Observation & Feedback

Paul Bambrick-Santoyowith Patrick Jones and Phillip Albonetti

So there we were…

August of 2012• First year teacher with first year teacher issues• Cursing, horseplay, and a pen top• Meeting with the principal an AP within the first two

weeks

Any comparable stories?

This July we will get dozens of new first year teachers who will have similar issues. Now what?

Opening Questions:

• Outside of growing on our own (simply through experience and self-reflection), what is the #1 thing that helps us get better—as teachers or as school leaders?

• In the average school, how many times per year is a new teacher observed? How about an experienced teacher?

Exceptional school leaders succeed because of how they use their time,

and their time prioritizes teacher development.

Observation & Feedback is not to evaluate a teacher; but to find the most effective way to

coach them to improve student learning.

Big Idea:

Seven Levers of Leadership--Instruction:

Data-Driven Instruction: • Define the roadmap for rigor and adapt teaching to

meet students’ needs

Observation & Feedback: • Coach teachers to improve the learning

Planning: • Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons

Professional Development: • Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training

that sticks

Seven Levers of Leadership--Instruction:

Data-Driven Instruction: • Define the roadmap for rigor and MONTHLY/

adapt teaching to meet students’ needs YEARLY

Observation & Feedback: • Coach teachers to improve the learning

Planning: • Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons

Professional Development: • Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training

that sticks

Seven Levers of Leadership--Instruction:

Data-Driven Instruction: • Define the roadmap for rigor and adapt teaching to meet

students’ needs

Observation & Feedback: • Coach teachers to improve the learning

DAILY/

Planning: WEEKLY• Prevent problems and guarantee strong lessons

Professional Development: • Strengthen culture and instruction with hands-on training

that sticks

Goals for Today’s Workshop:

• Increase our ability to identify the key action steps in classroom observations and give effective feedback

• Develop the tools for holding teachers accountable to continual development

Reflections--Observation & FeedbackThink about the teachers who have been the easiest for you to manage and help them improve:

• Why was it easy to manage them?• How did their personality, teaching challenges and

responsiveness contribute to that ease?

Think about the teachers who have been the hardest for you to manage:

• Why was it difficult to manage them?• How did their personality, teaching challenges and

(un)responsiveness contribute to that difficulty?

Profiles of Easy-to-Manage Teachers:• Reflective• Eager to Improve• Data-Driven• Seek Feedback• Responsive (follows through)• Mission-aligned• Positive• Emotionally Stable

Profiles of Challenging Teachers:Serious Classroom Management IssuesIntimidation/Discomfort: Teachers we gravitate

AWAY from: • Fairly strong teachers—how do I improve them?• Teachers where we experience a personality

clash• Teachers with far more teaching experience • Teachers who are “icy cold” when receiving

feedbackUnresponsiveness: Teachers who do not implement

the feedback that we give them: incompetent or resistant

Underminers: Teachers who question your decisions and undermine your decisions with others

Why Teacher Development is So Challenging

A Case Study

Failure Case Study:

• What positive attempts did the principal make to manage this teacher effectively?

• What went wrong in the principal’s attempts to manage this teacher?

Failure Case Study

Go to a sheet of chart paper with a group of four and write down your answers to these questions:• What did Dr. Starr do well in his attempt to

guide Ms. Brewer?• What could he have done to lead her more

effectively?You will have 7 minutes and 19 seconds.

Practice

• Why does Albonetti carve such awful pumpkins?

• Takeaway: Practice is essential!

Agenda:Content Time

Introduction• The Four Keys to Observation & Feedback

10:00-10:40 am

First Two Keys• Regular Observation• Identifying the Right Action Steps

10:40– 12:00 noon

Third and Fourth Key• Effective Feedback• Holding Teachers Accountable

1:00-5:00 pm

The Four Keys:

• Regular Observation

• The Right Action Steps

• Effective Feedback

• Accountability

The Four Keys:

Regular Observation: • Lock in frequent and regular observations

Right Action Steps: • Choose the best action steps for change in each

classroom observation

Effective Feedback: • Give face-to-face feedback that practices the action step

Accountability: • Create systems to ensure feedback translates to practice

Regular Observation

Building the Schedule of Instructional Leaders to Lock in Observations & Feedback

Rationale for the Importance of Teacher Meetings:

• Face-to-face feedback is the most effective way to generate teacher improvement

• Emails only work for teachers who are hungry

Building Your Schedule:

Pre-Work:• Count the # of instructional leaders in the school• Figure out the leader-to-core teacher ratio

o Goal is to get to 15 to 1 or less for weekly observations

• Place the blank calendar front and center.

