the leadership of one child or sometimes with lots of

collaboration. These imaginary events expand into

complex enactments that have all the elements of

literature: actions that become plot; characters with

motives who enact the plot; oftentimes dialog, or the

words of characters; settings where the plot takes

place; and plot development, including events that

lead up to climaxes and resolutions of unresolved

events (Paley, 2004).

Perhaps most important from a teacher’s point of

view, the imaginary scripts that children create during

their play have authors. In their play, children are the

documenting children’s play storiesto enhance learning

by Stuart Reifel and Shelley Nicholson

Stuart Reifel is a professor

in the early childhood

education program at

The University of Texas

at Austin. His research

interests include children's

play as part of classroom

curriculum and teaching.

Many of his studies build

on his experience teaching

young children, as well

as the classroom

experiences of his

students.

Shelley Nicholson, Ph.D.,

is an Assistant Vice

President for Stepping

Stone Schools in Austin,

Texas. She recently

completed her doctoral

dissertation at the

University of Texas,

focusing on the

professional development

of teachers in for-profit

child care centers.


authors of their play. They decide who does what,

where, when, why, and how. They create the settings

for their plots, and give the words to their characters.

Simple dress-up play requires that children decide who

they are pretending to be (characters, like mom and

dad), where they are to pretend to be (setting, like a

kitchen or a grocery story), what they are going to do

(plot, like what they are going to have for lunch), why

(motives, like hunger or desire for a hamburger), and

how (who will do what). From a teacher’s point of view,

we want children to begin to think of themselves as

authors or writers, even before they are able to put

their own thoughts on to paper (Moon & Reifel, 2008;

Paley, 2004).

Observing and documentingchildren’s play stories

In the early childhood field, observation and documen-

tation of children’s activities and skills have always

been important. Teachers observe children both

formally and informally with the purpose of learning

more about individual children as well as group

dynamics. Observation and documentation of

children’s play stories is another avenue for learning

about children’s developing social and language skills,

and the information gained can be applied in many

ways that give rise to emergent forms of curriculum

planning.

Teachers often make observational notes as they

observe children at play. These notes can help keep

parents informed about their children, and over time

the notes can provide a profile of child development

(Frost, Wortham & Reifel, 2008). Teachers can add to

these observations with the purpose of exploring and

discovering children’s play stories, using the same

observational techniques.

Teachers can search for stories as children play. When

observing, make yourself as non-obtrusive as possible

and listen to what the children are saying. Pay atten-

tion to their actions and to what materials they are

using. Notice their tone of voice, body language, facial

expressions, and other non-verbal cues as to what is

happening. Think about the children’s play in terms of

a story: What is the setting? Who are the characters?

Is there a plot? What action is taking place? Is there

dialog?

Teachers may take notes as they observe or jot down

specifics at a later time. Paley (2004) offers much

guidance on how she observes children over time, by

making notes on their play, making notes to herself to

guide further observation, and at times using a tape

recorder to gather longer stories. Teachers can also

ask children questions about their play, after they are

done, to gain insight into the children’s perspective

about what they were doing, and then write down what

children say. Teachers may want to take photographs

that can be viewed and discussed later, during group

time.

Teachers can create story books for children by

transferring notes to storybook-sized paper and

inserting photos that they have taken. They can

transcribe children’s words and action from play notes

and ask questions of the players later on to fill in the

story. Again, Paley (2004; Reifel, 2007) teaches us

how to observe, note, record, and follow up on play to

help young children become authors.

Building on children’s interests in curriculum planning

is dependent upon teachers’ observation of children.

We must observe not only their abilities in discrete

development tasks but also their interests as

discovered through documenting their play stories. In

this manner, classroom play opportunities are not only

seen as ‘support’ for other learning, but as means for

teachers to see where children are developmentally

and provides opportunities for teachers to see growth.

These observations are also wonderful to share with

parents.

Using children’s play stories toenhance learning

“Let’s build a ship,” Ivan says to Miguel. Miguel has

lots of ideas about how blocks can go together to look

like a ship. Sarah likes the ship, and jumps on when

the ship is built.

“I will drive the ship,” says Ivan.

“I hope there are no sharks in the water,” says Sarah.

All three of the sailors look out of the ship into the

water. They look for sharks and point to sharks that

are nearby.

The ship shakes and part of it falls apart. Miguel

shouts, “A shark has bitten the ship! It is sinking!” All

the ship’s crew work together to rebuild the ship, while

watching with excitement for more sharks in the water.

— by Ivan, Miguel, and Sarah

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In their play,

children are the

authors of their

play.

When a teacher hears and sees the stories in

children’s pretend play, she can help them begin to

see themselves as authors in a number of ways. The

teacher who makes children’s play into storybooks that

she can read at group time supports authoring in

young children. By reading children ‘their own’ stories,

she can help them begin to think of themselves as

authors, the way Ivan, Miguel, and Sarah are authors

of this story. You can be sure that all children in the

class will want to be authors, when everyone hears

other’s stories. Everyone in the class will want to have

their play turned into a story and read at group time.

