Day 3: Improving My Evaluation

Today's question asks me to reflect on and discuss one observation of a teacher evaluation that I would like to improve on this year. Truthfully, I havent' had a formal teacher evaluation in 5 years and the informal observations that I have had since haven't really produced a lot of areas of growth. This is, however, more of a reflection of the culture than it is my practice. The truth is that is hard to feel judged and I think many teacher-leaders  are just now learning some effective ways of providing feedback to their peers without unjustly praising or discouraging a teacher's efforts. As I attempt to keep myself in the growth mindset this year, I look forward to having administrators and colleagues provide constructive feedback that I can use to make my practice more effective.

After unwinding with my Grade 7 team last night, I am feeling confident that we will develop the type of relationship with each other that allows for this type of feedback to occur honestly and without the fear of making each other feel judged and defensive.

As I stated in an earlier post the one that I am trying most to improve this year is my organization. This has been an area that needs addressing for some time now. I have recently read that promises and solemn vows rarely work when made to one's self. A plan with specific details is far more effective. Here are a few of the specifics that I'm planning on to improve on this area:




1. Limit my space within the classroom - I am a spreader by nature. My lack of organziation leads to piles of papers that inevidably require more and more space to maintain a small semblance of order. By limiting the amount of space I am making available to myself, I am hoping to encourage myself to deal with clutter sooner.

2. Buy, setup and establish a use for the organizational tools that are avaiable - The most imporant area in this step is making sure to establish a use for these tools. Too often in the past I have said, "I'll figure it out as the needs arise." When I am honest with myself, I realize this just isn't really possible. I don't have yet have to skill set to develop organziation on the fly. A plan most definitely needs to be in place before the full chaos of the school year arrives.

3. Small steps everyday - I get only a small joy or sense of satisfaction from the look of the picture above. As I reflect on this, I think that a fixed mindset has played a role in this area of my life. The picture above seems so impossible to me that I don't want to work on it. Instead, I work on something else that comforts my ego. This year, I plan to organze my desk/room a little bit every day. Even if I don't achieve the level in the picture above, I want organization to be one of the last things that I do every day at the school.