Ethical Issues for Administrators Individual Freedom and the Public Interest Educational Evaluation

1. Individual Freedom and the
Public Interest

2. Consequentialists hold that ultimately there
is only one morally significant relationship
between persons: the relationship of
benefactor and beneficiary
Non-consequentialists hold that there are
many relationships that have moral
significance; parent-child, friend-friend,
teacher-student.

3. Consequentialisms asks, “What is our
objective and how can we most effectively
realize our objective; the production of the
greatest possible good?”
Non-consequentialisms asks, “What is
one’s duty?” Promises must be kept, debts
must be paid, dependents must be looked
after; and stealing, lying and cruelty must
be avoided.

4. Is it OK to disregard our end goal to be
sure everyone is treated equally? How do
we reconcile that?
Doesn’t a poor teacher get to make the
choice to not be better? Doesn’t a student
get to make the choice not to engage?

5. These are relatable to everyone
They can be dependent upon each
other
The principles may conflict

6. People are not objects to
be manipulated. It is a
violation to human dignity
to use people in ways they
do not freely choose.
People have dignity based
upon their ability to choose
freely what they will do
with THEIR lives and they
have a fundamental moral
right to have these choices
respected.
Immanuel Kant

7. Individuals are their own best judges of
what makes them happy.
It is the freedom to choose that makes
people happy.
Freedom provides for experimentation in
diverse ways of living which makes are
lives better and happier.

8.  Respect for morality requires respect for free
choice.
• “I must respect your choice because it is your choice.”
 Important to grant people the freedom to make
their choices
• “If you are responsible, then I should not interfere.”
 If we do interfere then we are treating others as
a means to our own ends.
• “To interfere with choices is to treat people as a means
to OUR ends.”

9. Ariana Iacono.
Clayton High School,
and the Church of Body Modification

11. Texas State
Capitol
Jackson County
Public Schools

12. None of our reasons so far allow us to do
whatever we want simply because we
have chosen to do so.
Need to understand the difference
between the public sphere and the private
sphere.

13. All men are mortal. FACT
Socrates is a man. FACT
Socrates is mortal. CONCLUSION
All men are mortal. FACT
Socrates is a man. FACT
Socrates’ dog is mortal. WHAT??

14. Both confess =5 years in prison
Neither confess = 1 year in prison
One confession and one doesn’t confess:
confessor = freedom
non-confessor =10 years in prison.

15. “Moral principles
cannot be derived from
facts alone.”
Now what…
…if you don’t like the
answer change the
question!
David Hume

16.  To the Truth (about matters that significantly
affect our choices)
 Of Privacy (as long as it does not harm others)
 Not to be Injured (unless we freely and
knowingly do something to deserve punishment
or knowingly risk injury
 To what is Agreed (contracts and agreements
should be honored)

17. I can differentiate between public and
private matters.
I can use strategies to find balance
between the interest under consideration
and the possible effect on the students
(The Third Thing).
I understand Facts vs. Morals vs. Values.
I understand the importance of moral
principles and how they assert duties and
obligations on us.

18. Educational Evaluation

19. “Good teaching cannot be reduced to
technique; good teaching comes from the
identity and integrity of the teacher.
Palmer, P.J. 1999. The courage to teach.
Jossey-Bass.

21. •What defines a good teacher?
•How do we know a good teacher when
we see one?
•How will we respond when we notice a
good teacher?
•How will we respond when we notice a
poor teacher?

22. Do our teachers know the standards for
which they will be judged?
Are the standards being consistently
applied? (inter-rater reliability)
Are decisions made with reasonable
evidence available on a systemic basis?
Is your judgment a rational connection
to a legitimate purpose?

