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Benchmark - Clinical Field Experience D: Beginning Teacher Observation and Feedback

Rebecca Birch

College of Education, Grand Canyon University

EAD 530: Improving Teacher Performance and Self-Efficacy

Dr. Patrick Tucker

July 5, 2023
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Benchmark - Clinical Field Experience D: Beginning Teacher Observation and Feedback

Summary of Pre-Conference, Observation, and Post-Conference

Prior to the pre-conference, my principal mentor and I completed an informal

observation on a fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Ay to guide our pre-conference conversation. During

the informal observation, my mentor and I noted how Ms. Ay has established consistent

routines and a wonderful rapport with her students. We also noticed that the students in Ms.

Ay’s class were seated in rows that were not easily accessible for Ms. Ay and she couldn’t

provide consistent feedback to all students and many students closest to the wall were

disengaged.

During the pre-conference, my mentor did not request for Ms. Ay to have a pre-

prepared lesson ready to discuss. Instead, my mentor uses the pre-conference to have a

conversation about what has been noticed in general, what the teacher would like the principal

to observe, and areas the teacher would like to grow and be supported with for a more

authentic observation experience. Ms. Ay asked to be observed during her reading block and

indicated that she would like support with student engagement and ideas for classroom

organization. She mentioned that the flow of her room is not very effective, and she would like

another opinion. During this pre-conference, my mentor and I discussed what we noticed in the

informal visit and how Ms. Ay has established very positive relationships with her students. To

develop Ms. Ay’s instructional capacity, I suggested that she consider rearranging her desk

layout to a horseshoe formation rather than rows to facilitate a better classroom flow and

promote student collaboration, engagement, and focus. This suggestion was made based on a

research study that found that compared to groups, pairs, or rows, the horseshoe layout results

in the “most participation during the whole group lessons and the highest percentage increase
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from pre‐ to post‐test scores” in an upper-elementary classroom (Rogers, 2020, p. 40). I also

suggested that Ms. Ay try some of the digital tools offered in our curriculum to further engage

students and use the curriculum to the full extent.

My mentor and I observed Ms. Ay a few days later during her reading block. The fifth-

grade class was finishing an assignment and understood the procedure to move around the

room easily since Ms. Ay had rearranged the desks into a horseshoe formation. Ms. Ay then

handed out reading pamphlets and had a copy projected on the board. Ms. Ay and the students

worked through the vocabulary lesson on the pamphlet with multiple instructional strategies

such as partner collaboration, jigsaw presentations, focused-notetaking, and a written exit

ticket regarding making connections to the text and vocabulary learned. Based on the pre-

conversation suggestions, Ms. Ay’s performance had improved with circulating the room

effectively to provide feedback to all students rather than the ones who were more easily

accessible. There was a good balance of teacher-led and student-led conversation and

engagement was high with all students now facing each other. Ms. Ay did make an effort to

use technology to enhance the lesson by projecting the reading pamphlet and show a video that

related to the vocabulary words.

The post-conference was held the next day after Ms. Ay had a chance to review the

formal observation form and notes as well as fill out a reflection sheet. I began the meeting by

thanking Ms. Ay for allowing us to come into her classroom and see the encouraging learning

and growth. I asked how she felt the lesson went and Ms. Ay responded that she was pleased

how well students did with following procedures and she was grateful for the suggestion to

seat students in a horseshoe rather than use rows because the positive impact on

maneuverability and engagement. She mentioned that she is still not as confident using the
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technology within the reading curriculum but tried to do more based on the pre-conference

suggestion.

Ms. Ay scored “effective” in many of the domains on the formal observation form and

was affirmed for her growth and strengths seen in this lesson. The areas that she scored “in

progress” were where suggestions were made. The first suggestion was related to instructional

goal setting, so students have a greater understanding of the lesson objectives. It was

recommended that learning objectives can be posted daily and reviewed before and after the

lesson to clearly communicate the expectations to students. There is thorough evidence to

support the many benefits of designing objectives and measuring student attainment, articulating

the learning objectives prior to a lesson, and connecting student learning objectives with

assessments and teaching (Faulconer, 2017).

