Teacher Performance Management

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Teacher Performance Management

Education and Manpower Bureau

February 2003

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Foreword

The Education Commission Report No. 7 recommended that all schools should put in place school-based management (SBM) by the year 2000. SBM should comprise a number of key elements, of which the development of formal procedures and resources for staff appraisal and staff development according to teachers’ needs is one of them. Schools have been advised, and in fact they all pledged, to establish a staff appraisal system by the end of the 2001/02 school year.

Teacher appraisal is a mechanism for improving teaching and learning. We all agree that teachers’ professional competence and conscientiousness are the keys to the delivery of quality education in schools. In a well-designed staff appraisal system, the instruments and procedures can constitute valuable professional development for teachers and enable the school management to assess teachers’ performance. The teacher appraisal system assists in recognising and encouraging good performance, identifying areas for development, and improving overall performance of teachers.

Two booklets entitled ‘Staff Appraisal in Schools’ and “Teacher Appraisal” were issued in 1992 and 1998 respectively to assist schools joining the School Management Initiative to establish a formal staff appraisal system. Based on the experience gained from these pioneer schools and the fact that all public schools have implemented SBM since 2000, the Education and Manpower Bureau has improved the contents of the “Teacher Appraisal” and prepared this Guide. As the Guide aims to help schools further develop their teacher performance management system, we call it “Teacher Performance Management” to better reflect its objective and wider coverage.

School-based Management Section

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Contents

Page

I. Introduction 1

II. Objectives of Teacher Performance Management 1

III. Structure of Teacher Appraisal 4

1. Appraisal Cycle 4

2. Selection and Training of Appraisers 5

3. Areas and Criteria of Appraisal 6

4. Appraisal Methods 8

5. Appraisal Report 11

6. Complaints Procedures 12

7. Follow-up Phase 12

IV. Procedures for Establishment of Appraisal System 14

V. Models of Teacher Appraisal 14

1. Model 1 (Accountability Model) 15

2. Model 2 (Professional Development Model) 16 3. Model 3 (Combination of Accountability and

Professional Development Model)

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Appendix 1: Suggested Evidence of Performance for

Beginning and Experienced Teachers (Sample) Appendix 2: Procedures for Establishment of Teacher

Performance Management

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(I) Introduction

To enable public sector schools to implement school-based management, they have been given greater autonomy in the delivery of education and the deployment of resources. The ultimate aim of school-based management is to empower schools to develop their own characteristics and deliver quality education to meet the needs of their pupils, improving their achievement and learning outcomes. To practise school-based management, schools have to set goals, draw up their personnel, resource and instructional policies and conduct self-evaluation. The significant way of how the various key elements of school-based management influence learning outcomes is illustrated in Figure 1, which is extracted from the consultation document on school-based management entitled

“Transforming Schools into Dynamic and Accountable Professional Learning Communities” issued in February 2000.

As highlighted in Figure 1, one of the key elements of school-based management is personnel policies which cover performance management.

All schools should have now put in place certain key components of performance management, such as a staff appraisal system, induction and professional development of teachers.

The first and most important step in establishing the appraisal system is to define the objectives of the appraisal, which in turn determine the criteria and procedures of appraisal.

The appraisal system applicable to one school may not be so for another. Before establishing the teacher appraisal system, schools should understand their culture, their educational goals and the needs of various parties (the school, teachers and students), and then decide on the methods and criteria for appraisal.

(II) Objectives of Teacher Performance Management

Teacher performance management is a continuous process for identifying, evaluating and developing the work performance of teachers, so that the goals and objectives of the school are more effectively achieved, while at the same time benefiting teachers in terms of recognition of performance, professional development and career guidance.

