Curry School dean Bob Pianta is an active contributor on education matters to the Center for American Progress. May 15, 2012, his second report, Implementing Observation Protocols, was released by the center.
From the Center for American Progress press release:
Washington, D.C. — Today the Center for American Progress released a new report recommending that when it comes to evaluating teachers through observation, America’s public K-12 schools have much to learn from the experiences accrued by their counterparts in the early childhood sector. While there are too few models of how to do observation well in the K-12 sector, the early childhood field provides more than two decades of widespread application of classroom observation from which to draw lessons.
The report, entitled “Implementing Observation Protocols,” draws from decades of experience using observation in early childhood education, which has implications for administrative decisions, evaluation practices, and policymaking in K-12. Early childhood education has long embraced the value of observing classrooms and teacher-child interactions. In early childhood education the features of the settings in which children are served are the hallmarks of quality. These features can include health and safety considerations, the materials and physical layout of the space, and the interactions that take place between adults and children—such as conversations, emotional tone, or physical proximity.
The observational assessment of teachers’ classroom practices, along with estimates of teachers’ contributions to student achievement gains and other measures, is the cornerstone of new assessments in K-12 education. Standardized observations of early childhood education features yield metrics that are used in state and federal policy, program improvement investments, and the credentialing of professionals—all uses that K-12 education is now considering.
To read the full report, Implementing Observation Protocols: Lessons for K-12 Education from the Field of Early Childhood, visit http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/05/observation_protocols.html
Pianta’s first paper published by the Center for American Progress, Teaching Children Well, was released on November 29, 2011.
To speak with Dean Pianta, please contact Audrey Breen at 434.294.0809 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
To speak with the Center for American Progress, please contact Katie Peters at 202.741.6285 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