Task 1:• Block out all the time where you will most likely be

busy with non-negotiable responsibilities.o e.g. Morning supervision, morning meetings, CPR,

Lunch duty, Dismissalo Write in pencil.

Building Your Schedule:

Task 2:• List all of the teachers in your building.• Divide the teachers between the school leaders

who will observe staff.• This list isn’t final, so don’t sweat it too much.

Task 3:• Write into the schedule when you will meet with

these teachers for observation and lesson plan feedback.

• Each meeting should take 30 minutes.• Consider planning meetings in large blocks to

finish them more quickly.• See page 68 of Leverage Leadership or the

example in your binder for an example.

Task 4:• Map out the core times when you can go to

observations• Goal: observation time occurs before you will

meet with the teacher each week• Goal: 15 minutes per teacher you will observe • Thus, one post-it (1 hr) represents 4 observations• Consider planning observations in 1 hour blocks

Task 5:• Type your tasks into your Outlook calendar for the

week of August 12-16.• [Bonus] Set the task as weekly occurrences that

last until the end of September.

Building Your Schedule:

Evaluate Your Schedule:

Trade your schedule with another leader’s. Both of you evaluate the schedules by asking and answering these questions.• Where might this schedule not work? • Is there a change we could make to

mitigate that?

• What about this schedule makes regular observation happen more consistently?

• What are the big takeaways for building my schedule and my leadership team’s schedules?

• Write your takeaways on the “Observation & Feedback Reflection” page.

Reflection:

By receiving weekly observations and feedback,

a teacher gets more coaching in one year as most receive in fifteen.

Big Idea:

2 observations per year X 15 years = 30 opportunities for coaching

35+ observations per year X 1 year = 35+ opportunities for coaching

• Face-to-face feedback is the most effective way to generate teacher improvement—emails only work for teachers who are hungry

• Don’t waste time tracking down teachers to give feedback—that will translate to not giving the feedback over time

• Use the meeting to incentivize yourself to get the observation done

Rationale For Locked-in Teacher Meetings:

Now What?

• We’ve observed the teachers. Now what do we tell them?

Choosing the Right Action Step

Effective vs. Ineffective Action Steps[Action Step = Key Lever]

Selecting the Right Action Steps:

Criteria for selecting right action step: • Is it directly connected to student learning? • Does it address a root cause?• Does the action positively change multiple areas?• Is this change a necessary one to allow for further

improvements to come after it?• Is the recommendation the quickest and most effective way

to make this change happen?

Make it measurable, specific and targeted: • If you can’t make the change in a week, the action step isn’t

small enough • Can you easily measure if the teachers has made the

change?

Keys to Writing a Great Action Step:First Key• What will teachers do when they implement

this lever?

Second Key• What evidence will you have that teachers

now know how to do this?

Third Key• Can they accomplish this objective in a

week?

Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps: Classroom management example

Too High• Increase on-task behavior during Opening Procedures

Still Too High• Improve Strong Voice

Better• Use Economy of Language during Opening

Procedures• Square Up & Stand Still during Opening Procedures

Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps: Classroom rigor example

Too High• Improve your questioning

Still Too High• Ask higher-order, more rigorous questions

Better• Script out inference questions on character

motive into the lesson plans

Precise Action Steps

Your Turn

Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps--Management:

Too High• Increase urgency

Still Too High• Improve pacing

Better•

Converting Professional Development Goals to Bite-Sized Action Steps--Rigor

Too High• Increase rigor

Still Too High• Improve rigor in the Do Now

Better•

Feedback on Effective Action Steps:Receive Feedback (5 min—partner style!)• Share the final action steps for each slide• Give feedback to the objectives based on

the key questions:o Is it specific: does it refer to something a

teacher will be able to do when they walk out of the meeting?

o Is it observable: Will you be able to easily evaluate if they accomplished the lever?

o Is it bite-sized: can a teacher accomplish this in one week?

