February 1, 2018
Updates to the TVAAS Site
The TVAAS Restricted Site, which provides TVAAS access for educators, was updated on Jan. 31. The TVAAS Public Site, which includes school and district TVAAS data and can be accessed by the general public, will be updated with 2016-17 TVAAS data at the same time. The updates to the TVAAS Restricted Site will include the following:
- All updates related to student-teacher linkage issues and end-of-course scoring issues impacting teacher, school, and/or district TVAAS data in a limited number of districts will be included; files with updated data were provided in December on the accountability application.
- 2016-17 ACT TVAAS data will be included.
- Projections of student success on Advanced Placement (AP) assessments will be provided for the first time.
The previously released What’s New document includes information about new functionality and reporting on the TVAAS site this year. With questions, contact TVAAS User Support.
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TEAM Evaluations for Spring 2018
Apprentice Announced Evaluations
Deadline: February 16
Planning
Unannounced Observations
Deadline: April 6Tips for surviving an unannounced observation
When planning lessons, consider the following:Standard Alignment: Does the lesson reflect the demands of the standard(s)?
Curriculum: Does the lesson build on students' prior skills and knowledge? If applicable, does the lesson focus on a high quality text?
Teacher moves: Plan for - a variety of instructional techniques, time for student work (group/independent), checks for understanding throughout lesson, a lesson summary
Student moves: Plan for - problem solving, interactive speaking/writing, rigor
Student mastery: How do you know if students master or move toward mastery of your lesson?
December 1, 2017
Kindergarten Student Growth Portfolio Model Virtual Training
The department has recorded a virtual training that demonstrates how student work artifacts will be scored through the lens of the foundational, reading, and writing scoring rubrics in the pre-K and kindergarten student growth portfolio model. The training is now available on the TEAM website. For questions related to the training, please reach out to Portfolio.Questions@tn.gov.
2017 Tennessee Educator Survey
In partnership with the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) at Vanderbilt, the state launched the 2017 Tennessee Educator Survey. They distributed personalized invitations and survey links to all teachers and school leaders across the state via email. Educators who have not received their invitation may access the online system here to request that the invitation be resent or sent to a different preferred email.
It is estimate that the survey will take about 15-20 minutes to complete. Individuals who complete the survey will become eligible for the remainder of the weekly drawings. Schools that reach 65 percent participation by April 7 will be eligible for a drawing that will award several grants of $550 to be used toward staff appreciation. A separate lottery will be held after the survey window closes to award several grants of $2000 to the schools with the highest participation rates.
Completion of this survey is voluntary for all participants, and anyone may skip questions they do not wish to answer. Individual responses are confidential, but aggregated results will be made available here later this summer for all districts and schools that reach at least 45 percent participation. The state will post twice-weekly response rate updates here every Thursday and Monday. You can find more information about the survey here. The survey will close on Tuesday, April 18. With questions, please reach out to tned.research.alliance@vanderbilt.edu.
February 24, 2017
Read to be Ready Shared Reading
and Connections to the TEAM Rubric
Shared reading lessons focus on the explicit teaching of Foundational Literacy and Reading standards, while incorporating additional Writing and Speaking & Listening standards through questioning, discussion, and tasks. Shared reading lessons connect to the TEAM Rubric in the following domains: Standards and Objectives, Motivating Students, Presenting Instructional Content, Activities and Materials, Teacher Content Knowledge, and Teacher Knowledge of Students.
Shared reading lessons in grade K-3 provide all students with visual access to the text, integrate a range of grade level standards, and connect to content area standards when possible. These aspects of shared reading lessons can be seen on the TEAM Instructional Planning Rubric. Indicators that can be met on the Planning Rubric include: evidence that the plan is appropriate for the age of all learners, measurable and explicit goals, and activities, materials, and assessments that integrate other disciplines.
The TEAM Environment Rubric is also addressed when teaching using the Shared Reading method. Teachers provide all students with cognitive access to the text through differentiation when providing a shared reading lesson. Teachers set high demanding academic expectations for every student by planning a shared reading lesson that all students can have success.