Teachers can also draw from children’s stories to

engage children in conversation during circle time or

with smaller groups of children. After reading children

their own stories, the teacher might point out key

words in their play story. For example, using the

opening example, we can see how a teacher might

write the words ‘shark’ and ‘ship’ on sentence strips or

note cards to be discussed in circle time and then

added to the writing center or on a word wall. The

teacher might also talk about new words, such as

what we call the driver of a ship (captain) and what

the other sailors are called (crew).

After the teacher reads a play story, the teacher and

children can also explore the sequence within the

story in terms of what happened first and what

happened next. These can be verbal discussions or

the teacher might write words or sentences on strips

of paper that can be placed in order on a bulletin

board or in a pocket chart. These explorations can

branch into what could happen next in the current

story line or bring up new ideas that children choose to

enact during free play to create a new play story. She

might ask what else the captain and crew might do on

the ship, like fishing or repairing the ship’s sails.

Teachers and children can work together to write and

visually display children’s play stories in ways that

support emergent literacy while varying their approach

to meet the developmental needs of individual

children. Teachers can model the act of writing by

using play stories and including children’s verbal or

written contributions. For beginning writers, the

teacher might write the words and encourage the

children to illustrate their own stories with pictures, or

simply provide word prompts. These visual displays

can take the form of books made by the teacher and

children or can take the form of story boards made

from poster board, butcher paper, or tri-fold boards.

These visual displays encourage further discussion

and exploration of story lines and story elements

within children’s play, in addition to providing visual

literacy connections for children.

Support for children as they write stories can take

many forms. Beyond hearing, observing, and

documenting their stories, there are many ways to

expand the world of stories in the classroom. Teachers

have expanded play by using field trips (perhaps to a

boat dock), having parents contribute literacy materials

(in English or other home languages) for pretend (trade

books on ships, sailing, and fish), and varying dramatic

play centers in their classrooms. By having dramatic

play props in the classroom that evoke stories that the

class is reading, teachers support children’s play

about those stories. Children can then author their

own stories about what they play.

Young children may demonstrate a wide range of

involvement with play stories. Some may play along,

not saying much. Others may be leaders who tell the

entire play story. Some may not yet be ready to talk

about what they are doing, while others are ready to

ask you to listen to them and write down their words

as they play. You can note this range of differences, to

see how children are developing their understanding of

what it means to become an author. You can also hear

from the children how they teach each other what they

need to know to play and contribute to classroom

stories (Dyson, 1997).

——————

Teachers are under great pressure to prepare young

children for school, while at the same time providing

the kind of care that we promote in developmentally

appropriate practice. What many are beginning to see

is that we can reduce that pressure by building on the

kinds of play that we have always encouraged in our

classrooms (Jones & Cooper, 2006). As presented

above, we can draw on children’s normal pretend play

to build literacy skills, by helping the children to see

themselves as the authors of their imaginary play.

Many early childhood teachers struggle with how to

support and encourage children’s writing in develop-

mentally responsive ways. Children’s play stories

provide a connection between children’s play and

literacy. When teachers take their cues from children’s

Teachers

observe

children both

formally and

informally with

the purpose of

learning more

about individual

children as

well as group

dynamics.

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play stories for other learning activities, such as

‘authoring’ time, they are building on the children’s

interests that have already been revealed in their play.

By engaging children in story discussions about their

play, teachers can encourage children to write and

draw about their classroom experiences.

The content of children’s play stories also offers

information to teachers about the interests of

individual children as well as topics of interest to the

larger group. This can extend into a variety of learning

activities and experiences that address children’s

learning across all developmental domains. For

example, our opening play story about ships and

sharks could lead to a project on sharks or ships or be

the inspiration for a field trip to the local aquarium.

Children take great pleasure from their play, and

teachers know its value. We hope that you will add to

that value, by learning to listen and see how play is a

form of story telling. The stories that children tell in

their play can, with the teacher’s help, turn children

into authors. Play stories can be an entry point for

young children into formal literacy. Teachers can help

children to begin to understand themselves as

participants in story writing, so they can begin to feel

the power of authorship. The teacher is the bridge

between the fun of play and the rewards of writing

stories (Paley, 2004).

Resources

Dyson, A. H. (1997). Writing superheros: Contemporary

childhood, popular culture, and classroom literacy.

New York: Teachers College Press.

Frost, J. F., Wortham, S., & Reifel, S. (2008). Play and

child development (3rd. ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Prentice Hall/Merrill.

Jones, E., & Cooper, R. M. (2006). Playing to get smart.

New York: Teachers College Press.

Moon, K., & Reifel, S. (2008). Play and literacy learning

in a diverse language prekindergarten classroom.

Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 8(4), 49-65.

Paley, V. G. (2005). A child’s work: The importance of

fantasy play. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Reifel, S. (2007). Hermeneutic text analysis of play:

Exploring meaningful early childhood classroom

events. In J. A. Hatch (Ed.), Early Childhood Qualitative

Research (pp. 25-42). New York: Routledge.

Children take

great pleasure

from their play,

and teachers

know its value.

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Children’s own stories: This article points to the value of writing down stories,

illustrating them with photos or children’s drawings, and reading them again and again

to children. Don’t wait — this is too good of an idea to let languish until later.

Expand the world of stories in your program’s preschool classrooms: Help teachers

add field trips, have families contribute materials for pretend play, and vary dramatic play

centers with great prop boxes. The result is certain to be a classroom library full of the

children’s own stories.

Extending the learning: Collect stories as you observe in your preschool classrooms and

then use them to brainstorm extensions, high interest topics, and dramatic play props

that will continue the learning. If children’s stories are already recorded in your program,

make sure such analysis is a regular part of teacher reflection and classroom curriculum

planning.


to Train Teachers

by Kay Albrecht

BeginningsW

orkshop


Three-year-old Zach is beginning his first day at his

new child care center. After having been in a family

day care home since he was two months old, he is

moving to a center-based program. In the initial

interview with Miss Beth, the preschool teacher,

Zach’s mother

expressed some

concerns about his

development. She

commented, “He does

not talk in complete

sentences or say as

many words as his

older brother (age five)

did at that age.” She

was also concerned

about other behaviors:

“screaming when he

gets frustrated or has to change activities, a very

short attention span when playing with toys, and he

seldom plays with other children.” Miss Beth plans to

observe him for a few days and then meet with his

mother to develop a plan and identify appropriate

strategies for working with Zach.

NAEYC’s Accreditation Criteria for Assessment clearly

identifies the need for observation and assessment in

early childhood programs, “Programs conduct assess-

ments as an integral part of the program. Programs

use assessments to support children’s learning, using

a variety of methods such as observations, checklist,

rating scales . . . ” (NAEYC, 2005, p. 35). NAEYC also

addresses the need to create an assessment plan

and use appropriate assessment methods. Although

practitioners agree that observation is important,

they often do not have a plan for observation and

assessment, a knowledge of the various methods

of assessment or an understanding of when and

why the various methods should be used.

What is observation?

Observation is a systematic way to learn about and

plan for children. It is the first part of a four-part

assessment cycle:

The who, what, andhow of observation

Observation must be planned

or it will not be effective. The

plan for observation should

include the ‘who,’ the ‘what,’

and the ‘how.’ First, who will

be observed — the individual

child, children with special

needs, small groups of

children interacting together,

or the whole group engaged in an activity. In most

instances, the focus is on the individual child.

The next question is what exactly is being observed?

We might be looking for:

■ anything of interest

■ specific behaviors (for examples of physical

development, cognitive development, or language

development)

■ social interactions

■ atypical behavior

■ inappropriate behaviors

Finally, how will we observe, or more specifically, what

assessment method will be used? With so many

assessment tools, how does the practitioner know

which one(s) to use? One of the keys to successful

observation and assessment is to know the various

methods of observation and to choose the most

appropriate method for your needs.

developing a child assessment plan:an integral part of program quality

by Fredalene Barletta Bowers

Fredalene B.

Bowers, Ph.D.,

a former

preschool

teacher and

center director is currently a

Professor and Coordinator

of the Child & Family Stud-

ies Program at Indiana Uni-

versity of Pennsylvania, in

Indiana, Pennsylvania. She

was also a grant writer and

program coordinator for at-

risk children and families

and grant reviewer for state

and local grants. She pre-

sents state and national

workshops on grant writing

and a variety of child devel-

opment topics. (Dodge, Colker & Heroman, 2001; McAfee & Leong, 1997)


In the next section, various types of assessment tools

are identified as well as ways the preschool teacher

might use these to assess Zach’s development and

plan appropriate strategies for working with him.

Types of assessment tools

Assessment methods can be grouped into four

categories: (1) narrative methods, (2) sampling

methods, (3) rating methods, and (4) technology. The

first category, narrative methods, is further divided into

sub-categories: (a) diary, journals, logs; (b) anecdotal

records; (c) running records; and (d) specimen records.

■ Narrative Records

Narrative records are written accounts of the activity

(either of an individual child or a group of children).

Such recording can be an objective and detailed

method for observing behavior.

The Diary, Journal, or Log is a record of anything of

interest on a daily basis and is a good communication

tool between supervisor, staff, student teacher, or

parent. It is also a tool to help the teacher reflect on

incidents in the classroom. The disadvantages of the

narrative record include that it is time consuming and

can be subjective if opinions and biases are recorded.