Reflection:

What are your big takeaways for how to write quality action steps?

Write your ideas on the “Observation & Feedback Reflection.”

Choosing the Right Action Steps

Video Case Study #1

Case Study #1

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEj8yTEbSdE• Let’s sit in the classroom for just a few minutes. As you watch, jot

observations (whether positive or negative), on the post-it notes.

Case Study #1—Debrief:Role: Select one person to be the recorder. He or she will write responses in the T-chart in the binder.

Challenges: Identify all of the issues going on in this classroom: surface problems and root causes (5 min)• Go in order around the circle: each person has

30 secs to identify one challenge (no one may comment!)

• If you don’t have an idea, say “Pass” • If you like an idea, when it’s your turn simply

say, “I would like to add to that idea by…”• Even if 4-5 people pass in a row, keep going

for 10 min• Recorder: Put responses in “management” or

“rigor”

Case Study #1—Debrief:Reflection: feasibility of each idea (5 min)• 1 min—silent individual reflection on the list:

what are the highest leverage action steps you’d recommend?

• Go in order around the circle once: each person has about 60 secs to share 1-2 recommended action steps

• If a person doesn’t have a thought to share, say “Pass” and come back to that person later.

Action Steps: choose top 2 key actions teacher should take (10 min):• One in management, the other in content/rigor• [See protocol on next page]

Protocol for Action Steps (10 min):• Discuss & choose top 2 actions steps • Write them as precisely as you can• Criteria for selection of the 2 action steps:

o Is the action step directly connected to student learning?

o Does it address a root cause?o Does it positively change multiple areas?o Is it necessary to pave the way for other

improvements?o Is it the most effective way to make change

happen?o Make it measurable, specific and targeted:

• If you can’t make the change in a week, the action step isn’t small enough.

• Can you easily measure if the teachers has made the change?

Reflection:

What are your big takeaways for how to write quality action steps?

Write your ideas on the “Observation & Feedback Reflection.”

Rigor is undefined until you determine how to assess it.

Thus, without data on whether students are learning, you cannot adequately observe for

rigor.

Big Ideas--The Link Between Data & Observation:

Giving Feedback Effectively

What NOT to Do

What NOT to Do When Giving Feedback:

• Do all the talking• Let teacher do all the talking on the wrong

topic• Fail to write anything down (teacher or

principal) about what teacher should be doing

Giving Feedback Effectively

A Master Clip

Effective Feedback—A Master Clip:

Julie’s Lever:• Ask less scaffolded questions when a student

gets the wrong answer to increase student thinking

Watch Video (clip 3):• Write down the key questions or comments

that Julie makes while talking with Carly.• What protocol does Julie use to lead this

meeting with Carly? Name all of the steps she takes in your own words.

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:1. PRECISE PRAISE: narrative the positive2. PROBE: State targeted open-ended question

about the core issue3. ID PROBLEM & ACTION STEP: Identify problem;

state concrete action step that will address issue4. PRACTICE: Role play/simulate how teacher could

have improved current class5. PLAN AHEAD: Design/revise upcoming lesson

plan components to implement action6. SET TIMELINE: Establish time by which to

accomplish action step

Taking a Closer Look

Breaking Down the Components of Effective Feedback

Precise Praise:

What makes Serena’s praise effective?

Clip 4

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:

Precise Praise• Genuine—heart-felt, authentic• Precise--targets a specific action the

teacher took• Reinforce Positive Actions—particularly

those that are connected to the teacher’s development goal

Probe, Identify Problem & Action Step:

What strategies does Aja use to lead Kristi to the correct problem the students are having?

Clip 7

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:Probe—State a targeted open-ended question about the core issue

• Targeted on the core area of the lesson where you want to focus

• Scaffolded follow-up questions• Presenting data: allows to see how the teacher

views his/her lesson

RIGOR EXAMPLE: “What was the end goal—what should students know and be able to do at the end of your lesson?”

MANAGEMENT EXAMPLE: “How long did you think students needed to complete the “You Do” during the lesson?”

Probe, Identify Problem & Action Step:

What strategies does Julie use to lead Rachel to the correct action step?

