Observations as PD

As a principal, my goal is to be in classrooms daily to observe teaching and learning. Notice I said goal, because some days things just don’t work out that way. I consider classroom observations as a way to provide job embedded professional development for teachers. Observations are frequently required for evaluation purposes but I’m speaking of formative observations.

Observations provide a glimpse into the climate and culture of the classroom. I notice how the teacher interacts with students and vice versa. Depending on the lesson or timing of the observation, I also get to see how students interact with one another. We strive for classrooms where children and adults treat each respectfully and with kindness. This may look different depending on the teacher, subject or even time of year. At the beginning of the school year (and after breaks), teachers often teach children their expectations for classroom and school behavior. After a few weeks, these expectations become part of the class culture. I do my best to note positives for teachers when I share my notes from observations with them.

In addition to classroom culture, these formative observations provide the administrator with an idea of how well standards based instruction is being carried out on a regular basis. I ask that standards be posted and our state evaluation tool does expands that to referred to throughout the lesson. Since our standardized tests (and how we are evaluated and judged) are based on standards, then classroom instruction and assessment should also be standards based. The most efficient way I’ve found to know if know if instruction is standards based is to observe instruction. Then of course to follow up with the teacher to have a coaching discussion.

So formative observations provide some job embedded professional development for teachers. The key is to follow those observations with coaching conversations and teacher reflection.