SALT TEACH Tool Class Room Observation Guidelines, Action Plan, Schedule

SALT TEACH Tool Class Room Observation Guidelines, Action Plan, Schedule School Education, AP - Samagra Shiksha - Supporting Andhra’s - Learning Transformation (SALT) - Teach Tool classroom observations - Certain instructions - Issued

School Education, AP - Samagra Shiksha - Supporting Andhra’s - Learning Transformation (SALT) - Teach Tool classroom observations - Certain instructions - Issued.  Rc.No.SS-15021/15/2022-SAMO-SSA, Dt: 03/02/2023

Ref:-

1 Procgs.Rc.No: ESE02/173/2022-SCERT Dated: 28/06/2022 of the SCERT, AP.
2 Procgs.Rc.No.ESE02/547/2022-SCERT Dated: 22/07/2022 of the SCERT, AP.
3 Procgs.Rc.No.ESE02-22/53/2022-SCERT Dated: 19/11/2022 of the SCERT, AP.

 

The District Educational Officers & Additional Project Coordinators of Samagra Shiksha in the State are hereby informed that the Department of School Education implementing the Supporting Andhra’s Learning Transformation(SALT) program in collaboration with World Bank to achieve the state’s vision of quality education. In alignment with the above recommendations, one of SALT’s goals is also to improve teaching practices measured according to a standardized classroom observation tool which is the TEACH tool. This means that teachers will be provided with consistent classroom support through teacher mentors who will observe the classroom using the TEACH tool.

 

The TEACH tool is a comprehensive classroom observation tool developed by the World Bank. The Teach Tool focuses on two main aspects which are time spent on teaching-learning and quality of teaching practices. Quality of teaching practices has 3 main indicators; Classroom Culture which deals with creating a joyful learning environment for children, Classroom instruction which deals with how well a lesson is being taught, & Social-Emotional Learning which deals with how well-being of children and developing 21st century skills are being integrated into the lesson.

 

As part of the SALT Project, a mobile application was developed to digitalize the TEACH Tool such that classroom observations can be conducted digitally. In order to operationalize the classroom observation system in the state, over the past one year, SCERT has trained 6143 teacher mentors on the TEACH tool in two phases. These teacher mentors belong to the cadre of Cluster Resource Persons, Upper Primary HMs, High School HMs and Complex HMs. They have gone through a rigorous 9-day training programme followed by an exam that certifies them as TEACH tool observers. A initial baseline of 10000 teachers was done based on the TEACH.

 

Post the training and baseline, it is now time for these Teacher Mentors to fulflill their roles and begin classroom observations across the state. To operationalize this decision a detail action plan was developed and annexed to this proceedings for doing the class room observations across the State as per the below schedule.

Timelines for implementation

 

Activity	Timeline
Online distribution of Login IDs and Testing for Observers	February 1st  - 4th, 2023
Online Orientation for Sectoral officers	February 7th, 2023
Online Orientation to all Observers	February 8th , 2023
Online Orientation for Teachers	February 9th, 2023
Observations begin	February 10th, 2023

 

Therefore the District Educational Officers & Additional Project Coordinators of Samagra Shiksha in the State are hereby informed to communicate the guidelines to all schools in their respective districts for doing the class room observations as part of the teach tool implementation as per the action plan.

 

Encls:- Action plan for classroom observations

 

 Action plan for classroom observations

 

