AP SS SALT Teach Tools Action Plan for Classroom Observations – Online Teach Tool Training, Teach Tools Guidelines – Instructions

  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 operationalise 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 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 operationalise 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.

Action plan for SALT Teach Tools 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 Badi Naadu Naedu 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-dtudent 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 Naeeds 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 Naational 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 practices. 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(SALTt program in collaboration with World Baank 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 standardised 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 digitise the TEACH Tool such that classroom observations can be conducted digitally. In order to operationalise 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 operationalise this decision the nodal officers, sectoral officers, Complex Resource Persons Upper Primary HMs, High School HMs and Complex HM, should do as stated below..

Teach Tools Action Plan 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.

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

•  The teacher will get a message on WhatsApp to confirm the observation.
•  Material based on teacher observation scores will be sent to the teacher through WhatsApp.
• A call will be made to the teacher in two weeks to ensure the consumption of the materials provided through WhatsApp.
• 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 analyse the TEACH data using the dashboard. The agenda of the review meeting will be as follows:

• Analysing completed observations vs targeted observations mandal wise.
•  Analyse support that can be given to teachers based on observation data. These recommendations will be sent on a monthly basis to the state.
• Creating an action plan based on the data to meet targeted observations.

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 wise.
• 2. Creating an action plan based on the data to meet targeted observations.
• 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-d4 which will be shared in the district meeting.

The prescribed structure for this meeting will be rolled out to all districts during the orientation.