Watching Teachers Teach: An Observation Form for Literacy Coaches
Jan Miller Burkins
Early in my first year as a literacy coach, I tried to go into classrooms to watch teachers teach. I wanted to know what was happening in classrooms, and I was receiving a fair amount of encouragement from the administration to do so. However, I was not always sure how to most appropriately share feedback with teachers. They inevitably wanted to know if they had "done it right." I wanted to give them written feedback, and I wanted to meet with them individually. However, I was not sure how to structure either of these contexts.
One day a solution presented itself. A classroom teacher requested written feedback after I had been in her classroom and suggested that we have a school form. I reflected on this for a while and devised a form that I could fill out when I was in the classroom and give to teachers. I then piloted it in a few classrooms where it was met with a positive response.
The structure of the feedback form is simple. I record my name, the teacher's name, and the area of the literacy framework (e.g., writer's workshop, read-aloud, guided reading, working with words, or independent reading). I use the middle portion of the form to simply write an objective description of what the teacher and students are doing, focusing, when applicable, on the area of particular concern to the teacher. Finally, at the bottom of the form, there is an area for me to write comments.
I staple this form to what usually includes many pages of scripting--that is, I write down as much as I can of what the teacher and the students say during my visit. This scripting then becomes a source of specific examples that the teacher and I can use when we are debriefing the lesson.
You can access the feedback form by clicking on the link below:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/ObservationFormBurkins.pdf
The Language of Observation
The words we choose to communicate with our teachers are absolutely critical. The nature of the feedback depends heavily on the nature of our relationship with the teacher. For the most part, my written (and spoken for that matter) feedback to teachers is positive. This is intentional and can promote more growth than a detailed list of suggestions.
As literacy coaches support teachers thoughtfully and guide implementation of instructional strategies, they will inevitably see teachers working to make those strategies their own. Every time I go into classrooms, usually to follow up on something we have addressed in professional learning, I feel deeply respectful of teachers, so my positive reactions are sincere.
I think that teachers know when they are being manipulated by praise and when feedback is genuine and in response to strong work. Consequently, we have to be intentional about developing the habit of noticing and appreciating what teachers do well before we try to figure out how they can do better. However, our ultimate goal is for teachers to observe their own strengths and promote their own reflection and growth. We must make sure teachers don't define themselves by our feedback.
This visitation feedback instrument has played a critical role in the school's growth in literacy instruction. It has accomplished a number of things for us. First, it has initiated conversations and opened lines of communication between teachers and me. Teachers want to grow more when they feel they have been successful. Next, it has helped me document my work and the growth of teachers. I give a copy of the form to teachers and keep a copy to serve as my anecdotal record of teacher growth. Finally, it has contributed positively to the cultures of professional learning and community in our school. Teachers expect and appreciate written feedback. Sometimes they even request that visitors to our school complete feedback forms after spending time in their classrooms. The attached sample shows the types of written feedback I might offer after visiting a classroom.
You can access the feedback form by clicking on the link below:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/ObservationFormBurkins.pdf
Jan Miller Burkins is a literacy coach in Athens, Georgia. This essay is excerpted from her forthcoming book, Coaching for Balance, which will be published later this year by the International Reading Association.
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