Page 46 - 2018_Jour_85-1_Societal-Issues

46 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators

learning (Marshall, 2009). True changes to school-leader and teacher-leader practices are
difficult because of such existing norms of school culture.
Even as few teachers report being systematically observed or receiving meaningful
reviews (Johnson, 2011), evaluation systems also pose challenges for evaluators; these
include providing meaningful feedback, finding the time to do so, and engaging teachers in
productive conversations about practice (Danielson, 2011). Typically, during a classroom
observation, a school leader takes notes, analyzes the data on his or her own, gives feedback
to the teacher, and then writes a report for the teacher to sign. Teachers rarely play an active
role in analyzing these data and engaging in any sort of mutual collaboration.

Effective Feedback
When school leaders conduct conversations with teachers around a common
understanding of good teaching and around evidence of that teaching, such conversations
offer a rich opportunity for professional dialogue and growth (Danielson, 2011). The lack
of consistent, meaningful conversations and the reluctance to have difficult conversations
have been ingrained into school culture and have gone on for too long. School leaders can
change this by using the SOAP format to structure post-observation conversations to ensure
that such conversations are meaningful, encouraging teacher self-reflection and changes to
instructional practice. Because SOAP-formatted post-observation conversations ensure
that teachers are consistently given opportunities to discuss expertise, districts should
make them a requirement of teacher-evaluation plans.

SOAP: A New Approach from Medicine
SOAP is an acronym for subjective, objective, assessment plan. Kettenbach (1995)
defined SOAP as a method of documentation used in the medical field each time a patient
is assessed that assists professionals in organizing and planning quality patient care by
providing a structure in which good problem solving will more likely occur. SOAP notes
are typically used when initial patient notes are taken, as the patient is reassessed, and as a
discharge summary once therapy has been discontinued. This documentation tool is used
to emphasize the true role of therapy, which is to improve patient function (Kettenbach,
1995). SOAP notes are also used to emphasize effective reflection (Aronson, Niehaus,
Lindow, Robertson, & O’Sullivan, 2011), allowing for revisions barring any changes from
the original patient plan of care.
The physician-audit system and the teacher-evaluation system share similar areas of
concern. In the past, physicians were not told auditor expectations beforehand, and the
auditor was in the position of making guesses about the quality of care (Weed, 1971).
During audits, the uncertainty about the quality of physician care was a testimony to the
failure of professional conferences that were based on disorganized record systems and
subjective data. In 1964, Weed asked, “If there is no adequate record of what a doctor does
and what he fails to do, how can one judge the quality of care he provides?” He ultimately
introduced the SOAP note-taking method with the aim of unifying physician records
before conferencing and rounds take place. Weed’s (1964) structured note-taking format,
SOAP, brought consistency to the care patients were given, routinized the way in which
information was collected, and aided in adequate communication techniques between
physicians that allowed patients to benefit from the highest possible standards.
The SOAP format will similarly benefit the field of education. The objective, interpretive
evidence and actionable feedback from evaluators will allow teachers to strengthen their
practice through self-reflection. Table 1 provides a comparison of the use of SOAP in
medicine and education.