May2014|Volume71|Number8

ProfessionalLearning:ReimaginedPages2429

RethinkingClassroomObservation
EmilyDolciGrimm,TrentKaufmanandDaveDoty
Flippedpeerobservationleadstojobembeddedteacherlearning.
Midwaythroughher12thyearofteachingsocialstudies,Mariafoundherselfreflectingonanongoing
challenge:herstudents'struggletociteevidencefromnonfictiontexts.Shewaspleasedthatstudentsin
herUnitedStateshistoryclassregularlyvolunteeredtosharetheiropinionsontopicstheclasswas
studying.Itwasobvious,however,thatmostofthemstruggledtousetheirreadingtoinformthese
opinions.
Withthedistrict'sheightenedfocusonliteracy,Mariahadspentyearslearningliteracystrategiesat
schoolwideprofessionaldevelopmentdays.She'ddiscussedthesestrategiesatdepartmentmeetings.
Yetbackinherclassroom,with25pairsoftiredeyesstaringather,shefoundthatheruseofthe
practicesvaried.Aftermonthsofimplementingthenewstrategies,Mariafeltstalled."HowcanI
improvemyimplementationofthesepracticeswhileteachinginisolation?"shewondered."Ineed
anothercolleagueortwotohelpmeexaminewhatI'mdoinginmyclassroom."

WhyTraditionalProfessionalDevelopmentFallsFlat
Maria'sfrustrationiscommon.We'veheardthesamethingfromteachersinelementaryandsecondary
schools,fromnewteachersandveterans:Mostprofessionaldevelopmentexperiencesfailtoaffect
whatteachersdointheclassroomeachday.Traditionalprofessionaldevelopmentprovidesnoshortage
ofstrategiesandresources.Yet,theseapproachesfallshortofimprovinginstructionforthreeprimary
reasons:

Teachershavelittlesayinwhattheylearn.Toooften,teachersaren'tinvolvedinselectingthe
topicsorfocusofprofessionaldevelopmentsessions.Asaresult,thecontentmaynotspeak
directlytotheirdailychallenges.

Transferringlearningfromtrainingtotheclassroomisdifficult.Thevariablesofthe
classroomstudents,content,timeofdayaddalevelofcomplexitytoimplementationthat
cannotbefullyexploredinatrainingsetting.

Therearefewopportunitiestopracticeandrefinestrategies.Teachersarelefttoapplytheir
learninginisolation.Withoutopportunitiesforcollaborativeandjobembeddedpractice,
teachers'implementationofanewstrategycanstagnate.

ADifferentApproach
Teacherdrivenobservationaddressestheseproblemsbyempoweringteacherswithaclassroom
embeddedprocesstorefinetheirinstruction.Throughteacherdrivenobservation,teachersengage
peersingatheringandanalyzingclassroomdatadatathatspeaktotheuniquecontextoftheirown
classrooms.Thisapproachhasdemonstratedpotentialtomeaningfullyimproveinstructionandstudent
achievement.

Existingapproachestoobservationgenerallyservetheobserver.Teacherdrivenobservationflipsthis
approach,placingtheobservedteacherasleaderandprimarylearnerintheobservationprocess.
Theobservedteacheridentifiesthefocusoftheobservation,developingaquestionthatreflectsanarea
aboutwhichheorshewantstolearnmore,andthatconnectstotherelationshipbetweentheteachers'
instructionalmethodsandstudents'learning.Aneducatormaywanttoexplorehowtodevelophis
students'abilitytosolvemultistepwordproblemsorhowtoincreasestudentengagementinclass
discussions.Shemayhopetoimproveinstructionrelatedtoacurricularstandard.Withaclearfocusin
mind,theobservedteacherinvitescolleaguestocollectclassroomdatarelatedtothatfocus.
Threecomponentsareessentialtoteacherdrivenobservation.Ataninitialfocusmeeting,theobserved
teachershareshisorherfocusquestionandgivesbackgroundforthelessontobeobserved.The
observationenablesthecollectionofclassroomdata.Duringthepostobservationdebriefing,the
teacherandobserverteamcollaborativelyexaminethedatacollectedanddiscusswhatthedataindicate
abouttherelationshipbetweenteachingandstudentlearningintermsoftheteacher'sfocus.
We'vewitnessedfirsthandthebenefitsthatteacherslikeMariaderivefromengaginginteacherdriven
observationswhentheyfirstdeveloptheskillsdescribedbelow.

