A GUIDE TO CLASSROOM OBSERVATION AND INSTRUCTION

Opening Day and Subsequent Observations
By Student Teachers

[This guide to observation has been provided by Marianne Pennekamp, Ph.D., and edited by Tom Allen. The sections that follow this one (on some basic elements of instruction and the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives are from other sources as indicated.]

THE PURPOSE OF ASSIGNED CLASSROOM OBSERVATION is to SEE the various interpersonal interactions between the instructor, instructional aides if any, classroom volunteers and themselves; and those interactions occurring AMONG students in the classroom; and BETWEEN these students and the above named adults. Over time patterns of interaction that are complex in nature will emerge. These in turn will assist the student observer in his/her later work as a student teacher and a career teacher to understand accurately what classroom dynamics exist and how to impact them in the interest of high quality instruction.

Steps in observation:

1. Keep a log of your observations. Use a mental "brainstorming technique" when doing so: at first, write down everything, without screening what you see, hear, intuit: it is all food for learning.

2. Become aware that your prior experiences, the novelty of your being in the observer role, your personal style, and your personal world view and biases will be reflected in your perceptions and log record. Get assistance in TPSS class with increased awareness of how you impose your own personal agenda on what you perceive. Try to step back and observe again, with an almost "empty" mind, i.e., "empty of your prejudgments." This may be difficult for you. It is for most of us. Group support by your peers is likely to help.

3. Develop a system for your observations. You might do the following:
   • focus one day's observation on the class as a whole. You might want to record every interaction (or every-other if it moves too fast) between the teacher and the class, e.g., what is being asked, what general reaction occurs and what subpatterns seem to take place.
     Do this a number of times later on other days, too, to capture how the tone is set at the beginning of class. This will help you assess what the class climate is, and for whom. [Noting the tone at the opening of class will be helpful in recalling the experience when discussing classroom management in a class.]

   • focus on specific teacher activities: giving assignments, asking quizzes;

   • focus also on the nonverbal behavior of the teacher: does he/she move around, make contact by proximity [nearness], with individual students and groups of students? How does the teacher enact his/her relationships with students? Is there time for personal contact/ interaction? Is all instruction oriented to the "whole class," do some pupils obtain more attention than others, etc?

   • focus on specific student activities while holding back any tendency to problem-solve how YOU would deal with such behaviors. You are observing to PERCEIVE what is going on. Such perceiving precedes BEHAVING in a certain (hopefully appropriate) way; and behaving over time precedes becoming the kind of teacher who is effective in his/her teaching in a way which engages students in their own learning.

   • only after obtaining an awareness of the whole class, begin to focus on individual students. Track how they deal with BEING in class; and with defining themselves as a student in THIS class; remember that students are in school as INVOLUNTARY CLIENTS by state law: they have to attend school. The trick is to help them become voluntary clients, WHO WANT TO BE THERE AND WANT TO LEARN. This process is heavily influenced by the group process between students, and the external context which labels this class as "college prep," and that class as "basic/remedial" etc. These labels tend to influence expectations and behaviors of students and faculty alike. [It makes little difference how the grouping is labeled, the kids soon discover the code.]

   • we tend to be shaped by "critical incidents" which engage our emotions as well as our minds. Pay particular attention to such incidents that touch you deeply. Write them down. Find a buddy, a trusted colleague with whom to discuss them. Don't repress them; you will be setting yourself on the path of denial which will impair your later functioning and living as a teacher. [But keep the information CONFIDENTIAL; professionals do not "gossip" about students or colleagues.]

4. Even though one classroom contains an enormous range of possible interactions and therefore opportunities for making decisions and interventions, some essential data can only be gathered outside the classroom: You have noted that student J. is frequently absent. J. avoids a conversation with you, and, as an observer, your role is limited. The classroom teacher indicates that the student will soon land in continuation school due to the absences. You want to find out more about the way the school deals with absences. You set out to discover some answers. You inquire who is in charge of attendance. You visit the attendance clerk and ask that the system be explained to you. You ask about your particular student as an example of how things work.

   You find out that the counselor has some attendance responsibilities, too. You find J.'s counselor and ask your questions--the general ones about attendance and the specific ones about J. You then ask about your responsibilities as a teacher: recordkeeping, informing (whom, and how?), getting help for the student, if possible, to encourage class attendance, conferences with parents, or whatever steps might be useful. Then find out what is being done, can be done, at the school to deal with absenteeism, as a discipline issue, as your own issue as a teacher wishing to reach all students. Go slow on all this, but use the cases of students as you become aware of them to discover how such situations are being managed, reflecting on how you would like to see them managed should you be assigned to teach the class.

