Lesson Observations 101

Observing a lesson is an art – one that requires a fluid and open approach yet has well-established best practices for making the most of its outcomes.

Traditional observation and feedback processes are filled with challenges and inadequacies, such as time, perspective and subjectivity, making it hard for teachers to see them as valid and worthwhile. A pitfall many observers fall into is looking for a very specific list of “features” in an individual’s teaching. This archaic, linear fashion of observing is outdated and not hugely productive for observer or observee.

As a result, there’s been a big push in recent years to make lesson observations work better for teachers by shifting them from a "done to", to a "done with" model, reclaiming their real purpose: aiding teachers development instead of performance management.

1. Lesson Observation: Formative or Summative Act?

There is often confusion between lesson observation as part of the accountability framework and observation for effective professional development. It’s essential to ensure there is a clear distinction between the two.

Accountability is important, but it has to be intelligent accountability. Without context and where there is a mismatch between the intended and perceived purpose, observation as part of the accountability framework has limited value for improving teaching and learning. This challenge strikes the heart of why lesson observations must move away from performance management towards development. Digging observation out of the summative rut can be a challenge. It requires a shift in culture and a drive from school leadership to facilitate a more open culture of collaboration.

In his blog, ‘The Observation Gap?’ Angel Cinton Jr. cites two important and useful questions to ask ourselves when it comes to effective observations and the feedback that follows:

“Is it supportive and developmental, or based on an arbitrary rubric?

Is it objective-driven, or based on broad recommendations?”

To further understand the lesson observation culture in your school, ask these 8 questions:

1. As part of the senior leadership, if you’re honest with yourself, how do you feel about lesson observations at your school?
2. Are your teachers confident about letting people observe their lessons?
3. Are teacher observations always centred around performance management or are they also used for professional development?
4. Does lesson observation feedback consist of tick boxes against criteria or a more contextualised meaningful discussion?
5. Do teachers get an opportunity to see great practice from around the school as you do?
6. Is there a fear of risk-taking or experimentation?
7. Are there pockets of outstanding practice, but a difficulty in sharing this across the school?
8. Are there opportunities for peer and self-review?

2. Lesson Observation: From Approach to Process

In reality, we all know that good teaching isn’t about ticking boxes. Instead, it is about children learning. Observing successful teaching may not always be as clear cut and explicit as this, however, so how can we go about observing in a way that truly benefits teachers and students?

Decide on specific focus, not generalisations

Be clear on what specific aspects of teaching practice you want to look at, such as behaviour management or differentiation. By establishing a focus, you are able to really hone in on specifics. Developmental observations should look at specific teaching strategies or elements of a lesson rather than the lesson as a whole.

For example, look only at questioning, feedback, wait time or a specific student’s learning. This will ensure that the follow-up discussion or feedback is focused on specific areas for improvement. Without a focus, you may find yourself making generic comments and providing almost sporadic feedback.

In addition, having a focus for the observation means that (some of) the stress or perceived stigma of being watched is reduced – the observer’s paradox is something that needs to be negated as much as possible. As with any type of learning, having a focus means that there is a tangible outcome. A series of well-focused observations can help a struggling teacher systematically and sequentially improve their teaching in a sustainable manner.

Always start with the idea that this teacher is brilliant…

... and then look for evidence that reinforces this. Go with the idea that you want to give this teacher an outstanding for their lesson. Ask yourself: “What examples am I witnessing that I can reference in my report and is there a sufficient number of these to warrant the feedback (unofficial rating) I want to give?”

Contextualise the triangulation

In order to support a teacher’s development, you need to pull various things together- all the things you observe; all you’ve seen before; outcomes; the quality of curriculum planning and resourcing; reputational information you might have – everything. That helps to distil the feedback you might give down to the few things likely to have the most impact. If you focus too much on one set of information, you can misfire. This is another reason for getting to know teachers over time: when you observe someone for the second time, immediately you have a better sense of them than you did the first time and your feedback can be more precise and supportive.

Look for learning

Learning is largely invisible in a live lesson so you have to look for clues – indicators of processes that might support longer-term learning. Usually, there are plenty of clues. Look for questioning, explaining, responsive teaching, engagement of all learners in the process as well as various climate issues – behaviour, relationships, a sense of drive and purposefulness. It’s also worthwhile to see if key elements of knowledge are made explicit and attention to long-term memory and practice are given sufficient weight. You can normally tell whether a given set of practices are typical – it’s often quite obvious if students are doing something different to normal. However, that’s still a question to ask yourself: Are students learning?

Think outside the (comments) box

Learning takes place in so many ways that it can be impossible to record every instance in an observation. With that said, comments alone can sometimes only tell half the story. When observing, think about how you record the information that you wish to feedback.

