Lifting Ourselves by our Own Bootstraps
Dave Alton, Australia
Dave Alton holds a BA (Hons) degree in Sociology from Massey University, New Zealand; a Diploma in Sports Studies from Otago University, New Zealand, the Trinity College of London TESOL Certificate; and the Cambridge ESOL DELTA. He has been teaching ESL for 10 years in China, Cambodia, the U K and Turkey and has wide experience in most areas of ESL teaching.He is currently tutoring in academic literacies at Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. His main teaching interests are: spoken English; pronunciation; vocabulary teaching and learning; writing. His other interest is in ensuring that what is supposed to happen in a classroom (learning commensurate with the student and teacher time, skill and resources devoted to it) actually does.
E-mail: altonmcsherry@yahoo.com
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Introduction
Teacher observation sheet. Paper A - rationale and explanations
Where could this material be used?
A vital preliminary heads up!
Considerations in use of the observation sheet
Detailed notes on paper B, the teacher observation sheet
Acknowledgements
Teacher Observation sheet. Paper B. Adapted from numerous other sources and his own experience by Dave Alton
The following two connected papers (“Paper A. Rationales and Explanations” and “Paper B. Teacher Observation sheet. Adapted from numerous other sources and his own experience by Dave Alton.”) together present a practical approach to do-it-yourself teacher training in unpropitious circumstances. Paper A sets out the rationales for this exercise and explanations for using Paper B, which is a detailed lesson observation worksheet designed to detect and prioritise possible lesson improvements and how to make them happen.
At my university in Turkey a newly-arrived native speaker with an English language degree but no TEFL qualifications and little experience admittedly candidly that she didn't know what to do and hinted that she'd welcome assistance.
There was no hands-on, consistent teacher training programme there. Not knowing what to do and an absence of much if any useful assistance are fairly common in what is, let's face it, an under-skilled industry with insufficient (actually, often woefully inadequate) backup for teachers. I am not a teacher trainer. However, I am a DELTA graduate with 10 years' experience in 4 countries and so by default heads turned in my direction - and probably not for the last time. So I thought I'd get out in front by accessing some hands-on, user-friendly material for use in such situations: by a motivated teacher(s) wishing to improve but unable to access little if any practical assistance.
I looked around but didn't see anything I thought really met the need: no quality hands-on material usable by beginners/the inexperienced that forced the user to notice in detail what does and doesn't happen in a lesson; and to sort through the foregoing and make reasoned decisions about what most needs remedial attention. The result is the teacher observation sheet (Paper B). You may wish to go to this now and cut and paste it into a separate Word document because you need to have the papers A and B side by side in separate windows on your screen.
Go to page 7 of this document. (Page 7 begins at “ Teacher Observation sheet. Paper B. Adapted from numerous other sources and his own experience by Dave Alton.”). Cut or copy that and everything that comes after it; you are uplifting the whole second section of this published paper. The last page should be page 14 of this original HLT published document.. Open a new Word document and paste your copied Paper B into it. When you have pasted into your new document re-number it beginning with 1 (the numbering in the original document will not carry over to your second document). To re-number: have your cursor on the first page; go to insert/header and footer/page number. I then use “bottom of page” and “plain number 2.” Then “Close header and footer” – upper right hand corner of toolbar or just double click on the page. It might be just as well to name your second document differently to the original to forestall confusion. The page numbers in your second document should now coincide with the red identifiers – see page 3 below.
Now read Paper B and then re-read it conjunction with Paper A. Make yourself a coffee first; this will take a while.
There are 3 kinds of EFL schools:
- A small number of top quality schools with: good administration; adequate funding; first class teaching materials; skilled academic practitioners actively overseeing the teaching programme; quality teacher observation and training programmes; well motivated teachers who welcome professional development. My material is unlikely to be needed in these schools (although they're welcome to use it if they wish).