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SCHOOL SPONSORING BODY – VISION &

MISSION

RESOURCE POLICIES Establishment of block grant

IT strategy

Library resource facilities Building maintenance and management

Community resources Parental contribution Revenue generation PERSONNEL POLICIES

Recruitment

Induction/Professional development Performance

management

Reward and compensation Deployment and work

allocation Exit policy

SELF-EVALUATION Student achievement Organisational growth INSTRUCTIONAL

POLICIES Curriculum Assessment Non-formal education

Time allocation Homework policy Student support EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT

Student outcomes

Organisational effectiveness

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE School sponsoring body nominees Parent representatives

Teacher representatives Principal

Community members Alumni representatives

Figure 1: How School-based Management Influences Learning Outcomes

GOALS AND PLANS

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Within the school-based management framework, school personnel policies cover performance management which forms an integral part of human resources management. The key functions of human resources management include:

Recruitment

Induction/ Deployment Professional Development

Training and Development Posting and Promotion Performance Management

Supervision and Guidance Performance Appraisal

Managing Weak Performance and Discipline

Generally speaking, the objectives of implementing teacher performance management are as follows:

Accountability

to set agreed performance targets and monitor the progress by measuring actual performance against the targets

to assist school management in assessing teachers’ performance, ensuring that teachers commit to their duties and that they develop their teaching effectiveness in order to provide quality education

to help identify and resolve cases of underperformance

to provide school management with proper records, which serve as important references in the selection for promotion and in helping underachieving teachers

Staff Motivation

to recognise the achievements of teachers, appraise effective teaching practice and encourage the development of quality teaching

to provide constructive feedback to individual teachers

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Professional Development

to assist teachers in identifying their potential and, areas and ways for improvement, so as to raise their professional standard and improve their team spirit, which support the overall development of the school

to provide guidance, counselling and training to teachers having difficulties in their performance

to provide relevant information on human resource development for schools to plan appropriate teacher development activities

(III) Structure of Teacher Appraisal

Appraisal Cycle

Follow-up Professional Development

Selection and Training of Appraisers

Appraisal System

Appraisal Report

Areas and Criteria of Appraisal

Appraisal Methods

Schools should take into account their objectives of appraisal in determining the method and procedures of assessment.

In addition, the following components should be embedded in the system:

1. Appraisal Cycle

Schools may decide whether the appraisal cycle should be one year or a continuous period of two years. To reduce the workload

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involved, a school may choose a one-year cycle for half of the teachers in alternate school years. The appraisal cycle for new teachers in their probation period should be considered separately. For experienced teachers, a school may also adopt a cycle with a combination of one-year or two-year period for formative appraisal, which alternates with a one-year summative appraisal, as suggested in Model III on page 17.

2. Selection and Training of Appraisers

Some of the methods adopted by schools in selecting appraisers are as follows:

For appraisal system intended for accountability purpose, the appraisers should be of a higher rank than the appraisees, for example:

♦ in a primary school, Certificated Masters/Mistresses (CMs) are appraised by the Deputy Head and Assistant Masters/Mistresses (AMs) who are in turn appraised by the headteacher

♦ in a secondary school, Graduate Masters/Mistresses (GMs) are appraised by Senior Graduate Masters/Mistresses (SGMs), who are in turn appraised by Principal Graduate Masters/Mistresses (PGMs) or the principal

For appraisal system intended for professional development, selection of appraisers is mainly determined by the contents and areas of appraisal. If the focus is on teaching, the appraisers should be the panel heads or senior teachers of the respective subjects. On the other hand, if the focus is on special duties e.g. counselling, the appraiser should be the leader of the respective duty team.

However, it is not necessary for the appraiser to be of a senior rank.

If the objective of the appraisal is to improve teaching methods and skills, schools may allow teachers to pair up voluntarily to observe each other’s lessons and be the appraisers of their counterparts.

Schools can use a mix of the above methods according to their needs, their development stage and individual duties of teachers.

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3. Areas and Criteria of Appraisal

The appraiser and appraisee should agree on the areas, criteria and appraisal methods during their pre-appraisal interview.

(a) Areas of Appraisal

The appraisal of teachers should focus on the performance and not the personality. Generally speaking, the appraisal should focus on the following items:

teaching and teaching-related duties non-teaching duties

professional and personal competence

Each teacher should have a job description outlining his/her responsibilities and scope of work. This can serve as a reference in deciding the areas of appraisal.