Background

1. The Honourable Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has a vision of improving the overall learning outcomes of all students in the State, a first step towards this was the flagship Mana Baadi -d Naadu Nedu program which has been successful in transforming the school infrastructure in the state, thus creating a conducive learning environment in the state. Several initiatives are now being implemented to bring this change within our classrooms and transform the quality of teacher-student interaction in classrooms of Andhra Pradesh.
2. In view of the above goal, it is important to consider that many recent reports like ASER, 2022, State Level Achievement Survey,2022 indicate low levels of performance in academics among children of age 5-d16 in Andhra Pradesh. Except for English, students' performance in different subjects across the grades is low (36-d51)t and below the national average as per 2021 NaAS report. Reading, Comprehension, and Math have been particularly challenging and below the optimal level of proficiency for the required grade level.
3. At the same time, the government of Andhra Pradesh has conducted several trainings for teachers in the past few years. However, as per the Teacher Needs assessment conducted by SCERT in December 2021, teachers expressed the need for classroom level support to implement the strategies they learns in these training sessions.
4. Aligned to the above stated needs of teachers, the National Education Policy states that empowerment of teachers is necessary to ensure the best possible future for our children and nation. Research and academic experts also strongly suggest classroom based support helps teachers get contextualized guidance on improving their teaching Therefore, It is recommended that along with training programs, teachers are provided support through classroom observations and feedback.
5. Government Andhra Pradesh has adopted Supporting Andhra’s Learning Transformation(SALT program in collaboration with World Bank to achieve the state’s vision of quality education. In alignment with the above recommendations, one of SALT’s goals is also to improve teaching practices measured according to a standarlised classroom observation tool which is the TEACH tool. This means that teachers will be provided with consistent classroom support through teacher mentors who will observe the classroom using the TEACH tool.
6. The TEACH tool is a comprehensive classroom observation tool developed by the World Bank. The Teach Tool focuses on two main aspects which are time spent on teaching-learning and quality of teaching practices. Quality of teaching practices has 3 main indicators; Classroom Culture which deals with creating a joyful learning environment for children, Classroom instruction which deals with how well a lesson is being taught, & Social-Emotional Learning which deals with how well-being of children and developing 21st century skills are being integrated into the lesson.

7. As part of the SALT Project, a mobile application was developed to digitize the TEACH Tool such that classroom observations can be conducted digitally. In order to operationalize the classroom observation system in the state, over the past one year, SCERT has trained 6143 teacher mentors on the TEACH tool in two phases. These teacher mentors belong to the cadre of Cluster Resource Persons, Upper Primary HMs, High School HMs and Complex HMs. They have gone through a rigorous 9-dday training programme followed by an exam that certifies them as TEACH tool observers. A initial baseline of 10000 teachers was done based on the TEACH.
8. Post the training and baseline, it is now time for these Teacher Mentors to fulfil their roles and begin classroom observations across the state. To operationalize this decision the nodal officers, sectoral officers, Complex Resource Persons Upper Primary HMs, High School HMs and Complex HM, should do as stated below..

 

Observation Process

 

Before observation

1. Login IDs will be provided to all observers for the app. There will be an online orientation to test these IDs before beginning observations.
2. Every observer will be mapped to 15 teachers, this will be mapped in the TEACH app.
3. Observer will schedule observations on the app for 15 teachers.
4. The target is to observe all the teachers over the span of two months.
5. Once observations are scheduled, a reminder message will be sent to the observer and the teacher on the previous day. The observer will call the teacher to confirm the visit on receiving this message.
6. The observer will carry a notebook to maintain observation notes with the date. This will be reviewed during the Mandal level review. 

During observation

1. The observer will observe the classroom for 40 minutes. The 40 minutes will include 15 minutes of observation, 10 minutes of observation data filling on the app, 15 minutes of observation.
2. The observer will fill data for the last segment after coming out of the classroom.

 

Post observation

1. The teacher will get a message on WhatsApp to confirm the
2. Material based on teacher observation scores will be sent to the teacher through WhatsApp.
3. A call will be made to the teacher in two weeks to ensure the consumption of the materials provided through WhatsApp.
4. The observer will schedule the next observation in two months time.

Review structures

District Level Review

 Chaired by: District Education Officer

Participants: Mandal Level Officers, Academic Monitoring Officer Mode: This will be an in person meeting.

A review meeting will be conducted in the last week of every month to analyze the TEACH data using the dashboard. The agenda of the review meeting will be as follows:

1. Analyzing completed observations vs targeted observations mandal
2. Analyse support that can be given to teachers based on observation data. These recommendations will be sent on a monthly basis to the
3. Creating an action plan based on the data to meet targeted
4. The prescribed structure for this meeting will be rolled out to all districts during the orientation.