Another suggestion related to assessment planning was to use more frequent formative

assessments to guide lesson planning and tie into lesson objectives. I asked how she and the

grade-level PLC look at the unit assessments in the curriculum to administer common

assessments, compare data, collaboratively gather ongoing evidence of student learning

(Solution Tree, 2023). Ms. Ay reflected that her grade-level team has designed digital

assessments, but she has been giving the assessments differently leading to mixed data due to

her trepidation with using technology consistently. She will meet with her PLC to discuss best

practice with assessments.

Recommendations for Effective use of Technology

My final suggestion supported that technology can be effectively used for student

learning (National Policy Board for Educational Administration [NPBEA], 2017). Ms. Ay

requested support regarding student technology use, so I showed her how to access the virtual
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professional development seminars for integrating the technological portions of the curriculum.

I asked Ms. Ay how she could have students use technology in creative ways throughout the

lessons to increase engagement and participation. I also recommended the virtual professional

development sessions offered through the curriculum’s digital library to give her ideas. I

suggested one video that shows how to have students access their text on their device and they

can digitally annotate and present their notes to the whole class or small group. Research

shows that that student engagement in high level technology-enhanced learning activities is

associated with better learning and helps direct students’ attention to promoting such activities

via technology (Wekerie & Kollar, 2022).

Promotion of Collaboration, Trust, and Personalized Learning Environment

The observation cycle promoted great levels of collaboration and trust which supports a

positive school culture. Starting this cycle with an informal visit to familiarize myself with Ms.

Ay, the students, the classroom, and her teaching style allowed me to provide fitting feedback

personalized to that learning environment. I was able to objectively observe the lesson while

viewing the high expectations described in the formal observation form and suggest evidence-

based recommendations that are directly aligned with the mission and vision of our school. Ms.

Ay was eager to implement the suggestions made during our conversations and mentioned that

she valued the time to reflect on her practice while listening to valid ideas on how to improve.

This aligns with PSEL Standard 6 which describes that an effective educational leader can

“deliver actionable feedback about instruction and other professional practice through valid,

research-anchored systems of supervision and evaluation to support the development of teachers’

and staff members’ knowledge, skills, and practice” (NPBEA, 2017, p. 14).

Self-Awareness, Vulnerability, Transparency, and Ethical Behavior

The role as a teacher coach requires much self-awareness and ethical behavior to ensure

that each teacher is observed fairly and provided the highest levels of feedback to encourage

their success and positive outcomes for students. I was able to coach Ms. Ay through this

observation cycle successfully due to my current position as a teacher who is deeply familiar

with the observation process and the vulnerability it requires to be open to feedback for

growth. I was able to talk to Ms. Ay with mutual respect and empathize with her areas of

struggle and areas of strength. It was important for me to have Ms. Ay consider strategies for

improvement rather than make a direct suggestion so I could follow up with her and note her

progress.

The words that I chose to use while coaching Ms. Ay were intentional to motivate,

uplift, and inspire her to feel proud of her growth, celebrate affirmation of her

accomplishments, and seek continual improvement. Transparency during this coaching cycle

was another key element to the success of this process. Ms. Ay was very aware of each step

and how I would be involved and the expectations for all involved. She had full access to the

standards listed on the formal observation form, she received all feedback in a timely and

written manner, and there was consistent communication about the process and confidentiality

of the observation. I valued the opportunity to act ethically and professionally as a teacher

coach to promote integrity, develop instructional capacity, place children at the center of

decision-making, and lead with social-emotional insight to ensure that teachers and students

are being supported in reaching their full potentials (NPBEA, 2017).

References

Faulconer, E. K. (2017). Increasing student interactions with learning objectives. Journal of

College Science Teaching, 46(5), 31–38. https://commons.erau.edu/publication/462

National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2017). Professional-standards-for-

educational-leaders_2015 [PDF]. npbea.org.

https://www.npbea.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Professional-Standards-for-

Educational-Leaders_2015.pdf

Rogers, K. (2020). The effects of classroom seating layouts on participation and assessment

performance in a fourth grade classroom (EJ1253903). ERIC.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1253903.pdf

Solution Tree. (2023). About plcs. Allthingsplc.info. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from

https://www.allthingsplc.info/about

Wekerie, C., & Kollar, I. (2022). Using technology to promote student learning? An analysis of

pre- and in-service teachers’ lesson plans. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 31(5),

597–614. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2022.2083669