The areas of appraisal should be in line with the school goals, major concerns of the current year and programme plans under various subjects. Consider the following examples:

If one of the school’s major concerns of the current year is “to raise students’ moral standard through various learning activities in moral education”, the performance of the teachers in implementing moral education should be included in the areas of appraisal of the current year.

If one of the objectives of the subject of Chinese is “to raise the students’ interest in reading”, the performance of the teachers in this aspect should also be appraised, as one of the appraisal items of the current year.

(b) Criteria in Appraisal

The criteria in appraisal should include, as far as possible, concrete performance indicators. The objective standard in appraising teachers should be clearly defined and accepted by the

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teachers concerned.

In developing performance indicators, the following may serve as reference:

Indicators are only tools for assisting appraisal and may be reviewed and revised regularly by the school heads and the teachers concerned.

Different indicators should be used for appraising teachers of different ranks, subjects or groups in order to reflect their performance under different job areas. Therefore, schools may include some core indicators (which should apply to all teachers of the school) and some which are specific to the job areas, subjects and groups. Besides, when the same performance indicator is used for appraising teachers of different posts, appropriate weighting should be accorded to the respective posts. For example, ‘ability in planning and organization of work’ should carry more weight in appraising the Head of Department than a subject teacher.

The performance standards should be clear, appropriate and with reference to all the important aspects of teaching and not be limited to only a part of what teachers do. For setting performance standards and designing appraisal items to be included in standard forms, schools are encouraged to make use of the performance indicators published by the Education Department [(ED) and now known as the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB)] as a reference. These performance indicators have since its publication in 1998 been revised and the latest version with evidence of performance was issued in October 2002. The performance indicators and evidence of performance are based on experiences gained from Quality Assurance Inspections and the views from the education profession. They have been widely consulted and developed in the context of Hong Kong schools, covering all their major work areas.

Given the different vision, mission, history, school background, characteristics and the pace of school development, schools

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should develop their own set of standards based on, or selected from or in addition to the performance indicators developed by the ED. Just as anillustration but not meant to be exhaustive, we have drawn up at Appendix I a list of expected evidence of performance based on ED’s performance indicators and evidence of performance on a number of selected components for beginning teachers at the end of probation and experienced teachers.

Many schools have designed standard forms for use in the performance management process, some of which have been uploaded onto the homepage of the EMB for the reference of schools. Schools may make reference to or adapt these samples to suit their individual needs and situations. Schools may select from or supplement the list with core elements judged to be the basic performance of probationary teachers.

For experienced teachers, performance indicators in areas such as curriculum planning and organisation, and curriculum management can be included according to the agreed targets for development or actual duties to be performed.

Criteria in appraisal vary with the objectives of appraisal:

♦ If the appraisal system is intended for summation and accountability purpose, rank score would be used more frequently. However, such rank score should be supplemented by concrete and objective descriptions, e.g.

what kind of ‘classroom management’ performance can be rated as “satisfactory”.

♦ If the appraisal system is intended for professional development purpose, rank score would not be used frequently. Instead, there should be more descriptive remarks on the appraisee’s performance.

4. Appraisal Methods

Appraisal methods include collection of data on performance and appraisal interview.

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(a) Collecting Information (i) Self-appraisal

Self-appraisal is an evaluation of one’s own teaching performance. It involves a reflection on one’s work, outcome and development needs. This method can encourage input from teachers in the appraisal process to share the responsibility of self-improvement and personal growth.

This can provide appraisers with supplementary information.

(ii) Lesson Observation

Lesson observation is to observe the process of teaching and learning in classroom. This activity is very important and essential in understanding a teacher’s effectiveness. Lesson observation can be arranged several times over the year.

Before lesson observation, the appraisee should inform the appraiser of the objectives and schemes of work. The appraisee and appraiser should agree on the focus of observation and criteria in appraisal.

During lesson observation, the appraiser should complete the lesson observation report based on his/her observation.

After each lesson observation, the appraiser should discuss with the appraisee his/her performance as soon as possible and focus on:

♦ the performance related to the job rather than the personality

♦ alternative teaching methods, and not specified ones

Subject panels can develop appropriate indicators and lesson observation report based on their subject and school needs.

