OBSERVATIONS

                                                                       DUE: IN STAGES                

You can learn a great deal about effective teaching from talking with others about teaching and from watching others teach -- not to imitate what others do but to heighten your awareness of what can be done. This assignment offers you the opportunity to observe three class sessions taught by three different teachers.  Guidelines for the lessons-learned paper are at the end of this page.

Do not make the mistake of thinking this assignment will be easy.  It's not complicated, but observing to learn requires considerable concentration.  And as a teacher, you have to observe to learn about your students and your teaching ... while you teach!

Your objective for the observation experience is to focus on what is happening in a "live" instructional situation and to think about why things might have happened as they did. You are not being asked to rate the teacher's teaching.  Hopefully, this assignment will help you to further develop your ability to analyze classroom instruction -- a process essential to improving your own teaching effectiveness.

You should intend to learn from these experiences, so approach these three observations with a clear purpose of your own.  You should observe the skills of the teacher regardless of the teaching strategy being used.  You should pay attention to student reactions and interactions in the class. You want to discern the teacher's goals and observe how plans are implemented to achieve those goals. 

 .

The first observation, before September 15, will be of your own choosing. You identify the teacher, and you make arrangements with the teacher to visit a class session.  If you need help identifying a teacher, please ask me. For this first observation, I expect you to make arrangements to talk with the teacher either before or after you observe the class session. The point of the conversation is to learn whatever might help you to better interpret and understand what happens in the class. We will not meet as a class on Tuesday, September 13, so you could schedule the observation for that class period. But you also have the flexibility to observe someone who teaches at another time. Observe before September 15, since that's the day we'll take time to discuss your first observations. The discussion will center on what all of you learned from your observations. This gives you an opportunity to learn how others approach the observing process and to ask questios about ways to concentrate, focus and discern when observing.

The second observation, will be conducted in teams before September 29.  We'll get the teams arranged during the second week of the semester. We will not meet as a class on Tuesday, September 27, so you could schedule the second observation then.  However, you and your partners may observe someone who teaches at another time. Again, if you need help identifying a teacher, please ask me.  We'll spend some class time on September 29, to compare observations and conclusions.  

The third observation is at your discretion.  We won't dismiss class for this one.  If you prefer to observe on your own, that's fine. If you prefer to observe as part of a team, you can make those arrangements as well.  The third observation should be completed before October 20, the class period scheduled for a discussion of what all of you have learned from the observations and conversations with co-observers and teachers. 

Your written paper is due on November 1.   A word to the wise -- document your observations, analyses, and interpretations as you experience the observations.  Do not assume you will remember what you observed and what you thought about what you observed! 

* * * * * * *       * * * * * * *       * * * * * * *      * * * * * * *      * * * * * * *      * * * * * * *

General Guidelines for Lessons Learned Paper on Observations

Due:  November 1, 2011

PLEASE DO NOT USE THE TEACHERS' NAMES.

The lessons-learned paper should be based upon what you learned from your three observations and from conversation with co-observers as well as with the teachers you observed.  I'm especially interested in knowing how you might use what you have learned to help you as a teacher.

There is no set length for this paper.  Some will have much more to say than will others.  However, I expect you to put time and thought into these observations and your interpretations of what you have seen ... and your paper should reflect that time and thought.  Talk with me if you have concerns about this "open-ended" paper.