Miss Beth and Zach’s mother might use the journal

format to record Zach’s emotional outbursts. The

journal could be exchanged between Mom and

Miss Beth each day. Miss Beth would date and record

behavior in the child care center, then send the

journal home with Mom to record a short paragraph

describing Zach’s behavior at home.

An Anecdotal Record is a brief, factual, and objective

account of an event, recording the child(ren)’s actions,

reactions, and verbalizations. It is the most common

assessment tool utilized and is appropriate for

observation of specific behaviors and language. The

anecdotal record documents an event promptly,

preserving all the details of the event.

Miss Beth could use the anecdotal format to provide

insight into Zach’s interactions with others during free

play. By writing a short, narrative description of what

Zach says and does when other children approach

him to initiate play or when Zach approaches other

children, the teacher will have information she can

use when planning for Zach.

The Running Record is a detailed account of every-

thing the child says and does, written as the behavior

is occurring, usually in intervals of three to five

minutes (e.g., behavior occurring at 8:00, 8:05, 8:10,

etc.). It is a good tool for observing behaviors of

individual children or small groups of children in a

natural setting; however, it is time consuming and

requires some training and objectivity.

In order to obtain an objective and detailed record of

Zach’s behavior, Miss Beth may ask the assistant

teacher to cover the class while she observes Zach at

five-minute intervals. The running record will provide

an accurate documentation of Zach’s behavior. Miss

Beth will record the time of the observation and all of

the behaviors observed. (Comments may be made in a

separate column.) The running record will provide

more details regarding Zach’s interactions than will

the anecdotal record.

The Specimen Record, like the running record,

documents what the child says and does, within a

specific time frame of usually one hour. It is a good

tool for recording the child’s behavior for later

comparison. This method is also time consuming,

requires training, and often results in a large amount

of data to be analyzed.

Since the Specimen Record requires more training, it

is used most frequently by early intervention special-

ists, therapists, psychologists, and/or researchers.

■ Sampling Methods

The second category of assessment tools is sampling

methods. Sampling methods examine specific types of

behavior.

Time Sampling looks at targeted behaviors at specific

times. This is a good tool for assessing social inter-

actions and play interactions because it focuses on a

particular event and allows observation of several

children at the same time. The main disadvantages

are that the event may be seen out of context and

there may be training required to use a coding system.

To determine how long Zach spends at specific tasks,

time sampling could be used during free play. Using

three columns, Miss Beth would record the time

engaged in the activity, the activity, and comments

during the free play period. With time sampling,

Miss Beth can determine if Mom’s concern regarding

a short attention span was justified.

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Observation

must be

planned or it

will not be

effective.

Event Sampling uses a tally form to record specific

behaviors during an event, such as a child who

wanders during free-play time. It is good for observing

atypical or inappropriate behaviors and also teacher-

child interactions or child-child interactions. The event

sampling format includes four pieces of information:

1) Time (when the behavior started and ended);

2) Antecedent (what happened prior to the screaming);

3) Behavior (description of Zach’s actions); and

4) Consequence (what happened afterwards). The

main disadvantages of event sampling are the amount

of time required, training required to code and record

behaviors, and lack of information regarding the cause

of the behavior.

Miss Beth could use an event sampling chart to

determine the frequency and the cause of Zach’s

screaming tantrums. Using the ABC format described

above, she will record the tantrum when it occurs,

giving information about what happened prior to and

afterwards, while looking for clues as to what triggered

the behavior.

The Checklist, another commonly used assessment

tool, records the presence or absence of a behavior,

using a tally or checkmark. It is often a preferred tool

based on the ease of use and also because more than

one child can be observed at a time. It is a good

assessment tool for observing physical development

and specific cognitive skills. The disadvantage is the

lack of information about the context in which the

behavior occurred — the how or why of the behavior.

Quarterly, Miss Beth will assess Zach’s physical,

cognitive, and socio-emotional skills utilizing a

checklist with sequential behaviors identified. The date

Zach demonstrates the behavior will be recorded.

This will be especially useful to assess his language

development.

Rating methods

Rating Scales identify the degree to which a behavior

is exhibited on a continuum, using numbers to rate the

occurrence or strength of a characteristic (e.g., on a

scale of 1-5). It is quick and easy to use and also a

good tool for a classroom environment or playground

survey. The main disadvantages are the lack of details

and the subjectivity of the tool.

Since rating scales are subjective and give little infor-

mation about the quality of interactions, they may not

be the most valuable assessment tool to utilize in

planning for Zach. It would, however, be beneficial in

assessing the types of equipment and play materials

available in Zach’s preschool classroom.

Technology

Technology has brought new tools into the assessment

field. Photographs, videotaping, and audio recording

are frequently used to assess children’s growth and

development.

Photographs are an excellent method of capturing a

child’s creation, such as block building, or a child’s

involvement in an activity. It is a permanent record of

the child’s work which can be displayed in the class-

room or kept in a portfolio.