- A large number of low quality schools: low skilled or incompetent administrators; precarious finances; pirated materials or materials written by people who can't do it well; little or no effective academic leadership; little or no useful teacher training; poorly motivated teachers who sometimes aren't teachers at all and who have little or no interest in teaching. Be wary of trying to help lift standards in such schools. No-one knows or wants to know what you're talking about. Worse, you'll be perceived as a threat and treated accordingly. (Actually, get out of there as fast as possible.)
- A moderate number of schools in between the two situations above: staff and teachers want to do better but training and experience are absent, thin on the ground or inaccessible for an array of reasons, all of which can be frustrating and depressing. My material is designed for use in these schools.
I've worked a lot in the third category where it’s necessary to work with what we’ve got in the absence of what we’d like. If my experience is typical, teachers in such schools underestimate their own experience and abilities. We all unconsiously learn a lot even in the most inauspicious situations. My first ever class in China was 126 (yes, 126) mainly low level students, many of whom only came to be marked on the roll as present (and just doing that took much of a lesson) before slinking out the door. With the benefit of hindsight I now realise that even there I worked out strategies to achieve as much student learning as was possible in an unpromising situation. So given the absence of skilled and experienced teacher trainers in most schools the best way forward is to pool and draw on our unrealised and untapped experience. And it can be plenty. 10 teachers with an average of 2 years experience each adds up to 20 years worth. If we can bring that to bear on current teaching challenges we can move ahead. My material is designed to achieve this. It's a lift-ourselves-by-our-own-bootstraps method of teacher training. This material is not at all an ideal substitute for professional teacher training (eg. CELTA, DELTA) and doesn't pretend to be. Teachers should take advantage of these if at all possible, but in the absence of such training my material could and should be complemented by quality short courses even if they lack observed lessons. Such courses are valuable but there's no substitute for observed lessons; that's where the rubber really hits the road.
If teachers hear about observations many automatically think “criticism” and “I may lose my job!” Regarding criticism see point 6A below and points in paper B, the observation sheet. Regarding “I may lose my job” kill this unexpressed fear stone dead before it kills any chance of a successful observation. If this frightening idea gets lodged in someone’s mind you’ll probably never get it out. At the very beginning assure all concerned that the intentions are entirely positive and they, observers and those being observed both, have a lot to gain. Say the observations will not be used for other purposes – and make sure they aren’t! Depending on your situation some liaison with management may be in order.
The purposes of the accompanying observation sheet (Paper B)
The purposes of the accompanying observation sheet (Paper B) are to:
- Acquaint or re-acquaint observers with the components of successful lessons
- Require the observers to focus in on the pluses and minuses of the lesson concerned and prioritise them in terms of lesson effectiveness.
- Require observers to prioritise recommendations for teacher improvement
- Put observers in a position to recognise and reflect on their own specific strengths and weaknesses and to initiate their own improvements.
My philosophy is to dive in the deep end, get wet and keep doing it; improvement will follow. So, if as a more experienced teacher I find myself being asked for guidance I am inclined to ask intending observers and teachers with sufficient teaching experience to use the whole sheet as it is. If they aren't conversant with them observers need to notice and start absorbing all the features of successful lessons sometime and they may as well start now. It doesn't necessarily matter if they don't understand or get on top of it all at first. For everything there's a first time and as they both do more observations and are themselves observed the pennies should start dropping more and more.
However, that may not work for everyone. If you as an experienced teacher find yourself an official or de facto DOS you may judge that particular teachers may not cope with the whole sheet and this is very likely with inexperienced teachers. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this. Know your teacher. If necessary copy and paste what you judge to be the relevant material and thus confine your printout to points of importance in your situation. In spite of what I said in the paragraph above I would judge the person and do this too if appropriate. However, the comments below are based on the assumption that the whole observation sheet is used.
This paper (paper A) is for anyone setting up and giving advice to someone about to do a class observation. It can also be used by anyone having to do it alone. The teacher observation sheet (Paper B) is for an observer to use before, during and after the observation. The points here below now can be offered to that person as necessary after they have read the observation sheet (see point 1A below) and during the subsequent pre-observation discussion.
