Tripod Project Survey

The Timberlane Regional School District is pleased to offer students an opportunity to participate in the Tripod Project Survey for the third year. Surveys will be administered between the months of January and March 2017 at each District school.  Surveys have been designed with the developmental age of students in mind.  An early elementary paper and pencil survey is provided for students in grades K-2, and online upper elementary and secondary surveys are provided for students in grades 3-5 and 6-12.  Each participating teacher is assigned an identification number, which students use to login and take the survey.  No personal student information is collected or provided at any time, and the survey is tied exclusively to the teacher.  The publishing of survey questions is prohibited based on intellectual property, however, parents are invited to make an appointment with their principal to review the survey, and they have the latitude to opt out if they choose to do so.

Survey questions speak to students’ classroom and school experiences as they relate to:

• Care: teacher shows concern and commitment
• Clarify: teacher cultivates understanding and helps students to overcome confusion
• Challenge: teacher press for rigor and persistence
• Captivate: teacher inspires curiosity and interest
• Classroom Management: teacher sustains order, respect and focus
• Confer: teacher invites ideas and promotes discussion
• Consolidating Knowledge: ideas are connected and integrated

Student Background Items:

A small sampling of student background items is included at the conclusion of the survey.  These questions allow Tripod to capture trends in school experiences and to compute scores that are normed based on comparable classrooms across the country.  They are used for internal purposes only and not included in reports.  Questions are general and related to the student’s grade in school, language spoken in the home, ethnicity (at the secondary level), parent level of education, availability of technology and literacy materials in the home. These questions can be skipped by the student if preferred.

Our commitment to providing the best opportunities and experiences for students is the sole purpose for the administration of this survey, as it is one of the single most valid and reliable tools for determining teacher effectiveness and student success. The information gained is valuable to the teacher, the school, and the district as we work to improve practices as it will allow the teacher to self-reflect and then self-select professional development to help them improve the way in which they deliver instruction. Students’ opinions about their experiences in our schools and classrooms matter, as we exist as institutions to serve them.

“As a former teacher, I can attest professional development rooted in self-reflection and self-selection is optimal; it doesn’t get any better than that. Timberlane, with our commitment to improve the rigor, accountability, evaluation and support which will increase student achievement, is leading the learning, not just in southern New Hampshire, but on a local, state and national level.” – Dr. Metzler 

December 23, 2016