Miss Beth and the assistant teacher use a digital

camera and the classroom computer to record and

display photos of the children’s activities. They will be

taking photos of Zach’s activities throughout the year.

Video recording, set up in an unobtrusive spot in the

classroom, is a very good way to observe interactions

of specific children or classroom activities. Video

recording is, however, time consuming when it comes

to reviewing and analyzing tapes. The equipment can

also be expensive.

Video recordings of Zach’s behavior could be shared

with his mother and used with both parents and staff

to observe, reflect, discuss, and plan for Zach’s

continued development.

Audio recording is an inexpensive alternative for docu-

menting and analyzing language skills; however, it is

also time consuming to review and transcribe the infor-

mation from the tapes.

Miss Beth may use a tape recorder to capture exact

samples of Zach’s speech to better assess his

language skills.

Beware of errors inrecording observations

Regardless of which assessment tool is used, practi-

tioners need to document exactly what they see and

hear, being cognizant of the most common errors in

recording observations. Even the most skilled teacher

One of the keys

to successful

observation and

assessment is

to know the

various

methods of

observation and

to choose the

most

appropriate

method for

your needs.

BeginningsW

orkshop


may occasionally fall into the trap of one of these

errors:

■ Error of Omission. This error results when helpful

and necessary information is left out because of dis-

tractions, poor note taking, or the passage of time.

(The longer practitioners wait to record the obser-

vation, the more likely they are to forget details.)

■ Error of Commission. In this case, the practitioner

may record behaviors that did not occur. This is not

a deliberate error, but occurs because of distrac-

tions, inattention, faulty memory, or from missing

part of the situation.

■ Error of Transmission. Here, the practitioner

records behavior in an improper sequence. This is a

serious error because the order of occurrence gives

meaning to the event. Recording the time the

behaviors occur (beginning, middle, and ending)

reduces the chances for an error of transmission.

■ Hawthorne Effect. This error results because

children (people in general) act differently when they

know they are being observed. This error can impact

the analysis of the data and planning for the child.

Documenting the observations

Developmentally appropriate assessment includes a

combination and collection of observation materials. In

this collection there should be checklists, narratives,

video recordings, photographs of activities, examples

of the child’s work, and other evidence of development

and learning. The collection is called a portfolio. The

portfolio, organized in a purposeful way, will document

learning, progress, and accomplishments.

Zach, his mother, and Miss Beth can follow Zach’s

development through samples of his artwork, photos

of his play activities and block structures, and

observations kept in his portfolio.

The collection of observations and assessments in the

portfolio will assist practitioners in completing the last

three steps of the assessment cycle — analyzing,

planning, and reporting the child’s progress and

development.

References

Dodge, C., Colker, L., Heroman, C., (2001). A teacher’s

guide to using the Creative Curriculum Developmental

Continuum Assessment System. Washington, DC:

Teaching Strategies.

McAfee, O., & Leong, D. (1997). Assessing and guiding

young children’s development and learning. Boston,

MA: Allyn and Bacon.

National Association for the Education of Young

Children. (2005). NAEYC early childhood program

standards and accreditation criteria. Washington, DC:

NAEYC.

... practitioners

need to

document

exactly what

they see and

hear, being

cognizant of the

most common

errors in

recording

observations.

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Getting started: Do you have a child assessment plan? Bowers thinks you should. Take

some time to consider this question and to develop a plan for your program.

Assessment tools! Who knew there were so many??: This article uses great charts to

describe techniques, their strengths and limitations, and when to use each one. Use it to

make sure that each of the teachers in your program know about, understand, and can use

each one. Then, practice, practice, practice until you are sure your teachers have each of

these strategies at the ready to use if appropriate.

It takes training!: Don’t be frustrated by the caveat that certain assessment techniques

require training for teachers to use them reliably. Do the training! It will make a difference in

teaching and in seeing children.


to Train Teachers

by Kay Albrecht

To download additional Assessment Charts, please visit our web site:

www.ChildCareExchange.com/free


Assessment Chart

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AAsssseessssmmeenntt DDeessccrriippttiioonn SSttrreennggtthhss WWeeaakknneesssseess MMoosstt AApppprroopprriiaattee UUssee

