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Teachers Observing Teachers: A Professional Development Tool for Every School from Education World 

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Teachers Observing Teachers: A Professional Development Tool for Every School from Education World 

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Typically evaluative by nature, teacher observation is usually linked to classroom performance. More and more schools, however, are using observation -- teachers observing teachers -- as a form of professional development that improves teaching practices and student performance. In this article, Education World's Michele Israel talks with experts about the benefits of this emerging professional development strategy. Included: The benefits of learning by observing -- for the teacher, administrator, and school, plus five observation models.

Being observed in the classroom can rattle any teacher's nerves. But, teacher observations that serve as vehicles for professional growth rather than performance evaluations have multiple benefits -- for teachers, administrators, and the school. [See sidebar.]

More and more, administrators and teachers are viewing peer observation as a form of collaborative professional development. This kind of observation can yield its greatest benefits when used as a means of sharing instructional techniques and ideologies between and among teachers.

"The intention of teacher-to-teacher observation is that it be a tool for professional development and, in turn, for student learning," Colleen Meaney, dean of faculty at Souhegan High School in Amherst, New Hampshire, told Education World.

LEARNING FROM COLLEAGUES

Administrators benefit from:

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the opportunity for reflective dialogue with and among teachers.

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an increased sense of shared responsibility.

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an increased focus on student achievement.

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an increased trust and collegiality among staff.

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participation in a professional and collaborative learning community.

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a cadre of self-reliant, confident teachers who love teaching.

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enriched teacher efficacy

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participation in a professional and collaborative learning community.

Teachers benefit from:

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an opportunity to engage in reflective dialogue about their work.

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the focused classroom support.

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improvement of classroom practices.

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support from an "expert" (peer) who understands the daily demands of the classroom.

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satisfaction with one's work.

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reduced job stress, especially for the new teacher.

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a welcoming atmosphere for new teachers.

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the comfort of knowing that someone is available to help, explain, and assist.

The school benefits from:

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increased collaboration among teachers.

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the establishment of a professional learning community.

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an increased focus on student achievement.

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enthusiasm for the teaching profession.

Teacher observation is one model of professional learning that "is key to supporting a new vision for professional development," explained Stephanie Hirsh, executive director of Learning Forward. The new vision, according to Hirsh, involves teacher teams that meet daily to study standards, plan joint lessons, examine student work, and solve common problems. Team members then apply that learning in the classroom, watching each other teach and providing regular feedback.

"The most positive benefit of teacher-to-teacher observation," said Hirsh, "is that it makes teaching a public rather than a private act."

Cristi Alberino echoed those thoughts. Teachers should "use one another for professional development," said Alberino, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education and a former New York City teacher. For example, she notes, a teacher struggling with classroom management can improve his or her skills by observing a peer in a safe and inclusive learning environment. Being observed by the same peer leads to suggestions about how to handle behavior problems, as well as opportunities to share successful teaching approaches with the observer.

Teacher observation often has been built into familiar activities, such as mentoring, noted Trish Brasslow, a media specialist and mentor at Fred C. Wescott Junior High School in Westbrook, Maine. "Being a mentor and observing my peers is truly enlightening," Brasslow told Education World. "I see many different learning styles and I love watching student/teacher interactions. I learn a lot about teaching and what makes for a successful teacher."

"This, to me, is a very important form of professional development," emphasized Brasslow.

ESTABLISHING A CULTURE

It is essential to effective use of the "teachers observing teachers" strategies that school administrators enable a culture that nurtures a collegial exchange of ideas and promotes a certain level of trust, explained Dennis Sparks, the former executive director of National Staff Development Council which is now known as Learning Forward. That culture is often absent when observation is associated with performance rather than professional growth.

"It's a risky thing to have your professional practice scrutinized by colleagues," said Sparks. "A teacher needs to have some level of trust in [the observer's] motives trust that the purpose of the observation is not to make the teacher look bad or to place blame, but to help."

Most important to effective teacher observation is that it be student-focused. The emphasis needs to be on how things can be done differently in the classroom to ensure that students succeed academically, added Sparks.

Souhegan High School is an environment where a teachers-observing-teachers strategy thrives. A culture exists "where people report with pride that they push' one another professionally," according to Meaney. Both new and veteran teachers "value collegial relationships as a means to professional development," she said.

EXTENDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Teacher observation should be part of a pool of professional development opportunities, Sparks told Education World. One way in which peer observation can be very effective is when teachers acquire new skills or ideas at conferences and then model those new approaches for their colleagues. That is best done through observation, said Sparks, who advocates learning in the school, rather than through "pull-out" training, such as workshops. Professional development should be job-embedded, he emphasized. That is one of the greatest benefits of teachers observing other teachers.

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Ensuring school leaders advocate and support teacher observation as a valid form of professional development

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Building a community of trust among faculty

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Establishing a school-wide commitment to the approach

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Separating observation from the teacher evaluation process

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Declaring the purpose for teacher observation and a commitment to its outcomes

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Inviting teachers to first participate in the process as volunteers

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Allowing time for teachers to observe other teachers

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Organizing scheduled meetings, coaching sessions, and follow-up conversations

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Creating teams that share students

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Selecting specific strategies and skills on which to focus during an observation session

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Instituting a way to measure the impact of observation

Joellen Killion, the former NSDC director of special projects, added that a solid repertoire of professional learning is focused on student results -- standards-based, school-based, and content-specific -- and includes training, study groups, action research, and observation. "Any program dependent on one delivery mode alone is not likely to produce long-term results," she explained.

"The professional development that a teacher values depends on what he or she needs at any given time," said Meaney. "Generally," she added, "newcomers report greater value in peer observation than do more experienced teachers."

"I think that I learn more from observation than from any other kind of professional development," added Alberino, noting that reading about a particular instructional theory does not mean it can be easily applied. Observation brings actual practice to the forefront.

Dr. William Roberson, co-director of the Center of Effective Teaching and Learning concurred: "Easily, peer observation is more valuable than other forms of professional development, if the proper context is created. If done well, it is carried out in a real, practical, immediately relevant situation. Compare that to attending workshops or conferences in which participants remain at a certain level of abstraction from their own classrooms."

There is no one right approach to teacher observation but, according to Dr. Sally Blake, professor of teacher education at the University of Texas at El Paso, teacher observation is most successful when the teacher and observer work together and reflect on the teaching behavior. Teacher observation is least successful when the observer spends hours watching without analysis or dialogue with the teacher. Blake suggested the following sequence of events for effective teachers-observing-teachers programs:

Overview. A simple overview of the program with a focus on what the main point of observation will be.

Observation. A short observation sequence.

Discussion. Immediate discussion concerning the observation.

Reflection. Reflection concerning how information from the sequence may be used by the observer.

Application. Application of the behavior by the observer in a classroom with feedback from the teacher.

Hirsh agrees that there is no single approach to teacher observation, but, says that it is least successful when a peer observes a struggling teacher who doesn't know how to benefit from the process, especially if the observer isn't adept at identifying his or her colleagues' needs. Teacher observation works best when expectations are clear and participants understand how to use and benefit from the process, she added.

A variety of approaches to teacher observation support professional growth and student achievement. The following are several of those methods:

Lesson Study -- In this three-pronged approach designed by Japanese educators, teachers collaboratively develop a lesson, observe it being taught to students, and then discuss and refine it.

Peer Coaching -- In this non-evaluative professional development strategy, educators work together to discuss and share teaching practices, observe each other's classrooms, provide mutual support, and, in the end, enhance teaching to enrich student learning.

Cognitive Coaching -- Teachers are taught specific skills that involve asking questions so that the teacher observed is given the opportunity to process learning associated with teaching the lesson.

Critical Friends Group (CFG) -- This program provides time and structure in a teacher's schedule for professional growth linked to student learning. Each CFG is composed of eight to 12 teachers and administrators, under the guidance of at least one coach, who meet regularly to develop collaborative skills, reflect on their teaching practices, and look at student work. [See an Education World article, Critical Friends Groups: Catalysts for School Change.]

Learning Walk -- The Learning Walk, created by the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, is a process that invites participants to visit several classrooms to look at student work and classroom artifacts and to talk with students and teachers. Participants then review what they have learned in the classroom by making factual statements and posing questions about the observations. The end result is that teachers become more reflective about their teaching practices. Professional development is always linked to The Learning Walks.

