Understanding the Role of the Advisor

1
Understanding the Role of the Advisor

• A Presentation for District and
• Site Administrators
• Prepared by the
• Peninsula BTSA Project

2
Reflect on your own experience

• Think of a time when you made a change in your
  professional career.
• What challenges did you face?
• What qualities, skills, and abilities did you
  look for, or might you have looked for, in
  choosing someone to support you during this time?
• What did you learn from this person? (or what
  might you have learned?)

3
Reflect on your own experience

• Think of three words that best describe this
  person.
• Write each one on a post-it note.
• In table groups, share your three words.
• As a group, select five words that best describe
  qualities you would look for in a support
  provider/advisor
• As a group select five words that best describe
  skills/abilities you would look for in a support
  provider/advisor.

4
Reflect on your own experience

• Review the slides, Qualities of an Excellent
  Facilitator of Adult Learning and Development
  from Ventures for Excellence, Inc.
• As a table group, discuss the similarities and
  differences between the Qualities list and the
  list of qualities, skills, and abilities that
  were developed based on your own personal
  experiences.

5
Qualities of an Excellent Facilitator of Adult
Learning and Development

• Purpose
• Mission of service
• Conceptualization of present and future
• Intensity of purpose
• Assertive meaning
• Human interaction
• Positive relationships

6
Qualities of an Excellent Facilitator of Adult
Learning and Development

• Communication
• Sensitivity
• Human development
• Growth and progress
• Organization Delegation
• Decision making
• Performance accountability

7
Reflect on your own experience

• What insights have you gained about the
  qualities, skills, and abilities of support
  providers/advisors?
• How might you use these insights when recruiting,
  selecting, and working with support
  providers/advisors?

8
The Distinct Roles of Advisors and Site
Administrators

• Advisors use Formative Assessment to promote
  professional growth.
• Site Administrators may also use formative
  assessment to promote professional growth BUT
  only site administrators use Summative Assessment
  to determine tenure, contract continuation, and
  contract renewal.

9
Criteria for Advisor Selection

• Induction Standard 8 provides the criteria for
  support Provider/Advisor selection
• Induction Standard 9 details the professional
  development Support Provider/Advisors must
  participate in

10
Induction Standard 8

• Support Provider Selection and Assignment
• Review the standard and highlight any elements in
  which you think you might have a role.
• As a table group, discuss local policies and
  practices related to Support Provider/Advisor
  selection and assignment

11
Induction Standard 9

• Support Provider Professional Development
• Review the standard and highlight any elements in
  which you think you might have a role.
• As a table group discuss local professional
  development opportunities, and Support
  Provider/Advisor roles and responsibilities

12
Table Talk

• As a table group, discuss the hurdles you face in
  each of the following areas as they relate to
  Advisors
• Recruitment
• Professional development
• Time
• Resources

13
Scenarios

• For each scenario, share possible
• strategies with your table group, then with
• the whole group.
• 1 There is a shortage of substitutes in the
  district. As a result, one of your support
  providers is unable to schedule a substitute for
  a participating teachers veteran teacher
  observation. How might you resolve the problem?

14
Scenarios

• 2 A teacher who possesses the necessary
  qualities, skills, and abilities declines the
  opportunity to become an Advisor. How might you
  encourage this reluctant teacher to become an
  Advisor?

15
Scenarios

• 3 A participating teacher on your campus is an
  after-school coach, and has been assigned morning
  duty. As a result, the Advisor is having a
  difficult time scheduling time to work with the
  participating teacher? How might you remedy this
  situation?

16
Building Professional Relationships

• Without others,
• we cannot learn.
• If we cannot learn,
• we cannot teach.
• Carl D. Glickman
• Leadership for Learning, 2002

17
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

• For each scenario, determine if the interaction
  was
• Good - Appropriate interaction between the site
  administrator and Advisor
• Bad - Inappropriate sharing of information
• Ugly - Possible legal ramification due to sharing
  of confidential personnel information

18
Scenario 1

• Advisor approaches site administrator and shares
  concerns about the participating teachers
  classroom management.
• The site administrator shares her concerns as
  well.
• Good, Bad, or Ugly???

19
Scenario 1

• UGLY!!
• What is a better response when an Advisor shares
  confidential information about a participating
  teacher with a site administrator?