ObservationSkills
IdentifyingaFocusQuestion
Theobservedteacher'sselectionofafocusfortheobservationarticulatedthroughaquestionserves
severalpurposes.First,itpositionstheteacherastheprimarylearner,ensuringthattheprocessfocuses
onanareaheorsheisinterestedinlearningmoreaboutandonethatisrelevanttohisorher
challenges,content,andstudents.Second,thefocusquestionnarrowstheobservers'attentionsothe
datatheycollectwilladdresstheteacher'stargetedarea.Withoutafocus,thedatacollectedarelikely
toreflecttheinterestsoftheobserversmorethanthoseoftheobservedteacher.
Afocusquestionshouldrequirethecollectionofclassroomdata;inotherwords,itshouldanswera
questionateachercan'tansweronhisorherown.Andgroundingafocusquestioninanareaof
evidencebasedinstructionaspecificinstructionalstrategyorcurriculumstandardensuresthatthe
teacher'slearningwillimprovestudentlearning.Effectivequestionswe'veseenteachersuseinclude,
Howdoesmyuseofcoldcallingcontributetostudentengagementinclassdiscussions?HowcanI
moreeffectivelyusethinkaloudstoteachstudentshowtorepresentmathproblemsvisually?andDo
myinstructionsfacilitateorimpedetransitionsbetweenactivities?
Althoughafocusquestionemergesfromanindividualteacher'sexperiences,itoftenreflectsaschool
ordistrict'sinstructionalfocus.Maria,whomwemetintheopeningvignette,teachesinadistrictthat's
focusingonliteracy.Herschool'ssocialstudiesdepartmenthasworkedongivingstudentsmore
opportunitiestoengageinpeerdiscussionthatwillpromotereadingcomprehension.Thedepartmentis
deepeningitsunderstandingofthisstrategythroughstudyingtheguideImprovingAdolescentLiteracy:
EffectiveClassroomandInterventionPracticesdevelopedbytheWhatWorksClearinghouse.
Withtheseeffortsinmind,Mariaarticulatesthisquestion:"Duringsmallgroupdiscussions,howare
myquestionspromotingstudents'abilitiestocitetexttosupporttheirconclusions?"

LookingforDatainAlltheRightPlaces
Maria'snextstepistogatherateamofpeerswhowillobserveherandtochoosedatacollection
methodsshewantsthemtouse.Becauseclassroomdatacollectionisattheheartofteacherdriven
observation,it'scrucialthatobserversareclearaboutthetypeofdatatheyshouldcollect.We'vefound
threedistinctmethodsofdatacollectionmosthelpful:

Scripting.Thismethodrequiresobserverstotranscribeinteractionsbetweentheteacherandstudents
thingsliketeacherinstructionsandquestions,studentanswers,orindividualconversationsaswellas
interactionsamongstudents.Studentanswersmaybefurthercategorizedasvoluntary,inresponseto
beingcalledon,relatedtothelesson,orsupported(orunsupported)bypertinentdetails.Scripting
engendersawealthofdetailandsoisrelevanttonearlyeveryobservationfocusarea.However,
recordingsuchaquantityofdatacanbechallengingforanobserver.Theteachermayelecttonarrow
thefocus,askingobserverstoscriptthequestionsheasks,theresponsesstudentsgive,theinteraction
amongasmallgroupofkids,orthedialoguebetweentheteacherandcertainstudents.
Counting.Countingmethodsletobserverscaptureahighlevelviewofoneparticularelementofthe
classroom.Ateachermayusecountingtoexaminethedistributionofclasstime,thenumberof
questionssheasksateachlevelofBloom'staxonomy,orthepercentageofstudentswhovoluntarily
respondtoquestions.Althoughcountingmethodsprovideinsightintoclassroompatterns,they'reoften
bestpairedwithscriptingortrackingmethodstoprovidedeeperinsight.Forexample,ateachermay
wanttoexplorethenumberofcommentsfromeachstudentduringawholeclassdiscussionalongside
thescriptedcommentsthemselves.
Tracking.Trackingcanalsohelpillustratepatternsinaclassroom.Anobservermayusetracking
methodstocollectdataonmovementinaclassroomsuchasbyrecordingonamapoftheclassroom
themovementofateacherduringalessonorofstudentsduringtransitiontime.Anobservermight
trackstudents'eyecontacttoexaminepatternsinclassroomattention.
Classroomsarecomplex.Observedteachersoftenselectmultipledatacollectionmethodstogaina
holisticpictureoftheirfocusarea.Forexample,anEnglishteacherhopingtoincreasehisuseof
higherorderquestionsinclassmightaskoneobservertoscriptthequestionsheasksstudents,asecond
observertotallythenumberofstudentswhorespondtoquestions,andathirdtorecordthewaittime
heprovides.Collectively,theserecordingsequipthisteacherwithadatasetthathelpshimexplorehow
toincreasetherigorofhisquestionsduringclassdiscussions.
Astheleaderofteacherdrivenobservation,theobservedteacherselectsthedatacollectionmethods
observerswilluse.Themethodormethodsshouldalignwiththatteacher'sareaofinquiry.Maria,who
seeksinsightintotherelationshipbetweenthequestionssheasksandhowwellstudentscitethetextto
supporttheirconclusions,selectsscripting.Inherpreobservationfocusmeeting,sheaskseachofher
threeobserverstositwithagroupandrecordstudents'dialogueduringsmallgroupdiscussions.In
addition,sheasksthemtoscriptthequestionssheaskseachgroup.
Maria'scolleaguesaskhertoclarifyafewpoints.Onecheckswhetherheshouldinteractwiththe
studentgrouphesitswithonobservationday.Anotherasks,"Doyouwantmetotryandscriptall
studentdialogueoronlythatwhichdirectlyreflectskids'abilitytocitetextualevidence?"
Marialooksforwardtoexaminingherpeers'transcriptionsandtoanalyzingthewayherinteractions
witheachstudentgroupaffecthowoftentheyturntoevidencefromthetext.Shearrangesforher
observerstovisitherclassduringthelast20minutesofthirdperiodthefollowingday.

