New Ideas: Administrators Observing Teachers By: Hayley Martin

Collaborative Teams  Use instead of or in addition to yearly observations  Homogeneous teams who work together for common goal  Teams meet weekly  Principals have set up schedule and form for teams to use  Be available when concerns & ideas arise  Promotes change when teachers hear ideas “that have worked” (DeFour, 2009)

Using/Not Using Technology  Paperless observations  Sign papers electronically  Saves paper  Faster feedback  Suggested banning the computer from observations  Teachers feel job is on the line  Teachers cannot claim administrators are hiding behind their computers  (Butler, 2007)

Mini-observations  Short, unannounced classroom visits  Permission to do these  See every teacher every two or three weeks (5 minutes in classroom)  feedback sessions are short  Use acronym to keep principal focused while in classroom  SOTEL  safety,  objectives,  teaching,  engagement  learning (Marshall, 2009)

Real Principals Listen  Make sure there is dialogue and open discussion  During meetings with one staff member or the whole staff principals should not be doing all the talking  May have a better idea of what is going on during the day and in the school  Listen for concerns & new ideas  Builds relationships  (Glover, 2007)

Sources  Butler, Kevin. (2007). Going Paperless. District Administration, Volume 43 (Issue 5), page 76.  DeFour, Richard. (2009). High-Leverage Strategies for Principal Leadership. Educational Leadership, Volume 66 (Issue 5), pages  Glover, Eric. (2007). Real Principals Listen. Educational Leadership, Volume (Issue ), pages  Marshall, Kim. (2009). Mini Observations. Education Week, Volume 28 (Issue 20), pages