Appraisal PD

Appraisal PD
1 April 2015 - Course - day 2
This was a difficult day to stay focused, being to close to the end of term - off topic discussions quickly devolved to the chaotic, stressful term it seems to have been for every school and the workload / stresses that have caused this.  While this was not the focus for the day - I think it is important to consider in relation to appraisal in that what we do for appraisal needs to be relevant to our core job (student achievement) and the gathering of / reflection on / discussion about our goals and progress towards them needs to be managed in a way that does not add to already stressed workloads, but if possible simplifies expectations and makes jobs more rewarding and easier.
 the day looked at what we have been doing so far, how we are gathering evidence - what is enough and the different between gathering 'stuff' or gathering evidence and reflecting on it for a purpose was a common theme of the day.
 some good readings were shared including Teacher's Voice This will be a good  starting point for discussion of what the ideal reflective teacher is with staff.  The idea of developing a rubric or scale of what a 'good' teacher is was again discussed.  I feel this would be a valuable exercise for both teachers and bot to be involved in.  It was also discussed about the inclusion of student voice and parent voice in this process.  As an add on to this it was also mentioned the importance to understand that not fitting 'good' meant that you were not meeting the standards and the pathways that may lead to either through support, competency processes, and the use of the code of ethics.   I feel this is an important process for the BOT to be involved in - particularly due to my law studies last year.  It was also demonstrated by several other attendees, the value of having a school based document that combines related criteria from RTC and Tataiako to success indicators, what good at your school looks like, possible evidence, and actual evidence.  This could  be the end goal of the discussions suggested above and become a strong reference document for teachers.
 The inquiry / appraisal process was also discussed and some suggestions for how that might look in different centers.  there was also a suggested starting template for a co-constructed summary report which I think could also be developed to build the robustness of our current process.
 All teachers have begun developing an online site (similar to this one) to allow them to record their evidence/ reflections etc.  I believe that we should discuss possible ways to use this effectively - to allow the gathering of 'stuff' to develop into the gathering of considered evidence.  From there we can develop meaningful reflection processes and ongoing personal development strategies.