HISD APPRAISAL AND DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM TRAINING:

Difficult Conversations (Elementary)

Facilitator’s Guide

Expected Outcomes

All participants will:

  • Learn the five best practices that will increase appraiser confidence when navigating difficult conversations concerning appraisal ratings.
  • Build skill by using best practices to executing difficult conversations for 5 common scenarios.

Facilitator’s Guide

Time / Facilitator Notes / Participant Actions
1 min / Slide 1(Cover slide)
  • Welcome participants to the session and thank them for attending.
  • Introduce yourself and any support staff

1 min / Slide 2Session Objectives
  • Explain the session objectives.
  • Learn the five best practices that will increase appraiser confidence when navigating difficult conversations concerning appraisal ratings.
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  • Build skill by using best practices to execute difficult conversations for 5 common scenarios.
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  • Participants listen and follow along in presentation while facilitator walks through key messages in slides.

1 min / Slide 3Objective 1: Introduction five best practices that will increase appraiser confidence when navigating difficult conversations concerning appraisal ratings. (Transition slide)
  • Explain that participants will be introduced to five best practices around difficult conversations.

2 min / Slide 4Improving your ability to execute difficult conversations is directly related to priorities 1 and 3.
  • As discussed in the Keynote the district will focus on four priorities this school year. They are:
  • PROVIDE TEACHERS WITH ACCURATE APPRAISAL RATINGS through frequent observations and with a shared understanding of the expectations in the Instructional Practice rubric and . . .
  • IMPLEMENT THE STUDENT PERFORMANCE COMPONENT to determine whether teachers’ instruction is having a positive impact on student learning to help . . .
  • IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENT NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERY TEACHER and provide them with useful feedback that is targeted to the teacher’s practice.
  • MAKE SMART RETENTION DECISIONS where high performers are encouraged to stay and low performers exited.
  • Explain to the participants that improving their ability to execute difficult conversations is directly related to successfully achieve priorities 1 and 3.

3min / Slide 5Even though there are many factors that make sharing feedback difficult for managers, it is a process that employees value and respond positively to.
  • Explain that employees want to hear feedback even if it is difficult to hear and sometimes engage more when its critical.
  • A 2009 Gallup Inc. study of over 1,000 US bases employees found that those who received predominantly negative feedback from their manager were over 20 times more likely to be engaged than those receiving little or no feedback.
  • Review the factors that make sharing feedback more difficult from the graphic on the slide.
  • Ask participants if there are other factors that make giving feedback difficult at times?
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  • Participants listen and follow along in presentation while facilitator walks through key messages in slides.
  • A few participants share their answers to the question.

4min / Slide 6Teachers crave constructive feedback, even though it may make for difficult conversations at times.
  • When asked about feedback in the 2012 Spring Appraisal and Development Survey, teachers and appraisers had different perceptions about feedback.
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  • A few quotes from teachers include:
  • “I would have liked her to be more critical of my teaching. I have never received any constructive feedback, only lists of things she likes about my teaching. This is only my second year teaching, and I have many things I know I can improve on”
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  • “This feedback needs to be constructive with great, thought-out examples for the teacher to see how they are to change. ”
  • “I was negative in beginning, said it wasn’t fair. A couple people had been on growth plans before, said just go through it. Actually was helpful. Appraiser didn’t do much but facilitate. It helped me look at the way I teach more than I did before. I told her I was shocked that it helped, but it really did. I improved. She gave me the books to read, I observed other teachers, and she said to pick up what I could and go back and try it, and I did.”
  • “When we did actually meet to discuss feedback, I found it helpful and informative to better understand the expectations of my appraiser. I knew what that person was looking for and could make necessary changes and improvements in my room to better fit the rubric.”
  • Ask the participants the following questions:
  • Why did you choose this break out session?
  • Why do you feel that his is an important skill to build when trying to work towards the priorities outline in the morning sessions?
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  • Participants listen and follow along in presentation while facilitator walks through key messages in slides.
  • A few participants share their answers to the questions.

