What Happens During Teacher Observations

Teacher observations are a standard evaluation tool used for new and even seasoned teachers to ensure their teaching follows school standards. However necessary they may be, they can also be nerve-wracking for teachers. Here’s what to expect in one.

Teacher observations follow the pattern of a pre-briefing conference, teacher observation, and debriefing. These are done to maintain the quality of teaching or when new standards are set in place. While both seasoned and new teachers do go through observations, new ones are observed more often.

Having someone sit in your class to evaluate your performance can be tough. However, embracing it as part of good teaching practice will help you meet each observation period with eagerness for new learning and improvement. Let’s go through each of the steps of a typical teacher observation to help you ace yours.

Table of Contents

Pre-Briefing With the Observer

Every teaching observation should start before the actual day of the observation. This part is called the pre-briefing conference between the evaluator or observer and the teacher to be observed.

This is an important part of the process because it will help set you on the right track, direct your preparations, and inform your evaluator concerning the lesson that you’re teaching during the observation.

The pre-briefing will benefit not only yourself but your observer as well. It is in your best interest to have an observer that is well aware of your prepared lesson plan, teaching habits, and strengths and weaknesses. Knowing these ahead of time will help give your evaluator better context about your classroom environment.

What To Expect During the Pre-Observation Conference

If your designated evaluator does not set a pre-briefing schedule with you, be sure to ask for one. You should not go into battle unarmed, so to speak, and the pre-observation conference will give you enough information to help you prepare effectively.

So, what should you expect during the pre-observation conference or briefing? Here are three things.

Expectations Will Be Established

Every observation must have a clear purpose for why it needs to be conducted. Sure, it may be a requirement to maintain quality of teaching, but it goes beyond just being something that an uninterested observer does for the sake of complying with the rules.

During the pre-briefing conference, your observer should explain to you the goal behind the observation, as well as what they expect to see from you during this time. It is a way to gauge your effectiveness as a teacher, according to specific metrics that the school has already set.

Knowing what these expectations are will help you tailor your observation session so that it meets exactly what the evaluator needs to see from you. For example, if the observation is supposed to check for your readiness to become a regular member of the faculty, you will want to display that your lesson plan follows the school’s designated curriculum and rules.

On the other hand, if you’ve already been with the school for many years, the purpose of the observation may be to check that you have updated your teaching methodology to incorporate new research, trends, and technology. While experience is greatly valued at every school, it’s also important for teachers to stay up-to-date with the best practices. This type of observation may be the case if your school is switching to more innovative instructional methods.

The Lesson Plan Will Be Discussed

The pre-briefing conference is also the time for you to give your evaluator a heads-up on your lesson plan and desired class activity for the day of the observation. You will want to give your observer a quick run-through of lessons that you have covered so far and what you plan to discuss on the day.

With enough background knowledge, your evaluator will be able to appreciate the whole context around the lesson, as well as appreciate how effective your lesson is. Without proper context, evaluators may not be able to assess your lesson effectively or measure its effectiveness based on their limited understanding or personal preference on how the lesson should be taught.

Standards and Metrics Will Be Explained

Good teaching observation involves measurable metrics to determine how effective your lesson is. These metrics should be discussed with you during the pre-briefing period so that you and your observer are on the same page regarding the outcome of the assessment.

The areas in which you will be assessed may vary depending on your school or the purpose of the evaluation. But the following are typical evaluation points for teachers:

Mastery of subject matter. This is where your pre-briefing discussion with your evaluator will count the most. The more they understand the subject matter, the better they will be able to gauge your knowledge of it.
Clarity of the lesson. How well did you present your lesson? Was it appropriate for your student’s level? Was it coherent and organized? If you answer yes to all these, then you get a perfect mark for clarity.

Student participation. No matter how clear your lesson is, if your students do not interact or are uninterested in participating in the lesson, you have lost them. Make sure to make your lesson engaging to encourage interaction and make it meaningful by asking students the right questions.
Attitude and conduct. Teachers have to adhere to certain standards of presentation and conduct in the classroom. You should be able to present yourself in a professional manner and conduct the lesson with enthusiasm and energy.
Classroom atmosphere. Teachers set the tone in the classroom. So, how you present the lesson, how you behave, and even what you say have an effect on how your students behave. If your students are unruly and out of control, it may reflect badly on your ability to maintain authority in the classroom.

Teacher Observation

The teacher observation is when the scheduled assessment takes place. Your observer will sit in your classroom and watch how you teach, how your students react to you, and even how they interact with one another.

It may sound like a scary thing, but remember that a teaching observation is meant to gauge how you normally conduct your classes on any regular day. Of course, there is some level of preparation involved when you know you’re going to be observed.

