Observation: Assumptions, Questions and Feedback
As a leader, there will be many times where you are observation and are left with questions, are left with assumptions, and hopefully left with positive feedback for yourself as a leader and the teacher who is being observed. When observations are conducted a leader wants to be able to have a conversation with the teacher to reflect on any assumptions, questions and feedback that they have. These conversations are important because it is what builds the relationship between the teacher and principal leader and helps the whole school become a positive atmosphere.
Assumptions, as a leader is something that we cannot help but have, but need to always find clarity in them. In this case, a principal is observing a teacher that you would consider to be a veteran. The short time that the principal is in the room, the students seem to be learning. They seem though is an assumption though, because as a leader you need to know that what may look like something may not be it For example, if the leader were to walk around and take a look at what the students are doing, are they taking notes? Or are the doodling? The teacher is observed in teaching the lesson that they have not checked to make sure the students are still following along. Secondly, since the teacher has not doubled checked the students I assume that they are all grasping the knowledge. That there is no need to do a exit ticket, or question time. And thirdly, as a leader a last assumption I would have is that all the students no matter what are very well behaved students, since there is no disruption in the classroom, I assume that this goes on in a typical day.
Throughout the assumptions though, as a leader I am left with questions. The first question is why aren’t student asking more questions? Is this because the teacher told them not to, is this because they understand, or is this because there is fear to ask questions? Secondly, how long have the students been taking notes? Is this something that happens all class, where there is no socializing or group participation? Out of these two questions I can ask the teacher more open ended questions, for example, I can ask him what the target of the lesson is and how the students are fulfilling it. I can also ask if there was a way to get the students more involved in the lesson. As a leader I can even follow up with another question, I can ask the teacher about a time the lesson was a group activity versus when it was not, what were the different results?
One thing that I want to make sure is that as a leader I am not coming across as if I am reprimanding the teacher or that they are in trouble. This is where positive feedback is very important. One thing I can commend the teacher in is having a well behaved class, especially at that age group where it’s harder to get them to all listen. I can also give a positive feedback that the lesson was going smoothly, for example there was no major disruption that meant that the teacher was using all the instruction time that was given to them. No matter what, it is important to always give a teacher positive feedback.
Reflection
As I reflect on this observation, the one thing that really jumps out on me is how all the students were taking notes and paying attention. Now, with this I assume two things and they both tie in with the amount of years the teacher has been teaching. For one, I assume that this teacher has everything under control. I assume that since there are no behavior problems, this teacher doesn’t need any extra support, doesn’t need any extra professional developments. However, I also assume the opposite. I witness that this teacher is very observed in the lesson, that are they double checking if the students are understanding? I believe that the amount of teaching years can also have something to do with this. For example, if this is a lesson that the teacher has done for many years, it’s almost like clockwork now where the main goal is just to teach the lesson, and the teacher himself assumes that the students are understanding what is going on.
It is interesting to me when I see teachers that do not double check with the students or teacher because this is something that I have had to reflect on. As a teacher I always want to make sure that students understand, however, I have had teaching partners that have not felt that way, and in my own experience the level of growth is very apparent. As a personal experience I have asked my leader principal to check in on another teacher because I was picking up their lack of teaching when the students would transition to my classroom, making my own teaching and lessons behind. As a result to my request, I was given an assurance from the principal that that teacher was doing her job based on a 3 minute observation. That small exchange left me reflecting, how can a 3 minute walkthrough tell you anything about at teacher? Especially one that has drawn concerns to other teachers.
With that experience (especially since I did not get any result from it) it helps me know that observations need to be longer, and with them being longer and spending more time with teachers it will help me understand the teacher and help me evaluate them better. I cannot base a teacher on something like a 3 minute observation. Lastly, as a school leader I need to make sure that every time I go into the classroom I go in with the idea that the classroom (that including the teacher and students) have grown, that being academically, socially, or anything positive. If I go in with a negative mind and a negative bias, I cannot give that teacher the fair change of having a good observation.