Teacher Observations
I just read the part in "The Principal 50" where Kafele suggests spending as much time observing classroom instruction as possible. His rule of thumb was to spend no less than1/3 of the day observing and offering feedback to teachers (p.39). I can understand how important and helpful that would be, especially considering the principal's (or assistant principal's) role as instructional leader. However, I am currently a teacher-leader with limited experience in this area. As an aspiring administrator, I'd like to ask some of you assistant principals how feasible it is to devote that much time towards observations and feedback. I have the utmost respect and admiration for both administrators that I've had the pleasure to work with for the past decade, but I know they struggle to get into the classrooms because they are constantly dealing with a million other priorities. In fact, they look forward to classroom observations as a reprieve from the more cumbersome and/or troubling issues the must address, and I could be wrong about this, but I doubt they even come close to 1/3 of the day. Just for some perspective, we are a Title I School with a diverse student population in a generally affluent area. The challenges (socioeconomic, discipline, etc.) that we face don't come close to some other schools in our surrounding counties. So I'd like to know your honest assessment of Kafele's recommendation, specifically as it relates to your personal experience as an administrator and instructional leader. Thanks!
Charlie,
ReplyDeleteHere is my rule of thumb. Get to school early to check email and answer any pressing concerns that can be handled while the building is empty. All of my responsibilities with testing can be done before and after school. This frees up a lot of time during the school day for getting into classrooms. Being a one to one school I simply hop from classroom to classroom with my laptop doing observations, walkthroughs, or just soaking in teacher/student interactions. On days of little disruptions, (parent phone calls/discipline) I spend a majority of my day in classrooms. Take advantage of days that allow this and on days that are hectic understand that sometimes classrooms observations will have to wait.
Charlie,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with Kafele! This work is so important, perhaps the most important work that we can be doing as administrators. While my goal is to always do exactly that - at least a third of my day in the classrooms observing instruction - it does not always happen. (rarely) Now, that being said, is that my answer? Just doesn't happen? No, this one thing is constantly in the forefront of my mind as being important and finding ways to achieve it. I agree with John and his very thoughtful approach to making it happen. One seasoned administrator once said to me, (two years ago when I was new) "The paperwork (and emails) will remain when the humans are gone." Of course that means that after I have prioritized only the MOST critical non-classroom visit tasks, then I need to stop, get up, and go out into the building to spend time with teachers and students. How can I support them if I don't have an active instructional relationship with them? Another good thought is to schedule time in classrooms. If I write it in my planner, chances are very likely that I will do it! If not, I will find something else to keep me busy!! I have not sat around bored one minute of one day that I have been an administrator! Thanks for asking this question!!
From the aspiring leader position, I now see the challenge Mr. Kafele presents is doable after reading the posts above. My question relates to the observation itself. How do we define a walk through versus a observation? What if the the administrator just wants to spend five minutes in the classroom and "observe" the teacher/student interaction?
ReplyDeleteIn relation to this, curious about how you all feel about Richard Woods' proposal for changing the teacher evaluation process? He states "one size doesn't fit all" and the number teacher evaluations is cumbersome and can bog down administrators. In fact there are five counties that are trying out the new tiered system this year. How do you feel about that change?
ReplyDeleteCharlie,
ReplyDeleteAs much as I would like to control my daily schedule, it does not always end up the way I want it to. Some days I feel productive and other days I feel like I did not get anything accomplished. In saying this, my goal is to get into the classrooms each day; however, I may not observe as many classes as I would like. This year my principal and I tag team to allow each other a day to complete walkthroughs and observations. In doing this, the other person is available to deal with discipline issues, disgruntled parents, staff concerns, etc. We also have an academic coach who does strategic walkthroughs and observations to offer feedback to teachers who may need support with planning, instructional delivery, differentiation, assessment uses, etc. So, to answer your question, on some days, I may be able to spend at least 1/3 of the day, but certainly not every day!
Thank you all so much for the honest answers and helpful feedback! I also want to share what happened this week as a learning experience for and a suggestion. I was conducting a STEAM Learning Lab yesterday with 60 fourth grade students. This was planned, coordinated, and scheduled with the general ed and special ed teachers, and parents were invited to come help and/or participate as well (the students were building water filter systems). Although I was providing the main content and instructions, there were 6 total teachers (4th grade, technology, enrichment, special ed) assisting by interjecting, asking/answering questions, managing behavior, etc. Of course our principal and AP, stopped in to see how things were going and be part of the action, and they were with us for most of the time. I found out later that they were actually using the 2 hour STEAM lesson as a formative walk through assessment. In reflection, that was genius! They were observing six teachers at one time, nonchalantly, in their ideal teaching element (not to mention other important factors like parent involvement and collaborative planning and the whole logistics of it all). The teachers weren't feeling the pressure/intimidation of being observed one-on-one in a classroom setting...we didn't even realize we were be officially observed, but we were really pleased to find out afterwards. I will definitely use that strategy in the future, and I highly recommend it to you all. Kill two (or more) birds with one stone whenever possible!
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