History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
My students help assess my teaching
- 01-14-2011
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By Larry Ferlazzo/Education Week
"Today is an opportunity for you to challenge and push me to become a better teacher, and a time for you to challenge and push yourselves to be better learners." So I began my ninth-grade English class one day before the winter break. My students and I were about to review video clips from a lesson I’d taught a few weeks earlier with Kelly Young, a talented instructional strategies consultant. Our faculty, under Principal Ted Appel, has been working with Kelly for some years. Lately, he’s been videotaping teacher lessons, then meeting with us to review an edited version of the tape. We always begin this process by offering our own critique and reflections, followed by Kelly’s comments. It’s a very positive experience that falls entirely outside of the official evaluation process. The total focus is on helping teachers improve their craft, and the exercise has been universally acclaimed by teachers so far.This chance to closely examine my teaching "at a distance" has been one of the most significant professional-development experiences I’ve had. In concept, it’s far different from the massive Gates Foundation-funded effort to videotape teacher lessons and have them evaluated (using checklists) by people who have never visited the school nor developed any kind of relationship with the teacher—which I criticized here. (more…)
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