27. Educational Equity
All Students Reaching Their Full Potential

30. ValuesHigh
ProcessLow
ValuesHigh
ProcessHigh
ValuesLow
ProcessLow
ValuesLow
ProcessHigh
Resiliency (Process)
Flexibility
(Values)
High
Low High

31. Robert Marzano’s
research suggests that
as effective teachers
we do!

32. Percentile Entering Percentile Leaving
Average School/
Average Teacher
50th 50th
Highly Ineffective School/
Highly Ineffective Teacher
50th 3rd
Highly Effective School/
Highly Ineffective Teacher
50th 37th
Highly Ineffective School/
Highly Effective Teacher
50th 63rd
Highly Effective School/
Highly Effective Teacher 50th 96th
Highly Effective School/
Average Teacher 50th 78th

33. Self-assessment
Goal setting
Professional growth plan
Work on plan, collegially and
collaboratively
Reflection/closure

34. Plan•What are my goals?
•What do I know about my students?
•Information gathering
•Developing a Plan
Do/Teach•Implementation in the classroom

35. Plan•What are my goals?
•What do I know about my students?
•Information gathering
•Developing a Plan
Do/Teach•Implementation in the classroom
Study/Reflect•What have I learned about my students?
•What have I learned about my teaching?
•What have I learned about our community of learners
Act/Apply•How will I apply what I’ve leaned in my
classroom to enhance student learning?

36. You have taken this from a
colleague…why are you using it in your
class?
How is this activity, assessment, etc. better
than the last time you used it?
How has your teaching affected learning?

37.  Common language to
talk about teaching
 34 critical components
of teaching
 Organized into 5
domains

38. Knowledge of your content area
Knowledge of your students
Knowledge of available resources
Selection of instructional goals
Ability to design coherent instruction
Ability to accurately assess student learning

39. Creating an environment of respect and rappor
Establishing a culture for learning
Managing classroom procedures
Managing student behavior
Organizing physical space

40. Communicating clearly and accurately
Questioning and Discussion Skills
Engaging students in learning
Providing feedback to students
Responding to classroom events

41. Reflecting on teaching
Maintaining accurate records
Communicating with families
Professional growth and development
Contributing to your school and district
Showing professionalism

42. Unsatisfactory
Developing
Proficient
Distinguished
**Swimming analogy

43. COMPONENT LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE
UNSATISFACTORY – The
teacher does not yet appear to
understand the concepts underlying
the component. Working on the
fundamental practices associated with
the elements will enable the teacher
to grow and develop.
DEVELOPING – The teacher
appears to understand the concepts
underlying the component and
attempts to implement its elements.
Implementation is sporadic,
intermittent, or otherwise not entirely
successful. Additional reading,
discussion, visiting classrooms of
other teachers, and experience will
enable the teacher to grow and
develop.
PROFICIENT – The teacher
clearly understands the concepts
underlying the component and
implements it well.
DISTINGUISHED – Teachers at
this level are master teachers and
make a contribution to the field, both
in and outside their school. Their
classrooms operate at a qualitatively
different level, consisting of a
community of learners, with students
highly motivated and engaged, and
assuming considerable responsibility
for their own learning.
3a:
Communicating
Clearly and
Accurately
Teacher’s oral and written
communication contains errors or is
unclear or inappropriate to students.
Teacher’s oral and written
communication contains no errors, but
may not be completely appropriate or
may require further explanations to
avoid confusion.
Teacher communicates clearly and
accurately to students, both orally and
in writing.
Teacher’s oral and written
communication is clear and
expressive, anticipating possible
student misconceptions.
3b:
Using
Questioning
And Discussion
Techniques
Teacher makes poor use of
questioning and discussion
techniques, with low-level questions,
limited student participation, and little
true discussion.
Teacher’s use of questioning and
discussion techniques is uneven, with
some high-level questions, attempts
at true discussion, and moderate
student participation.
Teacher’s use of questioning and
discussion techniques reflects high-
level questions, true discussion, and
full participation by all students.
Students formulate many of the high-
level questions and assume
responsibility for the participation of all
students in the discussion.
3c:
Engaging
Students in
Learning
Students are not at all intellectually
engages in significant learning, as a
result of inappropriate activities or
materials, poor representations of
content, or lack of lesson structure.
Students are intellectually engaged
only partially, resulting from activities
or materials of uneven quality,
inconsistent representations of
content, or uneven structure or
pacing.
Students are intellectually engaged
throughout the lesson, with
appropriate activities and materials,
instructive representations of content,
and suitable structure and pacing of
the lesson.
Students are highly engaged
throughout the lesson and make
material contributions to the
representation of content, the
activities, and the materials. The
structure and pacing of the lesson
allow for student reflection and
closure.
3d:
Providing
Feedback to
Students
Teacher’s feedback to students is of
poor quality and is not given in a
timely manner.
Teacher’s feedback to students is
uneven, and its timeliness is
inconsistent.
Teacher’s feedback to students is
timely and of consistently high quality.
Teacher’s feedback to students is
timely and of consistently high quality,
and students make use of the
feedback in their learning.
3e:
Demonstrating
Flexibility and
Responsiveness
Teacher adheres to the instruction
plan in spite of evidence of poor
student understanding or students’
lack of interest, and fails to respond to
students’ questions; teacher assumes
no responsibility for students’ failure to
understand.
Teacher demonstrates moderate
flexibility and responsiveness to
students’ needs and interests during a
lesson, and seeks to ensure the
success of all students.
Teacher seeks ways to ensure
successful learning for all students,
making adjustments as needed to
instruction plans and responding to
student interests and questions.
Teacher is highly responsive to
student’s interests and questions,
making major lesson adjustments if
necessary, and persists in ensuring
the success of all students.
3f:
Technology as a Tool
Teacher does not comprehend the
value of instructional technology nor
uses this resource to enhance
teaching and learning in the school
community
Teacher uses the basic functions of
instructional technology and applies it
minimally to their professional practice
as a teacher.
Teacher displays a solid
understanding of instructional
technology and uses its capabilities
frequently to enhance teaching and
learning in the school community.
In addition to understanding and using
higher levels of instructional
technology, the teacher is willing to
pioneer and investigate new
technology that enhances teaching
and learning in the school community.

