Social Studies Text Book Evaluation

Artifact 2 A, B, C

Technology Plan

Artifact 3

Peer Observation In-Service

Artifact 4

Charlotte Danielson

School culture, instructional programs, best practices for student learning. and staff development are at the forefront of administrator's minds. Being aware and proactive in the area of school culture is important for administrators. A school culture that is positive is a more productive work environment and learning environment for schools. Administrating and teaching are an ever changing task, administrators need to have a concentrated effort for providing the newest and most effective instructional programs for their teachers. Administrators also have a need to ensure that these new programs are applied to student learning. While administrators need to be informed and educated in these new practices and ensure that their teachers are using best practices for student learning, they also have a responsibility to design professional growth for their staff. An administrator must be in charge of accomplishing one of the necessities. Without the education of new practice and development of staff, students won't be gaining needed strategies to succeed to their fullest.

Artifact 1:

There are two pieces for artifact one that demonstrate the evaluation of a possible new text book. It is important to evaluate a potential textbook that your school would adopt. Things that I looked at in evaluating this text were: reading level, supplemental materials, assessments, teacher's guide, assisted teaching tools, and content standard coverage. All of which needed to be present and easy to use for teachers and students. By completing an in-depth text evaluation you can see if a particular text is going to be beneficial for your students and teachers. Also by doing this you can evaluate the effectiveness of the practices that are included in the book. One area that was crucial for me to look at was the technology component. How well does the material fit into current technology that the classes are using. Evaluating text books for a school is a crucial piece of the decision in selecting a text, does the curriculum have effective instructional program, does it apply best practice for your students, and does it aid in the development and teaching of your teachers. All of these important questions have to be asked and aimed towards in the selection of a new curriculum.

Artifact 2:

There are three parts to my second artifact all of which connect to a project I helped work on during my principalship class and practicum. This project was to help our technology coordinator and administration with our state required technology plan. There are many areas that make up a district’s technology plan. The three areas that I worked on were: three year academic achievement, three year curriculum technology integration, and three year staff development plans. Constructing, developing, and carrying out these types of plans are important to the implementation and development of a school’s needs. These types of plans also give a district the ability to see advancements that are going to need to happen. Creating a technology plan allows the district to develop a timeline for gaining the appropriate resources needed to make these plans happen.

Artifact 3:

In-services can be a wonderful time for teachers to develop as professionals. The in-service times can have moments where teachers learn and work with each other, and it can also be a time where administrators can address different needs the staff might have. In a one section school, collaborating can be difficult, my principal and I reached out to different schools to see if it be possible for our teachers to visit their classrooms and schools. The schools were more than happy to do this. Our teachers visited a number of different schools at various levels. During their visits our primary teachers found new and different strategies to reach children in the areas of reading and language. They also discovered that they are doing some very similar activities that are valuable to young students. Our intermediate level teachers visited a private school to see what a classroom with one to one iPads looked like. Each of our classrooms were very close to being one to one in with iPad use, this visit propelled administrators, school board, and elementary parent council to find money for the fourth and fifth grade classroom to become one to one. Along with worthwhile observations the teachers asked guided questions in current educational movements to see what other schools are doing in given areas. This activity was very beneficial to me as a potential administrator and active teachers. As an administrator this was beneficial to see teachers go and observe other classrooms to see if things that they are doing are working. It is also a great way to have teachers find new ideas for teaching different content. This activity to send teachers to different school for an in-service was also beneficial in that teachers had the opportunity to see what other schools are doing in areas of new educational components.  

Artifact 4:

As an administrator, teacher observations and evaluations are essential for teacher improvement and documentation of non-satisfactory teacher performance. The new way of observing teachers has come to the forefront in the way of Charlotte Danielson. This way of college student teacher preparation has been the new way of  teacher observation as well. My current administrators and I are taking a Danielson book study. In doing this we will be much more prepared for this new way of observing teachers. This study open my eyes to the new requirements that go along with the Danielson way of observing teachers. This study also was very informative in that we had contact and discussion with other administrators that have used this for teacher observations and evaluations. This activity had great value on my professional growth. It was a great way to inform staff of new information and how they will be observed and evaluated. The book study was also very informative in that is supplied me with a wealth of knowledge on what to look for in teacher lessons and how to inform teachers on how to construct and deliver more effective lessons.