UsingProtocolstoTameTime
Educatorscanattesttotheshortageofcollaborativetimeintheschoolday.Usingprotocolsexplicit
structuresforconversationstoguidethepreobservationconversationandpostobservation
debriefinghelpsobserverteamsusetimeeffectively.Straightforwardprotocols(see"TeacherDriven
ObservationProtocols")maintainateam'sfocusonthedata.Mostimportant,thestructureofthe
protocolhelpsteamsconcentrateonthetaskathand:toidentifyimprovementsinteachingthat
improvestudentlearning.
Thestructureofprotocolscanfeelawkwardtoteams,particularlythosewithyearsofexperience
workingtogether.However,we'vefoundthatteamsthatsticktoprotocolscometoseethemas

essential.Thistoolensuresthatthehoursteamsinvestfocusonthemostimportantthingwithintheir
control:theirteaching.

StayingDescriptive
Ourownexperiencesaseducatorsmakeitchallengingtoshedourperceptionsaboutinstructional
methods(orevenparticularstudents!)whenweentertheclassroomasobservers.Althoughprior
experiencesarevaluable,theycaninhibitateacherintheobserverrole.Heorshemaydraw
conclusionsbeforetakingthetimetomakesenseofallofthedatacollected.We'veheardevidenceof
suchprematureconclusionsincommentslike,"Wow,yourstudentswerereallyengaged!"or"That
workwastoodifficultforthosestudents."Suchgeneralcommentsdon'teasilyinformshiftsin
instructionalpractice.Theymoreoftenresultinafailuretoidentifyinstructionalimprovementsorin
defensiveness.
Stayingdescriptiveisthesinglemostdifficultskilltodevelopinteacherdrivenobservation.It
challengesestablishednormsofconversation,particularlyamongeducatorswhoseconversations
commonlyremaininwhatElizabethCityandcolleaguescallthe"landofnice." 1Inaddition,educators
areinthehabitofdrawingimmediateconclusionsaboutourclassroomswedosohundredsoftimesa
dayaswemakedecisions.Teacherdrivenobservationrequiresthatwetakeamomenttopauseand
examinethedatacollectedinourclassrooms.
It'squitepowerfulwhenateamstaysdescriptivethroughoutthepostobservationdebriefing.Rather
thandrawingaconclusionaboutstudentengagement,forinstance,observersdiscussexactlywhatthey
sawandheardintheclassroom.Thepoolofdatatheysharethroughdescriptiveevidencelaysaricher
foundationfordiscussion.
AsMaria'sobserversdebriefwithher,onesharestwoquestionsMariaposedtostudents:"Ifwelookat
page2,whatspecificinformationdoestheauthorprovidetosupportyourpoint?"and"Whatdoesthe
authorsayinthefinalparagraph?"Throughexaminingthisdata,Mariarealizesthatsheoftendirects
studentstospecificpartsofthetext.Althoughthiscontributestostudents'abilitytocitetextual
evidence,sherealizesthatstudentsmaybereadyforlessdirection,whichwillincreasetheir
responsibilityforcitingevidencetosupportaconclusion.Mariadecidestochangeherquestionforan
upcominglessontothisone:"Whatcontentinthetextsupportsyourconclusion?"
Thescripteddataofthestudents'conversationalsoillustratethatlearnersfrequentlyechooneanother
intheirsmallgroupabouttheirconclusionsfromthetextandonthetextualevidencecited.(Partof
thetranscriptreads,"Student1:Yeah,IagreethattheauthorpresentedabalancedviewofFDR.
Student2:Metoo,andforthesamereasonsyousaidaboutwhattheauthorsaysinthefirst
paragraph.")AsMariaconsidersthisdata,shewonderswhetherstudents'agreementispreventing
richerdialogue,throughwhichstudentswouldbechallengedtoconsiderevidencethatdisputestheir
conclusions.
"I'mwonderinghowyoucangetstudentstoconsiderthecontradictoryevidenceinthetext,"one
observertellsMaria."Well,"shereplies."OneideaIhaveistoaskquestionstothesmallgroupsthat
drawthemtopiecesofthetextthatcontradicttheirideas.OrImighthavestudentsidentifytheir
generalconclusionbeforethey'redividedintogroupsandcreategroupsthatincludestudentswith
opposingconclusions."
Withsomefreshandrelevantideastorefineherimplementationofpeerdiscussionstrategies,Mariais
nolongerstalled.