A possible criticism is that some of the material is very basic and almost demeaning of teachers and observers. To use an expression, it is “ teaching people to suck eggs.” As alluded to in point 1D below however, the “obvious” isn’t always obvious. If things are so obvious why doesn’t everyone do them? Nothing here is fabricated. All the mistakes and omissions addressed in this material, including “obvious” ones, have happened in my personal experience and I’m sure that’s not unique.
The red numbers and capitalised letters below (eg. 1A) refer to their counterparts in the teacher observation sheet. The number indicates the page number and the letter the exact paragraph on the page. Re-number the pages in your pasted document (from 1) because the numbering from the original composite document in HLT won’t carry over. In Word: place the cursor in the first page; then insert/footer. Before using the observation sheet in class you may wish to copy and paste it into a new document and delete these place indicators.
1A. You will notice an emphasis on strict process throughout because in classrooms this can too often be noticeable by its absence. And it matters a lot. Satisfying results follow from good process; the two are intertwined.
People may say "I don't have enough time to do all of this." Who does have enough time? Aren't we all rushing around doing things in less time than they truly warrant? However, observations don't happen very often and if they're to be productive they should be taken seriously. Both observing and observed teachers must commit to doing the whole job that’s considered desirable on that day and in fact I won't participate in an observation as either observer or observed if this condition isn't met. I have seen observations that would have been much more beneficial if the job hadn't been only half done. Worse, a low quality observation can do a lot of damage to the confidence of the person being observed, who may decline to be observed again. So among other things good process means setting aside sufficient uninterrupted time, including preparation and follow-up time, to work through the exercise to the end. If you as an experienced teacher are assisting someone else to prepare an observation I recommend that you discuss the observation sheet with them in reasonable detail after they’ve read it and before they use it. Don't just say "is it OK?" and be satisfied with an easy answer. Initiate discussion, ask probing questions and judge the depth of understanding. This understanding may well increase by dint of the discussion.
1B. I am a great believer in seeing ourselves via others. After 2 years in China as a novice teacher with virtually no support I didn't know what I was doing right or wrong (I suspected overwhelmingly wrong). Then I observed a good teacher at my next school in Cambodia and realised I was doing a lot right. It was very motivating, not to mention a great relief!
1C. At first glance the sheet may look long, difficult and intimidating which could be demotivating, and initial demotivation is hardly a good start. The sheet needs to be comprehensive (it's based on DELTA lesson requirements) without being a turn-off so the information on the 47 questions and the pre-test results is meant to "de-fang" it in the prospective user's mind.
1D. Giving specific examples is just as important for teachers as for students. Let's not just assume that people know and understand things. State the obvious, because if “obvious” things really are so obvious why doesn’t everyone do them?
1E. Proper preparation! We want the observer to be fully conversant with the specifics of his/her task before the lesson, not to try becoming conversant with them on the run during it (which is common in my experience). It's too late then to do a quality observation and this is a gross discourtesy to the teacher being observed.
1F, 1G.Seemingly small points, but they contribute to a beneficial overall outcome. A quality result doesn’t arise by magic. It arises from the accumulation of marginal gains; the small stuff also matters.
1H, 2A. Once again, good process means the important stuff happens. Get it right! As I said above, if I don't get a commitment to the whole process, to finishing the job (and therefore getting the optimum results), I don't do the observation or agree to being observed.
2B. Fill in these details. This is a common omission and no, people may not remember them later.
2C. Now follow all the questions, which are designed to force noticing (presence or absence) of all important components of a good lesson.
There are likely to be discrepancies between this model and what happens in the actual lesson, and this may well be OK. The observation sheet is designed to cover all eventualities and won't be a perfect fit to any particular lesson. The lesson may not have undergone exhaustive preparation and it maybe isn't being observed by a qualified and experienced observer who would allocate a pass or fail, as in a DELTA lesson. It's an everyday, workaday lesson. Each point must be referred to and not brushed aside though. For example, a lesson warmer may have been omitted for the very good reason that the lesson is the second of two back-to-back periods (eg. two 45 minute periods with a 10 minute break between) and the warmer was done in the first period. But, however acceptable the reason, the observer must make the teacher justify the warmer's absence in the observed lesson so that both partiesnotice itas a feature of a theoretically "perfect" lesson.
