Assessing and Planning Skills: Direct Assistance to Teachers

Assessing and Planning Skills: Direct Assistance to Teachers

Introduction

Assessing and Planning Skills: Direct Assistance to Teachers

The dynamic responsibilities of a supervisor demand a diverse skill set in order to effectively envision, communicate, plan, achieve, and reflect on the progress, or lack of, toward the school's vision or mission statement. A pivotal component of this progression is a supervisor's ability to effectively empower teachers and staff in their professional development by effectively evaluating the needs, styles, and preferences of the staff. With this in mind, this essay will compare and contrasts two strategies utilized to support teachers in their growth toward professional goals; clinical supervision and peer coaching. Further, this essay will identify the strengths and weaknesses of each model and how they use assessing and planning skills. Each model uniquely contributes to the supervisory process using diverse methods, developed in the educational community over the past six decades.

Clinical Supervision:

The first structure of clinical supervision was drawn by the Robert Gold hammer's in 1969. In the model he encompassed five steps pre-observation, conference, observation, analysis and strategy, supervision conference, post-conference. In 1973, Morris Cogan described Gold hammer's work and also explained the clinical model of supervision. This model consists of eight stages, constructing the teacher supervision relationship, planning with teacher, developing the strategy of observation, perceiving instruction, analyze teaching learning method, organizing the strategy of the conference, the conference, and renewed planning. These designs have been more simplified by Acheson and Gall and include following steps: a planning conference, classroom observation, and a feedback conference (Clifford, Macy, et.al. 2005).

Clinical Supervision Strengths and Weaknesses:

The model's strength lies in its goal-oriented, collegial approach to improving instruction. This model requires a substantive, working relationship to develop and exist between the teacher and the supervisor, and a dynamic and knowledgeable supervisor who can effectively analyze and communicate teaching strategies, systems, and methodologies. However, these requirements can also serve as the downfall to this approach. If the supervisor is unable to develop a strong rapport with the teacher, it will detour the teacher from accepting feedback or build a dialog essential to developing instructional strategies and strengths. Equally, a teacher must move into a learner's stance in this model. In some cases, teachers are hesitant to identify and address weaknesses evident to the supervisor, particularly if there is not a strong working relationship in place.

Clinical supervision uses planning as part of its critical component during the conference which takes place between the teacher and supervisor. This conference serves to identify the needs of the teacher's development, and will determine the focus of the follow-up observation. For example, at Centennial Valley Elementary School, a teacher chooses one of four domains engagement, classroom management, content knowledge, and professionalism. Through a teacher-led discussion the domain will be identified as the area of focus, and the supervisor moves into a position to observe and provide knowledge, expertise and resources. This model also uses indicators of mastery in these domains to assess teachers' growth in ...