In my district, there is a standard form that each non-tenured teacher must fill out prior to the observation. (No matter how many years experience you have, when you are new to a district in Illinois you start from the beginning. I understand their reasoning.) The teacher meets with the principal prior to the observation to discuss the form. Here are the questions:
- Briefly describe the students in this class, including those with whom you anticipate special concerns.
- What are your objectives for this lesson? What do you want the students to learn?
- How do these objectives support the district’s curriculum, state standards and/or content area standards?
- Why are these objectives appropriate? How have you assessed your student’s readiness for them?
- How do you plan to engage the students in the content? What will they do? What will you do? (Include time estimates.)
- How do you know your students are engaged during the lesson? How will you check for understanding?
- What are some alternative strategies you may use?
- What instructional materials or other resources, if any, will you use? (Please include copies of other materials that will be used for this lesson.)
- How do you plan to assess student achievement of objectives and goals of this lesson? (Please include any tests or performance tasks with accompanying scoring guides or rubrics.)
- How do you plan to use the results of the assessment?
I have to admit that I’m glad that I am forced to think through my lesson like this. Like most teachers, I get into a rhythm and shift into “auto-pilot” for most lessons. Experience, previous assessments and student responses all flow together in my brain as I teach and adjust throughout every day. A scheduled observation makes me slow down and think through a lesson step by step. There is a ripple effect with the other lessons I am preparing – I think observations help keep me on my toes.
Are you required to fill out a similar form before an observation? If so, how do these questions compare to yours?
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