If you’ve put up your #ObserveMe sign but things aren’t going the way you hoped, then this post’s for you. I’m using this as a running list of solutions for problems that educators are encountering so we can have them in a central location. Here’s how you can help:
- Are you encountering issues that aren’t listed?
- Do you have solutions that aren’t listed?
If so, please mention them in the comments and I will add them.
Here are the issues addressed below:
- The feedback I’m getting is not useful
- I’m afraid I’ll offend the person I’m giving feedback to
- No one is coming to #ObserveMe
- How to let your administrators know
Some #ObserveMe feedback after #numbertalks. How do we get beyond compliments? I'm not perfect #ElemMathChat #MTBoS pic.twitter.com/6tebT53UmQ
— Jennifer Bell (@jkjohnsonbell) September 19, 2016
Let me define what I mean by “not useful.” This includes feedback that is:
- Overly positive including: “Great job!” “This is wonderful. I learned so much!”
- Too vague: “Great stuff going on.” “Seems like some kids are off task.”
- Not focusing on what’s important to you including: “Great posters on the wall!” “Love how you take attendance.”
If this is happening, the first thing I would check is how you are asking for feedback. Consider the difference between these sets of #ObserveMe goals:
- “Student engagement” and “Am I keeping students engaged?” and “How can I better ensure that students stay engaged?”
- “Student explanations” and “Can my students explain what we are doing in class?” and “What other techniques should I consider to improve students’ ability to explain what we are doing in class?”
- “Questioning” and “I’d love feedback on my questioning.” and “How can I improve my ability to ask better questions?”
Imagine yourself as the observer in a classroom where the teacher is asking for feedback on “Student engagement”. What part of student engagement? That they are paying attention? Similarly, “Am I keeping students engaged?” does not encourage an elaborate response. It encourages a yes or no response. Additionally, it has a fixed mindset aspect to it… the teacher either is or isn’t keeping students engaged.
Compare that to the second question: “How can I better ensure that students stay engaged?” This has a growth mindset format, already assumes that there is room for improvement, and encourages the observer to share their best ideas. With the first question, if you say anything but “Yes”, then it may seem harsh. With the second question, that wall has been broken down and the observer knows the teacher wants new ideas.
Similar issues exist for the second and third sets of goals. Take a look at your own. If they are not actively soliciting improvement, people may either not know what to say or their desire not to offend you may outweigh their desire to give you new ideas.
If you’re still skeptical that this would make a difference, read about how it actually did for Jennifer Bell, who posted the tweet above.
Another option would be to include a rubric such as this one I mentioned in the original #ObserveMe blog post. Then you could ask a more general question such as “How can I move up to the next level in the __________ column?”
Kit Golan mentions in the comments below:
A colleague asked me too observe her to provide feedback/advice on why a common class of ours is so chatty. I have some thoughts of things she could do better, and places where I think she “went wrong” – but I don’t want to offend her. How do I give constructive feedback to a struggling colleague?
I like Alison’s reply mentions that phrasing feedback in a tentative format makes it more humble and easier to receive. I added:
I do a lot of observations and one thing I’ve learned is that as much as people do want honest feedback to help them grow, people can only take so many “you could do this better” type feedback. Remember that whoever is being observed will undoubtedly feel vulnerable and can only take so much.
In general, I would consider sharing feedback using a ratio of positive feedback to suggestions for improvement. The ratio I always strive for is 5:1. This means that you are giving a lot of positive reinforcement which makes the one suggestion more likely to be received well. Honestly, sometimes I start out with ratios that are closer to 1:10. Reflecting on how this would be received makes me realize that I have to narrow it down to the one biggest need and also find more positive things going on.
@approx_normal @mjfenton @robertkaplinsky I haven't even had one comment on my #ObserveMe signs, let alone a visit.
