EDAD 516: CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS AND WALK-THROUGHS

IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER

CONTEXT FOR OBSERVATION
Use district and building resources to
gather data on the class to be
observed students! s"ill levels#
s$ecial $rogra%s# attendance# etc&'
(no) the teacher!s bac"ground# and
s"ills hel$s to deter%ine *our
a$$roach'
(no) )hat $ro+essional develo$%ent
the teacher has $artici$ated in
recentl*
(no) the teacher!s $ro+essional goals
+or the *ear
(no) )hat the class has done be+ore
the observed the lesson and )hat the
class )ill do a+ter the observed lesson
, in other )ords# "no) the se-uence
and $ur$ose o+ the unit
Ta"e into consideration the ti%e o+
da* +or the observation , .st $eriod in
a high school is usuall* %ore
challenging than later $eriods o+ the
da*# etc&
/RE0CONFERENCE
Than" the teacher +or giving *ou
their ti%e&
1onor the ti%e co%%it%ent and do
not e2tend be*ond )hat )as agreed&
As" clari+*ing -uestions until *ou
understand the learning target# the
conte2t o+ the lesson# etc& listen
care+ull* and chec" +or
understanding'
Ta"e *our CCSS3Essential
Standards3RTI %aterials to the
con+erence and as" the teacher to
sho) *ou )hat standards' the* )ill
+ocus on during the observed lesson
As" clari+*ing -uestions until *ou
understand )hat the teacher )ants
*ou to loo" +or and )hat evidence
)ill align )ith the teacher!s
e2$ectations (very important'
Share *our design +or the observation
tool )ith the teacher be+ore the
observation to %a"e sure it )ill %eet
the teacher!s needs&
Set ti%e3$lace +or $ost0con+erence
OBSERVATION ENVIRON4ENT FOR
OBSERVATION
5 6uic"l* assess the roo%
environ%ent# get
*oursel+ located and be $re$ared
Be +a%iliar )ith the Evidence o+
Student 7earning Section o+ the
clinical observation +or% , "no) the
di8erence bet)een conce$tual
understanding and si%$le recall# +or
e2a%$le&
Count the nu%ber o+ students
attending during *our observation&
S"etch a -uic" seating chart so that
*ou can re+erence )hen various
students $artici$ate in ans)ering
-uestions# etc&
Note )hether students are )or"ing
)hole grou$# s%all grou$ or $artners
ANA79SIS OF :ATA AN: /OST0
CONFERENCE /RE/ARATION
7oo" care+ull* at the data *ou
have gathered&
;rite an anal*sis o+ the data ,
thoughts %a* occur to *ou during
the $rocess o+ describing the data
that )ould not )ithout the )riting
$rocess&
7oo" +or $ositive data *ou can
share )ith the teacher at the
beginning o+ the con+erence&
/re$are a visual o+ the data or
*our observation tool so that it
can be shared )ith the teacher
during the con+erence
Based on )hat *ou "no) about
the teacher!s e2$erience and
training# decide on an a$$roach
/a* attention to the ti%e *ou start
observing so *ou )ill "no) ho) long
*our observation has been&
I+ a$$ro$riate# as" students )hat the*
are learning# )h* it %atters# and ho)
the* %ight use it
7oo" +or the learning target<is it the
+ocus o+ the lesson=
Transitions record ti%e'
7oo" +or transitions during the lesson
directive# non0directive# etc&'
4a"e a chec"list o+ ite%s to
discuss and -uestions to as"
Avoid %a"ing conclusions# let the
teacher co%e to those through
*our -uestioning and their
re>ection very important'
/OST0CONFERENCE
5 Begin b* as"ing teacher ho) he3she
thought
the lesson )ent
1ave $robing -uestion re+erence list
hand* in case *ou need it
Start )ith the $ositive
Share the data as a neutral third $oint
Re+er to evidence o+ student learning
Avoid ?udg%ental co%%ents
As" -uestions to continue clari+*ing
and to guide the% to sel+0re>ection
listen care+ull* and chec" +or
understanding'
Share articles and3or e2$eriences that
are a$$ro$riate
Co%e to closure and agree to @ne2t
ste$sA
Choose suggestions care+ull* and
s$aringl*
; ;A7(0T1ROUB1S
1ave a $ur$ose +or *our )al"0
through
:ecide on an observation tool that
)ill %atch *our $ur$ose
Be unobtrusive , do not interru$t
learning activities unless it see%s
a$$ro$riate&
Re+rain +ro% correcting student
behavior
Very Important' 7eave a
+eedbac" note that is care+ull*
)ritten to co%%ent on )hat *ou
sa)# do not be ?udg%ental
OR# Cnd a +e) %inutes to have a
-uic" conversation )ith the
teacher about )hat *ou sa)
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