4min / Slide 7We know a lot about what makes feedback conversations more effective regardless of difficulty.
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  • Feedback is not about the manager: Feedback is about the teacher. Feedback is not about how the appraiser feels but about how the teacher receives the message and what he/she is able to do as a result of it. Appraisers must get over any fears of conflict in order to support the teacher’s development (we will talk about how to do that today)
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  • Feedback is more effective the sooner it is given: the farther out the feedback is given, the less clear the details are. Both the appraiser and the teacher can forget the details of the lesson or behavior. When you give adjusting feedback in the moment it resonates more with the person receiving the feedback and it sends a message that the behavior did not go unnoticed and that it’s important to you that it is corrected.
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  • Feedback is about the future: feedback is either affirming or adjusting. It is not about the moment of giving the feedback but it has everything to do with how the teacher receives the feedback and what can and is done about it in the future (does the behavior continue or is it adjusted).
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  • Feedback is about behavior not motivation or attitude: feedback should be rooted in evidence, data, and facts and should be about the behaviors the person is exhibiting not his or her character, motivation or attitude.
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  • Feedback is a sign of strong leadership: Leaders who give constant and timely feedback year round empower their teams to make changes and modify behaviors on the fly, while results can still be affected. It is also a sign to your teachers that you care about their professional growth and that you are serious about seeing them succeed.
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  • Participants listen and follow along in presentation while facilitator walks through key messages in slides.

3 min / Slide 8Practices That Make Conversations Less Difficult
  • Practices that make conversations less difficult include:
  • Setting performance expectations early
  • Having conversations often
  • Using low-inference evidence to drive the conversation
  • Planning the major points and take-aways in advance.
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  • Participants listen and follow along in presentation while facilitator walks through key messages in slides.

10 min / Slide 9Set Expectations Early
  • Facilitator shares experience with setting expectations. Specifically:
  • How and when expectations were communicated to teachers. (acknowledgethat verbally setting expectations is just one way to do this. Facilitator will solicit suggestions from appraisers about other systems and requirements the also make expectations crystal clear to folks)
  • How she references the expectations in her feedback conversations.
  • How setting expectations early on makes conversations less difficult later on.
  • Ask participants to share their experience with setting expectation’s early.
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  • Participants listen and follow along in presentation while facilitator walks through key messages in slides.
  • A few participants share their answers to the question.

10 min / Slide 10Do It Often
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  • No news is good news: When you don’t say anything, teachers are still getting feedback. By not sharing the difficult feedback you are ultimately sending the message to the teacher that their behavior is acceptable and meets your standards. If teachers don’t hear adjusting feedback often, they become comfortable with less than top performance.
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  • Breathe Easy: Sometimes we experience fear with difficult conversations because of our emotions or because of a lack of skill. We hold back, or hold our breath as opposed to just sharing the feedback (no matter how difficult) and breathing easy. Teachers are smart and they know when they are not meeting expectations. They also know when you are holding your breath and could interpret that as you being unable or unwilling to provide the feedback and their view of you as a leader goes down.
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  • Practice Makes Perfect: the more you engage in conversations that could potentially be difficult, the less difficult they will become. If you consider feedback to be a regular part of your routine, so will teachers and after a while adjusting feedback won’t seem so scary to everyone involved. Once you know how to deliver adjusting feedback your fear of conflict goes away. You will learn and grow as a leader.
  • Ask participants to share how they management the time commitment required to have conversations often.
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  • Participants listen and follow along in presentation while facilitator walks through key messages in slides.
  • A few participants share their answers to the question.

10 min / Slide 11Plan
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  • Determine your key messages for the conversation: These should be simple, direct, and clear. For short conversation you should only have 1-2 key messages (3 at most).
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  • Have an approach: Know your audience and determine how you will approach the conversation. Ask yourself and plan in advance: In what order will you share your feedback (try: Ask the teacher if you can give them some feedback, describe the specific behavior you saw, describe the impact of that behavior, ask what they will do differently)? Who will do most of the talking? What response do you expect to receive from the teacher? Is there anything you can do to make the teacher more receptive to the feedback (for example: where will you choose to hold the meeting? What time of day will it be? What class period will the teacher be coming from?)
  • Ask participants to share how they plan for conferences.
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  • Participants listen and follow along in presentation while facilitator walks through key messages in slides.
  • A few participants share their answers to the question.

