SamTastic Weekly Tip: 10/16/17 - Follow-up.

Follow-up.

I bet you did a lot of the four kinds of observation last week. Maybe some professional development and teaching a modeling, too.

Take a look at your TimeTrack and see if you can find follow-up events. A follow-up event is one that you scheduled as a result of a completed event. A feedback session would be an example of follow-up. A PLC meeting might be, too.

For every observation, whether it be student supervision, work with students, observation or walk-through, should, logically, have a follow-up feedback session. A SAM should ask:

1. a. “Who did you see last week who impressed you? Can I schedule a Celebratory Feedback session with her?”

2. b. “Who did you see that caused you concern?” Can I schedule a directive or non-directive feedback session with him?”

3. c. “What did you see during your observations that changes what you want to do at your staff meeting this week? Can I schedule time for you to plan the staff meeting? Is there someone you would like to help you with this planning?”

Take a look in TimeTrack for the month of September. Were there any professional development sessions you attended? Your teachers? Now, see if you can find specific events you scheduled to follow-up the professional development session. If not, what can you schedule to make sure the time spent in a PD session has value? This can lead to productive and positive conversations with teachers in individual feedback sessions as well as group sessions: Planning/Curriculum/Assessment or Decision Making Groups and Meetings.

See if you can find in September a time you worked with parents on an instructional issue. Yes? What follow-up have you scheduled? Don’t’ want to schedule follow-up? Why, then, did you do the session with parents in the first place? Can’t find a time in September when you worked with parents on an instructional issue? Why? What could you schedule this month? What follow-up makes sense.

Follow-up. This is a question that a SAM should ask in EVERY SAM DAILY MEETING. “You did the observation? Great! What follow-up would you like me to schedule?”