All students have success because these lessons are planned to provide scaffolded collaborative reading experiences with the teacher, with a partner or small group, and /or independently. Teachers plan thoughtfully for each student based on their learning difficulties. The TEAM rubric indicator described here is Teacher Knowledge of Students.
Presenting Instructional Content includes effective modeling of thinking processes by the teacher modeling comprehension strategies and word attack strategies as well as provide opportunities for students to practice these same strategies. Students are also given the opportunity to practice reading with appropriate accuracy, rate, and expression during a shared reading experience.
Shared reading lessons support students in developing vocabulary and world knowledge by highlighting key concepts and ideas and uses them as bases to connect other powerful ideas all while hitting the Teacher Content Knowledge domain.
The Activities and Materials domain is utilized when texts and tasks that are appropriately complex. Shared reading lessons use authentic texts, when possible, and represent an appropriately-diverse range of text types.
November 30, 2016
In partnership with the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA) at Vanderbilt, the state launched the 2017 Tennessee Educator Survey. They distributed personalized invitations and survey links to all teachers and school leaders across the state via email. Educators who have not received their invitation may access the online system here to request that the invitation be resent or sent to a different preferred email.
It is estimate that the survey will take about 15-20 minutes to complete. Individuals who complete the survey will become eligible for the remainder of the weekly drawings. Schools that reach 65 percent participation by April 7 will be eligible for a drawing that will award several grants of $550 to be used toward staff appreciation. A separate lottery will be held after the survey window closes to award several grants of $2000 to the schools with the highest participation rates.
Completion of this survey is voluntary for all participants, and anyone may skip questions they do not wish to answer. Individual responses are confidential, but aggregated results will be made available here later this summer for all districts and schools that reach at least 45 percent participation. The state will post twice-weekly response rate updates here every Thursday and Monday. You can find more information about the survey here. The survey will close on Tuesday, April 18. With questions, please reach out to tned.research.alliance@vanderbilt.edu.
It is estimate that the survey will take about 15-20 minutes to complete. Individuals who complete the survey will become eligible for the remainder of the weekly drawings. Schools that reach 65 percent participation by April 7 will be eligible for a drawing that will award several grants of $550 to be used toward staff appreciation. A separate lottery will be held after the survey window closes to award several grants of $2000 to the schools with the highest participation rates.
Completion of this survey is voluntary for all participants, and anyone may skip questions they do not wish to answer. Individual responses are confidential, but aggregated results will be made available here later this summer for all districts and schools that reach at least 45 percent participation. The state will post twice-weekly response rate updates here every Thursday and Monday. You can find more information about the survey here. The survey will close on Tuesday, April 18. With questions, please reach out to tned.research.alliance@vanderbilt.edu.
February 24, 2017
Read to be Ready Shared Reading
and Connections to the TEAM Rubric
Shared reading lessons focus on the explicit teaching of Foundational Literacy and Reading standards, while incorporating additional Writing and Speaking & Listening standards through questioning, discussion, and tasks. Shared reading lessons connect to the TEAM Rubric in the following domains: Standards and Objectives, Motivating Students, Presenting Instructional Content, Activities and Materials, Teacher Content Knowledge, and Teacher Knowledge of Students.
Shared reading lessons in grade K-3 provide all students with visual access to the text, integrate a range of grade level standards, and connect to content area standards when possible. These aspects of shared reading lessons can be seen on the TEAM Instructional Planning Rubric. Indicators that can be met on the Planning Rubric include: evidence that the plan is appropriate for the age of all learners, measurable and explicit goals, and activities, materials, and assessments that integrate other disciplines.
The TEAM Environment Rubric is also addressed when teaching using the Shared Reading method. Teachers provide all students with cognitive access to the text through differentiation when providing a shared reading lesson. Teachers set high demanding academic expectations for every student by planning a shared reading lesson that all students can have success.
All students have success because these lessons are planned to provide scaffolded collaborative reading experiences with the teacher, with a partner or small group, and /or independently. Teachers plan thoughtfully for each student based on their learning difficulties. The TEAM rubric indicator described here is Teacher Knowledge of Students.