44. …a checklist of specific teaching behaviors
• while good teachers may accomplish many of the
same things, the may not achieve them in the
same way
…an endorsement of a particular teaching
style
• good teachers are professionals and should have
a repertoire of strategies to choose from to meet
instructional goals

45. Recognizing the Educational Impact of
Cultural Diversity
Building Relationships Across Differentiated
Cultures
Accessing Demographic Inequalities in
Achievement
Adapting Curriculum to Reflect Cultural
Diversity
Ongoing Self-Reflection About Cultural
Competence

46. Diagnostic versus prescriptive
Collaborative and reflective
How are teachers demonstrating their skill?
Observe other teachers so that we can
learn from each other!
Self directed professional inquiry
Professional growth

47. • Teacher Evaluation Rubric
• Principal Evaluation Rubric
Take 4 minutes….
1. What are your initial thoughts (generally
positive or not)?
2. What is good (or, what pops out at you
as being good)/
3. What do you believe is missing (or, what
do you disagree with as something to be
evaluated)?

48. Ends-based Thinking
• The end result of treating people reasonably are
better than the end result of treating people
unreasonably. What are the consequences of
being reasonable versus unreasonable?
Care-based Thinking
• Treat people reasonably because it is our moral
responsibility to do so.
• People are free and rational moral agents…let’s
act that way!

49. Growth as a moral agent is possible
through learning and
education…remember Lawrence
Kohlberg?
Educators are responsible for creating
responsible moral agents!

50. Educational Evaluation

51. The Ten Commandments cases…why the
difference
The Church of Body Modification
Immanuel Kant: Our right to choose is to
be respected & our choice is to be
respected
Public vs. Private
Prisoner’s Dilemma: Rationality is not only
influence in ethical decision making

52.  What defines a good teacher?
 What about our video of Leah Alcala in
Berkeley, CA @ MLK Middle School?
 Is our goal with teacher evaluation to help
teachers help our students?
 The philosophy from ends based, rules based
or care based.
 A word about our paradigms…truth vs.
loyalty, short-term vs. long term, individual
vs. community, and justice vs. mercy…Right
vs. Right

53.  I understand the components necessary for due
process.
 I understand what it means to practice due process
with regard to teacher evaluation (or other
applications).
 I understand why it is important to follow due
process.
 I under stand the application of a rational
approach.
 I understand how ends-based and care-based
thinking relate to teacher performance evaluation
and the evaluation of student learning.