(iii) Scrutinising Schemes of Work, Lesson Plans and Marking of Exercises / Examination Papers

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(iv) Portfolios

A portfolio is a collection of information about a teacher’s practice. Portfolios may include scholarly writings, action research, logs of professional development activities, structured reflection on practice and teaching artifacts (such as assignments, worksheets, students’ work and project directions). The portfolio will demonstrate a teacher’s accomplishments over time and across a variety of experiences.

(v) Other Sources of Data

♦ Formal or informal interviews and discussions

♦ Daily observation

♦ Stakeholder survey, e.g. student surveys, parent surveys and teacher surveys

♦ Record of non-teaching duties

♦ Students’ academic achievements and progress

♦ Record of students’ award and punishment; record of extra-curricular activities

(b) Procedures of Appraisal Interview

Appraisal interview provides an opportunity for genuine dialogue. It involves an exchange of information between the appraiser and the appraisee concerning the latter’s performance during the appraisal period.

The process of the appraisal interview should include the following:

The appraiser should assist the appraisee in evaluating the latter’s performance, and show appreciation and recognition on areas well performed during the appraisal period.

The appraiser should assist the appraisee in understanding his/her potential, teaching style and professional development needs, and thus help the appraisee work out a professional

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development programme, setting out objectives and expected outcomes.

The appraiser should understand the appraisee’s feelings, problems and expectations.

The appraiser and the appraisee should review the latter’s areas for improvement and work out a proposal for improvement, suggesting possible actions and the guidance needed, or professional development activities, together with the time-table for implementing the improvement measures.

The contents of appraisal interview vary with the objectives of appraisal.

For appraisal intended for professional development purpose, the appraiser should stimulate the appraisee to reflect on and improve the latter’s performance through the exchange of views.

For appraisal intended for accountability purpose, the appraiser should examine the appraisee’s roles and contribution to the school as well as his/her needs or constraints. If necessary, the appraiser would also examine the duties performed by the appraisee.

5. Appraisal Report

Appraisal report is used to report the appraisee’s performance systematically. It includes the appraisee’s

qualifications, previous teaching experience and training record appraisee’s duties and areas of appraisal during the appraisal period appraisal records (e.g. lesson observation record, performance

appraisal record)

appraisal interview record

Appraisal report helps

the appraisee define objectives of improvement or development

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the school plan training activities for teacher development

All information in the appraisal report such as the appraisal on teacher’s performance and competence is personal and sensitive.

Therefore, schools should comply with the provisions of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, Cap. 486, in collecting, using and keeping the information. For details, please refer to ED Administration Circular No.

56/97.

6. Complaints Procedures

For appraisal systems involving summation or accountability, complaints procedures are normally available. Teachers may complain about his performance appraisal within a specified period of time (for example, four weeks) from the appraisal interview. The SMC, in consultation with the teaching staff, should establish formal written procedures for handling such complaints.

7. Follow-up Phase

In this phase, the appraisee engages in activities geared to targets (on improvement or development) and plans agreed during the appraisal interview. These activities should:

promote teacher professional development

Schools develop a policy on teacher professional development. The appraisal system only forms a part of the policy. It increases the teachers’ awareness and understanding of their roles, responsibilities and professional competence, whereas the professional development policy allows the school to provide appropriate training and support for the appraisees based on the targets and plans agreed during the appraisal interview as well as their personal interest and needs.

assist the underperforming teachers

Any indication that a teacher’s performance is unsatisfactory or below the standards suggested for beginning teachers in Appendix 1 will call for immediate follow-up action by the school. The school should assist the teacher in understanding his/her responsibilities,

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deficiencies, and the unfavourable outcome of his/her teaching so as to work out plans for improvement. The school should also provide him/her with appropriate assistance and guidance. Regular review and follow-up inspections of the teacher’s work are required to help him/her improve his/her effectiveness.

Should a formal intervention in the process of performance management of a particular teacher be deemed necessary, the specific requirements for improvement can either be subsumed in the agreed performance targets in the planning stage for the next cycle or specified in a separate follow-up action plan or intervention plan. If the case requires special attention of the senior management or possible disciplinary action may be taken, the latter approach is recommended.