For example, if a teacher is working on cold-call questioning distribution, how are you going to show them that they missed half of the class? Similarly, if the focus for the observation is engagement, how might you show successes and short-comings in practice?

Being visual and mapping out the lesson is one way of adding some visual stimulus to your observing repertoire. Question distribution diagrams, circulation paths and even word-for-word transcriptions are all ways in which you can add an extra element of transparency to your observation. Having concrete examples to help explain teaching concepts to others is one of the most effective ways of ensuring that your observation is of value to them.

Remember, not all that glitters is gold

Focus on students' engagement and not just on the teacher’s dazzling array of resources – their use of IT learning tools, PowerPoint presentations and smartboard gimmicks. These might look good and, of course, you should give the teacher credit for the design, preparation and effort. But equally, they can be a distraction from real learning. Ask yourself, is the class learning or are they merely having fun? Lots of activities can cloud the purpose of why students are there in the first place. They are there to learn about their subject, its context and the wider world. Is this happening?

Encourage teachers to deviate from the lesson when necessary

Encourage your colleagues to abandon a lesson plan when it’s not working, when little or no learning is taking place. Tell them to improvise or deviate in terms of focus or methodology. They don’t have to stick rigidly to a plan. Recognising that a lesson plan is not working and being able to do something else – something more effective – is a sign of an outstanding teacher. To do this, the teacher has to be confident and self-assured with both his class and subject knowledge. Such attributes go a long way.

Remove personal bias

Don’t let a teacher’s style or personality cloud your impression of the lesson. Again, remember to focus on the learning, not the egocentric distractions that can creep in – whether you would have done this or that, whether your tried and tested way of delivering a lesson is better than the teacher. We are all individuals with different teaching styles that suit our personalities – keep that in mind.

Most of all, remember that you are there – foremost – to help the teacher develop. You are supposed to build their confidence, not to undermine or belittle them. Your observation should be uplifting and constructive not deconstructive and demoralising.

Consider cross-department 360 observations

Teachers in different departments may rarely cross paths in their day-to-day tasks. Peer observation of a different subject specialist or students you teach in another setting may unlock plenty of interesting insights and learning opportunities. Peer observations are also excellent CPD for both the observer and the observed as there is a real opportunity to share good practice. They are effective open dialogue starters during collaborative sessions and can promote self-reflection.  

3. Feedback: From crippling critique to collaborative conversation

Regardless of your approach to the observation of a lesson, it is universally accepted that the feedback is the most important factor in the whole process. Without that dedicated time to explain your observations, the whole process is pretty much useless for the teacher. In turn, without good, focused feedback the negative stigma of being observed creeps back in.

No individual is entirely impervious to the feeling of impending doom caused by the inexorable lesson observation. The observation feeling can erode the teacher’s creativity and can be especially detrimental to less experienced teachers’ growth and development. Focus is placed on a brief moment in time within which you must either shoehorn all of your best tricks or recite, verbatim, your knowledge of your respective subject’s mark scheme. Feedback often slips into the natural ‘I would have done it like this’, which while well-intentioned, can only be a ‘quick-fix’ for a singular and isolated moment.

This discourages autonomy and steers teachers away from exploring what works best for them. This is particularly true when feedback is a solution that fits with the practice and style of the teacher giving the advice, not the teacher being observed; teaching is profoundly human and therefore individual.

Teachers should not leave feedback thinking there is anything ‘inferior’ with their practice but should be energised by the prospect of developing. It should not be conceptualised as a performative measure, where one judges the other, but a supportive one, where one collaborates with the other. Well-framed feedback allows creative and critical reflection on all areas in which a teacher can develop – including allowing more space for maximising upon teacher’s individual strengths, rather than solely focusing on ‘fixing’ poor practice. In this way, observation and feedback are reconceptualised as something that recognises and rewards constant development in all areas of a teacher’s individual practice within the parameters of the observer’s expertise.

Teachers can be moulded by the observer’s expertise, rather than confined to strategies that may not fit their teaching style and are not co-created in a teacher-observer space.

In short, feedback should be a supportive reminder that we are part of a profession that demands constant and creative evolution, and so we should evolve collaboratively.

Follow-up on achieving targets

The last part of observation – the least done and in my mind, the most important – is helping a teacher on their way to achieving the targets set from the observation. Finishing an observation by simply stating targets is the same as the teacher who writes “more detail next time” in a student’s book.

Time needs to be spent explaining, showing and modelling how the observed teacher can achieve the targets before the process is complete. To make an observation worthwhile, the outcome must allow a teacher to change their practice for the better and as an observer, it’s your job to be able to suggest how they can achieve the targets you have set.

Do it again!

Whether giving or receiving lesson observation feedback, request you do it again and regularly. Only by continually discussing and breaking down what you saw can you understand progression.

Credits: SecEd, TeacherHead, CultPedagogy