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Teachers Observing Teachers: A Tool For Improving Student Performance

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Typically evaluative by nature, teacher observation is usually linked to classroom performance. More and more schools, however, are using observation -- teachers observing teachers -- as a form of professional development that improves teaching practices and student performance. In this article, Education World's Michele Israel talks with experts about the benefits of this emerging professional development strategy.

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I have always taught with my classroom door closed. Officially, it's because I have trouble with distractions, which is not a lie: Just ask my family how often I yell for quiet when I'm trying to figure out my next Quirkle move.

The unofficial reason is that I don't really want other people watching me teach. Alone with my students, I'm a different person: I let my guard down in a way that I never do with co-workers, even people I'm comfortable with. My students get the most relaxed, funniest side of me, the side I'm not sure my colleagues would appreciate or approve of. It's not that I do anything inappropriate - not really, anyway - but I am definitely more likely to say "booger" and "crap" when my door is closed. For that reason, I'd rather not have guests in my room.

Apparently I'm not alone. In my sixth year of teaching, our principal wanted us to learn strategies that were just being introduced by Marzano and company. Everyone got a copy of the book, we had meetings where the strategies were explored, and we collaborated on how to implement them into our lessons.

Oh, and he also wanted us to observe each other using the strategies in our teaching.

People FREAKED OUT. Not about having to read another book or try new strategies. It was the peer observation. Lost their ever-loving minds. "I don't want someone else in my room looking for mistakes!" They said, all in a tizzy. "And I don't want to be the observer either! Who am I to tell someone else what they're doing wrong?"

Eventually, because it was mandated, they had to get over it. But their initial response showed a lack of understanding for how truly amazing peer observation can be. If we can get past the discomfort, opening our doors to other teachers can be a fantastic source of professional development.

Here are some reasons why:

Because teaching is such a complex act, the variations in how we do it are endless. We discipline differently. We set up our space differently. We perform strategies in different ways. It's highly likely that someone else in your building is better at something than you are. By watching the way our colleagues teach, we pick up tricks and techniques that we can take into our own rooms.

On the receiving end, there's something really satisfying about having a peer notice something you're doing right. In our work, we rarely get positive feedback on the things we try so hard to perfect. I have definitely never had a student approach me after class and say, "Girl, that anticipatory set was off the hook!" The teachers in my school asked, "Who am I to tell someone else what they're doing wrong?" And here's my answer: You are experts. You are experts because you have been there, tried that, had the same struggles. So many people don't understand what it's really like to be a teacher. But you do. That's your expertise. Put a state senator in my class, have him compliment me on incorporating the Common Core in my lesson. Nice, but doesn't mean a whole lot. Now, a compliment from you? You know. You tell me you liked the gesture I used to illustrate a difficult concept? That's gold to me. Your feedback means more. So how about we all start holding our own opinions in higher esteem, okay?

Finally, there's the bonding: Watching another person deeply involved in the work they're trained for helps you get to know them on a completely different level. And though we work together, we usually follow parallel, rather than intersecting lines. We rarely ever actually see each other teach. And it's a shame, because every time I've observed a colleague, my admiration for them has grown, and each time, I felt a little closer to them. This is something we could use more of in every workplace - educational or not.

How can seeing each other fail be a positive? To start with, we return to the subject of bonding.

The hardest part of letting other people watch you teach is the possibility that you'll screw up. Then you'll be embarrassed. Because of this fear, we think we should postpone observations until we are super-prepared, until we have the perfect lesson ready to go.

Here's the irony in that: You being perfect makes other people hate you a little, and themselves a lot. Or maybe it's the reverse. Anyway, achieving something close to perfection is pretty damaging in a lot of ways. Conversely, letting people see some of your flaws creates greater intimacy. It makes them realize that their own flaws are not so weird. When I go over to someone's house and it's spotlessly clean, I feel kind of jealous and insecure. But crumbs on the counter and shoes in the hallway? On a gut level, I'm more comfortable. In this place, my psyche tells me, I won't be judged. The same goes for your teaching: If you let someone else see you screw up, they will probably be more comfortable having you observe them. What happens next is you both start to take more risks, try new things. You cultivate a spirit of experimentation and learning together, rather than struggling to out-perfect each other.