Remember that every regular school day is an opportunity to give your best shot. The day of your observation should not be any different. Shake off the nerves, and conduct the lesson confidently. With enough preparation and planning, you should be able to ace any observation coming your way.

How Teachers Can Prepare for Classroom Observations

The key to being a great teacher is lots of preparation. As the saying goes, you can’t teach what you don’t know. So, mastery of any subject matter that you’re expected to teach is the bare minimum.

But when your goal is to teach better and learn new skills, you can do with more than just knowing the ins and outs of your lesson plan. Here are some tips on how you can prepare for a classroom observation.

Get Advice from Other Teachers

Other teachers are a helpful resource–even if you already have tenure. No matter how many years you’ve already been teaching, there will always be things that other people can teach you. Don’t hesitate to ask other teachers for advice on how to tackle a subject matter, a certain class or age group, and the evaluation itself.

You may have a lot of theoretical knowledge, but teachers who have longer tenure have invaluable practical knowledge and experience that you may not have. Also, schools should not be environments for learning for the students alone. Teachers should be able to learn from one another (instead of competing with each other!).

Understand What the Observation Is For

Before you start preparing for the observation, you have to first know what it is for. Is it to check whether you are able to incorporate new classroom rules effectively? Or is it to gauge how well you can handle a classroom full of noisy elementary students who are bursting with energy?

Understanding what you will be evaluated for will help you make the observation work to your advantage. It’s easy to hit the mark when you know what those marks are. If those are areas that you know you’re weak at, you can pour your energy into preparing and practicing to hone your skills better.

Plan the Day Ahead

Planning the day means not only studying the lesson and making sure you’re able to explain it well to your students. It also means anticipating your students’ responses, what problems may arise, as well as what you can do to make it a fun-filled learning experience for each student.

You just can’t expect a classroom full of kids to behave as you expect every time because that’s not realistic. To take better control of the day when things don’t go according to plan, have a Plan B or C ready.

When a couple of students start fighting, for example, and the class breaks out into a riot, do you just yell helplessly for them to stop so you can continue your lesson?

Don’t Overthink It

Remember that, after all the preparation, it’s just a regular day at school, and you’re teaching the same group of kids that you have been teaching for several weeks or months. You probably already know how to manage the class and teach so that you reach their level.

Try not to overthink the evaluation so that when your schedule comes up, you can actually enjoy doing what you love to do–teaching your students.

Post-Observation Briefing

Once the observation is over, you can now breathe easily. You have completed the hard part! Whew! Now, it’s time for debriefing. This can be done on the same day of your observation or a few days later. And this is when you get to find out how well you did.

Your evaluator should be able to explain to you their assessment of your performance based on every metric that was discussed with you during the pre-briefing conference. These inputs will help you improve your teaching habits, planning, or even attitude in class and help you become a better teacher.

How To Make the Most of a Debriefing Session

At times, however, debriefing sessions after a teaching observation can feel like an attack on a teacher’s performance. Some evaluators tend to be harsher than others. But regardless of how they present the assessment to you or how harshly they rate your performance, you should be able to take something from it and use it to your advantage.

Be Proactive in Asking About Areas for Improvement

While some evaluators are more straightforward with regard to their assessment, others may not be so clear on what exactly your weak points are or where you can improve. It sure is a nice feeling when someone in authority tells you that it was a job well done, but in practice, it’s not very helpful.

No matter how good you are as a teacher, there will always be areas where you can do better–just like with anyone doing any other job. So, if your evaluator keeps giving you the thumbs-up and gives no other feedback, be proactive by asking for it.

They may just need a little nudge to know that they won’t hurt your feelings when they’re honest about your weak points.

Don’t Take Criticism Too Personally

When the negative feedback does come, though, don’t take it personally. Remember that it’s an assessment of how your lesson went and not an attack on you as a person. You can use that feedback to sharpen your skills and work on whatever needs it.

However, you don’t have to simply accept all negative feedback without probing about them either. Feel free to ask your evaluator what exactly it was that you did or said that led to their assessment, not to challenge their evaluation but to better understand how they came up with the rating.

That way, you can come out of the debriefing without any doubts about the assessment, and you can start working on improving your teaching.

Get Advice From the Observer

Lastly, don’t forget to ask for advice from your observer. Most will be more than willing to help you out and give you tips on how you can improve your weak points. This is also a good way to end a debriefing session on a positive note because it communicates that you respect their evaluation and value their expertise.

Conclusion

Though teaching observations can be scary, they don’t have to be. In fact, you need them if you really want to be great at your profession. So the next time an observation is scheduled for you, plan and prepare, but also be excited about the new things that you will learn from it.

Be sure to read the article How To Pass a Teaching Observation for the best information and advice on acing your next observation.

Sources

Vanderbilt University: Teaching Observation

Duke University: Classroom Observations for Evaluating Teaching