Volume 2 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal of K-12 Educational Research - Page 21

Journal of K-12 Educational Research 19 Conclusions The opinion of public education and the effectiveness of teacher praxis has declined over the past several decades due to such events as societal movements, varied reports, political agendas, and federal programs. This study demonstrates that an effective way to improve instructional practice is through participation in reflective conversations. Researchers guide us to understand that the formative practice of providing facilitated, timely, relevant, and reflective feedback during recurrent instructional conversations allows teachers to explore, discuss, and reflect on their own professional praxis which often leads to instructional growth (Brookhart & Moss, 2015; Danielson & McGreal, 2000; Darling-Hammond, 2013; Deci & Ryan, 2006; Downey & Frase, 2001; Killion, 2015; Knight, 2011; Knowles, 1990; Marzano, et al., 2011; Popham, 2013). The potential impact of the study is multi-layered. Dis - tricts, campuses, administrators, and teachers participating in reflective conversations can use the study to assist in examining the fidelity of the process being implemented for components, outcomes, and expectations of the conversations. The findings of the study could be used by district and campus administrators to better understand the critical parts of the reflective conversation that lead to more effective processes for formative conferences that could result in improved teacher evaluations, identification of individual professional development needs, and improved classroom instruction. When implemented with efficacy, reflec - tive conversations can be beneficial learning cycles that provide job-embedded, relevant opportunities for adult learners to exam - ine their own instructional practice, identify areas of strength and improvement, discuss and explore possible methods to improve instruction, implement and practice those methods, and then reflect on the results for future application. References Blumberg, A. (1985). Where we came from: Notes on supervision in the 1840s. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 1 (1), 56-65. Brookhart, S. M. and Moss, C. M. (2013). Leading by learning. Kappan Magazine, 94 (8), 13-17. Brookhart, S. M. and Moss, C. M. (2015). How to give professional feedback. Educational Leadership , 72(7), 24-30. Cheliotes, L. G. and Reilly, M. F. (2010). Coaching conversations: Transforming your school one conversation at a time. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. City, E. A., Elmore, R. F., Fiarman, S. E., and Teitel, L. (2010). Instructional rounds in education: A network approach to improving teaching and learning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Creswell, J.W. (2015). Educational research: Planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Danielson, C. (2012). Observing classroom practice. Educational Leadership, 70 (3), 32-37. Danielson, C. and McGreal, T. L. (2000). Teacher evaluation: To enhance professional practice. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Darling-Hammond, L. (2013). Getting teacher evaluation right: What really matters for effectiveness and improvement. Oxford, OH: Learning Forward. Deci, E. L. and Ryan, M. R. (2006). Self-regulation and the problem of human autonomy: Does psychology need choice, self-determination, and will? Journal of Personality, 74 (6), 1557-1586. Downey, C. J. and Frase, L. E. (2001). Participant’s manual for: Conducting walk-throughs with reflective feedback to maximize student achievement. Huxley, IA: Curriculum Management Service, Inc. Fullan, M. (2009). Leadership development: The larger context. Educational Leadership, 67 (2), 45-49. Gabriel, R. and Allington, R. (2012). The MET project: The wrong $45 million question: By equating teacher effectiveness with teacher effects on student test scores, the measures of effective teaching project fails to address what we value most in education. Educational Leadership, 70 (3), 44-49. Glickman, C. D. (1980). The developmental approach to supervision: Supervisors should recognize stages of professional development and treat teachers as individuals. Educational Leadership, November, 178-180. Glickman, C. D., Gordon, S. P., and Ross-Gordon, J. M. (2014). Supervision and instructional leadership: A developmental approach. Boston, MA: Pearson. Goldhammer, R. (1969). Clinical supervision: Special methods for the supervision of teachers. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Hall, P. and Simeral A. (2015). Teacher reflect learn: Building your capacity for success in the classroom. Alexandria, VA: