Western Montana Professional Learning Collaborative

Course Description

As a result of federal legislation, Race to the Top, school districts across the country have been focused on eliminating outdated teacher evaluation practices in exchange for developing district systems designed to promote professional growth for all certified educators.  Since about 2015, numerous research studies have been conducted nationally providing updated support for district and school-level leaders responsible for the implementation of a high-quality teacher evaluation system.  This course is designed to provide school and district-level leaders with background information to assist in creating newly designed district systems promoting professional growth for staff.  Of key focus will be the concept of inter-rater reliability or calibration. 

Participants will be introduced to current research including the Measures for Effective Teaching, MET Study, sponsored by the Gates Foundation, TNTP (The New Teachers Project Study, The Mirage, Confronting the Hard Truth About Our Quest for Teacher Development,) Center for Educational Leadership, University of Washington, College of Education studies, as well as the book entitled, “Better Feedback for Better Teaching,” which is a compilation of MET study outcomes. Additionally, participants will be introduced to the basic principles supporting video-based calibration.