Observation Understanding the Process and Participant Roles

Learning Targets I can explain the observation process. I can explain the differences in roles between the Principal as Observer and the Peer Observer I can identify and collect evidence free of bias and interpretation. I can align evidence with Domains 2 & 3 of the Framework for Teaching.

Observers must understand the Criteria Observers must develop a criteria- based definition of good teaching Observers must be able to identify appropriate evidence Observer must understand the process Observer must follow process with fidelity Observer must maintain consistency and objectivity Observer must align evidence to component Observer must have skill in engaging educator in conversations when invited Observer must provide formative feedback only Focusing on Peer Observation Knowledge of the criteria Fidelity to process and procedures Quality of the product

The Observation Process PEER teacher SUPERVISOR

Major Purpose Difference SUPERVISOR PEER Formative Only Formative & Summative

Administrator’s Role Peer Observer’s Role Arrange pre-observation conference Hold pre-observation conference Conduct observation Complete observation, enter data and submit (EDS). Schedule post-conference date/time Hold post-observation conference providing feedback specific to FfT Domains 2 & 3 Provide teacher with clean scripted notes. Clarify by invitation only: NO TRANSLATION TO FfT Conduct observation Arrange pre-observation conference Hold pre-observation conference Complete observation, enter data and submit (EDS). Schedule post-conference date/time

Supervisor Observation teacher supervisor

To provide documentation and feedback to measure the effectiveness of a teacher’s professional practices within the classroom. PURPOSE To improve teaching and learning.

Supervisor Observation Cycle 1. Pre- Observation Protocol 2. Classroom Observation 3. Post-Observation Conferencing: Providing feedback that informs professional practices

Together they discuss the lesson in light of their shared understanding of what constitutes good teaching. Together they decide on the teacher’s strengths and areas of growth. Completes the pre- observation document. teacher Together they discuss the lesson to be observed. teacher Supervisor Watches a lesson. Collects evidence on ALL aspects of the lesson. Organizes and records the evidence. Gives a copy of the evidence to the teacher. Analyzes the evidence against the evaluative criteria and levels of performance. Supervisor Assigns a Rating. Supervisor Reflects on evidence and assesses the lesson against the criteria and levels of performance. teacher

Peer Observation PEER teacher

Supervisor’s Observation: To provide documentation and feedback to measure the effectiveness of a teacher’s professional practices within the classroom Peer Observation To provide feedback to teachers about teaching and learning PURPOSE ONE GOAL To Improve Teaching and Learning

“Peer observations allow teachers to learn more about themselves: thus they become better teachers, bringing more knowledge to the classroom. When teachers learn from one another, they develop varied instructional techniques and new ideas. This results in more interesting teaching and more opportunities for students to grow.” Eric Moats “Opening Doors: Teacher Guided Observations” Educational Leadership

Benefits of Peer Observation Effective peer observation allows both the observer and the teacher to:  Develop reflective practice  Share best teaching practices  Gain new ideas and fresh perspectives about teaching  Enhance skills  Improve the quality of the learning experiences made available to students

Peer Observation Cycle 1. Pre- Observation Protocol 2. Classroom Observation 3. Post-Observation Conferencing: Providing feedback that informs professional practices

Completes the pre- observation document. Teacher Together they discuss the lesson to be observed. Watches a lesson. Collects evidence on ALL aspects of the lesson. Organizes and records the evidence. Gives a copy of the evidence to the teacher. Analyzes the evidence against the evaluative criteria and levels of performance. Peer Observer Reflects on the lesson using the evidence and assesses the lesson against the criteria and levels of performance. Teacher Together they discuss the lesson in light of their understanding of what constitutes good teaching. Together they decide on the teacher’s strengths and areas of growth. Assigns a Rating. Peer Observer

OBSERVABLE: SEEN, HEARD, READ NOT INFLUENCED BY OBSERVER’S PERSPECTIVE FREE OF EVALUATIVE LANGUAGE DOES NOT DRAW CONCLUSIONS

The Evidence Sequence (old paradigm) COLLECE DATA (EVIDENCE) FEEDBACK

The Evidence Sequence (Principal) COLLECT (EVIDENCE) FEEDBACKCLARIFY AS NEEDEDALIGN WITH THE FRAMEWORK DISCUSS PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