Apart from the bonding aspect, failure can lead to constructive criticism, which will help you grow. Someone once said that the real benefit of marriage is having someone in your life who will regularly call you on your crap, who will hold up a mirror so you can face your flaws and outgrow them. In our work, we can do for each other what spouses do on their good days: Gently point out areas for improvement and support each other through the growing pains.

Every time I observe another teacher, I discover something I'm not even looking for. In my first year, I spent one class period observing Sue, another 6 th grade language arts teacher. I was there to see how she conducted a writer's workshop, but something else she did made a much bigger impression on me.

That first month, I obsessed about establishing order in my classroom: I thought I had to have them all in their seats when the bell rang, pencils sharpened, quiet, ready to learn. If I told them to take out their writing folders, they should have them out and ready in less than 20 seconds. But every time, three or four kids would just drag through the process, or they'd get off-task, or they wouldn't hear me at all, lost in daydreams. None of the precision I was hoping for. And I got tense about it. I scolded and nagged. And I felt insecure, like less of a teacher, the only one the kids didn't respect.

So there I was in Sue's class, and the first thing I noticed was that when she told them to get their writing folders out, they moved slowly, too. And one kid got up and sharpened his pencil, even though they should have already done that. And another one walked up to Sue to ask her something privately - another aberration in the plan! - and through it all, she just sat on her stool at the front of the room, mellowed out, waiting. For me, this was nothing short of a miracle. I had never considered not freaking out to be an option.

So much of what we gain from watching each other teach falls into this "intangible" category: attitudes, pacing, small calibrations that make things work a little better. And it happens especially when you observe people who teach the same students you teach. If you are in elementary, go along with your students to specials every now and then and see how that teacher deals with them. In middle school, arrange to have your class covered on a test day so you can observe someone else on your team. Seeing your students with another person gives you ideas you never would have come up with on your own.

Lastly, there's one more beneficial side-effect that comes from peer observation: having your students see you together. Something powerful happens when students see their teachers together. You become larger than the sum of your parts, stronger not only in number, but because this simple show of cooperation tells them you are united, which is an important message to send to kids. In the same way that children feel more secure when their parents are getting along, students feel something similar when they see us support each other.

This principle applies all the way through college, and could be more significant at that level. Adult students may be more likely to challenge their instructors, perhaps because there's less of an age difference, or because their life and work experience could result in a lack of innate respect for your position. The occasional presence of another professor or instructor in the room reminds students you are part of a larger group that has some authority, that others have your back.

You don't have to wait for your school to set up a formal system of peer observation to start watching other teachers. In fact, the more spontaneous visits often yield the most interesting insights. Ask another teacher if you can grade papers in the back of his room during your planning period. Or if time is short, just come in for the first fifteen minutes.

And let your peers know your door is open. Some schools have instituted a "pineapple welcome" program, encouraging teachers to occasionally hang a picture of a pineapple - a traditional symbol of welcome - outside their doors, to let peers know it's a good time to drop in. ( Update: This system has now evolved into something even better. Read about Pineapple Charts now!)

To make observations go more smoothly, consider these tips: Decide ahead of time if feedback will be given. Some people are more likely to let you observe if you've agreed in advance that you won't offer any commentary on what you see. Sure, they won't grow from that arrangement, but it's a step some people need to get more comfortable with the process. If you have agreed to provide feedback, always start with positives. When you do offer criticism, just point out one or two very specific things, and be descriptive rather than judgmental: When you did ______, these students did _______.

And be cautious about participating. It's tempting sometimes to pipe up with a comment - after all, you're likely one of the most engaged people in the room - but resist that urge and wait to be invited. I've seen teachers who overdo this and end up hogging all the airtime to the detriment of the students.

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I still prefer to teach with the door closed, because cutting out distractions is high on my list of needs. And if it's important to you, by all means keep yours closed too, but close them only in the literal sense. You can have an open-door policy and still have a closed classroom door: Just let your peers know when they are welcome.

Ours is a delicate, nuanced art, and though books and workshops offer all kinds of interesting ideas for how we can improve that art, the resources that lie behind every door in your school can offer something even richer, if you're brave enough to let each other in. ♥

Stick around.
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