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Diary/Journal/Log Record anything of interest on Can focus on one child or Time consuming; information Enables teacher to reflect on

day-to-day basis group; flexible way to record; recorded may not be useful his/her reactions to what

can focus on several aspects for planning curriculum; happens

of program; teacher can write observations are subjective

about his/her feelings; does Communication tool between

not need to be completed supervisor and staff or student

on site teacher

Anecdotal Record Brief, factual, objective Can view significant behavior Bias can be a problem; may Observation of language

narrative written after an event in the context in which it is focus on specific behavior(s)

of what the child was doing happening; documenting the that are not typical of the child Observation of specific

and saying and how child event promptly preserves behaviors

reacted details; quick and easy; can be

done in classroom; focuses on Answer questions

typical and/or atypical

behaviors

Running Record Detailed account of everything Can observe behavior in a Time consuming; requires Observing behaviors of

child says and does; written as natural setting; fairly objective; training; teacher cannot be individual children or small

occurring for regular, preset can be used with one or more part of classroom; may groups of children

intervals (usually 3-5 minutes) children; can document small overestimate frequency of

changes in behavior certain behaviors based on

limited time frame

Specimen Record Record in as much detail as Can obtain detailed, objective Time consuming; large amount Recording detailed account of

possible what child does and account of behavior without of data recorded which later child’s behavior and

says, alone and with others; inferences, interpretations, or needs to be analyzed; training circumstances which can be

time frame is approximately evaluations; collects raw data is necessary to record all later used for comparison

one hour that can be analyzed; is not details

selective — records everything Can record beginning language,

that occurs gross motor activities

Ahola, D., & Kovacik, A. (2007). Observing and understanding child

development: A child study manual. Clifton Park, NY: Thompson

Delmar Learning.

Brickman, N., & Barton, H. (2003). COR Observation items.

Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press.

Bentzen, W. (1985). Seeing young children: A guide to observing

and recording behavior. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers, Inc.

Billman, J., & Sherman, J. (2003). Observation and participation in

early childhood settings: A practicum guide (2nd ed.) New York:

Allyn and Bacon.

Daniels, D., Beaumont, L., & Doolin, C. (2002). Understanding

children: An interview and observation guide for educators.

New York: McGraw-Hill.

Gestwicki, C. (2007). Curriculum in early education. Clifton Park,

NY: Thompson Delmar Learning.

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2005). Resources for observation and reflection

to accompany foundation of early childhood education. New York:

McGraw Hill.

MacDonald, S. (1997). The portfolio and its use: A road map for

assessment. Little Rock, AR: South Early Childhood Association.

Puckett, M., & Black, J. (1994). Authentic assessment of the young

child. New York: Macmillan College Publishing Company.

Wortham, S. (2005). Assessment in early childhood. Columbus, OH:

Pearson Prentice Hall.

For further reading

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56 ASSESSMENT/DOCUMENTATION/OBSERVATIONEXCHANGE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2008

Teacher evaluations in education have clearly

evolved over the last 30 years. Evaluations range

from the non-existent; where you assumed every-

thing was fine until you either got fired or your

contract was not renewed, all the way to the annual

written evaluation which may or may not have had a

checklist, a rating scale, or simply a few paragraphs

of narrative which was a year in review.

The 360° evaluation isn’t the final answer in the

ongoing quest to help our teachers and administra-

tors improve, but without question it taps into feed-

back and new perspectives in a refreshing way that

is lacking in more traditional top-down reviews. This

tool may be used on its own or as part of a full

evaluation program. The Armed Forces in the 1940s

were the first to utilize the 360° evaluation tool. It

was not until the 1990s that they became a popular

tool in human resources departments in the

corporate world.

What is the 360° evaluation?

Just what it implies, the 360° evaluation is a

process that gathers feedback from each area of

your work life. You will be evaluated by your superi-

ors, your colleagues, and your direct reports. If

you’re a teacher, the list of contributors would

include parents, coworkers, director, consultants,

and others with whom you interact professionally. If

you’re a director, the contributors would include

your staff, parents, administrative staff, consultants,

board members, and other members of your school

community. Simply put, feedback from all levels of

the organization is collected, organized, and

presented to the employee, essentially giving the

employee a full 360° view of their performance.

Purpose

Quite simply, the 360° evaluation is used either as

a performance appraisal tool or as a developmental

tool. You decide. You also make that clear from the

start. What are you going to do with the feedback?

Are you basing a raise or a promotion on this or

are you working with your teachers to help them

improve?

Benefits

The beauty of the 360° is that it is effective in any

size school and is as easy to administer in a small

school community as it is in a larger one. All too fre-

quently in any school community close relationships

form and can make it difficult to give honest feed-

back on performance. When issues are perceived to

be sensitive, they are simply avoided and the prob-

lem is never resolved satisfactorily. Conversely, in a

larger school community, providing feedback to all

of your employees can be a daunting task because

of the sheer volume of work involved, personal

reservations you may have about the process, or

lack of direct knowledge about an employee’s per-

formance. The 360° format responds to both of

these concerns. This type of evaluation process also

encourages a diverse view of strengths, barriers,

and areas of improvement.

Be aware that during a 360° evaluation you will col-

lect feedback that is repetitive. Repetitive feedback

is useful and adds credibility and decreases the

likelihood of bias. You will find that going through

the process of conducting a 360° evaluation will

raise your awareness in a way that will later help

pave the way for change. The 360° will provide

insight into your performance that only those who

the 360° evaluation in an educational setting by Mary Beth Claus Tobin

Mary Beth

Claus Tobin is

the Founder

and Executive

Director of The

Tobin Family of Schools.