The Evidence Sequence (Peer Observer) COLLECT (EVIDENCE) DISCUSS / CLARIFY BY INVITATION ONLY PROVIDE SCRIPTED FEEDBACK ALIGN WITH THE FRAMEWORK NO INTERPRETATION, CONCLUSIONS OR DISCUSSION OF PERFORMANCE RATINGS

Evidence: A Reporting of the Facts Evidence may include statements, actions, or behaviors. (seen, heard or read) Evidence may include artifacts prepared by the teacher, students, or others. Evidence is “pure” i.e. it is free of personal opinion or bias.

Evidence vs. Opinion Is observable Is not influenced by observer’s perspective Is free of evaluative words Does not draw conclusions Makes inferences Depends on observer’s perspective Includes evaluative words Draws conclusions

Distinguishing Between Evidence, Interpretation and Bias Evidence: It is important that the observer record as evidence only what is seen, heard, or read—not an interpretation of what is seen or an opinion about it. Interpretation: While in the process of collecting evidence, the observer should refrain from making interpretative statement – what he “thinks” the teacher meant to say or do. The observer should not make inferences about how the teacher/students feel about the class, teacher, or subject.

Distinguishing Between Evidence, Interpretation and Bias Bias: When observers make value judgments based on a teacher’s or the students’ age, race, gender, appearance, perceived economic status, or accent, these judgments may influence both how evidence is collected and how scoring decisions are made based on the evidence.

Evidence (Pink), Using the color paper on tables indicate your choice of whether the following slides depict “Evidence (Pink), Interpretation (Green) or Bias (Blue). 1. Read each statement and discuss whether you believe it is an example of evidence, interpretation or bias. When asked, have a table spokesperson hold up the appropriate color card. 2. Reference Domains 2 and 3 of the Kentucky Framework for Teaching and determine with which domain and component each statement best fits. (Note: Only evidence is assigned a domain/component)

1.The teacher says, “It’s fun to find the patterns for factoring polynomials.” Evidence Rationale: This is an evidence statement because it captures exactly what the teacher said in the classroom. KY Framework for Teaching Connection: 2B – Establishing a Culture for Learning

2.Observer wrote, This is not how I would teach research skills. Bias Rationale: This is a biased statement because it is someone’s personal preference as to how reading skills should be taught. KY Framework for Teaching Connection: This will not be coded in any domain because it does not depict teacher behavior.

3.Observer scripted, The teacher cares about her students. Interpretation Rationale: This is an interpretative statement about what someone might have seen or heard in the classroom. It might appear as if the teacher cares about her students if she asks them about their weekend and/or voices concern over how late a student went to bed the night before school. However, this statement is not evidence because it does not describe what the teacher said or did. KY Framework for Teaching Connection: Not coded because it is an interpretation rather than a statement of evidence.

4.Observer scripted, The teacher greets students by name as they enter the classroom. Evidence Rationale: This is an evidence statement because it describes something specific that the teacher did and said in the classroom. KY Framework for Teaching Connection: 2A Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport

5.Observer noted, An entire class of boys makes managing student behavior a challenge. Bias Rationale: This is a biased statement because it represents a value judgment based on students’ gender. This statement suggests that an entire class of boys would be more challenging to handle than a mixed gender class or an entire class of girls. KY Framework for Teaching Connection: Not coded because it is not a statement of evidence.

Types of Evidence Scripting: Use of quotation marks, record of exactly what was said by teacher or students. (Hear) Observed Behavior: Just the facts. No evaluation made. (See) Numeric Information: A number and what it refers to. (See, hear, read) Aspect of the Environment: Statement of fact. No evaluation made. (See)

Maximize Evidence Gathering Refer to the one page handout entitled “Maximizing Your Evidence Gathering” Compare the summary type of evidence gathering with the evidence statements on the right. (Look for the 4 types) Turn and Talk: What are the benefits of collecting actual scripted statements as evidence in an observation?