2D. This is based on the view that seeing or doing something once is not enough. Remember that most people forget 90% of what they learn in the first 24 hours so review is essential.
4A. This section ("After the lesson") should force you to sort out the wheat from the chaff; you must focus in on what aspect(s) of the lesson may benefit most from improvement as opposed to more minor things. That's what your feedback to the teacher will be all about.
5B. Observations are fraught things. Who is 100% comfortable with someone coming into their class and observing (possibly perceived as criticising) them, particularly if they know deep down that there are genuine criticisms to be made? I'd like to think I'm robust and I've had many observations but I still shake a little at the prospect. I can still remember the knee-knocking terror I felt as a trainee teacher being observed. So sensitivity is most important (and, just to restate it, so is good procedure that delivers beneficial results that are perceived as such). I try and lower the nervouseness by offering to be observed first myself; after observing me teachers are more chilled out about it. Reciprocity is important; the teachers involved swap roles at a later time.
6A. I strongly recommend 2/3 observers, not one, especially if observers are inexperienced. It's asking a lot for an inexperienced teacher/observer working alone to come up with quality recommendations. Bouncing ideas around with someone else is much better. If possible put a more experienced teacher with a less experienced one in an observation team. But, know your people. 2/3 observers in a lesson may be too intimidating for some teachers being observed.
6B. All the following points are what the whole observeration process has been leading to. The recommendations must be few in number because otherwise there is no focus and because if there are too many the teacher may feel overwhelmed and more fragile than s/he already does. If that happens the chances of their making solid improvements in their teaching (see” Follow through” below) diminish markedly.
Rather than just provide information first get the teacher thinking and originating her’his own solutions by utilising points 3, 4 and 5 as questions. Also, if the observer doesn’t know how to make improvements discussion with the teacher will often throw up ideas. Others not directly involved may have suggestions too. Staffrooms can be mines of information. And what about the school reference library (if there is one). Finally, there’s an embarrassment of riches on the internet.
6C. The importance of this should be obvious, but make sure it happens. Don’t take permanent teaching improvement for granted simply because beneficial changes and pathways to them have been identified. The final proof of the pudding is in the eating, not in the recipe.
That’s all. I hope this material helps. Feel free to amend it and good luck with using it. If you do make improvements please let me know so I too can benefit. Preferably edit either or both documents, draw attention to your changes and forward them. Send to Dave: altonmcsherry@yahoo.com.
As an ESL teacher of 10 years standing I have drawn the above from many sources and ongoing realisations, some of which I can no longer pinpoint. Of the ones I can pinpoint I must acknowledge in particular the International Training Institute (ITI) in Istanbul where I (eventually!) gained my DELTA; EFInst in Istanbul; Hubei Polytechnic University in China; and ACE in Cambodia. The DELTA was the best thing I’ve ever done and more than anyone that was down to my superb tutor, Sally Hirst. Other sources include classroom textbooks, teacher reference materials and many other teachers I’ve met. The final product involved combining conscious and unconsious reflections on contributions from all the foregoing with clear and compelling evidence of what doesn’t work.
1A. Please read everything below and discuss it with the person who gave you this before you observe the lesson.
1B. Sometimes we gather evidence about and reflect on our own teaching best by observing others, which you are going to do. As you observe another teacher fill in the information below on the lesson stages and after the lesson review what happened, write your views and suggest improvements.
1C. In the “during the lesson” section there are 48 questions to answer in about 45 minutes. That's about one a minute, BUT:
- 25 are Y/N or other very quick answers.
- 5 questions you answer AFTER the lesson.
- The other 18 questions ask you to write “single words or short phrases only.”
In pre-testing of this material users didn’t find it too long provided they were familiar with it beforehand.
If you and/or other observers are sufficiently motivated you could find demonstration lessons online and practice using them.
1D. For the 16 questions needing words DON'T WRİTE LONG SENTENCES. Only write SİNGLE WORDS or SHORT PHRASES. For example:
"During the lesson" section. Warmer. Q2 below. You could write "Talk about weekend." That's enough.