5 min / Slide 12Utilize Evidence
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  • Talk about the behavior: the motivation and attitude do not change the behavior. It is important that difficult conversations are rooted in behavior as opposed to character traits.
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  • Reference low inference evidence.
  • Look at an example on next slide.
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  • Participants listen and follow along in presentation while facilitator walks through key messages in slides.

2 min / Slide 13Low-Inference Evidence
  • There is a lot we could infer. For example, we could say that the teacher in this picture is creative, energetic, and fun. However, we don’t know for sure that this is the case. It could be that the students in this picture just woke up from their nap time and are taking a stretch.
  • Low inference evidence is anything you can see or hear. It is important to use low-inference evidence because it is fact and it takes your bias and interpretations out of the equation (and remember attitude and motivation don’t matter in this regard). “creative”, “energetic”, and “fun” are describing the teacher’s attitude/motivation and are not things we can actually see or hear (you can’t see or hear “energetic”).
  • Ask participants to name what they think the low-inference evidence is from this picture.
  • After responses have been given: Yes, we can only see that students have their arms raised, the teacher is standing with the students, the teacher is smiling and talking/singing, the students are standing, there are posters on the wall, the chart paper is blank. That is the low-inference evidence.
  • Remind participants that part of gathering low-inference evidence may also include asking the teacher questions about what is observed. In this case, the conversation may go like this:
  • Appraiser: "I notice you were standing up with the children, their hands were raised, and they seemed to really be focused on you. Can you tell me what was happening at that moment?” (Teacher explains her intention.)
  • Appraiser: “It seemed to me that this was an effective way to engage and reenergize your students and the classroom climate really just lit up. What other ways do you imagine you could create this energy?"
  • When giving teachers feedback use low inference evidence (collected from the classroom observation or campus interactions) and align it to bullets on the rubric.
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  • Participants listen and follow along in presentation while facilitator walks through key messages in slides
  • A few participants share their answers to the question.

1 min / Slide 14Objective #2: Build appraiser skill by using best practices to execute difficult conversations for 5 common scenarios. (Transition Slide)
  • Now let’s get into the hot seat!.

2min / Slide 15HOT SEAT
  • Facilitator will present each scenario to all appraisers.
  • After the 2 minutes for planning the facilitator will ask for a volunteer to sit in the hot seat and participate in the role play in front of the group
  • The group will watch and be ready to share feedback on the approach and/or share alternative ways to approach the conversation.
  • Remind appraisers to:
  • Use low inference evidence (they can make it up as the situation is hypothetical)
  • Make a plan with key messages
  • Have an approach ready (4 steps)
  • Stay away from I statements
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  • Participants listen and follow along in presentation while facilitator walks through key messages in slides.

11 min / Slide 16HOT SEAT #1
  • Inform participants that they are meeting with a teacher for a feedback conversation. You observed the teacher earlier today and this is what you observed – Click the video link on the slide.
  • The criterion area that stand out as your biggest concern is her ability to communicate concepts clearly (I-6). Even though she did not consistently communicate the key points of the lesson, you know she has really been working on her skills in this area, is liked by all the teachers on campus, is a coach for the soccer team, and parents think she is very kind.
  • Give participants 3 minutes to plan the conference.Ask them to focus on the following questions:
  • Based on your observation what low-inference evidence do you have in PL-1 to show that the teacher is at a level 2?
  • What specifically is the teacher missing to rate her a level 3?”
  • Ask for a volunteer for the HOT SEAT and another to play the teacher. Give them 2 minutes to role play the conversation in front of the whole group.
  • Spend 3 minutes debriefing and getting feedback from the group.
  • How well did the participant in the HOT SEAT manage to:
  • Use low inference evidence (they can make it up as the situation is hypothetical)
  • Stick to key messages
  • Stay away from I statements
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  • Participants script while watching the video.
  • Note for facilitator: Watch the video from the beginning and stop at 3:58.
  • Participants plan for the conference.
  • One volunteer acts as the appraiser and the other plays the teacher. They spend 2 minutes role playing the conversation in front of the group.
  • Participants provide feedback on the role play.