Presenting Instructional Content includes effective modeling of thinking processes by the teacher modeling comprehension strategies and word attack strategies as well as provide opportunities for students to practice these same strategies. Students are also given the opportunity to practice reading with appropriate accuracy, rate, and expression during a shared reading experience.
Shared reading lessons support students in developing vocabulary and world knowledge by highlighting key concepts and ideas and uses them as bases to connect other powerful ideas all while hitting the Teacher Content Knowledge domain.
The Activities and Materials domain is utilized when texts and tasks that are appropriately complex. Shared reading lessons use authentic texts, when possible, and represent an appropriately-diverse range of text types.
November 30, 2016
Did you know…
In past years, TEAM coaches have worked primarily to support schools and districts in strengthening and developing a better understanding of the TEAM evaluation rubric and process. The department is excited to expand this work in order to better support districts across Tennessee. Regional TEAM coaches can provide guidance and support in the following areas:
-
Early Learning Model practices (ELM) and student growth portfolio models
-
Instructional Partnership Initiative (IPI)
-
Teacher and administrator evaluation processes
Please continue to reach out to your regional TEAM coach for support that best meets the needs of your teachers and instructional leaders.
East TN: Tony Jolly
Tony Jolly holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and a Master of Science degree in education earned from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Tony has almost 17 years of teaching and academic coaching experience in Tennessee schools. Prior to this role, he served as a math instructional coach (9-12) in Knox County. Contact Tony at Tony.Jolly@tn.gov.
October 31, 2016
Accountable Talk and the TEAM Rubric
Link to the TEAM rubric: http://team-tn.org/evaluation/teacher-evaluation/
Below are a few ways that accountable talk, when used effectively, would increase scores:
Standards and
Objectives
There is evidence that most students
demonstrate mastery of the daily objective that
supports significant progress towards mastery
of a standard.
Motivating
Students
The teacher consistently organizes the content
so that it is personally meaningful and relevant
to students.
Activities
and Materials
-sustain students’ attention,
-elicit a variety of thinking,
-provide time for reflection,
-are relevant to students’ lives,
-provide opportunities for student-to student
interaction,
-The preponderance of activities demand
complex thinking and analysis
Questioning
Students generate questions that lead to further
inquiry and self-directed learning.
Academic
Feedback
Teacher engages students in giving specific and
high-quality feedback to one another.
Grouping
Students
All students participating in groups are held
accountable for group work and individual
work.
Instructional groups facilitate opportunities for
students to set goals, reflect on, and evaluate
their learning.
Thinking
-generate a variety of ideas and alternatives,
-analyze problems from multiple
perspectives and viewpoints
Problem Solving
-Improving Solutions
-Identifying Relevant/Irrelevant Information
-Generating Ideas
Respectful
Culture
-Students exhibit caring and respect for one
another.
-Positive relationships .
Why should I use Accountable Talk with my students?
In past years, TEAM coaches have worked primarily to support schools and districts in strengthening and developing a better understanding of the TEAM evaluation rubric and process. The department is excited to expand this work in order to better support districts across Tennessee. Regional TEAM coaches can provide guidance and support in the following areas:
- Early Learning Model practices (ELM) and student growth portfolio models
- Instructional Partnership Initiative (IPI)
- Teacher and administrator evaluation processes
Please continue to reach out to your regional TEAM coach for support that best meets the needs of your teachers and instructional leaders.
East TN: Tony Jolly
Tony Jolly holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and a Master of Science degree in education earned from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Tony has almost 17 years of teaching and academic coaching experience in Tennessee schools. Prior to this role, he served as a math instructional coach (9-12) in Knox County. Contact Tony at Tony.Jolly@tn.gov.
October 31, 2016
Accountable Talk and the TEAM Rubric
Motivating
Students
Accountability to the Learning Community
- Careful listening to each other
- Using and building on each other’s ideas
- Paraphrasing and seeking clarification
- Respectful disagreement
- Using sentence stems
Accountability to Accurate Knowledge
- Being as specific and accurate as possible
- Resisting the urge to say just “anything that comes to mind.”
