Give Specific Details

What I Learned In School Today: When discussing an observation, give specific details from what was observed and make targeted suggestions for improvement.

I had a fantastic post-observation meeting with a first grade teacher today. Last week I observed her lead her class through a reading workshop period including a mini-lesson, small group work, and conferences with individual students. As a reminder, this is our first year implementing reading workshop and our district’s language arts curriculum, so the learning curve has been steep for everyone involved. Fortunately, that has included some fantastic growth from our teachers.

What made this post-observation meeting so fantastic was the high quality of reflection and conversation. At the end of the conversation, the teacher actually thanked me for the specificity of my feedback. It’s fairly easy to give generic observation notes about what went well in a lesson and what could be done differently, but when the observation notes are targeted (i.e. you said this hear, you transitioned in this way, etc.) followed by alternative options for handling those situations, it gives an authentic opportunity for growth. When discussing an observation, give specific details from what was observed and make targeted suggestions for improvement.