TEACHER SUPERVISION

RESEARCH FINDING:

Teachers  welcome professional suggestions about improving  their 
work, but they rarely receive them.


COMMENT:

When  supervisors  comment constructively on  teachers'  specific 
skills,  they  help  teachers become more effective  and  improve 
teachers'  morale.    Yet,   typically,  a  supervisor  visits  a 
teacher's  classroom  only  once a year and  makes  only  general 
comments about the teacher's performance.   This relative lack of 
specific  supervision contributes to low morale,  teacher  absen-
teeism, and high faculty turnover.

Supervision  that strengthens instruction and improves  teachers' 
morale has these elements:

   .	Agreement between supervisor and teacher on the  specific 
     skills and practices that characterize effective teaching;

   .	Frequent  observation  by the supervisor to  see  if  the 
     teacher is using these skills and practices;

   .	A  meeting between supervisor and teacher to discuss  the 
     supervisor's impressions;

   .
     improvement; and

   .	A specific plan for improvement,  jointly constructed  by 
     teacher and supervisor.

Principals  who are good supervisors make themselves available to 
help  teachers.  They make teachers feel they can come  for  help 
without being branded failures.


Bird, T., and Little, J. W. (l985).  "Instructional Leadership in 
Eight Secondary Schools."  Final Report to the National Institute 
of Education.  Boulder, CO:  Center for Action Research. 
 
Fielding,  G.  D.,  and Schalock,  H.  D.  (l985).  Promoting the 
Professional Development of Teachers and Administrators.  Eugene, 
OR:  ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management.  

Natriello, G. (l984).  "Teachers' Perceptions of the Frequency of 
Evaluation  and  Assessments of Their Effort and  Effectiveness."  
American Educational Research Journal,  Vol.  2l, No. 3, pp. 579-
595.

Natriello,  G.,  and Dornbusch,  S.  M. (l98l).  "Pitfalls in the 
Evaluation of Teachers by Principals."  Administrator's Notebook, 
Vol. 29, No. 6, pp. l-4.

Wise,  A.  E.,  et al.  (l984).   Teacher Evaluation:  A Study of 
Effective Practices.   Santa Monica, CA:  Rand Corporation.  ERIC 
Document No. ED 246559.