|
The Classroom Visit
In a classroom visit, a colleague visits a classroom and gives feedback to the person observed according to a protocol such as the one given below. The visit can be conducted either without students present, e.g., after school, or during a class with the students present.
Some groups that are just beginning peer observations might feel more comfortable starting with after-school classroom visits. Such groups may not yet be used to having other adults in the classroom with students present, or they may not have had much practice in talking to each other in an organized way and sharing ideas about work, or in making their work public.
A classroom visit provides opportunities for colleagues to develop and to share their understanding and knowledge about
- professional practices;
- student achievement; and
- their school community.
It offers an opportunity to witness the implementation of the school's mission and standards for teaching and learning. When incorporated into the professional culture of the school, a classroom visit can serve to strengthen the development and function of professional learning communities.
SAMPLE CLASSROOM VISIT PROTOCOL
Guidelines for a Successful Classroom Visit
- The visit should be requested by the person who will be observed.
- It is important to respect the process by allowing sufficient observation time, avoiding a quick and superficial snapshot.
- Student performance and achievement should be at the center of every peer observation.
Before the Visit
- The person observed should define the purpose of the visit. It may be specific (with a particular purpose, question, or focus specified by the person being observed) or nonspecific and more open-ended.
- The observer and the person observed should establish a clear understanding of what is to be the nature of the observation and what is expected of the observer (e.g., scripting observations, focusing on a particular element of practice, identifying anything of interest).
- The observer and the person observed should choose an appropriate protocol for the debriefing.
During the Visit
After the Visit
- Debriefing conversations should be scheduled for as soon as possible after the observation.
- During these conversations, the observer will share with the person observed those notes that best address the purpose of the classroom visit, whether the format was specific or nonspecific. (If a particular observation protocol is used, the protocol will likely include some guidelines for this conversation or debriefing.)
- The debriefing should allow both participants to share what each of them has learned from the observation experience.
- In giving feedback during the debriefing, the observer should remember that he/she was asked to assume to role of a second pair of eyes, helping the person observed to fill in an account of what took place during the observation session. This is where the observer's notes (as a record of evidence) can be especially valuable.
- The observer's feedback/comments should be specific, with reference to events noted, and should address the expressed interests of the person observed.
- During the debriefing, the observer and the person observed should have the opportunity to share observations, questions, and suggestions about changes in professional practice that could restructure the learning opportunities for students.
|
|