Some examples of the follow-up activities are as follows:

♦ To participate in in-service training or seminars

♦ To conduct some educational research in the school to analyse the problems in teaching

♦ To learn through observation and receive guidance

♦ To reshuffle posts

♦ To participate in functional groups in the school

♦ To chair some meetings in the school

♦ To visit and learn from neighbouring schools or educational organisations

♦ To draft reports/documents

♦ To receive supervisory inspections

Linking Reviews to Reward and Disciplinary Procedures

It is up to the school to decide whether to build a tight or loose linkage among different components of the human resource management functions. Some schools may rely mainly on the performance appraisal results for staff promotion exercise and disciplinary procedures while others use them as a reference only for the two purposes. Whatever the linkage is, the system should ensure to reward those with excellent performance while the weak performers must be dealt with appropriately.

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Should the weak performer still fail to show any improvement in his/her work after a reasonable period has been allowed for the intervention plan or follow-up actions to take effects, the school should consider issuing warnings and/ or withholding an annual increment to the teacher. If no improvement is seen, the SMC should consider terminating the service of the teacher. Schools may refer to the relevant Code of Aid, which has set out the procedures to be followed in the case of dismissal or termination of appointment and withholding an annual increment. It is suggested that the disciplinary procedure be a separate system taken care of by a special team of staff who should be well aware of issues like conflict of interest and confidentiality.

(IV) Procedures for Establishment of Teacher Performance Management

As almost all public schools have put in place a formal teacher appraisal system, they should have gone through most, if not all the steps in establishing the system. Should schools plan to further develop or improve the teacher performance management system, they may refer to the suggested steps at Appendix 2.

(V) Models of Teacher Appraisal

The teacher appraisal models below are for the purpose of illustration and stimulation. They are not models to be blindly followed.

Schools should carefully assess their suitability and tailor the model(s) to their needs.

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Model 1 (Accountability Model)

Characteristics: Beginning of school year

• The appraisal focuses on accountability and summative function.

• The appraisal report can assist in the decision-making of personnel matters such as recommendations for promotion, allocation of duties and management of underachieving teachers.

Pre-appraisal Interview

• The appraiser (a teacher of a higher rank) should meet the appraisee to agree upon the areas of appraisal according to the appraisee’s responsibilities.

• The appraiser is of a higher rank than the appraisee.

• The areas of appraisal, performance indicators and appraisal forms are unified.

• Rank score is frequently used in the appraisal record.

Collection of Data on Performance through

• inspection of students’ exercises/

progress

• lesson observation

• other records of work (e.g. management of homework, setting and marking of test/examination papers and non-teaching duties)

Appraisal Interview

• The appraiser and the appraisee discuss the appraisal results (obtain feedback, recognise well-performed areas and suggest areas for improvement).

• The appraiser and the appraisee work out a plan for improvement and follow-up actions if necessary.

• The appraiser and the appraisee sign on the appraisal report. They then follow up the recommendations (if necessary) and evaluate the progress continuously.

End of School year

Review/Complaints

• The school head reviews the appraisal results.

• The SMC/school head makes necessary administrative or personnel decisions if necessary.

• The school establishes a complaint mechanism so that the appraisee can air his/her grievances to the school

head/SMC through proper channels.

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Model 2 (Professional Development Model)

Characteristics: Beginning of school year

• The appraisal focuses on professional development/improvement.

• Normally, the panel chairpersons and the persons in charge of functional groups are responsible for appraising job-related performance. The appraiser does not need to be of a higher rank.

Pre-appraisal Interview

The appraiser (normally the panel chairperson or the person in charge of a functional group) should meet the appraisee to agree upon the areas of appraisal.

• The areas of appraisal can be agreed between the appraiser and the appraisee, and format of appraisal report is flexible.

• The subject panels and functional groups define their criteria in appraisal.

• More descriptive remarks and less rank scores are used in the appraisal record.

Collection of Data on Performance through :

• self-appraisal

• lesson/ peer observation

• portfolios

• other records of work (e.g. management of homework, setting and marking of

test/examination papers, and non-teaching duties)

Appraisal interview

• The appraiser and the appraisee discuss the appraisal results (give feedback, recognise well-performed areas and suggest areas for improvement).

