PPfT Appraisal
September 2016 Newsletter
Dear PPfT Appraisal Teachers,
Dear PPfT Appraisal Teachers,
We hope your school year is off to a fabulous start! We will provide information and details about the Professional Pathways for Teachers (PPfT) Appraisal to you periodically throughout the school year.
September's PPfT Appraisal Newsletter includes pertinent information and deadlines regarding the PPfT Appraisal and will cover the following topics:
- Orientation and Individual Learning Plan Reminders
- Instructional Practice
- Student Learning Objectives (SLOs)
- Recommended Learning Opportunities, Teaching Channel and Demonstration Classroom videos
- PPfT Appraisal Resources
PPfT Appraisal Orientation and Individual Learning Plan:
The following activities are required to begin the appraisal process and should be complete:
- PPfT Online Orientation was due September 12, 2016. You were registered for this course at the start of the school year. If you have not completed this online course, click on the Professional Development tab in HCP to view your upcoming courses. You may need to click on "Show All" to view a full list. Under "My Courses" you will see PPfT Online Orientation for Teachers. Click on this course to begin the online orientation.
- Start appraisal plan and verify completion of online orientation (Teacher Orientation in HCP.) Please know completing the PPfT online orientation and verifying completion of the online orientation in HCP are two separate activities.
- Individual Learning Plan (ILP) was due September 13, 2016.
If you have not completed these activities, please do so as soon as possible. Also, make sure to use the most current version of Mozilla Firefox or Chrome. Internet Explorer is not compatible with our system. Please see the attached PPfT Appraisal Plan HCP Instructions for help accessing your Appraisal Plan and completing the Orientation and Individual Learning Plan.
Be sure to review the PPfT Appraisal Timeline for additional important details and deadlines.
Instructional Practice:
One specific area that PPfT aims to focus on is how to help teachers improve their instructional practice to benefit the students in the classroom. Instructional Practice is the observation part of appraisal which will be observed throughout the school year and accounts for 50% of the total appraisal score.
- Each teacher will have 2 announced observations (1 in the fall, 1 in the spring) from different appraisers
- Each teacher will have at least 2 classroom visits throughout the school year- 1 in the fall and 1 in the spring. These visits will not be scored numerically.
- Classroom visits and observations are based on a rubric of 7 strands of instructional practice
Instructional Practice Resources
Be sure to explore the Instructional Practice resources available to you throughout the school year:
- The Instructional Practices Online Resources Site provides a teacher toolkit for each strand of the rubric, a classroom showcase and recommended reading
- Pages 5- 14 in the PPfT Support Guide include teaching strategies and procedures for each strand
- PPfT Instructional Practice Rubric
Student Learning Objectives (SLOs):
The Student Learning Objective (SLO) is a method of measuring Student growth and is worth 15% of your appraisal. The SLO allows you as a teacher to set targets at the beginning of a course in an area of high need for students that can be achieved by the end. Rather than measuring if all students have reached the same attainment level, SLOs assign growth targets for each student to achieve based on a pre-assessment. Do not forget about the SLO Resources for teachers:
Important Dates:
- October 21, 2016 is the New Student enrollment cut-off date
- October 28, 2016- Complete and submit SLO for validation in online database
- November 18, 2016- Appraiser validates SLO
Recommended Learning Opportunities, Teaching Channel and Demonstration Classroom Videos:
HCP includes appraisal resources, professional development opportunities and access to the Teaching Channel and Demonstration Classroom Videos. There are also Recommended Learning Opportunities available to you at the bottom of your PPfT Appraisal plan. This feature provides ample learning opportunities, both self-paced and instructor led, to assist you throughout the year.
Click on the Recommended Learning Opportunities activity link to view any course that have been recommended to you by your appraiser.
PPfT Appraisal Resources:
The following PPfT Appraisal resources are available to help you throughout the year:
- The AISD PPfT Appraisal Website provides links to resources for instructional practice, appraisal rubrics, timelines and the support guide.
- The PPfT Appraisal Support Guide provides detailed information about components and policies, as well as directions and guidelines for how to complete the appraisal.
- The Instructional Practices Online Resource Site provides a teacher toolkit for each strand of the rubric, links to instructional strategies, links to videos of expected standard and above expected standard teaching, a classroom showcase of AISD teachers and recommended reading for teachers.
- HCP includes appraisal resources, professional development opportunities and access to the Teaching Chanel and Demonstration Classroom Videos.
- The Professional Pathways for Teachers (PPfT) Appraisal Plan HCP Instructions for Teachers provides a step-by-step walkthrough of the Professional Pathways for Teachers Plan from the Teacher perspective.