8min / Slide 17HOT SEAT #2
  • What do you do when a teacher does not agree with your feedback?
  • You are meeting with a teacher for a feedback conversation. You observed the teacher earlier today and you have rated him a 2 in the I-8 criterion (students actively participating in the lesson activities). During the conference , you share your feedback and he begins to argue with the rating and says he does not agree.
  • Give participants 3 minutes to plan the conference.
  • Ask for a volunteer for the HOT SEAT and another to play the teacher. Give them 2 minutes to role play the conversation in front of the whole group.
  • Spend 3 minutes debriefing and getting feedback from the group.
  • How well did the participant in the HOT SEAT manage to:
  • Use low-inference evidence (they can make it up as the situation is hypothetical)
  • Stick to key messages
  • Stay away from “I” statements
  • You may also want to model how to engage in this conversation:
  • Appraiser: "When I observed during 1st period Tuesday, I came away with the conclusion that this was a Level 2 ... here's the evidence I observed that led to that conclusion.
  • Teacher responds.
  • Appraiser: "I tell you what. I feel comfortable leaving this as a "2" for now, but I'll make a note to take a look again at this criterion on the next walkthrough and seek further evidence. You are also welcome to submit documentation of your perspective."
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  • Participants plan for the conference.
  • One volunteer acts as the appraiser and the other plays the teacher. They spend 2 minutes role playing the conversation in front of the group.
  • Participants provide feedback on the role play.

8min / Slide 18HOT SEAT #3
  • How will you explain to a teacher why his or her rating is lower this year than last year?
  • You are meeting with a teacher for a feedback conversation. You observed the teacher earlier today and you have rated him a 1 in the I-3 criterion (differentiates instruction for student needs by employing a variety of instructional strategies) when last year he was rated a 3. He shared with you that he is not doing anything differently this year, but you are confident that your rating is accurate because you collected low inference evidence from the classroom observation (all students were assigned the same vocabulary activity, all students stayed in their own desks during independent practice, and when students finished they were all asked to start on their homework) that supports your rating.
  • Give participants 3 minutes to plan the conference.
  • Ask for a volunteer for the HOT SEAT and another to play the teacher. Give them 2 minutes to role play the conversation in front of the whole group.
  • Spend 3 minutes debriefing and getting feedback from the group.
  • How well did the participant in the HOT SEAT manage to:
  • Use low inference evidence (they can make it up as the situation is hypothetical)
  • Stick to key messages
  • Stay away from I statements
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  • Participants plan for the conference.
  • One volunteer acts as the appraiser and the other plays the teacher. They spend 2 minutes role playing the conversation in front of the group.
  • Participants provide feedback on the role play.

8min / Slide 19HOT SEAT #4
  • What about giving difficult feedback to a teacher who is your friend?
  • You are meeting with a teacher for a feedback conversation. You observed the teacher earlier today and you have rated her a 2 in criterion I-2 (checks for student understanding). She asked 5 questions of her students, but did not adjust the lesson when students answered incorrectly. The teacher said “no, that is not the right answer” and moved on to another student. She did this for 4/5 questions asked. This teacher has been teaching on your campus with you for 8 years and you have built an amazing friendship. She even attended your son’s birthday party last year.
  • Give participants 3 minutes to plan the conference.
  • Ask for a volunteer for the HOT SEAT and another to play the teacher. Give them 2 minutes to role play the conversation in front of the whole group.
  • Spend 3 minutes debriefing and getting feedback from the group.
  • How well did the participant in the HOT SEAT manage to:
  • Use low inference evidence (they can make it up as the situation is hypothetical)
  • Stick to key messages
  • Stay away from I statements
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  • Participants plan for the conference.
  • One volunteer acts as the appraiser and the other plays the teacher. They spend 2 minutes role playing the conversation in front of the group.
  • Participants provide feedback on the role play.

1 min / Slide 20Closing (Transition Slide)
  • Ask participants to reflect on the questions written on the slide.
  • Cold call on participants to share answers.

Total Time: 90 minutes