Team Observations

I just completed the last of my team's teaching observations. As part of the appraisal courses I have been attending, I have started to look at the feedback given to teachers in a completely different light. In past years I have conducted more of an anecdotal style, which in retrospect is not very useful other than a reflection of what happened and what I liked/disliked.

This time around I threw away that style and went for bullet pointed observations listed directly under appropriate evidence criteria categories.  It was surprisingly easy to look at the headers with their 'leading questions' and spot things during the session that directly related to a criteria. Thus the feedback can be used by the appraiser as evidence in their file/folio/journal.

The oral feedback based on these allowed the discussion of the 12 criteria and importantly the criteria that were not covered and this lead to a discussion around how the RTD might achieve those particular goals.

 Written feedback today from the appraise to me suggested that this approach is a positive move...

"Thank you for putting it down to the 12 teacher criteria ...   

helps to see where gaps are in our PD teaching practice etc."

-RTD on Franklin Team.