Educator Services Licensure
Adult Basic Education

Guidelines

Observations of Teaching:
Process for Obtaining Approval to Observe Teaching Demonstrations for the ABE Teacher's License

Once licensure candidates are approved by the Department to pursue a route to the professional level of the license through the ABE Panel Review, they must conduct a demonstration of teaching as part of their performance assessment. One method for the teaching demonstration is to have a qualified observer conduct the evaluation. While the Guidelines imply that in most cases the observer will be the candidate's program director, in many cases candidates will need to seek interested observers outside of their programs. This practice is permitted. Here are the steps for approval of observers:

1. Interested observers should send a copy of their resume with a cover letter stating which of the observer qualifications they believe they meet (qualifications are found in the Guidelines, Section V., page 31; and are also listed below) along with a completed and signed Teaching Observation Participation Agreement. It is important that observers understand the significance of their role in this process because they will be conducting observations on the Department's behalf and their comments will help determine whether an ABE teacher is recommended for professional licensure. The Agreement contains affidavits relevant to confidentiality, conflict of interest, and non-discrimination.
2. The Department will determine whether interested observers are qualified to conduct observations and notify them accordingly. If the initial observation is approved, the Department will send the observer a memo with the information and materials needed to conduct the observation with instructions for completion and return. Subsequently, observers may conduct additional observations, but for each new instance they should contact the Department prior to each new observation to let us know who will be observed and what the relationship is to the licensure candidate.
3. Following each observed demonstration of teaching, observers will return all observation documents, including those received by the licensure candidate, to the Department. The Department will include those documents in the candidates' portfolios for their review panel evaluations. Candidates are not required to secure copies of the evaluation for her/his portfolio.

If you have any questions about the demonstration of teaching observation process, please contact the ABE Licensure Coordinator.

Excerpt from the Guidelines:

The demonstration of teaching may be evaluated by program directors, or their designees, who are pre-approved by the Department and who meet one of the following qualifications:

1. A Massachusetts ABE teacher's license at the Professional level and two years of experience supervising ABE teachers; or
2. Three years, or the equivalent, of ABE teaching experience and two years of experience supervising ABE teachers; or
3. Five years of supervising ABE teachers and a graduate degree in education, or related degree; or
4. Three years of teacher supervisory experience within a teacher preparation program and, beginning 2006, a minimum of three years of teacher preparation supervisory experience and two years of ABE teaching experience; or
5. A Massachusetts preK-12 teacher's license at the Professional level and two years of experience supervising ABE teachers.

The program director must submit her/his resume or vitae, or must submit a letter of recommendation along with the designee's resume or vitae for review by the ABE Licensure Coordinator. Evaluators must complete the observation and evaluation instrument provided by the Department."