Don't answer questions marked "AFTER the lesson" when you are observing. Return to them when you are sitting with a cup of coffee after the lesson to consider your opinions. Note that “AFTER the lesson” refers to that numbered question only and not to any subsequent numbered questions.
1E. You will have enough time during the lesson to answer all the questions but not to think for long periods. Don’t be a perfectionist. Quickly answer the questions and move on or you will miss what the teacher is doing. If you’re unsure of an answer just move on or, again, you will miss what the teacher is doing. During the lesson observing and quickly recording is much more important than thinking and analysing. You do that after the lesson.
1F. Write in PENCIL, because you may want to make changes later and the teacher you are observing must be able to read and understand what you write.
1G. Do you have a watch or phone for timing parts of this lesson? You will be asked to consider whether the times devoted to different stages are proportionate. If you are using a phone disable the sound and vibration so that the lesson isn’t disturbed! If that happened, apart from being a gross discourtesy to the teacher and students, it would seriously degrade your credibility as an observer.
1H. The purpose of a lesson: after the lesson students should be able to do something important they couldn't do before or be better at something important that they could do before but not as well.
Talk to the teacher before the lesson and ascertain what the main aim is. Ask for copies of the lesson plan and all the material to be used in the lesson and study it. If you really can't talk to the teacher and get at least the main aim (secondary aims would be nice as well) or lesson materials the questions below are designed to partially make up for this. Also mention the post-lesson meeting to the teacher (see "After the lesson" on page 4 below) and ask if s/he would like to record that conversation. It can be very helpful; many people have forgetten much of a detailed conversation 10 minutes later. If s/he wants to record the conversation, someone needs to have recording equipment (eg. a laptop) that has been set up, and tested.
2A. Make a definite time to meet the teacher for up to 30 minutes post lesson AFTER you have had time to finalise your observations and think about what you want to say; allow yourself 30 minutes for the latter task .
2B.
Teacher: _________________ . Observer: _______________________
Date: ________ . Class name. _____________ .
Class level. ____________ . School _________________
2C.During the lesson.
Lesson opening
- Was there a short warmer to let everyone relax? Y/N
- If so, what was it? (Write single words or short phrases only.)
- How long did the lesson/warmer opening take?
- (AFTER the lesson.) If not, should there have been one? Y/N.
- Did the teacher correct homework from a previous lesson? Y/N.
Lesson plan
- Did the teacher explain the purpose and stages of the lesson (a plan) so that students knew what to expect? Y/N
- If so, how? (eg. verbally, on the board?) (Write single words or short phrases only.)
- Was it clear to the students? Y/N
- Whether your answer to the above was Yes or No, how did you know? (Write single words or short phrases only.)
- According to the lesson plan what was the main aim of this lesson?
- How long did presenting the lesson plan take?
- (AFTER the lesson.) If there wasn't a lesson plan given can you reconstruct one from what you observed? Use the headings in this observation sheet. Include this reconstructed lesson plan in the post-lesson discussion with the teacher.
2D. Review of material from a previous lesson (this, or another teacher's lesson if the class is shared).
- Was this done? Y/N
- If so, what was reviewed? (Write single words or short phrases only.)
- How was it reviewed? (Write single words or short phrases only.)
- How long did reviewing the material from a previous class take?
- (AFTER the lesson.) If it wasn't reviewed, should it have been? Y/N
- (AFTER the lesson) If you answered Yes to question 5 above, why and how should it have been?
Setting up the main activity
In the main activity the teacher wants students to do things to improve their English.
- What did the teacher want the students to do ie. what was the main activity to be? (eg. speaking.) (Write single words or short phrases only.)
- List the things the teacher did to set up the main activity. (Write single words or short phrases only).
- What materials were provided?
- Did the students have any role in setting up the main activity? Y/N
- If so, what was it? (eg. writing on the board.) (Write single words or short phrases only.)
