Improving Teaching through Observation and Feedback Beyond State and Federal Mandates

In response to Race to the Top, schools nationwide are rapidly overhauling their teacher evaluation processes. Often forced to develop and implement these programs without adequate extra-institutional support or relevant experience, already-taxed administrators need accessible and practical resources. Improving Teaching through Observation and Feedback brings cutting-edge research and years of practical experience directly to those who need them. In five concise chapters, Thomas Good and Alyson Lavigne briefly outline the history of RttT and then move quickly and authoritatively to a discussion of best practices. This book is a perfect resource for administrators reworking their processes for new evaluation guidelines.

Preface. Acknowledgements. Chapter 1: Being a Principal in an Era of High-Stakes Teacher Evaluation. Chapter 2: Race to the Top and Beyond: The Demand for More Classroom Observation. Chapter 3: What Do We Know about Good Teaching? Chapter 4: Research on Improving Teaching and Student Achievement: The Role of the Principal. Chapter 5: Considerations for Principals when Working with Teachers to Improve Practice. Appendices. Index.

Alyson L. Lavigne is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Thomas L. Good is a Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology at the University of Arizona, USA.