ActivatingTeachers'Voices

We'veseendozensofschoolsimprovetheirteachingandlearningthroughdevelopingtheskills
describedhereandthroughthestructureofteacherdrivenobservation.Forinstance,teachersat
HamiltonHighSchoolinChandler,Arizona,haveparticipatedinsuchobservationforfouryears.More
than80percentofHamilton'steachersreportthattheapproachhasbeenmorevaluablethanother
professionaldevelopmentopportunitiesthey'veexperiencedandhascontributedtoinstructional
improvements.In2012,HamiltonreceivedthehighestgrowthscoreamongArizona'scomprehensive
highschools.
AtCentralHighSchoolinEvansville,Indiana,acrossdepartmentteacherteamusedtheprocessto
addressaschoolwideneed:students'difficultiesapplyingcriticalthinkingskills.Aspartoftheirschool
improvementplan,Central'sfacultyhadselectedseveralreadingandwritingstrategiestopromote
students'criticalthinking.Asteacherscarriedoutthesestrategies,theyleveragedteacherdriven
observationstomonitortheirimplementation.Forexample,afterreviewinganobserver'sscripteddata
ofhisdirectionstotheclass,ateacherbecameawareofhowhecouldclarifyhisintroductiontothis
contentsothestrategywouldbemoreeffective.
It'stimetorethinktraditionalapproachestobothteacherobservationandprofessionaldevelopment.
Justassurgeonsseeobservationandcoachingasvitaltoimprovingtheircraft,teachersshouldbeno
different.AsBallandCohen2note,"Teachingoccursinparticularsparticularstudentsinteracting
withparticularteachersoverparticularideasinparticularcircumstances."Theseparticularsmake
traditionalapproachestoprofessionaldevelopmentinadequateincultivatinginstructionalchange.We
canonlygetattheseparticularseffectivelybyembeddingprofessionaldevelopmentintheclassroom
andbyactivatingthevoicetoooftenabsentinprofessionaldevelopmenteffortstheteacher's.

TeacherDrivenObservationProtocols

FocusMeeting
1.

Leadteacherprovideslogisticalinformationfortheobservationandthepostobservation
debriefing.(2minutes)
o

2.

Leadteacherprovidescontextforthelessontobeobservedandsharesthefocusquestion.(3
minutes)
o

3.

Observersaskclarifyingquestions.(2minutes)

Observersaskclarifyingquestions.(2minutes)

Leadteacherassignsobservationmethodstoobservers.(2minutes)
o

Observersaskclarifyingquestions.(2minutes)

Debriefing
1.

Observersdiscusstheteachingandlearningtheyobserved.(2minutes)
o

Descriptivestatements:Whatdidyouseeandhear?(3minutes)

o
2.

3.

Whatdoyouconcludefromthis/wonderabout?(3minutes)

Observedteacherspeaksabouthowthedatafromtheobservationrelatetothefocusquestion.
(2minutes)
o

Howdothedataanswermyfocusquestion?

Havethedatainformedotherareasofmyinstruction?How?

Observersandobservedteacherdiscussnextsteps.(3minutes)
o

Observedteacher:Howwillthedatacollectedtodayinformmyinstruction?

Observers:WhathaveIlearnedthatIcanapplytomyowninstruction?

Endnotes
1

City,E.,Elmore,R.,Fiarman,S.E.,&Tietel,L.(2009).Instructionalroundsineducation:A
networkapproachtoimprovingteachingandlearning(pp.7677).Cambridge,MA:Harvard
EducationPress.
2

Ball,D.L.,&Cohen,D.K.(1999).Developingpractice,developingpractitioners:Towarda
practicebasedtheoryofprofessionaleducation.InG.Sykes&L.DarlingHammond(Eds.),Teaching
asthelearningprofession:Handbookofpolicyandpractice(pp.332).SanFrancisco:JosseyBass.
EmilyDolciGrimmisaprincipalatEducationDirectioninSaltLakeCity,Utah,andcoauthor,with
TrentKaufman,ofTheTransparentTeacher(JosseyBass,2013).TrentKaufmanisCEOandDave
DotyisaprincipalwithEducationDirection.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/may14/vol71/num08/Rethinking-ClassroomObservation.aspx