Clip 5

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:ID PROBLEM & CONCRETE ACTION STEP—Get teacher to identify the problem & how to address it:

• Level 1: teacher comes to issue by self & states clear action step to address it

• Level 2: leader uses a series of scaffolded questions to lead teacher to the answer

• Level 3: leader presents data from the observation; then teacher realizes the issue & states action step

• Level 4: leader states the problem and action step clearly to the teacher

Time to Practice!

Generate Effective Questions to Guide Feedback

Preparation for Giving Feedback:

Assume you are about to give feedback to the opening video to Ms. Chambers from the video you saw this morning

Generate:• PROBE—OPENING QUESTION (targeted, data-

gathering)• SCAFFOLDED QUESTIONS/DATA TO PRESENT

if teacher struggles to analyze his/her weakness

Feedback Simulation, Round 1:Identify Roles: Teacher, Principal

Role Play Giving Feedback (3 min):• Begin from beginning of conversation, cut off

after 3 min• Attempt to follow the three steps--Precise

Praise, opening questions, ID problem and concrete action step

Debrief the Role Play (3 min):• Teacher responds to how they felt during

conversation, gives feedback• Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and

steps for improvement

Feedback Simulation, Round 2:Switch Roles: Teacher, Principal

Role Play Giving Feedback (3 min):• Begin from beginning of conversation, cut off

after 3 min• Attempt to follow the three steps--Precise

Praise, opening questions, ID problem and concrete action step

Debrief the Role Play (3 min):• Teacher responds to how they felt during

conversation, gives feedback• Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and

steps for improvement

Getting to Action

Practice, Plan Ahead, & Set Timeline

Practice:

How does Serena help Eric prepare for his next lesson?

Clip 11

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:

Practice--Role play/simulate how the teacher could have improved the current class with this action step. Practice should be:

• Concrete: generate the actual language or actions teacher could have taken

• Teacher-centered: teacher does the practice (don’t just tell them!)

Practice:

How does Juliana facilitate Sarah practicing during their conversation?

Clip 12

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:Practice---Role play/simulate how teacher could have improved the current class with this action step;• Concrete: generate the actual language or

actions teacher could have taken• Teacher-centered: teacher does the practice

(don’t just tell them!

Plan Ahead—Design activity/lesson plan components needed to implement this action• Levels 1-2: principal and teacher brainstorm

together, then teacher does lesson plans• Levels 3-4: principal and teacher build lesson

plans and/or materials together

Set Timeline:

How does Julie lock in a timeline for Rachel during their meeting?

Clip 13

The Six Steps to Effective Feedback:Timeline--Set time when action should be accomplished and how teacher will show that it’s done• Paper/Electronic Product: “You need to email it

to me by 5 pm tomorrow.”• Observe teachers: write when you’ll observe

them (e.g., Thursday Oral Drill)• Observe master teacher: write when you’ll

observe master teacher doing the same skill• Video: determine if you need to tape master

teacher and/or have teacher videotape self

Personal Accountability

Staying on Top of Everything

System #1—Observation Tracker:

• Changes TBD as a results of Teach Boost

System #1—Observation Tracker:One Tracker for All Teacher Interactions

• Tab for each teacher: date, type of interaction, 1-2 action steps from each meeting, evidence of accomplishment

• Summary tab with all teachers and most recent actions

Purpose• Make sure all teachers are receiving the right

proportion of teacher observations according to their needs

• Track your recommendations more systematically to be able to hold teachers accountable to implementation

• Set specific goal for teacher success & accurately track progress toward that goal

• See trends in recommendations through the year

Sample Observation Tracker—Individual Teacher Tab:

Sample Obs. Tracker—Global Summary:

Time to Practice, Part 2!

Practice, Plan Ahead & Set Timeline

Preparation for Giving Feedback:

Prepare For The Role Play• Plan how you’ll practice the action step in the

meeting• ID how you’ll plan ahead for the next lesson• Set the timeline for completion• Have templates ready: observation tracker,

teacher meeting template, action plan– Use the “Weekly Meeting Notes Page” for now.– Have the handout “Six Steps for Effective Feedback”

nearby as well.– Only role play steps 4, 5, and 6.

