Observing Teachers for Feedback and Evaluation

From The Marshall Memo #449

In this article in The Learning System, Anthony Armstrong quotes a Philadelphia principal’s thoughts after some of his initial classroom observations: “I would give teachers feedback about their practice, and they might value it or they might not. Sometimes they would flatly disagree with what were best practices or what was getting results with students.” To avoid this kind of disconnect, says Armstrong, principals and teachers need a shared understanding of good teaching and the supervision process.

A perennial question is whether supervision and evaluation need to be separated – nonjudgmental feedback versus summative judgments. Laura Lipton, co-author of a forthcoming book on teacher supervision, believes it’s possible for administrators to do both simultaneously: “You can be an evaluator and still have a learning-focused conversation that produces greater learning, forward movement, and problem solving,” she says. “It is a matter of clarity of purpose and skillful communication… Evaluators need to believe that they are growth agents. They need a developmental mindset that tells them the purpose of the feedback is not to judge or be the end of a conversation. Feedback is just the beginning of a conversation that explores and improves practice.” 

Lipton believes that the way principals frame questions after classroom observations can open or close dialogue – for example:

• “Can you think of…” suggests that the principal doubts that the teacher will come up with something. “What might be some ways to…” invites exploration of the topic and implies that the teacher will contribute to the solution.
• “What might be the cause of…” implies that there’s one right answer. “What might be some causes of…” leaves open multiple possibilities. 

Lipton says administrators need to constantly hone their skills in giving thoughtful comments after classroom visits. “Without high-quality feedback, people will stagnate,” she says. “There will be no growth. When people engage in rich conversations, it changes the culture to one of collective efficacy.”

“The Art of Feedback: Support Observers with a System That Ensures Learning-Focused Conversations” by Anthony Armstrong in The Learning System, Summer 2012 (Vol. 7, #4, p. 1, 4-5); the author can be reached at anthony.armstrong@learningforward.org.