Evaluations: a word dreaded by many classroom teachers. Instead of welcoming administrator feedback and incorporating it into their practice, many teachers find this process threatening and a reason to panic.
Message Sent can change that.
Compiled by veteran teacher and administrator Kamilah D. Holden, Message Sent provides constructive and actionable feedback to teachers on practices observed by administrators during classroom instruction. Designed as a resource to help facilitate better communication between teachers and administrators, this book employs real scenarios and lines of questioning to help the entire educational team gain a better understanding of how they can improve practice and, ultimately, student learning.
Divided into four sections, the book covers topics such as instructional delivery, grouping, student tasks, and classroom management. At the end of each of the nineteen scenarios, Holden includes an "Administration Might Ask" section intended to help administrators encourage teachers to develop their own conclusions about their effectiveness.
Holden also includes the "Constructive Feedback" exercises to provide specific, actionable guidance, while the "Examples in Practice Scenarios" demonstrate best practices for teachers to model.
When teachers and administrators remember that evaluations are designed in order to promote effective teaching, students are the ones who truly win.
About the Author: Kamilah D. Holden earned her undergraduate degree from Bethune-Cookman University and her master of science degree in education from National University.
Holden has over a decade's worth of experience in the field of education, serving as a teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal, and principal in some of the largest districts in the United States. She has also worked in the Florida Department of Education, helping to support districts and school-based leadership teams develop systems for school improvement efforts.
Holden believes strongly in the importance of providing teachers with feedback that supports change and growth and realizes that not all administrators have enough experience with coaching or providing guidance to improve instruction. Message Sent represents her vision to support the efforts of both teachers and administrators.
