Classroom Visitation for Peer Observation
What is Peer Visitation?
Research and experience teaches us that educators can improve and learn from each other. Peer visitation is a teacher-facilitated, non-evaluative classroom visit focusing on the collaborative development of instructional knowledge and skills.
Flipped peer observation leads to job-embedded teacher learning. These activities are important work and they are vital to one's growth as an educator. Peer visitation provides teachers with an opportunity to observe other educators in action and teachers can help educators improve student learning. Educational research reveals a need for deeper professional learning, such as the integrated use of peer observation processes, to increase educator effectiveness (Measure to Learn and Improve (MLI) survey, February 2015).
Peer visitations are non-judgmental observations by fellow teachers that help promote an atmosphere and cycle of continuous improvement in schools. Educators realize that they do not always need to look outside the school for professional development opportunities; there is professional expertise among them.
Peer visitations are not peer evaluations.
Flipped peer observation leads to job-embedded teacher learning. These activities are important work and they are vital to one's growth as an educator. Peer visitation provides teachers with an opportunity to observe other educators in action and teachers can help educators improve student learning. Educational research reveals a need for deeper professional learning, such as the integrated use of peer observation processes, to increase educator effectiveness (Measure to Learn and Improve (MLI) survey, February 2015).
Peer visitations are non-judgmental observations by fellow teachers that help promote an atmosphere and cycle of continuous improvement in schools. Educators realize that they do not always need to look outside the school for professional development opportunities; there is professional expertise among them.
Peer visitations are not peer evaluations.
What are the Benefits of Peer Visitation Versus Traditional Professional Learning?
Many professional development experiences fail to affect what teachers do in the classroom each day. Traditional professional development provides no shortage of strategies and resources. Yet, these approaches fall short of improving instruction for three primary reasons:
Peer observation empowers teachers with a classroom-embedded process to refine their instruction. Through teacher-driven observation, teachers engage peers in gathering and analyzing classroom data—data that speak to the unique context of their own classrooms. This approach has demonstrated potential to meaningfully improve instruction and student achievement. Teacher-driven observation places the observed teacher as leader and primary learner in the observation process.
Teacher-driven observation addresses these problems by empowering teachers with a classroom-embedded process to refine their instruction. Through teacher-driven observation, teachers engage peers in gathering and analyzing classroom data—data that speak to the unique context of their own classrooms. This approach has demonstrated potential to meaningfully improve instruction and student achievement.
Three components are essential to teacher-driven observation. At an initial focus meeting, the observed teacher shares his or her focus question and gives background for the lesson to be observed. The observation enables the collection of classroom data. During the post-observation debriefing, the teacher and observer team collaboratively examine the data collected and discuss what the data indicate about the relationship between teaching and student learning in terms of the teacher's focus.
- Teachers have little say in what they learn. Too often, teachers aren't involved in selecting the topics or focus of professional development sessions. As a result, the content may not speak directly to their daily challenges.
- Transferring learning from training to the classroom is difficult. The variables of the classroom—students, content, time of day—add a level of complexity to implementation that cannot be fully explored in a training or professional development setting.
- There are few opportunities to practice and refine strategies. Teachers are left to apply their learning in isolation. Without opportunities for collaborative and job-embedded practice, teachers' implementation of a new strategy can stagnate or never be implemented at all.
Peer observation empowers teachers with a classroom-embedded process to refine their instruction. Through teacher-driven observation, teachers engage peers in gathering and analyzing classroom data—data that speak to the unique context of their own classrooms. This approach has demonstrated potential to meaningfully improve instruction and student achievement. Teacher-driven observation places the observed teacher as leader and primary learner in the observation process.
Teacher-driven observation addresses these problems by empowering teachers with a classroom-embedded process to refine their instruction. Through teacher-driven observation, teachers engage peers in gathering and analyzing classroom data—data that speak to the unique context of their own classrooms. This approach has demonstrated potential to meaningfully improve instruction and student achievement.
Three components are essential to teacher-driven observation. At an initial focus meeting, the observed teacher shares his or her focus question and gives background for the lesson to be observed. The observation enables the collection of classroom data. During the post-observation debriefing, the teacher and observer team collaboratively examine the data collected and discuss what the data indicate about the relationship between teaching and student learning in terms of the teacher's focus.
Peer Visitation Benefit both the Observer and the Observed Teacher
- Observers see new techniques in action, get new ideas for their teaching toolkits, and can reflect on their own assumptions, beliefs, and teaching practices based on what they see in a colleague's classroom.
- Observed teachers benefit from analyzing the descriptive data the observer collects about classroom interactions and the class environment; they can also grow through the discussions that result from observer questions to improve student learning outcomes.
- Based on their discussions and reflections, participants can develop action plans or action research projects to improve their teaching practice.
- Peer observations can improve camaraderie, deepen collaboration, and increase self-awareness among participating teachers.
Overview
- Classroom visitations for peer observations are centered on a focus area or problem of practice.
- The visiting teacher is there to collect low inference, objective data observing teacher and student actions and words.
- Collecting quality evidence is the most important element of the peer visitation process.
- Visiting teachers use data collection sheets that were previously selected and / or created by the classroom teacher and the visiting teacher.
- These data collection forms are an evidence-based protocol for objective data collection, low-inference evidence, and debriefing.
- Data collected is shared as common instructional patterns observed, not individual student critiques.
- The data form is left with the classroom teacher at the conclusion of the classroom visitation, and at a discussion occurs at a point in time after the classroom visitation to debrief, discuss, and reflect on the collected data.
Identifying a Focus Question
The observed teacher identifies the focus of the observation, developing a question that reflects an area about which he or she wants to learn more, and that connects to the relationship between the teachers' instructional methods and students' learning.
The observed teacher's selection of a focus for the observation—articulated through a question—serves several purposes.
A focus question should require the collection of classroom data; in other words, it should answer a question a teacher can't answer on his or her own.
Although a focus question emerges from an individual teacher's experiences, it often reflects a school or district's instructional focus. Grounding a focus question in an area of evidence-based instruction—a specific instructional strategy or curriculum standard—ensures that the teacher's learning will improve student learning.
An example might be, "During small-group discussions, how are my questions promoting students' abilities to cite text to support their conclusions?"
The observed teacher's selection of a focus for the observation—articulated through a question—serves several purposes.
- First, it positions the teacher as the primary learner, ensuring that the process focuses on an area he or she is interested in learning more about and one that is relevant to his or her challenges, content, and students.
- Second, the focus question narrows the observers' attention so the data they collect will address the teacher's targeted area.
A focus question should require the collection of classroom data; in other words, it should answer a question a teacher can't answer on his or her own.
Although a focus question emerges from an individual teacher's experiences, it often reflects a school or district's instructional focus. Grounding a focus question in an area of evidence-based instruction—a specific instructional strategy or curriculum standard—ensures that the teacher's learning will improve student learning.
An example might be, "During small-group discussions, how are my questions promoting students' abilities to cite text to support their conclusions?"
Please click on the button below for more information about data collection with peer visitation.
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Use the button below for sample data tools you can use with peer visitation.
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Click on the button below for additional information to help with pre-observation, during visitation, and post-observation support.
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