• The appraiser and the appraisee learn through reflection and discussion.

• The appraiser and the appraisee work out a plan for improvement and take follow-up actions geared to the targets of professional development.

• The appraiser and the appraisee sign on the appraisal report. Later, they follow up the recommendations (if necessary) and evaluate the progress continuously.

End of school year

Review/Complaints

• The school head reviews the appraisal report.

• The school should establish a complaint mechanism so that the appraisee can air his/her grievances to the school head/SMC through proper channels.

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Model 3 (A Combination of Accountability and Professional Development Model)

There may be many models or blueprints for a performance management system. Some local and overseas experience indicates that for an effective performance appraisal system, differentiated procedures and requirements should be designed to suit staff’s professional development needs and their professional life cycle. The following figure is a simplified model of a teacher performance management system that incorporates quality assurance and teacher professional development. In this model, the process of summative appraisal follows that of Model I while the process of formative appraisal follows that of Model II.

The above model possesses the following benefits:

there is a focus on the main purpose of the system for different teachers, e.g.

probationary, those with 3 – 5 years of experience and experienced teachers (panel heads);

both quality assurance and professional development are taken care of as complementary elements;

more energy and time of senior teachers can be put on the performance management of probationary teachers and teachers with marginal or incompetent performance; and a professional learning culture will be better developed among experienced teachers

striving for excellence.

Satisfactory

Fail to meet the expected performance of a probationary teacher Satisfactory

Lack of improvement Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Probationary Teachers Non-probationary Teachers

Year One Summative Appraisal

• mentoring and induction

• management-directed activities

Year Two Summative Evaluation

• mentoring and induction

• management-directed activities

One-year or Two-year Formative Appraisal

• teacher-directed activities

• tie in with annual school plan

Intervention Plan

• management-teacher agreed activities for improvement

Recommendation for Termination

One-year Summative Appraisal

• management-teacher agreed activities

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Appendix 1 Suggested Evidence of Performance

for Beginning and Experienced Teachers

Based on “The Performance Indicators for Hong Kong Schools – Evidence of Performance” published in 2002, a suggested list of expected evidence of performance is drawn up for beginning teachers at the end of their probation period and experienced teachers in the areas of teaching and support for student development. The list is not meant to be exhaustive and serves just as an illustration of how schools can assess the performance of teachers using the Performance Indicators and evidence of performance. As teachers may take up duties in other areas, schools should choose the appropriate Performance Indicators and adapt or modify them to suit their individual needs. It should also be noted that the expectations for teachers of different work experience and responsibilities should not be the same. The appraisers should make necessary adjustments when working out the performance targets with the teachers.

Expected Evidence of Performance Performance

Indicators

Beginning Teachers at the end of the Probation Period

Experienced Teachers

Curriculum goals and policies Curriculum

Planning and Organisation

are aware of the curriculum guides and policies issued by the

Curriculum Development Council and the Education and Manpower Bureau and the aims of education in Hong Kong when contributing to the formulation of curriculum goals and policies

formulate curriculum goals, appropriate policies and a strategic curriculum

development plan based on the principle of life-long learning and whole-person development and in line with the aims of education in Hong Kong and its goals

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Indicators

help to develop school-based curriculum with due attention paid to the development of the key tasks and the cultivation of students’ generic skills, attitudes and positive values

develop school-based

curriculum flexibly to cater for students’ needs and promote the key tasks so as to provide students with the necessary learning experiences, and cultivate their generic skills, attitudes and positive values across all learning interfaces to ensure students’ broad and balanced development

Curriculum planning

take into account the contents of each KLA and inter-link related learning experiences to facilitate students’ learning

plan the curriculum

appropriately and flexibly to meet the needs of both the society and students as well as to cater for learner differences according to their interests and abilities

Allocation of learning time arrange learning time properly

according to the curriculum goals so as to facilitate curriculum implementation

arrange learning time

appropriately and flexibly to cater for students’ learning needs, widen and enrich their learning experiences, and allow a better use of facilities and resources