Mary Beth also serves

as the Head of School

for The Tobin School —

www.thetobinschool.org.

Over 28 years the family of

schools grew and currently

consists of two accredited

early childhood programs:

Tobin Children’s School

and Westwood Children’s

School; three accredited

School-Age Programs: Tobin

Afterschool in Needham,

Natick, and Westwood; and

the Tobin School, a small

independent school for

children in PreK through

grade five. All of the

schools are located

outside of Boston.

Mary Beth holds a B.A.

from Emmanuel College,

Boston and an M.S. from

Wheelock College, Boston.

A member of NAEYC, Mary

Beth is also active in her

local CPC council. Mary

Beth is Past President of

Massachusetts Independent

Child Care Organization.

Mary Beth divides her time

between Natick and

Mashpee, Massachusetts,

with her husband, Mark.

Mary Beth enjoys frequent

visits from her four grown

children and infant

granddaughter.


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work intimately with you can provide. Information is

collected and then organized and framed in a way

that the feedback can be heard. If 360° feedback is

delivered from an outside source, you increase

objectivity and reduce the likelihood of defensive

reactions.

The process

This process will change you, your staff, and school

and it will help you all grow. Begin with yourself and

then go on to others. After you have mentally pre-

pared yourself to jump in and get started you will

need to find a trusted person to facilitate your 360°.

That could be an easy task or it might be a barrier.

You need to approach someone you trust — ideally a

board member, executive director, consultant, or

work coach. This facilitator must have skill in:

■ listening

■ organization

■ verbal and written communication

■ staying focused and on course

And this individual must be trustworthy, and

understanding, and have an unwavering commit-

ment to confidentiality. This person must be without

a personal agenda.

The process from here is straightforward. You have

the facilitator. You are ready to welcome feedback

from a variety of untapped sources to improve your-

self and your staff professionally. Now you have the

following questions to ask your contributors. The

contributors are those people from the various seg-

ments of your work life who will provide feedback.

You may have more than one from each segment of

your work life. Although you can include everyone,

there is no need to.

The facilitator now will meet with each contributor,

either in person or by phone. You can use e-mail, but

that will not give you the rich responses that you will

get from tone, inflection, and body language. During

the interviews, the facilitator’s role is to record and

seek clarification. It is not the role of this person to

prompt, interpret, or try to change the direction of

the interview. The questions are simple. Verbatim

feedback delivered without editing increases

credibility. Consider the following questions for

teacher interviews:

■ What are ______ strengths?

■ What gets in her/his way?

■ What are areas of improvement?

■ What advice do you have for ____?

For a supervisor’s interviews you might add the

following questions:

■ On a scale of 1 – 10 how would you rate

________as an administrator? (1 being ineffective

and 10 being very effective)

■ Whatever the response to the previous question,

what is the one thing the supervisor could do to

move up on this scale?

This last questions gets to the essence of the

immediate change needed.

When there are similar responses, they should be

noted verbatim. Again, repetition increases credibility

and reinforces areas for enforcing existing strengths

and improving areas where development is needed.

The person receiving the 360° evaluation will have

answered the same questions when they meet with

the facilitator and are interviewed. Once all of the

interviews are completed, the facilitator compiles all

of the information. The self-review is kept separate,

but is included. When there is more than one of the

same responses, that will be noted.

The next part is when the facilitator meets with the

person being evaluated. The person is given the

written compilation to review. The facilitator is quiet

as the person has a chance to read through and

absorb all of this feedback. After the person is done

and looks up at the facilitator, this is the signal to

begin the process of reviewing the information

together. I urge you not to rush through this part.

Responses at this time look like this:

■ Were there any surprises in your review?

■ Is there anything that you need clarification on?

I suggest before

you offer your

staff this new

evaluation tool

you take the

plunge yourself.

■ Let’s look at your strengths.

■ It looks like . . .

■ Clearly many people here appreciate your . . .

■ Take a minute and enjoy this. This is powerful

feedback.

■ Now let’s look at areas that need improvement,

what gets in your way.

■ What do you think about . . . ?

■ Looking at your self-review, it looks like you know

about some of these areas already.

■ Let’s look at the advice given. What do you think

about this?

■ Does this look accurate to you?

■ What advice do you give yourself?

■ How do you feel about this?

■ Do you think you can make some of these

changes?

■ What are you going to work on after reflecting on

this review?

At this point the facilitator will clarify the next two or

three steps for improvement and the meeting will

close.

A technical point here is that it is important for the

facilitator and staff member to sign and date both

copies of the evaluation. One copy is documentation

for the staff files, and the other is for the staff per-

son’s personal records. As a side note, this can be

used by staff when they go on interviews (if they

perceive it will be positive). It can also help you when

it is time to write a recommendation letter.

