Welcome to the All Star Planning podcast. My name is Kelsey, and this is the place where I talk all things teacher lesson plans. Today I am talking about teacher observations, and I’m giving you my five tips to nailing, or at least feeling confident in your next teacher observation. So I love observations and I don’t think that there’s a lot of people out there that would agree with me.
It’s Okay to Be Stressed About a Teacher Observation
And I know it’s partially because people don’t like being or feeling judged. And it’s not like I do either, but I am the type of person who is always looking to level up. That’s just part of my personality. I think there is no part of me that will ever be content. I am always looking for something bigger or better or some way to improve.
It’s just who I am. So. Observations for me are actually a lot of fun. There’s a few things that have set me up for this position of enjoying teacher observations. And I want to share them with you because I feel like anybody could pop into my room Any day, any time. And I am going to feel confident and this person is basically going to be invisible and it’s just gonna be me and my kids. Here we go.
Step 1: Feel More Comfortable for Your Teacher Observation
The very first thing that I suggest you do is to kind of do a dry run, a practice run. And invite adults to your classroom. So this does not mean write an email to your administrator or your supervisor or whoever does your teacher observations. And ask for a practice run. That’s not what I’m saying. I think that you should invite the teacher next door to your classroom. I think that you would gain a lot from it.
Get Practice for a Teacher Observation
So for my second year of teaching, actually, they had changed our like teacher observation, professional development. I don’t really know what it was. I think it was professional development, but the teachers were kind of given like a strengths or a forte. By the administrators the year prior, and those were put on a list and then all of the teachers would sign up and say, I could really use some help with grouping. I want to go see. Mr Smith’s class because he supposedly is a pro at grouping. I want to see differentiation, I want to see whatever.
I think I was set up for like, games and engaging students or – so I don’t know exactly what it was, but I had like four or five teachers sitting in the back of my classroom. And after that I felt like a pro. It was just like so easy because I had so much. I had already had a year of teaching under my belt. So it’s like that the newness nervousness had worn off. You know what I mean?
Adults in Your Classroom can Reduce Observation Jitters
But I think that just the idea of having people in your room, like you get used to the idea of adults being there. You get used to the concept of erasing them from your vision and it’s just you and the kids. The kids get used to having adults in the room. And I think that this would be a great thing. Not just for new teachers, but any teacher who’s teaching something new.
I think that if you just said to the teacher across the hall or next door or your teacher. Maybe not your teacher bestie, maybe your, just your teacher friend, because you don’t want it to be your bestie. Cause you’re too comfortable with your bestie, but just say, “hey, is there any chance that on your prep period or your lunch, you could just sit in my room. For like 10 or 15 minutes, you don’t even have to observe, pay attention, just write your lesson plans or, you know, grade some papers or something, just so that I get used to the concept of another adult human being in the classroom.
Getting Students Used to Adults in Your Classroom
So that my students get used to another adult being in the classroom because it does take some practice to turn people invisible. and I think that that would be good practice. Do not practice this with your co-teacher. Don’t make your co-teacher invisible. Don’t do it with your paras, don’t do it with your teacher aides. That is just rude and not nice.
Um, do it with somebody that you trust. And, but not that you like are friends with. There’s somebody in the building who fits that, that book for you. And if you don’t have that, if you’re like brand new, fresh to the building, just find somebody who’s nice. Most teachers are nice. There will be so many people who are willing to do this for you. And if you can’t find somebody who’s totally on board, tell them you’ll return the favor.
Return the Favor
Tell them that it’s just practice for you to make adults invisible and that you would be willing to return the favor for them. Because it’s not really a teacher observation. They are just there to fill a space in the room and kind of get your brain comfortable with the concept.
Step 2: Realize Your Observer Must Find Positives
The second thing that I suggest is that. You take a minute to realize that whoever is observing you. Can not be looking for just negatives if they are going to be a professional. A professional observer of a teacher is going to look for things that you are good at. And they are going to tell you, “this was really good, this was really good, this was incredible, and you’d need to never, ever, ever stop doing this because it was awesome.” And then they’re going to tell you, “these are the things that you did alright, but I’d like to see tweaked or changed or fixed. These are the things I think you can improve on. This is an article you can read. This is a book, you can read this as a podcast you can listen to, this is another teacher you can get advice from.”