- Did the students have what they needed (eg. vocabulary,) to do the main activity? Y/N
- (AFTER the lesson.) If your answer to question 6 above was No, what else should have been supplied? (Write single words or short phrases only.)
- Did the teacher give adequate, clear instructions? Y/N
- Did the teacher give a demonstration of s/he wanted the students to do? Y/N
- Did the teacher check that students understood what to do? Y/N
- If so, how? (Write single words or short phrases only.)
- How long did setting up the main activity take?
The main activity
- Once this started did the teacher go around immediately and check that everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing? Y/N
- If they weren't doing what they were supposed to be doing did the teacher successfully correct this? Y/N.
- As students were working throughout the activity did the teacher go around and monitor enough? Y/N
- Did s/he give assistance where necessary? Y/N
- If so, was this to individuals, the class as a whole, or both? (Circle one.)
- Were there any changes for the students during the main activity eg. different people to talk to? Y/N
- How long did the main activity take?
After the main activity. Feedback
- Did the teacher give feedback on what the students had done right? Y/N
- Did the teacher give feedback on what needed improvement and how students should do this? Y/N
- Did the teacher invite student questions? Y/N
- Did any students ask questions? Y/N
- How long did the feedback take?
Lesson conclusion
- Did the teacher summarise what happened in this lesson? Y/N.
- Did the teacher say what would happen in the next lesson? Y/N
- Did the teacher assign homework? Y/N.
Secondary aims
- Were there secondary aims in the lesson? Y/N. (For example, if the main aim was speaking did the students do a writing activity with grammar or vocabulary to prepare them for the speaking?)
- If so, what were the secondary activities?
- Did the secondary aims successfully support the main aim? Y/N.
Phew! The lesson's over. Now find a quiet place, reward yourself with a cup of tea or coffee and work your way through the 2 sections below: "After the lesson" and "Your feedback to the teacher." Then meet the teacher to give your feedback. DON'T leave these things until the next day or later because both you and the teacher will forget too much. Also, delay increases chances that the feedback session may not happen at all.
4A. After the lesson
- Go back and fill in "AFTER the lesson" sections and make any other changes you want.
- As you do this quickly check that everything you have written is readable (you had to do some if it in a hurry) because you have to give a copy to the teacher and s/he must be able to understand it and learn from it. For that matter, you may want to refer back to it too when memory has faded.
Teacher talk
- During this lesson did the teacher talk to the students not enough/about the right amount/too much. (Circle ONE.)
- Was the teacher's speech too slow/about the right pace/too fast? (Circle ONE.)
- Did the teacher check on student understanding eg. by writing words on the board after saying them? Y/N. If so, how?
- If the teacher realised students didn't understand, did s/he address this? Y/N. If so, how?
- Did the students appear to have a way to tell the teacher if they didn't understand what s/he said? Y/N.
- Was what the teacher said to the students clear enough to them enough of the time? Y/N.
Other considerations
- Were there any significant student behaviour problems during the lesson? Y/N
- If there were what did the teacher do about them?
- Was this successful? Y/N
- Why or why not?
- Had the teacher forgotten to do anything important before the lesson? (eg. photocopy enough copies of any handouts?) Y/N
- If so what was it?
- Was the amount of lesson material too much/too little/about right? (Circle one.)
- Was there any physical activity and movement during the lesson? Y/N
- If so, what was it?
- If not, would this have improved the lesson? Y/N.
- People have looking, listening and feeling senses. Which ones did students use during this lesson? (Circle one, two or three in the line above.)
- Did the teacher elicit information and answers from the students enough? Y/N
- Were there any difficulties with the facilities? (eg. was it difficult to move the chairs and so was it difficult to get students moving around? eg. could all students hear any audio equipment and could they all see the board?). Y/N
- If there were significant difficulties with the facilities, what did the teacher do or what could the teacher have done anything to improve the learning situation? Y/N.
- During this lesson did the teacher talk to the students not enough/about the right amount/too much. (Circle ONE.)
- Was the teacher's speech too slow/about the right pace/too fast? (Circle ONE.)
- Did the students have a way to tell the teacher if they didn't understand what s/he said? Y/N.