5. Get to know the school's special help personnel, beyond the counselors and the dean/vice principal in charge of discipline. Most schools have access to a school psychologist, perhaps a school social worker, a mental health worker, a drug/alcohol counselor, a school nurse, special education staff who can help you understand a student's special learning style, strengths and weaknesses.
   In some schools, there are student study team meetings, where persons concerned about a specific student come together to brainstorm what can be done and by whom. As a teacher, you can request such a meeting. Also in some schools, teachers can assist students through a process called IMPACT. Inquire about the existence on campus of a group of teachers/staff providing coordinated Intervention. Other teachers may help with peer counseling, lead Friendship Clubs, and reach out to students informally.

   Although not all schools have one, State law provides for School Attendance Review Boards. SARBs are composed of non-school personnel who are empowered to force parental cooperation, if necessary, to carry out a plan to improve a student's attendance and performance. The SARB conducts hearings, works out a plan and monitors progress. The SARB is under the general supervision of the Superior Court.

GOOD LUCK! This is an unusual opportunity to observe the world in which you will be spending a great deal of your life. In the process of observing, you can learn much about yourself. That is a gift which will help you keep growing, if you nurture it.

Professional Behavior

As with all work within the education profession, you will be expected to keep information about individuals within professional circles and confidential. Only those with a need to know should be given information about an individual. It is easy to carry personal information outside of the professional circle--at which point it becomes gossip. And gossip can injure individuals: the children in your charge, other teachers, etc., and can destroy your career.

Your supervisor will be more able to assist you if you have systematically recorded your observations. Recording reinforces memory.

[Make an objective, non-critical record; master teachers and other professionals may ask to see what you have written.]

Some additional things to look for during the observation semester:

1. List beginning school activities observed.

2. Briefly list, analyze, and discuss various room arrangements seen. (How did they support or interfere with learning?)

3. Identify all areas of school environments which require pupils to learn/use specific procedures.

4. Make a list of procedures (including safety and procedural rules) that the master teacher/student teacher will use with pupils. [You will have an opportunity to consider rules and their implementation in detail in TPSS 712.]

5. List master teacher's rules for student behavior (in addition to procedures). [see form: "Elements of a Discipline Plan," for a format for recording.]

6. List positive consequences and reinforcers used.

7. List negative consequences and reinforcers used.

8. Note how teacher's behavioral expectations/rules are presented.

9. Record how teachers deal with inappropriate behavior.

10. Record how teachers reinforce appropriate behavior.

Some key factors in learning in a class:

• High Academic Learning Time
  • Allocated learning time: intended, budgeted [but what is the learner doing?]

  • Time on task: engaged in the scheduled activity [But how much of the time is the learner actually learning?]

  • Academic Learning Time (Berliner, 1981): the amount of time that the pupil spends at task while achieving at a 90% effective rate or better.

• Effective classrooms have higher academic learning time ratios than less effective classrooms.

• Frequent monitoring of student progress/feedback.

• Coherently organized curriculum with a tight relationship between curriculum and objectives.

• A variety of teaching strategies so that the teacher can implement more appropriate approaches when the pupil isn't learning.

• Opportunities for engaging in responsible behaviors, e.g.,involvement in student government, as a monitor/ helper, peer and cross-age tutoring, planning and carrying out projects, etc.

[See for more information: Joyce, Hersh, and McKibbin, The Structure of School Improvement, LB1027 .J647 1983]

These are the things that make for more effective teaching and they are the things we will work on this year and that the good teachers will spend the rest of their careers perfecting.

Every teacher must teach for participation in a pluralistic society. It doesn't make any difference whether the children in their class are of the same culture as themselves or not, they must teach for the future and the future is multiracial and pluralistic.

You can't legislate attitudes. But you canlegislate behavior.
We can't change your attitude by force--nor will you be able to change the attitudes of your pupils entirely by the force of your dynamic personality. But by skillful teaching and setting an appropriate example and standard for behavior, you can bring about change in their behavior and make it possible for your pupils to succeed in a multicultural, pluralistic society.
Only when their attitudes become more positive and inclusive of all humankind will they become a positive force in American society to the end that this country and its people continue to flourish.

Press here for information on classroom control and discipline planning

Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

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