- Getting the facts straight
- Challenging questions that demand evidence for claims
Accountability to Rigorous Thinking
- Building arguments
- Linking claims and evidence in logical ways
- Working to make statements clear
- Checking the quality of claims and arguments
Accountable Talk Stems
Agreement
- I agree with ______ because________.
- I like what _________ said because ____________.
- I agree with ____________; but on the other hand, _________.
Disagreement
- I disagree with _______ because ________.
- I'm not sure I agree with what________said because _______.
- I can see that _______; however, I disagree with (or can't see) __________.
Clarifications
- Could you please repeat that for me?
- Paraphrase what you heard and ask, "Could you explain a bit more, please?"
- I'm not sure I understood you when you said _________. Could you say more about that?
- How does that support our goal/objective?
Confirmation
- I think ____________.
- I believe ______.
Confusion
- I don't understand __________.
- I am confused about ________.
Extension
- I was thinking about what __________ said, and I was wondering what if ______________.
- This makes me think __________.
- I want to know more about ___________.
- Now I am wondering ___________.
- Can you tell me more about _____________?
- I want to go back to what ________________ said.
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September 30, 2016
Start working on your Professionalism Rubric. Really.
During the last six weeks of school, teachers meet with principals to go over a summative measure of each teacher’s roles and responsibilities. Scores are based on evidence from the full year. Each of the indicators to be addressed must be supported. Evaluators should consider any evidence that is relevant to effectively score each indicator.Meet with your principal to see what the expectations are for reporting your profesionalism for the year. Do they expect a portfolio? Will documents in a folder do? Then, start collecting evidence from all indicators and keeping them in a central location. This will make the process much easier in April and May.
Below are suggestions of evidence that educators could provide evaluators for consideration while scoring Professionalism. Note: This list is not all inclusive. Other evidence examples can be applicable. Please use the rubric as your guide
Indicator 1—Professional Growth and Learning:
Educator self reflection observation forms or other evidence of self-reflection, active participation in post conferences, incorporating feedback into lessons in a timely fashion, evidence of growth across observations throughout the yearExamples: XX hours of professional development; attends faculty meetings/in-services/RTI Meetings/professional development opportunities; uses feedback from observations to improve teaching (accountable talk, questioning); weekly PLC meetings with grade-level team; monthly Leadership team meetings; weekly collaborative planning with team members to share teaching strategies/ideas
Indicator 2—Use of Data:
Evidence of instructional decisions based on data from formative assessments, effective differentiation based on assessments, use of district, school or grade level formative assessments to inform planning, evidence of adjustments in planning based on assessmentsExamples: Collection of student data notebook; uses data (formal & informal assessments) to group students by ability for small group instruction & differentiation; flexible grouping utilized to move students as needed; TIER II rotations (grouped by data/ability); weekly PLC meetings to analyze student data; reflects on teaching and collaborates with team members to target students needing intervention/enrichment; share grade level data with principal and academic coach
Indicator 3—School and Community Involvement:
Partnerships with community organizations and individuals, productive member of PLCs and grade level teams, visibility during class transitionsExamples: Kindergarten registration, screening, and orientation; end of year celebration; attended family book fair nights and open house; fall and spring parent conferences; maintained classroom website and sent monthly newsletter to keep parents informed/involved; communicate with parents via phone calls, email, and student agendas to give updates on student progress; promoting Run/Walk-a-thons to students/families; created a flyer to send to prospective kindergarten students; invited parents to classroom activities as well as field trips; attended faculty meetings/in-services/professional development opportunities; wrote 3 Grants (1-Fall, 2-Spring)
Indicator 4—Leadership:
Evidence of planning with grade and subject peers, membership on leadership teams, mentorship of inexperienced or struggling teachers, effective planning for inservice days and faculty meetingsExamples: Grade level leader, School Improvement Plan Chairperson- Standard 2: Governance and Leadership, school Leadership Team; TIER 2 Reading Teacher (RTI); Safety chairperson for school; guaranteed curriculum grade level representative; collaborative planning with grade level team
