TeachFocus: Evidence Collection and Share

Massachusetts' educators have to prove their craft with evidence. The evidence needs to match standards, indicators, and elements listed on the Massachusetts' Educator Evaluation System's rubric. The system represents worthy, though numerous, attributes of teaching well.

Rather than wait to the last minute, it's my advice that educators collect and display this evidence on an ongoing basis.

This morning I updated my files in the following ways:

1. I thought about my craft to date and the needed areas of evidence collection as outlined by my system.
2. I culled the standards, indicators, and elements that matched the evidence I chose from the TeachFocus website I crafted a couple of years ago--a website that outlines in detail each element included in the evaluation system. It was easy to copy and paste the standards, indicators, and elements into our system's evaluation collection system, TeachPoint.

I continue to support the following actions with respect to the evaluation system as well:

1. Teachers should keep a collection of their work, certificates, letters, and more as a ready reference. I keep an off-line notebook and online ePortfolio. I update periodically.
2. I recommend spending some time reflecting on the standards. I did that with the TeachFocus site listed above, and then I did it again last summer with a simpler version of TeachFocus titled, Reflect for Success. This document serves as a helpful day-to-day reflective guide for educators who want to develop their practice. 
3. Visit the MA DESE site for helpful information. 
4. Keep your goals and the expected standards upfront in your work:
• What is your professional goal? Are you "feeding" that goal? 
• What is your student learning goal? Are you charting their success and growth, reflecting, and making needed revision to reach the goal? 
• How are you meeting standards related to family engagement, collaborative work, and cultural relevancy?  
• What are you doing to advance professional learning, subject matter knowledge, and learning design? 

Cold, snowy winter days are good days to catch up on the paperwork, reflection, and work that contributes to your evaluation profile. It's much better to tackle this work now rather than during the hot, steamy days at the end of June.

Let me know if you have suggestions or ideas related to this work. I'm open to your thoughts and experience.