Feedback Simulation, Round 1:

Identify Roles: Teacher, PrincipalRole Play Giving Feedback (5 min)• Begin from the identified action step• Attempt to follow the three steps: Practice,

plan ahead, state timeline

Debrief the Role Play (3 min)• Teacher responds to how they felt during

conversation, gives feedback• Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and

steps for improvement

Feedback Simulation, Round 2:Switch Roles: Teacher, PrincipalRole Play Giving Feedback (3 min)• Begin from beginning of conversation, cut off

after three minutes• Attempt to follow the three steps: Precise

Praise, opening questions, ID problem and concrete action step

Debrief the Role Play (3 min)• Teacher responds to how they felt during

conversation, gives feedback• Both identify strengths, areas for growth, and

steps for improvement

So there we were…

August of 2012• First year teacher with first year teacher issues• Cursing, horseplay, and a pen top• Meeting with the principal an AP within the

first two weeks

So here we are…

June of 2013

The Four Keys:

Regular Observation: • Lock in frequent and regular observations

Right Action Steps: • Choose the best action steps for change in each

classroom observation

Effective Feedback: • Give face-to-face feedback that practices the action step

Accountability: • Create systems to ensure feedback translates to practice

Major Takeaways:

• What were some of the most effective strategies you saw implemented that the whole group could learn from?

• How did the 6-step process work as a whole? What was awkward or challenging for you?

Conclusions

Observation & Feedback

Accountability in Action

Effectively Improving Struggling Teachers

Reflections of a Recovering Struggler:

• What allowed the teacher to succeed finally?

• What were the keys from the principal’s and from the teacher’s perspective?

Common Errors with Struggling Teachers:• Struggling teachers observe other

teachers, but do not understand how those teachers do their work so well

• Struggling teachers receive too much feedback: all narrative, many recommendations

• Others do not understand the slower developmental pace of the struggling teacher

• Feedback is suggestive, not directive• Implementation deadlines are

unreasonable

Tightening the Feedback Loop

Strategies for Our Most Struggling Teachers

Tightening the Feedback Loop:

• Put a question mark next to activities that you want to understand more deeply in order to implement effectively

• Put a star next to activities that sound particularly doable for you that you want to implement

• Double star the activities that you want to implement immediately with your most struggling teachers

Putting it All Together

Video Case Study #2

Re-Visiting Our Challenging Teachers:

Pair Planning: Design your action plan• Fill in your observation tracker: core PD

goal and immediate action step• Plan what will be said

o Probe: opening questiono Scaffolded Qs and datao Practiceo Plano Timeline

• Plan what additional steps from the “Tightening the Feedback Loop” handout you will put into action

Re-Visit Our Challenging Teachers:Form Groups of Three:• Work with people with whom you haven’t yet

workedRole Play Conversation with Teacher (8 min)• Follow the Six Steps of Effective Feedback

Next Steps (2 min)• Leader states what would happen next: what

are the additional steps of tightening the feedback loop?

Feedback (4 min)• What was effective and could be improved

about the conversation? • What was effective and could be improved

about the next steps?Repeat for Each Leader

Re-Visit Our Challenging Teachers:Individual Planning: Design an action plan for a challenging teacher who will be at your school this year.• Fill in your observation tracker: core PD goal,

immediate action step• Plan what you’ll say in your first feedback

meeting with the teacher (assuming you do observe a need for the action step you’ve identified)

• Plan what action steps from the “Tightening the Feedback Loop” handout you will implement

• Optional: Will you need a “tone-setting” conversation to re-set the teacher? If so, what will you say during that conversation?

• Highlight the challenges that would remain even with these strategies in play

Re-Visit Our Challenging Teachers:Form Groups of Three:• Work with people with whom you haven’t yet

worked

Leader Presents Challenging Teacher (3 min):• What is the immediate action step?• What personality should the person playing the

teacher embody?• What systems will be in place during the

feedback meeting (note-taking template, etc.)?

Role Play Conversation with Teacher (7 min):• Follow the Six Steps of Effective Feedback

Debrief Role Play (3 min)Repeat for Each Leader

Next Steps—Prior to Starting the School Year:• Put up observation tracker (ask DOO/OM to help

set it up)• Put up schedule of observations and teacher

meetingso Determine which instructional leaders will observe

which teacherso Rank/level teachers to determine frequency of

observationso Follow weekly meeting schedule

• Set core PD goals for each returning teacher• Set expectations for record-keeping and note-

taking by teachers during leader-teacher meetings

• Schedule monthly meeting with MD/Principal to review tracker