Building an Observe Template
Start by collecting the paper copies of documents you are converting to an electronic version. Review Edivate Observe Best Practices and use the Templates Requirements Form.
Pre-Planning
Template Creations
- Assign a specific person to create district level templates used across buildings
Template Name & Type
- Determine which forms you would like to recreate in Edivate Observe
- Determine what you will name your templates and if your district/school name needs to be included.
- Naming Suggestions Employee Group-Template type: School or District Name Examples: Teacher-Formal Evaluation: AnySchool or Guidance Counselor Evaluation
Template Instrument Needs
- Determine what data you would like to collect and how it needs to be reported.
- Do you need filters for reporting?
- Which tags do you need to create for your filters?
- Default Type of Evaluation: Formal, Informal, Other (can be modified)
- Grade level (Example tags: Elementary, Secondary or 1st,2nd, etc.)
- Career stage (Example tags: Tenure, Non-tenured) Subject (Example tags: Math, ELA, Science)
- Observer (Example tags: Principal, Coach, Teacher, Mentor)
- Determine requirements for reporting, tracking progress, evidence of observed behavior and end of year reports.
- Consider the professional resources that will be attached to the template.
- If any, for whom and what type of resources. (Example: documents, images, videos)
- Consider the difference between scripting as evidence and open ended comments.
- You may need to add an open-ended item type to your layout to use for comments if needed.
Scoring
- All scoring can be hidden if you do not want the invitee to see the score.
- Determine whether scoring is necessary for reporting.
- Determine if it is summative, average or another configuration.
- Determine if section level score is required.
- Determine if overall score is required.
Overall Scoring / Section Score (requires rubric)
This scoring is required for trend reports to function.
- Average (you need to have an average section score for each section)
- example: Exemplary:3.5 - 4.00, Proficient: 2.65 - 3.49, Partially Proficient:1.85 - 2.64, Ineffective:1.00 - 1.84
- Summative
- example: Exemplary: 39-44, Proficient: 38-28, Partially Proficient:18-27, Ineffective:17-11
- Weighted
- Weighted scoring can be applied.
- Example:
Template Setup Layout
When creating your template, it is best to match the current document (form that you are recreating) to corresponding item types. Refer to the following item types.
Item Types
- Labels: Best used for instructions.
- Can also be used to suggest using counters and timers.
- Reminder for scripting for evidence collection.
- Rubrics: Best used to determine observed behavior and to demonstrate trends over time, listing specific criteria for scoring.
- Multiple choice: Best used to quickly mark one or more observed qualities, characteristics, etc. It can also be used for scoring if section uses scoring. Can be used for select all, select multiple or select one.
- Open-ended: Best used for questions, notes or comments related to a section or overall document. This item type can also be used for open ended scoring if there is section scoring.
Template Edits/Revisions
- Best practices keep template in Edit/Draft mode until all changes are made.
- After template is finalized DO NOT make any changes until the end of the evaluation year. Making changes to the template once finalized will cause multiple versions. Template data will be disconnected and reporting will be more difficult.
Evidence
- Scripting Tool: Best used to date and time stamp notes of what you see during an observation. Scripting notes can be aligned to observation document categories.
- Text Tool: Best used to allow for simple notations of what you see during an observation.
- Counter Tool: Best used to keep track of the number of times a specific action is performed.
- Timer Tool: Best used to keep track of the amount of time of a specific action or directive based on a specific prompt.
- Marking Public or Private: When attaching evidence consider if evidence should be public or private. Evidence marked private can only be seen by the observer.
Reporting
Pre-Built Reports
- Results by Item Report: displays a summary of the observed data for all items in a template. Best used for identifying the strengths and required areas of growth for educators. Using tags will provide specific details related to the tag for filtering results.
- Proficiency Trend Report: Requires master and/or section level rubric scoring. Best used to see how the invitee is progressing over time. Using tags will provide specific details related to the tag for filtering results.
- Observations by Template Report: Best used if you need to have a PDF version of multiple completed observations for reporting or record keeping purposes. Report can be printed or stored electronically.
- Observation Status Report: Best used for tracking observations that have been completed, are under review, or still in progress.
- Detailed PD Status Report: Best used for tracking completed or in progress assigned professional development information.
- Data Export: Best used for custom data manipulation.