Harping on the Negatives is the Wrong Thing to Do
They are going to be looking for good things and things that you can improve on if they are only harping on the negatives, they are not being professional. They’re not being fair, they are not doing their job right. So realize that they are going to find something good. If they are doing their job right. And if they’re not doing their job, right. I’m sure that there’s somebody that you can talk to.
Um, in New York, I believe that there’s a process for, um, fighting an teacher observation write up. I’ve never felt the need to do it. So I don’t necessarily know the process. Um, there may be an HR person or a more senior teacher that can help you with this. But if this evaluator is only looking for negatives, they’re doing their job wrong. Don’t let anybody bully you. Okay. If it’s only negatives, they’re doing their job wrong and you need to stand up for yourself and not allow that nonsense to happen. You want somebody to is who is going to point out the good and is going to help you improve and level up. And the idea is that, um, It’s not you. It is to help the students.
Realistic Growth
If you are a C plus teacher, it should not be the goal of the administrator to get you to A plus right off the bat. It should be small baby steps. This is a long game. Um, I mean, everybody’s goal should be A plus, but. It’s kind of ridiculous to think that a teacher who’s been teaching for two months would somehow jump from a C plus to an A plus overnight. That’s not the way that it works. Um, it takes weeks, months, years to figure out your teaching style, what works best for you? And as soon as you figure it out, you get a new curriculum or a new set of standards, or some new app comes out that distracts the kids. I’m talking to you Snapchat.
And you have to change everything. So the idea is that you want to take baby steps in the areas that you need to improve because slow and steady wins the race. We are not looking for overnight transformations because they’re not really gonna work. So don’t let your administrator bully you. I’m sure that there’s like less than 1% of administrators who are even thinking this way. I have faith in my heart that most administrators are doing their job correctly. And that they’re going to help you because that is their job.
Step 3: Know Your Evaluation Rubric
Next, the third thing is that you need to know the rubric that you were being evaluated on. Can you imagine being a fifth grader? What are you? 10 years old in fifth grade. And then your teacher tells you, I need you to do a science project. But then doesn’t tell you what to do. Doesn’t tell you how to get an A, it doesn’t tell you what they’re looking for, doesn’t tell you the difference between an A and a B. You would be marked a terrible teacher. You need to guide people when you give them a task of like what you want.
It’s just kind of the way that it goes. When I asked my husband what he wants for his birthday dinner. If he just tells me food, he’s going to get a grilled cheese because that’s what’s easy. Um, you have to tell people what you want in order to get what you want. So your administrator wants a good teacher. Well, Admin, what’s your opinion of a good teacher? Tell me, give me the goods. You are entitled to know the rubric that you were being evaluated on. The rubric is your friend. The rubric is going to tell you based on research, these are the best practices for being a teacher.
The Teacher Observation Rubric Should be Based in Best Practice
You want to meet those criteria regardless of the rubric, but in two ways, the rubric is going to help you. It’s going to help you be the best teacher you can be based on best practices. And it’s also going to help you nail your teacher observations. And when you know what you’re being graded on, you will do better at your observations. So get familiar with your rubric look at the things that they are going to help evaluate you on the things that they are specifically looking at, and then make sure that you know, those things so that you can showcase your best work. And also be the best teacher you can be because the rubric is based in best practices. Sorry for that.
Step 4: Align Your Lesson Plan Template with that Rubric
Okay. Fourth thing. It’s something I talked about in my podcast episode, all about your lesson plan template, and that is to use this rubric to make your lesson plan template. There are a lot of districts that will give you a lesson plan template and say, this is what we want. This is what we need, blah, blah, blah.
I’m getting a new template this year. But the template that I turn into admin does not need to be the same template that I use in my classroom. You just copy and paste it, baby cakes. So make sure that the lesson plan template that you are using to build your lessons is one that matches the rubric that you were being graded on because in that case you are planning for your success. You are saying, “Oh, they want a learning target on the board. I’m going to make that the very first thing I do. So step one, as my kids are entering the room and doing the do now, I am going to write “teacher writes, learning target on the board.” Put it in the lesson plan it’s in the lesson plan, you will do it. If a lesson plan is based on the rubric you will be successful.