Keys to success

To begin the process you have to read through the

process and understand it. I strongly caution you to

avoid jumping right in. Hesitations, questions, and

resistance will naturally come up and if you are not

prepared for it you could lose the trust of your staff

before you start. It is essential that you recognize

that the unveiling of this approach as with any perfor-

mance measurement tool may be met with fear, trep-

idation, reluctance, uncertainty and — from some —

distrust. This is especially true if the appraisal

system is tied to compensation. At first glance it can

be quite threatening. Someone who works for me will

be allowed to evaluate me? Many people report that

after their first 360° they approach subsequent

evaluations with positive anticipation.

I suggest before you offer your staff this new evalua-

tion tool you take the plunge yourself. Having a 360°

evaluation done on you first will go a long way to

building trust with the teachers who will do this next.

By doing your evaluation first, you will be sensitive to

the feelings that will come up from your teachers.

Feelings of self-doubt, uncertainty, eagerness to

improve, hope for recognition, will be mixed in with

excited anticipation. From my experience, you go

back and forth almost a “they love me — they love

me not” you played as a child with the petals on a

daisy. You wonder if they will have the same percep-

tions of your strengths as you do, and then you won-

der if they will remember that time you fell short of

your expectations at the board meeting. You create in

your mind how wonderful this evaluation will be and

all of the fabulous things people will say about you,

while you worry if they will remember that week when

you were in an especially bad mood. And when you

are first, you recognize that this means that someone

else is going to be involved in a most intimate way in

this new and very comprehensive evaluation of your

work life. You will not have control over the data or

the delivery. So tell me again why we are doing this?

You’re doing this because you want candid feedback.

You don’t want to be in the dark. You know it will help

bring about change with a positive and supportive

tone. You set expectations that parents and staff will

be open, honest, and constructive. And you are look-

ing for honest and all encompassing feedback about

every aspect of your job. You want to improve and

you want it to be safe for your teachers to go through

this process and improve themselves.

It is very important to frame the process in a way

that can be viewed as a positive learning experience.

By subjecting yourself first, you can speak from

experience about how it helped you personally grow.

It is essential

that you

recognize that

the unveiling of

this approach

as with any

performance

measurement

tool may be

met with fear,

trepidation,

reluctance,

uncertainty

and — from

some —

distrust.

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Pitfalls

There are many potential pitfalls along the way:

■ If there is a sense of distrust between the

administration and the teachers, the evaluation

process may be viewed as threatening.

■ If you have not given feedback before, this will

heighten the anxiety your teachers are feeling.

■ If you have not clearly explained the entire

process, and taken the time to elicit questions

and concerns before you start, it will not be

effective.

■ If you believe there is a contingent among your

teaching staff who view this process as a way to

‘get rid’ of someone, you need to be aware of it

and be careful in selecting those who will

contribute to the 360°.

■ An insecure director may try to use this to single

out a teacher.

■ Ill-intended teachers may try to use this to attack

an unpopular teacher.

Those people who have difficulty giving feedback

may see this as an opportunity to unload years of

unsaid feedback and resentment. It is better that

this comes out in a safe forum. It is my belief that if

left unaddressed this will lead to passive aggressive

behavior and can sabotage your school. It is far bet-

ter to put it on the table so that you can deal with it.

Follow-up

The first time you complete this process it will be

more time consuming than it will be subsequently.

You need to keep the 360° evaluation alive by

physically keeping it in a place that is readily

accessible so that you and your teachers will refer

to it often. If you file it away, you will be filing away

all of the opportunities for continuous improvement

that this process offers.

Additional resources

International Coach Federation:

www.coachfederation.org

International Coaching Council (Executive and

Business Coach Education):

www.international-coaching-council.com

Mentor Coach (Training accomplished helping

professionals to become extraordinary coaches):

www.mentorcoach.com

Goldsmith, M., & Reiter, M. (2007). What got you

here won’t get you there: How successful people

become even more successful. New York: Hyperion..

The first time

you complete

this process it

will be more

time consuming

than it will be

subsequently.

What’s in it for me?: As you follow Tobin’s directions to explore the process fully before

trying it, help all stakeholders discover how they might benefit from such a process. Break

into small groups and brainstorm all the ways such feedback could be useful.

Pitfalls?: Don’t hesitate to list and discuss the pitfalls. Such a discussion may be important

in uncovering fears and risks as viewed by your staff before you commit to a 360°

evaluation.

Finding a facilitator: Who do you and your teachers know and trust well enough to serve as

a facilitator for a 360° evaluation process? Make a list of potential facilitators and then

compare their credentials and professional skills to the list of required ones mentioned in

the article.

Be the guinea pig: It may take a little bravery, but it will be a wonderful example. So, try it

and see what you learn from a 360° evaluation. At the very least, it will identify areas for

professional development for you in the future.


to Train Teachers

by Kay Albrecht

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