New Teacher Talk takes on a part of the job that makes many early-career teachers anxious: the post-observation conference. Hosts Dr. Beth Wilkins and Dr. Anna Quinzio-Zafran welcome Dr. Amy Howerton, an English teacher and department chair at Oswego High School, and Dr. Ed Howerton, associate professor and director of graduate education at Aurora University, who together own Two Paths Educational Consulting. With decades of experience as evaluators between them, they reframe the post-observation meeting as an engine of professional growth rather than a source of dread.
Ed explains why this conversation matters so much: it is where you establish yourself as a serious professional committed to growth. Observers collect evidence during a visit and map it to Domains 2 and 3 of the Danielson Framework, and the strongest conferences stay grounded in that specific evidence rather than general impressions. A recurring theme is that you deserve to know the rubric as well as your evaluator does. Just as you share success criteria with your students, you should understand what distinguished looks like and be able to self-assess against it. Amy and Ed walk through what observers actually watch for, how to prepare, and how to turn feedback, even critical feedback, into a concrete roadmap.
What you will take away:
As Amy puts it, no teacher navigates this process alone, and the common denominator for both teacher and evaluator is always student achievement.
If this episode gave you a new way to walk into your next evaluation, or there is a topic you want us to cover next, leave us a review. We read every one, and your feedback shapes future episodes.
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