— Brian (@_b_p) September 20, 2016
For many people the modified Field of Dreams mantra “If you post it, he will come” may not work so well. People may either pass right by the sign, think it is intended for someone else, or be afraid to be the first person (this is like being the first person to take a doughnut: until someone takes the first one, many just stand around waiting). So, consider these options:
- Begin by making specific plans with a single person you have a relationship with rather than a broad offer to a group of people. For comparison, think about what happens when you tell a group of people “We should hang out.” versus making plans with a friend including setting a date and time. Which one is more likely to result in action?
- Next, talk about your #ObserveMe sign at a grade-level, PLC, department, or staff meeting and let them know why you have the sign up, how they can help, and what you’d like from them.
- Alternatively, send an email to your colleagues briefly mentioning it and asking for people to come by. It doesn’t just have to be your same course either. You could get really interesting tips from someone in another grade/department.
- Talk to your site administrators. They would hopefully love to support you and might spread the word around campus for you.
Sometimes rather than getting observed, you might want to observe someone else and learn from them. That was the situation that Ethan Weker found himself in. So, he took matters into his own hands and tweeted out his request.
Did you make an #ObserveMe request, and want outside feedback? I'd love to visit and see what others nearby are doing. Any K-12 math! #MTBoS
— Ethan Weker (@Ethan_MidPen) April 10, 2017
Fortunately, he was able to find someone and wrote up his experiences. You can read all about it here.
Consider this situation that happened to an educator who would prefer to remain anonymous. This educator created an #ObserveMe sign and displayed it on the classroom door. Then, to increase awareness the educator informed colleagues by placing notes in their boxes to let them know they can come by. Seems innocent enough, right?
Unfortunately, the site administrator had been working on a separate plan for implementing observations at the school site and was frustrated by the notes. I can empathize with both sides of this situation. As disappointing as this unanticipated outcome is, it teaches us a lesson about the importance of checking in with your site admin to get their support and blessing, especially when broadcasting the message to others.
The biggest challenge you will likely have is making teachers feel comfortable enough to give you feedback. Many will fear that while you might say you want feedback, once they actually give you that feedback, you’ll be upset.
So, you will have to really commend the brave first people to share their opinions and model the behavior you’d hope to see in your teachers. You could very well get feedback that surprises, distresses, or upsets you. But, you asked for it and it’s what they really think… so knowing this will be very beneficial.
Maybe begin the process at a staff meeting or share some of the feedback you’ve received at a staff meeting. It could be transformative.
Got some other concerns or solutions to add to this list? Did someone else blog about a concern or solution? Please share links or your thoughts below and I’ll add them.
In what ways could adult learning theory be used to troubleshoot #observeme? I’m thinking about Jennifer’s compliments. I am not an instructional coach or administrator, but the four ways of knowing discussed in this link point to the various languages we speak vs. what gets heard. https://dragoseverson.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/drago-severson-blum-stefano-2014-tell-me-so-i-can-hear.pdf
Wow. That’s a fascinating article, Mary. It is amazing how much there is to learn in this process. Surely this is an important step if you want to effectively communicate with someone else. I wonder how much the fact that the observer is requesting feedback plays a role as well.
What part resonates most with you?
Thanks for sharing!
A colleague asked me too observe her to provide feedback/advice on why a common class of ours is so chatty. I have some thoughts of things she could do better, and places where I think she “went wrong” – but I don’t want to offend her. How do I give constructive feedback to a struggling colleague?
I believe the person who asked you to observe genuinely wants feedback. If I were you I’d start statements with “I noticed ____ and if it were my room I’d do _____, the pros to my method are _____ and the pitfalls could be _____ but it’s worked for me so far.” I think being humble and knowing that there is no 1 way to approach the class is going to make your colleague comfortable with accepting the tough information. I never EVER thought I was doing anything wrong until I worked for a principal who thin sliced my lessons for the first 3 months of school (once a week)… she noted every single grow/glow to my lesson and we debriefed on my action steps toward working on the grows. I had to flip my ratio of teacher/student talk and within 6 months I was there and the following year I was offered a grant to become a teacher coach.