20
Scenario 1

• Possible Good responses
• Site administrator reminds Advisor that the
  confidentiality between the Advisor and
  participating teacher is vital
• Site administrator reminds Advisor that Advisor
  role is to support the participating teacher in
  their development and the site administrator role
  is to evaluate their teaching performance.

21
Scenario 2

• Advisor shares positive comments about one
  participating teacher with the site
  administrator. Then, the Advisor declines to give
  information about another participating teacher.
• Good, Bad, or Ugly???

22
Scenario 2

• BAD!!
• What is a better response when an Advisor shares
  confidential information about a participating
  teacher with a site administrator?

23
Scenario 2

• See Scenario 1 - confidentiality between
  participating teacher and Advisor is absolute,
  even when the information is positive.
• The role of the Advisor is to work with the
  participating teacher to improve their practice.
  This work should be separate from the work of the
  site administrator.

24
Scenario 3

• After a formal evaluation, the participating
  teacher shares his concerns with the Advisor the
  site administrator gave the teacher very low
  marks in classroom management and differentiating
  instruction.
• The participating teacher is concerned that he
  will not be rehired for the next school year.
• The Advisor offers to go to the site
  administrator and tell her how hard the teacher
  has been working on these areas and will try to
  convince the administrator to change the
  evaluation.

25
Scenario 3

• Good, Bad, or Ugly???
• UGLY!!
• What should the site administrators response be?
• How might the Advisor handled this situation
  differently?

26
Scenario 3

• Site Administrator should remind Advisor that
  although the Advisor has invested a great deal of
  time developing a relationship with this teacher,
  it is imperative that they not lose sight of the
  fact that formative assessment results are used
  to guide professional development and not for the
  purpose of teacher evaluation or employment
  decisions. It is the site administrators sole
  responsibility to evaluate teacher performance.

27
Scenario 3

• The Advisor should offer support and assistance
  to the teacher in addressing administrative
  concerns.
• Formative assessment processes should be used to
  help the participating teacher make the necessary
  improvements

28
Scenario 4

• The Advisor has concerns that students are in
  imminent danger in the classroom. The Advisor
  shares this concern with the site administrator.
• Good, Bad, or Ugly???

29
Scenario 4

• GOOD!!
• Student safety should be taken very seriously.
  The Advisor should inform the site administrator
  if they believe students could be hurt.
• It is the site administrators job to gather
  information, investigate, and take appropriate
  action.

30
If, as a teacher,

• I present the same lessons in the same manner
  that I have used in the past
• I seek no feedback from my students
• I do not analyze and evaluate their work in a
  manner that changes my own emphasis, repertoire,
  and timing
• I do not visit or observe other adults as they
  teach

31
If, as a teacher,

• I do not share the work of my students with
  colleagues for feedback, suggestions, and
  critiques
• I do not visit other schools or attend particular
  workshops, or seminars, or read professional
  literature on aspects of my teaching

32
If, as a teacher,

• I do not welcome visitors with experience and
  expertise to observe and provide feedback to me
  on my classroom practice
• I have no yearly individualized professional
  development plan focused on classroom changes to
  improve student learning and finally,

33
If, as a teacher,

• I have no systematic evaluation of my teaching
  tied to individual, grade/department, and school
  wide goals
• Then

34

• I have absolutely no way to become better as a
  teacher.
• Carl D. Glickman
• Leadership for Learning, 2002

35

• Thank you for your continuing support of our BTSA
  participating teachers and Advisors!

36
Contact Information

• Peninsula BTSA Project (PBP)
• San Mateo County Office of Education
• 101 Twin Dolphin Drive
• Redwood City, CA 94065-1064
• www.penbtsa.org
• 650.802.5328
• Fax [phone]

37
PBP Staff

• Debra Tito, Director
• 650.802.5356 dtito_at_smcoe.k12.ca.us
• Barbara Taylor, BTSA and PALS Coordinator
• 650.802.5334 btaylor_at_smcoe.k12.ca.us
• Ruth Beauchamp, Intern Coordinator
• 650.802.5353 rbeauchamp_at_smcoe.k12.ca.us
• Mitzi Soo, Teacher on Special Assignment, Special
  Education
• 650.802.5357 msoo_at_smcoe.k12.ca.us
• Lisa Suruki, Administrative Assistant
• 650.802.5328 lsuruki_at_smcoe.k12.ca.us