- Was what the teacher said to the students clear enough to them enough of the time? Y/N.
- Did the teacher pay sufficient attention to everyone in the class? Y/N. (For example, speaking directly to people and using eye contact.)
- Was the time devoted to each stage of the lesson about right. Y/N. (For example, were the initial stages so long that the last stages were rushed or didn't happen at all?)
- Did the lesson have higher energy and lower energy periods? Y/N.
- If so, was the balance right? Y/N
- Was there any "real world" English in this lesson? Y/N.
- If so, what was it?
- If not, could there profitably have been some? Y/N.
- Were the students as fully involved in this lesson as they should have been? Y/N
- If not, why not?
- Was the teacher sufficiently in charge of the class without unduly dominating it? Y/N.
- Did the teacher deviate from the lesson plan? Y/N. (This is sometimes a positive thing, but if it happened ask the teacher to say why s/he did it and see if you agree with the reasons.)
- Was the lesson's main aim achieved? That is, were the students able to do something important they couldn't do before or were they better at something important that they could do before but not as well. Y/N
- If there were any significant failures in this lesson for any student, could any of these not fairly be blamed on the teacher? For example, failures arising from a student whose English level was substantially below the other students’ or from a student not doing homework? Y/N.
Preparing your feedback to the teacher
Work through points 1-4 below yourself or with other observers before the meeting with the teacher.
5B. IMPORTANT. Being observed and assessed by others is a nerve-wracking experience and, while giving helpful feedback means making some criticisms, this must be done in a positive manner. We will all be observed sometime!
No lesson is perfect and your answers to the above questions and your feedback will help the teacher you have observed. It should also give you something to measure your own lessons against.
Be fair and positive but firm in your evaluation. Feedback that doesn't deal with major faults needing attention doesn't help anyone. 6A. If you were one of 2 or 3 observers in the lesson you must all agree on the points below before meeting the teacher. The teacher may be feeling fragile enough without observers talking at cross purposes.
6B
- First and foremost, identify what the teacher did well in this lesson. (If it wasn't a good lesson don't say there was nothing. There must be something positive. Find it.)
- If this was an unsatisfactory lesson due to things beyond the teacher’s reasonable control (see point 33 in the section “After the lesson” above) address this here to put the teacher at ease, because s/he will be well aware of this and probably dreads the feedback session.
- Identify ONE MAJOR feature of this lesson that, if improved, would do the most to benefit this teacher's future lessons.
- Think about and write here your DETAILED suggestions on how the teacher can do this.
- If there are one or two (NO MORE) minor suggestions for improvement identify them and say what you think the teacher can do to make these improvements.
The feedback meeting with the teacher
- Meet the teacher for 30 minutes maximum, so that the discussion is focused. If necessary tell the teacher it will only be 30 minutes maximum, to undercut unspoken concerns about excessive time being taken from other priorities.
- Activate the recording apparatus for the feedback session if the teacher wants it.
- Start by checking that you and the teacher have the same understanding of what the lesson plan was.
- Discuss the points in the section “Preparing your feedback to the teacher.” Rather than just give your opinions first, make the teacher think about how s/he could make improvements and add your ideas as it seems appropriate.
- At the end give the teacher a copy of the filled-in observation sheet and check that s/he can read everything on it. If not, clarify it.
6C. Follow through
So everyone's agreed on improvements and how to make them. What happens now? All too often, little or even nothing. The follow-through gets lost in the rush of everyday busyness. Agree on a definite time (eg. on a certain day 3 weeks ahead) for a follow-up observation to see that the major improvement has happened or at least is being addressed in concrete ways (because if it doesn't happen what has been the point of this whole exercise?). Having a definite time period should keep the teacher focused on making the improvement and stop it getting lost in the rush.
That's all. You have helped both yourself and someone else a lot. Your feedback on the content and design of this observation sheet is most welcome. (Send to Dave: altonmcsherry@yahoo.com. ). Thanks for your time and interest.
Please check the How to be a Teacher Trainer course at Pilgrims website.
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