This past Thursday was a day to remember why, you may ask; well, it was the day I got the results of my TPOTS back. As you will see in the pretty bar graph, that makes wildly only sense with someone explaining it. However, now it makes sense to me. That person thinks they failed the test when they need to review the bar graph results. I presented the results of her two-hour observation in my classroom the previous week. This graph is what we refer to as a baseline. It tells me the educator and her coach where I sit with no coaching, goals, or training other than the online modules and my degree from NSCC. This baseline tells me where I can set goals, what I am already doing well, and where I have to grow. This could be better because what you observe in two hours may or may not be what is being looked for. For example, in section 06, Collaborative teaming, I was not at 100 only because she didn't see me and my teammate/co-teacher modeling communication between one another. However, she would have been seen if she had stayed another 15 to 20 minutes in the room. That is why many observations happen on goals or the road to fidelity.
I am often more complicated. I met with my coach this week about myself more than I probably should be; you know, that person who thinks they failed the test when they got an A+. That's me. So when the graph came out, I was prepared for the worst; all the bars were low and needed improvement. When this was the graph I was presented with, I was amazed that my baseline on the bottom tier of the graph was above average. That would be the 01-07 sections on the graph. My tier two was present, but is where I can set goals now. (They are below 70%, which means I was presented with this graph, and they need to be at or above for fidelity.)
Tier 2 section is more about intentional teaching, which I find problematic because we, as ECEs, do not intentionally teach, or so I thought. When my coach explained how these could be present in the classroom, a light went off, and I jumped out of my skin to tell her, "I know my first goal!" This was hilarious because she had outlined a similar goal for me.
This brings me to the end of the graph. This is the third tier of the pyramid, and she said, look at your scores! all at 70 or above. This means I now know where I need to work.
I have set my first goal! Let's see where my following data set lies!
