To Observe Or To Not Observe…That Is The Question

Carrie Sand contributed today's post. Click here for more of Carrie's thinking.

When I originally started my coaching role, I expected that a good chunk of my time would be spent “observing” teachers in the classroom. While I knew that it was not my job to evaluate, I thought that one of the few surefire techniques of effective coaching was observing and providing feedback to the teachers in a non-evaluative way. As with many of my “use to thinks,” I find myself evolving in my coaching mindset on the topic of observations as part of the literacy coach's role.  

Well respected literacy coaching experts have a variety of opinions about the classroom observation. Many think that classroom observations are an essential part of the coaching cycle. Others, like Cathy Toll, caution the use of observations and only go into a teacher’s classroom when specifically invited. My position on the observation question lies somewhere in the middle. First, I think I have a unique perspective on the observation issue because of my particular schedule. Like many coaches in small districts, I also teach classes. As part of my classroom teaching duties, I am routinely and frequently observed by my administrator. Because I am passionate about my job, I want the observations to go well. No matter how confident I feel about my content area, routines, procedures, and instructional practices, during an observation there is always a seed of self-doubt that wiggles its way into my brain… “What if the lesson doesn’t go as planned?” “What if ______decides to have a melt-down?” “What if my students look at me like I’m speaking a foreign language?” Each of those seeds of doubt link back to the idea that I want to show my best to the person watching my classroom. And while, EVERYONE in education knows that not all lessons go right all of the time, when you are the teacher being observed, the logic of that statement doesn’t provide very much comfort . So with being in touch with those very real feelings as the classroom teacher, I use that perspective to shape my position on observations as a coach.

Since my first year as a literacy coach, I’ve changed my position on the observation. I use to walk into any classroom, unannounced, sit down, take some notes, and leave a little feedback “thank-you” note on my way out. After an honest evaluation of this process, I couldn’t really say that I saw a direct benefit to this approach. In fact, with 100% honesty, I was probably distancing myself from the teachers because how could that unannounced “check in” not feel like an evaluation in some way. Instead now I approach observations with the following criteria:

1. Am I using the observation as part of a true coaching cycle? In other words, have coaching conversations given us (the teacher and I) a  specific focus or reason for the observation?
2. Have I provided all the support I can prior to the observation? Remembering that I am not there to “catch” the teacher doing something wrong, I work to maintain the idea that I am in the classroom for the common purpose we’ve identified. It is for this reason, that often I do not do observations until later into the school year after other coaching practices have been firmly established.
3. Is there a plan in place for after the observation? In reality, what do we want to achieve with this observation information? In my experience, it is step #3 that matters the most in terms of seeing real growth.

By thinking through the real purpose of observations, I find that even though I do them less frequently, I now use them with more effectiveness. Prior to establishing my personal beliefs and boundaries about classroom observations, I was doing observations because I thought it was part of what a literacy coach was suppose to do; now I use observations as a purposeful tool for change.