Brief Notes for Lesson Observation Feedback Conversations

Some brief notes below for those providing feedback after lesson observations…

Remember that no two classes are the same

• Make an effort to understand the context of the class – you don’t know the students as well as the teacher does
• Be mindful of the halo (and golem) effect – it’s natural to be unduly influenced by positive (or poor) performance
• Avoid being domineering – don’t say, ‘I would’ve done…’

Acknowledge the complexities involved with teaching and learning

• Ask how the lesson went – you will inevitably have missed a lot of what went on
• Don’t feel like you have to define next steps – vague or contrived targets are useless
• Understand that your observation is a snapshot – a single observation is not definitive

Don’t forget that performance are learning are different

• Read Robert Coe’s poor proxies for learning summary – e.g. students are engaged, a calm classroom…
• Remember that learning is liminal – learning occurs over time and not in a single moment
• Ask about the intentions behind the actions – the assumptions you make can be wrong

Further reading

• Building a More Complete Understanding of Teacher Evaluation, by Julie Cohen and Dan Goldhaber (2016)
• What Do Teacher Observation Scores Really Measure?, by Matthew Steinberg and Rachel Garrett (2016)
• Folk Knowledge and Academic Learning, by David Gearey (2012)
• Student evaluation of teaching ratings and student learning are not related, by Bob Uttl et al. (2016)
• Self-Perceived Expertise Predicts Claims of Impossible Knowledge, by Stav Atir et al. (2015)

Thanks for reading –

Doug

hello@douglaswise.co.uk