54. $10 experiment.
Pink, D. 2011. Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us.
Penguin Publishing Group.

55. We must ensure that reasonable decisions
are made about other people in a rationally
justified way using adequate, reliable evidence in a
consistent way..
 Rumors, gossip, opinions, and/or hearsay
evidence must be disregarded or
independently checked to be sure the evidence
is reliable.

56. We must know what defines the standard
of “good teaching”! If we do not know and
the teacher does not know, then how can
we make personnel decisions!
Our judgments must be consistently
applied!

57. Formative/Summative assessments for
students…do our students know what is
expected of them? Is this important? Can
we just say this is a function of application,
or synthesis, or some level of higher
cognition?
2 students with 2 different biology
teachers…do they have a consistent
experience? Is it OK if they don’t?

58. How many assessments does it take for a
student to be evaluated fairly?
What if a chemistry student earned a 98%
on the final comprehensive, summative
exam, yet has not turned in all of her work.
What should her grade be? What types of
behaviors should help determine a grade?

59. A. an exact objective rating.
B. a subjective rating that allows for
professional judgment.
C. something in between.
Grading is:

60. A. …consistent (within your
learning team or with other
students in your classes)?
B. …accurate (aligned essential
learnings)?
C. …meaningful & supportive of
learning?

61.  2 students…both have same GPA….
 1 A- as a 9th grader
 All As through 1 quarter of senior year.
 GPA = 3.9967033
But wait….
 Student A takes a summer math class…and gets an A
while student B works a summer job.
 Student A = 3.9968421
 Student B = 3.9967033
 Who is the Valedictorian?
 Who gets the Valedictorian scholarship at Drake
University?

62. …the rigor of the courses? (on-level vs.
honors/AP)…what if the student is “gaming
the system” and taking classes with less
rigor?
…the number of co-curricular activities the
students are in?
…LEARNING!

63. Into which class would you like to be
placed?

64. Name Lab Grades
(20%)
Tests
(60%)
Miscellaneous
(20%)
Final
Grade
Attitude Participation
Eddy 100 0 80 50
(late)
98 99 98 0 0 57 F
Norm 100 100 100 100 64 68 66 100 100 79 C
“A Tale of Two Students”

65. The best Socrative Seminars are those in
which something new and unexpected is
discovered. This happens when the seminar
is approached as a joint search or
exploration through dialogue rather than a
defense of ideas.

67. Justice vs. Mercy
Truth vs. Loyalty
Long Term vs. Short Term
Individual vs. Community

68.  What purpose do grades serve? How does
this affect your view of fair procedures for
assigning grades?
 Should student behavior be reflected in a
students final grade? How about the
student’s effort?
 Does your school have a grading policy? If
so, what is it? (a certain % for summative vs.
formative, missing assignments, only aligned
to learning targets).

70. Everyone’s happiness/welfare counts
equally
Must benefit the average welfare
Our own welfare may be not be equal to
the average welfare
Why then do we care about others?
• Equal respect for persons is morally basic…

72. Ends-based
• Happiness or human welfare…not growth as a
person…growth is important only if it leads to
happiness
Care-based
• Someone who cares about others and is willing
and able to accept the responsibility of one’s self
• We are in the people business!

74. What is the best time to do each thing?
Who are the most important people to
work with, to listen to, and avoid?
What is the most important thing to do at
all times?

76.  I understand the components necessary for
due process.
 I understand what it means to practice due
process with regard to teacher evaluation (or
other applications).
 I understand why it is important to follow due
process.
 I understand the importance of ends-based
thinking and care-based thinking as they
relate to teacher performance evaluation.