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Indicators

Planning and organising teaching Teaching

Strategies and

Skills adopt teaching strategies that are in line with the learning objectives and targets

arrange learning activities, select learning materials and use teaching resources according to the teaching needs

are able to organise learning tasks and contents according to

students’ attainment level in general

adopt appropriate teaching strategies that are in line with clear learning objectives and targets and that have regard to students’ learning diversity and past learning experiences design and organise appropriate

learning activities to enrich students’ learning experiences are able to cater for learner

differences, e.g. adopt

diversified teaching strategies and learning materials to address students’ different levels of abilities, needs and interest

Communication skills

are able to use the appropriate medium of instruction

give clear and systematic explanations, instructions and demonstrations

ask questions relevant to the teaching contents to arouse students’ attention and facilitate learning

correct students’ mistakes, encourage and praise them occasionally

use the appropriate medium of instruction accurately

give clear, systematic and lively explanations, instructions and demonstrations

use effective questioning techniques to focus the attention of students, provoke their thinking and motivate them to express their ideas encourage and praise students

appropriately to reinforce positive behaviour and boost their self-confidence

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Indicators

Class management and interaction can fairly make use of teaching

time and achieve teaching objectives

are able to manage class discipline so that students can concentrate in class

remind students to take note of saftety precautions in the course of learning

provide opportunities for students to respond and ask questions, work in collaboration and share ideas

are able to adjust the time and tempo of teaching appropriately and flexibly

properly handle discipline problems and foster a climate of self-discipline and

independence

ensure learning and teaching in a safe environment

are keen to encourage students to respond, enquire and

participate in learning

activities, and promote active learning among students

Professional knowledge Knowledge

and Attitude

are aware of the development of the KLAs in which they teach can master the contents and

teaching methods of the KLAs that they teach

have a general understanding of the latest educational initiatives

demonstrate a broad and strong knowledge base in the KLAs in which they teach

have a good mastery of the contents and teaching skills of the KLAs that they teach keep abreast of the latest

educational initiatives with a view to improving their pedagogical knowledge

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Indicators

Professional attitude

are responsible and hold a serious attitude towards teaching

are caring and ready to encourage students. Allow them to express their different viewpoints and opinions

have expectation of students’

learning and encourage students to work hard

are conscientious and show a serious attitude towards teaching

are patient, caring and always ready to encourage students.

Give due respect to students’

different viewpoints and care about their feelings

have expectation of students’

learning. Encourage students to develop their strengths and pursue excellence

Assessment practices

use appropriate assessment methods to reflect students’

learning outcomes and help

parents understand their children’s learning progress

use appropriate assessment contents, format and level to suit the abilities and needs of students in general

explore different assessment methods to reflect students’

performance on knowledge, skills and attitudes

explore different assessment contents, format and level to address the abilities and needs of students. Able to address learner differences

Assessment planning and implementation

Grading, marking and giving feedback follow marking schemes in

assessing students’ performance

prepare clear, comprehensive marking schemes and

accurately assess students’

performance

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Indicators

show students’ weaknesses in their marking

give adequate and generally useful feedback to students

identify students’ strengths and weaknesses and provide them with the direction for

improvement

give timely and useful feedback to help students improve

Use of assessment information are able to use assessment

information to diagnose students’

learning

inform parents of their children’s assessment results and the

learning progress

use assessment information to diagnose the effectiveness of learning and teaching for both selection and improvement purposes

inform parents of their children’s assessment results and assist parents to understand their children’s learning needs and support their learning accordingly

Discipline and guidance Support for

student

development enforce the school rules and the system of reward and punishment in a consistent manner

provide suitable guidance and counselling services for students in need of support services and follow up their cases

are able to help students cultivate self-discipline, a sense of

responsibility and a spirit of serving others

enforce the school rules and the system of reward and

punishment in a sensible and reasonable manner

identify, at an early stage, students in need of help and take timely actions

help students cultivate leadership, positive values as well as develop self-discipline, a sense of autonomy and a sense of responsibility

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Indicators

Extra-curricular activities (ECAs) contribute time and effort to

organise ECAs

follow guidelines, procedures and safety rules on conducting ECAs

offer advice, guidance and assistance to students in ECAs

contribute time and effort to plan and organise ECAs to develop students’ multiple intelligence and enrich their life experiences

are well acquainted with the guidelines, procedures and safety rules on conducting ECAs

offer appropriate advice, guidance and assistance to students in planning and conducting ECAs

Moral and Civic Education

offer assistance to value education activities regarding civic

education, moral education, health education, environmental

education, etc.

offer appropriate advice, guidance and assistance to value education activities regarding civic education, moral education, health education, environmental education, etc.

