When you’re an instructional leader for your school, you want to ensure that your teachers’ performances are constantly improving. If they get poor ratings, you know it’s time for a teacher development plan.
An action plan for teachers is meant to improve the overall learners’ experience and deliver great results. There are several practices that you can use for these teacher improvement plans. They include;
Prepare
After you have observed the classroom while the teacher was teaching, it’s time for a feedback conversation. It’s good to be direct about the score that the teacher was given in that class observation.
You should present facts from the classroom observation to the teacher instead of imposing judgments. This will help them know what they got right and what they didn’t.
Also, while talking about specific occurrences from the class observation, it’s better to use numbers than words that could portray judgment.
Present data
At this stage, present all the notes and facts you collected from your classroom observation and go through every detail with the teacher. It would be best if you were cautious not to give opinions or advice about the teacher’s work or interaction with the students.
This is the stage that will have the teacher in the know-how about what they might be missing in their teaching methods or lesson plans.
Discussion focus
After you’ve presented your notes and evidence from the class observation, it’s time to let the teacher weigh in on the subject. At this stage, you should start a conversation about the improvement efforts that could be put in place for better results.
Also, ensure you acknowledge the teacher’s strengths and all the positive aspects they bring into the school. It would be best if you made them feel like you two are after the same goals, improving the learners’ experience.
At this stage, it’s important to understand the teacher’s body language, whether they’re posing with a positive attitude or a negative one. Pose direct questions to the teacher and carefully follow their responses.
Make a plan
After you’ve listened to the teacher, and both of you have agreed on the need for improvement, it’s time to draw a plan. You can start by asking the teacher about their ideas and then you can offer your ideas.
Do not impose any strategy on them. Be general about the ideas that have worked for other classes without mentioning the teachers involved. Make sure the teacher feels that you have confidence in them and their methods.
Follow up
After everything has been put on the table and the necessary ideas suggested, let the teacher know you will be conducting another classroom observation.
Do not specify any date, but you can ask the teacher about a day they prefer to demonstrate changes in their lesson planning and teaching methods.
Conclusion
Teacher improvement plans are essential for both administrators and teachers. This is because they provide much-needed solutions on how to teach better and achieve greater performances.