SCRIPTING TIPS For scripting, write down what is said in the classroom. Develop your own shorthand notations. T= teacher S=Student Do not worry about connecting events. Remember to write down only facts, not judgments. Create a seating map of the classroom and number the students. Use the numbers to refer to which student is speaking. Use quotation marks or capital letters to denote actual quotes. (Can be done during clean-up of notes) Paraphrase others comments and actions. (No judgment statements.

Video Observation Background Basics: High School Social Studies Class Critical Thinking : Facts that show that Athens Evolved into a Democracy. The Government of Ancient Athens How did the geography of Greece lead to Creation of City State?

Video Observation #1 Gathering Evidence: 1.As you view the video, capture as much evidence from the lesson as possible. Don’t just script with your ears! 2.Try to capture as much verbatim evidence as possible.

Observation Video The video used in this presentation can be purchased through ASCD. Video Title: Enhancing Professional Practice A Framework for Teaching (Elementary, Middle and High)

Self-Check Have I recorded only the facts (Seen, Heard, Read)? Have I qualified words such as few, some, and most? Does my documentation of evidence indicate any personal or professional interpretation or bias? Have I accurately captured what was said by the teacher and students?

Aligning Evidence Component 3B Questioning and Discussion Techniques 1.Use your Framework For Teaching and Snapshot handout to review Component 3B. 2.Write 3B next each statement that documents that component. 3.Share your findings at your table. Reflection: What types of evidence did you gather? Why was it important to have scripted evidence for this component?

Examples of Evidence from 3B T: “ Look at the map. Think about it for a second-the geography of Greece. How did that contribute to the rise of city-states?” T: “Ok, Arielle, Yes.” S: “There were mountains in Greece so they isolated certain areas causing them to form city-states.” T: “Ok, very good. The mountains contributed to an isolation factor. Good.” T: “Ok, anything else geographically speaking that gave rise to a city state?” T: “Kerstin?” S. “The Mountains were surrounded by water so that also isolated them.”

Continued…. T: “Good, there are geographic terrains surrounded by water, because of the isolation factor will hinder what main component? What is going to be hindered by the fact that they are isolated into different regions?” T. “Katrina, what did you say?” S: “Communication” T: “Good Communication.” Student Raises hand. T: “Yes Nick. Question?” S. “Trade. It also isolated trade.” T. “Good. It isolated trade.”

Role Play and Debrief Why was it important to have scripted evidence for this component?

Aligning Evidence to Component 3A Communicating with students 1.Take our your Framework Document and your Snapshot document and review 3A. 2.Using the evidence you collected categorize all evidence that you would assign to 3A. 3.Share your findings at your table. Reflection: What type of evidence did you gather? Why was it important to have scripted evidence for this component?

Examples of Evidence from 3A- Communicating With Students T has posted the learning target for the day. “I know in your head you have some idea already of democracy, so quickly, I want you to web it out with a partner …...” “This is going to be our assignment today. We really want to spend some time having you guys process through the changes that took place in Greece ….”

Aligning Evidence to Domains 2 and 3 1.Take our your Framework Document and your Snapshot document and review your evidence for alignment with all components in domain 2 and 3. 2.Assign the evidence statement to one of the eight observable components. 3.Share your findings at your table. 4.Combine your final evidence product into a table product. 5.Write evidence statements for each component on a separate post it note (one statement per note) and place it on the corresponding wall chart for that domain component. 6.Engage in a gallery walk and discussions about what you have learned. Reflection: What type of evidence did you gather? Why was it important to have a variety of evidence in an observation?

Feedback How Have You Experienced Feedback? Think about a time when you received feedback that you feel helped move your learning forward. Share this experience at your table, explaining why you feel the feedback helped you. How Do You Give Feedback? How do you give feedback? What phrases, symbols, etc. do you use when giving students feedback? What is the purpose of your feedback? Do you feel your feedback is effective? Why or why not? Is Peer Observation Feedback So Very Different?

Handout “Tips For Peer Observer Feedback” Read the handout highlighting ideas or information that you would like to discuss at your table. Table Talk: 1.Share your reaction to the handout suggestions. 2.How important is quality feedback in this process? 3.Construct a table list of Dos and Don’ts of positive quality feedback. Write on Chart Paper. Post.

Enjoy the Remainder of Summer. August will launch a new and exciting chapter in teacher observation.