Home-school co-operation Links with

parents and external organisations

recognise parents’ role in

promoting students’ learning and maintain communication with parents

recognise the value of

home-school cooperation and promote the communication and cooperation between parents and the school

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Indicators

participate in parent-teacher activities organized by the school or PTA

inform parents of their children’s’

performance at appropriate time

participate actively in parent- teacher activities to enhance the communication and

cooperation between parents and the school

keep parents fully informed of their children’s achievements and progress and attempt to involve parents in the student learning process

Links with external organisations recognise the benefits of

community resources in

supporting school activities and services

utilise external resources to support school activities and services

maintain appropriate links with the community and various organisations such as voluntary agencies, government

departments and commercial organisations

utilise external resources to effectively support school activities and services.

Encourage students to play an active role in community services

Teacher-student relationship Interpersonal

Relationship

are amicable and care about their students

are approachable, care about their students and give

appropriate encouragement and recognition to them

(29)

Indicators

allow students to express their different points of view and opinions

accept different points of view and opinions voiced by students and value their experience and feelings

Staff relationship

cooperate with colleagues and maintain a harmonious

relationship with others show willingness to work as a

member of a team in school and maintain a collaborative

relationship with colleagues

demonstrate mutual trust with, respect for and acceptance of colleagues and work in partnership

participate actively as a member of school teams and provide support to colleagues when necessary

(30)

Appendix 2 Procedures for Establishment of Teacher Performance Management

To let teachers understand teacher performance management through seminars

To draft :

• Structure of teacher performance

management

• Implementation strategy

To consult teachers on the system, and arrange training

To

implement teacher performance management

To obtain feedback, evaluate and revise the system

Suggested steps :

1. School appoints a convener to take charge of the development or improvement of the teacher performance management system.

2. School briefs the teachers on the rationale and advantages of teacher appraisal.

The school can also borrow relevant reference materials and videotapes from the Curriculum Resource Centre of the EMB or learn from other schools’

experience in implementing the appraisal system. The school should encourage the teachers to express their views, which are useful in drafting or revising the appraisal system.

3. School drafts the structure and implementation strategy of the appraisal system according to the situation, characteristics and culture of the school:

(a) Drafting the structure:

Objectives and important points of teacher appraisal Appraisal cycle

Selection of appraisers

Areas/criteria of the appraisal Appraisal methods

Follow-up phase

(31)

(b) Implementation strategy: The school determines the starting point and the time-table of implementing the appraisal. Consider the following examples:

The school develops a culture of open communication and encourages the teachers to express their views, engage in discussions and respect different views. Then, the school introduces lesson observation to encourage peer learning. Simple and descriptive (non-rating) forms are used to record information related to the lesson observation. After the teachers have adapted to the above arrangement, the system gradually meets the professional development needs.

In the early phase of implementation, the school uses simple appraisal forms focusing on communication and sharing, and avoiding excessive paper work.

The school identifies a number of teachers for trial of the system, carries out a pilot scheme and then extends it gradually to the whole school.

4. Teachers are invited to discuss the draft structure and implementation strategy of the appraisal system. Views are collected and amendments to the system are made. The appraisal system so formed are more acceptable to the teachers.

5. Teachers are enabled to understand the rationale and acquire the skills in lesson observation and appraisal interview. This can be achieved by sharing the experience of other schools in implementing teacher appraisal, organising school-based training activities, participating in seminars/training activities organised by universities, educational organisations or the EMB.

6. The school evaluates the progress towards the targets, its effects on teachers’

morale and teachers’ feedback so as to refine the system.