How to Use the Administrator COT
The Administrator Classroom Observation Tool (A-COT) is a shorter version of the Classroom Observation Tool (COT). It is a 43-item checklist of teacher behaviors that research connects to growth in language and literacy, social skills, and early math and science. A-COT reports show the date each behavior was first observed in the classroom.
The data and goal-setting tools help teachers, coaches, program managers, and school leaders track progress, plan next steps, and choose professional development based on the greatest needs. To learn more about using the A-COT, complete the eCIRCLE Leading School-wide Improvement online course in the eCIRCLE Professional Development Series.
Prerequisite
Instructions
On the dashboard, find the green Quality and Innovation banner. Select Administrative COT.
On the Administrative COT > Teachers page, choose one or more search options. Then select Search.
To find a teacher with an existing A-COT, select the check box next to Search in Existing A-COT. Leave it blank to search for all teachers.
Select the Play icon to open the teacher record.
Select Perform Assessment.
School leaders should complete the A-COT at the beginning of the year. Update it during later classroom observations.
Enter the Wave (BOY or MOY), Date of Visit, and Length of Visit in hours.
Note: Fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required.
Select Show Full Text to see the full item text. Select Show Short Text to return to the shorter text.
In Short Text view, place your pointer over an item box to see the full item text.
For each item you observed during the first visit, select the box in the Obs (Observed) column. For observed items that need support, select the box in the NS (Needs Support) column.
When you finish entering observed items, select Save. Saving lets you return to the A-COT Assessment and make changes, if needed.
Collapse domains to see more behavior indicators in one domain category.
After you save and finish the A-COT Assessment, select Finalize to continue.
You can now view the full A-COT report.
Select the COT PDF report to view it.
Note: If you reset and delete the A-COT, you can no longer access it.
After an A-COT Assessment is finalized, the Select Goals/Update COT page becomes active.
Use this page to select short-term goals and update items observed during a visit.
The Short-Term Goals Report is created from the Select Goals/Update COT page. The administrator uses this report to choose the instructional focus for each teacher.
During follow-up sessions, the teacher and administrator discuss progress and next steps. In the Action Plan section, describe how the teacher will work toward the goals.
To view an existing COT, select the Play icon under Action. You can also select Search in Existing COT to view all teachers with completed COTs.
Select goals from observed or unobserved items.
Use observed items to improve a behavior.
Use unobserved items to develop a behavior.
Select the check box to the left of each A-COT item under Select as Goal.
The levels show the type of support or strategy:
Level 1 (purple): Basic supports for instructional change.
Level 2 (blue): More advanced instructional strategies.
Level 3 (green): Priorities focused on highly differentiated instruction.
After the teacher and administrator select goals, select Create New Short Term Goal Report at the bottom of the page.
Select the Goal Set Date from the calendar drop-down menu. Enter the Length of Visit in hours.
Note: Fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required.
To change the order of the goals, select the green arrow on the left to move items up.
Create a grouped goal when several goals need the same action steps. Each grouped goal has its own On My Own and With Support action plan.
This helps organize A-COT items across domains and makes them easier to use during observations.
Select the plus sign (+) next to Create Grouped Goal. Drag items from your selected goals into the box.
Select Create Group. Your grouped goal will be saved. Add action items in the text boxes. Then select Create Short Term Goal (STG) Report.
Under Action Plan:
On My Own box: Enter what the teacher will do on their own to meet the goals.
With Support box: List how the administrator will support the teacher with more difficult goals. Include the mentoring strategy that will best help the teacher meet the goal.
Additional Comments box: Add other constructive comments that support the teacher. You can also use this section to note goals the teacher met or to set goals based on the CEC.
The editing options at the top of each text box let you bold, italicize, underline, indent, number, or bullet the text. This formatting appears in the PDF reports.
Select Save to save the Goal Set Date, Length of Visit, and Action Plan. After this information is saved, you can generate the report.
Select Generate Teacher STG Report or Generate Coach STG Report to view the STG report information as a PDF.
Give the Teacher Short Term Goal Report PDF to the teacher at the end of each coaching session.
The report lists the selected goals first, the Action Plan second, and a Reference table last.
The Reference table uses a unique ID to connect each selected goal to related resources. The ID appears in light gray at the end of each item.
The table lists related CIRCLE Manual, Prekindergarten Guidelines, and Resource video links.
The Coach Short Term Goal Report PDF includes the same sections and related resources, including CIRCLE activity guide links.
The Teacher and Coach STG PDFs can also be downloaded from the Teacher Folder links.
Create a new Short Term Goals Report (STG Report) at the end of each coaching visit.
During each later coaching visit, the teacher and coach review progress on the goals in the STG Report.
Goals that are not met stay on the report. Goals that are met are replaced with new areas of need from the Select Goals/Update COT page.
At the end of each coaching session, before creating a new STG Report:
Select Select Goals/Update COT in the Teacher Folder.
Select Show Active Goals Only.
Only items with a Goal Set Date and no Met Date will display. Items with the NS (Needs Support) check box selected will also display.
In the Goal Met Date column, use the date picker to select the Met Date for any items observed during the coaching session.
After all Goal Met Dates are entered, select Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
When COT items have an observation date on the Select Goals/Update COT page, the item is highlighted light blue. Observation dates include the COT Assessment date, COT Update date, and Met Date.
COT Updates are items observed during a visit that were not observed during the BOY or MOY COT Assessment and were not part of a Short Term Goal Report.
Select Select Goals/Update COT in the Teacher Folder.
In the COT Updates column, use the date picker to select the observation date.
Note: If an item already has a date in the BOY Obs, MOY Obs, or STGR Goal Met Date column, do not add a date to the COT Updates column.
Enter only the first observation date for a COT Update. Do not update this column every time an item is observed.
After you enter COT Update dates and select the check box for any items that need support in the NS column, select Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
Make sure you have saved all changes and entered the length of the goal-setting visit. Then generate the report.
The COT PDF Report creates a printable document that matches the Select Goals/Update COT page. You can download the report from the Teacher PDFs Reports Folder.
If you need any further assistance, please submit a help ticket.