Step 5: Build Strong Relationships with Your Students
The fifth and final thing that I think you can do to make yourself feel more confident for your teacher observations is simple. Build strong relationships with your students. It’s not simple. I’m saying it’s simple. Doesn’t make it simple, but the better relationships that you have with your students the better your observations will go. Here we go. I had a class once that was absolutely crazy bonkers town. It was seriously like every single kid had eaten 14 pixie sticks before walking into my classroom. And they were all friends and they were all goof balls and they would all like feed off of each other and it was crazy to say the least.
Even though it was very difficult to teach these kids. Um, it was very easy for me to form relationships with them and be fun and silly with them to the point where, when my, um, Observations would happen. They would all straighten up in their seats and they would sit really nice and they would all raise their hands and they acted the way I wanted them to act the whole year. But because an administrator had walked in or was just standing in the doorway, this literally happened.
An administrator was standing in the doorway and I didn’t see it because I was busy teaching and then all the kids start raising their hands and I was like, “What is going on, what is in the air, what is happening?” And then I realized my administrator was in the door and that’s why they were all, you know, acting like nice angel students.
My Students Root for Me
And it’s because they wanted me to look good. They wanted me to, uh, look great in the eyes of the administrator. And even though they were crazy goof balls that great relationship I had with them. Just made me feel like they had my back as weird as that sounds. When you have a good relationship with your students, they’re going to help you out with, with the teacher observation because they, I mean, my kids think that if I have one bad teacher observation, I’m going to be fired, which is not true, but I’m not going to change their minds on that. I’m going to let them believe that because it helps me out. I’m not lying to them – I’m just not telling them the truth.
The second thing is that you are able to talk to your students as if they’re people, not your students. Um, that like awkwardness of the teacher, student relationship with an administrator in the room and like, you, “No Johnny, I need you to raise your hand” like that, that weird. I don’t even know how to explain it. That weird tension just disappears when you have a good relationship with the kids, you’re like, “nah, Johnny, I need you to raise your hand. What are you calling out for?” And your administration likes to see that because we all know that the best way to teach kids is to have a good relationship with them because kids only learn things from people that they like.
And if you have a great relationship with the kids, they’re going to be learning. They’re going to be more engaged. They’re going to help you out with your teacher observations. Um, and then it just, all in all you feel more comfortable because you know that there’s 25 little adorable cherub faces in the room that are rooting for you the same way you root for them every single day.
Being a Teacher is the Best Job Ever
I love being a teacher. It’s the best job in the whole world. If you’re not a teacher and listening to this, become a teacher, try it out. It’s it’s literally the time of my life. I enjoy it so much. Um, that’s all I have for you. Those are the five things. Invite adults into your room on the regular to get yourself comfortable. Realize that if your administrator is being professional, they are looking for both good things and things to improve on. Not just negatives. Three is know your rubric. Get comfortable with your rubric. Four is make your lesson plan, match your rubric. And then number five is have great relationships with your kids, which is an art. It is a practice.
There’s plenty of ways to do it. I do it with growth mindset, my unlimited test retake policy, and just always being there rooting for my kids. Lots of different ways to do it. It’s going to depend a lot on your personality, but with those great relationships with your kids, that your classroom is going to be the most comfortable place. You’re gonna, you’re gonna thrive because that’s your second home and that’s your, your family. So, that is that.
All Star Planning
If you haven’t already, please sign up for the All Star Planning masterclass. I talk about this as well as plenty of other things inside that masterclass. It’s where the five pieces of the All Star Planning curriculum. Nope. We All Star Planning method come together to help you plan a very strong, effective curriculum to help you thrive to help your students thrive. You can find that at plan.kelseyreavy.com. Please subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss anything. Uh, new episodes come out every Tuesday, both where you listen to this podcast and on YouTube, if you were interested in seeing my face. And that is all, I will see you next week. Have a great one and we’ll talk soon. Bye for now!