 

Mandal Level Review

 Chaired by: Mandal Education Officers

Participants: Observers (CRPs, Upper Primary HMs, High School HMs and Complex HMs

Mode: This will be an in-person meeting.

A review meeting will be conducted in the last week of every month to analyse the TEACH data using the dashboard. The agenda of the review meeting will be as follows:

1. Analysing completed observations vs targeted observations mandal
2. Creating an action plan based on the data to meet targeted
3. Check on the usage of whatsapp material and resources by teachers.
4. Analysis and discussion on the quality of observation notes done by observers.
5. Next steps in the form of an action plan will be collated based on points 1-4 which will be shared in the district meeting.
6. The prescribed structure for this meeting will be rolled out to all districts during the orientation.

Roles and responsibilities

 

Role	Classrooms to be observed
Cluster Resource Person	1st -5th in Primary schools in their own cluster
Upper Primary HM	Up to 7th in their own school
High School HM	Up to 10th standard in their own school
Complex HM	Up to 10th standard in their own school

 

Cluster Resource Person

1. Schedule observations in the TEACH app for the 15 primary teachers mapped to them who belong to the same cluster.
2. Conduct 15 observations over a span of two months for 15 different
3. Each observer should conduct at least 2 observations per week.
4. Observation data should be filled directly into the app during In case of no internet connectivity, the observer should sync the data within 24 hours.
5. Attend and participate in monthly Mandal-dlevel review meetings and any other orientations.

 

Upper Primary HM, High School HM, Complex HM

 

1. Schedule observations in the TEACH app for the 15 teachers mapped to them who belong to the same school and grades as indicated in the above table.
2. Conduct 15 observations over a span of two months for 15 different
3. Each observer should conduct at least 2 observations per week.
4. Observation data should be filled directly into the app during In case of no internet connectivity, the observer should sync the data within 24 hours.
5. Attend and participate in monthly mandal- level meetings and any other orientations.

 

Mandal Education Officer

1. Reviewing Observations to be completed at Mandal Level and taking necessary actions based on observations Target
2. Prepare monthly reports on observations completed, prepare action plans accordingly, and submit them to the DEO -d each month
3. Assisting the the district representative of SALT from SALT technical agency(Leadership For Equity) with any type of data request
4. Attending complex level meetings in the Mandal and giving the inputs
5. Conduct co-dvisits with observers once a month
6. Conduct review meetings according to prescribed format with the observers on a monthly basis and send recommendations to the state.
7. The review will be conducted every last Wednesday of the month.

District Education Officer

1. Provide support to the SALT technical agency(Leadership For Equity) and Academic Monitoring officer towards implementation at district level
2. Support and guidance in District Planning and Execution of observation systems.
3. Closely Monitor the whole process along with Academic Monitoring Officer
4. Issuing Proceedings/Guidelines to AMO, DyEOs, MEOs and Observers for smooth Implementation to ensure continuity in observations till April 2024.
5. Conduct review meetings according to prescribed format with the Academic Monitoring officers and MEOs on a monthly basis and send recommendations to the state.
6. The review will be conducted every last Friday of the month.

Academic Monitoring Officer

1. Active support and coordination (Project related) with observers and SALT technical agency(Leadership For Equity) supporting implementation
2. Closely monitoring the project deliverables and helping in follow ups
3. Coordinating with DEOs MEOs, DyEOs for conducting any trainings or review meeting based on Classroom observation data
4. Ensuring all observers are conducting classroom observations as per schedule and submitting the on app
5. Attending District level review meetings on a monthly basis and one mandal review meeting per month

Timelines for implementation

 

Activity	Timeline
Online distribution of Login IDs and Testing for Observers	February 1st  -4th, 2023
Online Orientation for Sectoral officers	February 7th, 2023
Online Orientation to all Observers	February 8th , 2023
Online Orientation for Teachers	February 9th, 2023
Observations begin	February 10th, 2023

 

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