Imagine your toughest class (sometimes it’s the chemistry of the students, the timing after/before lunch or even another chaotic classroom) and how that could almost ruin your whole day- if your tips will help your colleague make that class more enjoyable for everyone think of all of the stress you’d be saving her too.
Can you expand on how you flipped the ratio of teacher/student talk?
Thanks Kit. First, I’m going to add your question to the list above. It’s a great and a reality we’ll have to deal with.
I do a lot of observations and one thing I’ve learned is that as much as people do want honest feedback to help them grow, people can only take so many “you could do this better” type feedback. Remember that whoever is being observed will undoubtedly feel vulnerable and can only take so much.
In general, I would consider sharing feedback using a ratio of positive feedback to suggestions for improvement. The ratio I always strive for is 5:1. This means that you are giving a lot of positive reinforcement which makes the one suggestion more likely to be received well. Honestly, sometimes I start out with ratios that are closer to 1:10. Reflecting on how this would be received makes me realize that I have to narrow it down to the one biggest need and also find more positive things going on.
Then, I agree with Alison that it matters how you deliver your message. For example, consider tentative sentence stems like, “I wonder what would happen if ______.” or “What might change if ___________.” The reality is that you really don’t know for sure if the change you suggest will work, so treating it tentatively like an experiment will definitely help you be humble, as Alison mentioned.
Let us know what happens!
With regard to Kit’s situation, rather than Kit observing his colleague, I would recommend that the gal observe Kit. She can then decide for herself what is different about Kit’s style and why he is successful,, and then incorporate those things that appeal to her and that she thinks will help her control the chatty class. If you leave it up to her to decide, she might be more likely to try new things rather than for Kit to point out possible areas for improvement. It avoids the “judgment” piece and it turns the tables.
Perhaps Marcia. It’s hard to tell. In general, a conversation between observer and observee can get people on the same page about hopes and goals. If she really wanted Kit to see what was happening in her class, your suggestion, while well intentioned, may not be what she ultimately was hoping for.
I don’t get much feedback or many observations….as a teacher of 30 years I guess the admins think I know what I’m doing. My favorite comment for improvement: “too aggressive when enforcing school rules”….Wait? What?
I wonder if you might benefit by specifically requesting other teachers to come by. For example:
“Begin by making specific plans with a single person you have a relationship with rather than a broad offer to a group of people. For comparison, think about what happens when you tell a group of people “We should hang out.” versus making plans with a friend including setting a date and time. Which one is more likely to result in action?
Next, talk about your #ObserveMe sign at a grade-level, PLC, department, or staff meeting and let them know why ”
Hope this helps!
The questions are key, indeed. Each of these questions are asking observers to *evaluate* while observing. A less riskier approach for the observer is to *describe* everything she hears/sees around a particular question or topic. Then the teacher who requested the observation can “autosupervise” herself with the collected descriptive data. Teaching is so hard – there’s no way a teacher knows everything which was said and done during a lesson. Having another set of eyes and ears is priceless.
Thanks for the distinction between evaluating feedback and descriptive feedback. I’m going to ponder that more and it’s worth thinking about how it can be incorporated into the feedback goal phrasing.
For example instead of “How can I better ensure that students stay engaged?”, maybe “Describe what you notice about students’ engagement.”
Thoughts?
Much more aligned with descriptive feedback ideas!
Hi, I am all for getting feedback and observed by others! Recently the district I work for, has been using observations as threats! They will even interrupt the lesson to ask questions, tell you what to do, or even tell you what you’re doing wrong on the spot. This is so overwhelming as a teacher. Do you agree with this? Would anyone feel good about being observed and getting feedback like this? I am always on pins and needles that they will come in my classroom. I am always on schedule, teaching, and know my class needs. It’s ONLY negative feedback if any! What would you suggest to help be at ease with this?
Do you really think any teacher would say that they agree with what you’re experiencing, Tana? That’s exactly why people DON’T want others to observe them.
I don’t know if you have a union, but this sounds like something that needs to be talked about district wide. I get that they want to improve instruction, but this is not the right way.