Everyone, including experienced teachers, dislike being observed. There is usually more planning involved, you feel you are being judged and that the person watching you is trying to catch you out. Unfortunately , this is an important part of your development as both a trainee and qualified teacher so the best you can do is find ways to cope.
I was a complete wreck for my first placement when it came to observations. Part of the lesson that I did without thinking were never written down in the plan and I also wouldn’t put my plan down. Instead, I clutched it like a safety blanket (something I never did in non- observed lessons). I did feel that even when I did something good, there would always be something I did badly.
It was only in my second placement that I rationalised things and decided on four things:
- I need to be more in depth in my observed plans. I might use bullet points in my normal plans or not even mention certain things as I do them all the time, but my observer doesn’t know that.
- Think of observations like training wheels. You need more support and need to show you can plan in a more in depth manner before you can do it on your own. It is only by seeing how you plan can mentors and tutors offer support and help you improve.
- No lesson is perfect. Even if the lesson goes brilliantly, the observer will find something to pick up on. They too need to show you are improving although it does sometimes feel like pointless feedback . I was once told I used the wrong colour paper for modelling writing a sentence. It seemed petty at the time but it meant when I was observed for the second time and I used white paper, I could show I had listened to feedback and improved.
- One of the most important things I tried to remind myself: No.One.Died. It is only a lesson observation and You are not going to face the firing squad for one bad lesson. Find out what went wrong, take the feedback and make sure the next lesson is better. When you are caught up in such an intense course, negatives can seem more out of proportion than they normally would be.
Once you realise these four simple things, you will relax. At the end of the day, a bad observation is not the worst thing in the world. If you have a good mentor, they will show you how to improve. The best mentor I had was able to break feedback into small achievable goals that could be easily addressed. Only once I had completed a few did she give me more. This was less daunting than having ten things suddenly thrown at me for my next observation.
The more observations you do, the better you will become at them. See them for what they are; a way to measure progress but not a personal judgement and you will be fine.
How to prepare for observations
The key to a good observation is preparation. Before you start, you should ask yourself the following questions:
- Have you been given a particular lesson to plan for?
- If you haven’t, ask to teach a lesson in a subject you are confident in if this is your first observation. You will be a bag of nerves if you are asked to teach a lesson for PE if you have never done so before.
- Once you have done your first observation, it will become easier. Don’t make the mistake of trying to always pick your favourite subject to be observed in. How will you ever improve in subjects you are less confident teaching if you are never given feedback for them?
- Have you got schemes of work?
- You will want to see what the children have done before and need to learn next in order to plan an effective lesson. You want to be able to show you can plan a lesson within a sequence as this is a skill you will need as a teacher . Always ask the class teacher if you need some extra help.
- Have you got time to prepare?
- Is it a morning or afternoon lesson?
- It is important to allow yourself set up time, especially if you have experiments or practical elements to your lesson.
- Prepare as much as you can the night before. You want to check all equipment before the observation and all work has been printed ready for the children. If you have worksheets, stick them in the books before hand to save the children wasting time fighting over glue sticks.
Once you have decided to basics, you will need to plan.
- Don’t try something new if the children are not used to it . You don’t want to spend valuable time explaining the rules for a new game.
- Your plan will most likely be more in depth than usual and more explicit. Don’t just say ‘Elicit feedback with questions’ actually list the questions you will ask.
- You will also want to show you’ve included everyone of all levels. One way to do this is to pick three children of a ‘high’, ‘middle’ and ‘low’ ability. Use these children to gauge understanding. If you are still unsure, ask another child from the same ability group.
- You will also want to make sure your lesson objective is achievable and can be assessed.
Your head may be all over the place so hear is a checklist to remind you what to do the day before and what to do on the day:
Day before -just before you leave ideally :
- Check any electrical/ supporting equipment works
- Check you have enough supplies (Rulers, pencils etc)
- Print all sheetsand stick in books if needed
- Set up a chair for the observer
- Check the layout of the children- move any that will fight/play up
- Make sure you are up to date with your marking in that subject.
- Any last minute changes to plans you need to amend?
Day of lesson observation:
- Check electrics
- Layout supplies and set up experiment equipment.
- Make sure you have a list of things to discuss with tutor and have the correct paper work ready.
As long as you can honestly say you’ve prepared, you will be fine.