Classroom Observation as Method for Research and Improvement

Abstract

Classroom observation as a methodology is not without its critics. This critique ranges from epistemological arguments to validity issues with its controversial application as an evaluation measure of teacher effectiveness. On the methodological front, there are significant reliability and validity threats when classroom observation is used in both educational research and teacher evaluation (Harris in Carnegie Knowledge Network Brief 5, 2012). This chapter acknowledges this critique and proposes a third way for classroom observation in teacher improvement. The improvement agenda disciplines the classroom observation and moves it away from pure research or evaluation (judgement of performance) to helping teachers improve their practice. This position is supported by the argument approach to test validation endorsed by the AERA, APA and NCME.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Initial Teacher Adaptive Practice Scale

• 1. Learning intentions and success criteria evident

• 2. Dynamic grouping

• 3. Many conceptual representations used as required

• 4. Act upon data gathered during concept review tasks set for students

• 5. Flexible pacing

• 6. Seeking student feedback

• 7. Filling unexpected gaps

• 8. Literacy/Numeracy scaffolds used as required

• 9. Negotiate post-lesson activities

• 10. Provide more content depth as required

• 11. Negotiate assessment tasks

• 12. Adjust learning instructions throughout

• 13. Choice of learning activity based upon agreed learning goals

• 14. Content added to student suggestion.

Appendix 2: Teacher Adaptive Practice Scale

• 1. The teacher modifies learning goals in response to formative assessment.

• 2. The teacher modifies their instructions during the lesson to increase learning opportunities.

• 3. The teacher negotiates assessments with students, ensuring these are aligned with learning goals.

• 4. The teacher uses formative assessment to differentiate their responses to individual students.

• 5. The teacher prompts students to discover key concepts through responsive open-ended questions.

• 6. The teacher prompts students to express their thinking and used this as a springboard for learning activities.

• 7. The teacher uses a thinking routine to prompt deeper exploration of concepts or skills.

• 8. The teacher prompts students to demonstrate open-mindedness and tolerance of imaginative solutions to problems.

• 9. The teacher provides a synthesis of class-generated ideas.

• 10. The teacher links, when appropriate, lesson concepts to larger disciplinary ideas.

• 11. The teacher provided imaginative suggestions to increase learning opportunities.

• 12. The teacher demonstrates flexible pacing of lesson in response to student learning needs.

• 13. The teacher demonstrates responsive use of literacy/numeracy interventions.

• 14. The teacher creates groups of students based upon formative assessment.

• 15. The teacher modifies homework in response to lesson progress.

Appendix 3: Adaptive Practice Indicators Mapped to Hattie (2012) and AITSL (2014) Classroom Practice Continuum

	Indicator	Reference
1	The teacher modifies learning goals in response to formative assessment	CPC6: “The teacher supports students to use evidence, including prior learning experiences, in personalising and revising their learning goals and aligning them with the curriculum standards” (AITSL, 2014, p. 96) Goals 0.56 effect size (Hattie, 2012 p. 298) Feedback 0.73 effect size (Hattie, 2012 p. 173)
2	The teacher modifies their instructions during the lesson to increase learning opportunities	CPC6: “They spontaneously adjust their instructions during the lesson to increase learning opportunities and improve students’ understanding” (AITSL, 2014, p. 96) Feedback 0.73 (Hattie, 2012 p. 173)
3	The teacher negotiate assessment strategies with students, ensuring these are aligned with learning goals	CPC6: “They negotiate assessment strategies with students, ensuring these are aligned with learning goals” (AITSL, 2014, p. 96) Feedback 0.73 (Hattie, 2012 p. 173)
4	The teacher uses formative assessment to differentiate their responses to individual students	CPC6: “The teacher uses cues to differentiate between their responses to individual students throughout the learning time” (AITSL, 2014, p. 96) Feedback 0.73 (Hattie, 2012 p. 173)
5	The teacher prompted students to discover key concepts through responsive open-ended questions	CPC4: “They encourage students to justify and provide reasons for their responses to questions” (AITSL, 2014, p. 96) Significant scepticism from Hattie on purpose of teacher questioning when they already know the answer (Hattie, 2012 p. 182)
6	The teacher prompted students to express their thinking and used this as a springboard for learning activities	CPC6: “The teacher supports the students to generate their own questions that lead to further inquiry” (AITSL, 2014, p. 96) Feedback 0.73 (Hattie, 2012, p. 173)
7	The teacher uses a thinking routine to prompt deeper exploration of concepts or skills	CPC4: “They use conversation topics that generate thinking and they encourage students to justify and provide reasons for their responses to questions” (AITSL, 2014, p. 94)
8	The teacher prompted students to demonstrate open-mindedness and tolerance of imaginative solutions to problems	CPC5: “They give students time to grapple independently with the demanding aspects of open-ended tasks” (AITSL, 2014, p. 95)
9	The teacher provided a synthesis of class generated ideas
10	The teacher links, when appropriate, lesson concepts to larger disciplinary ideas
11	The teacher provided imaginative suggestions to increase learning opportunities
12	The teacher demonstrated flexible pacing of lesson in response to student learning needs	CPC4: “the teacher prompts, listens actively, monitors and adjusts instruction and assessment tasks based on feedback from students” (AITSL, 2014, p. 94) Feedback 0.73 (Hattie, 2012, p. 173)
13	The teacher demonstrated responsive use of literacy/numeracy interventions	CPC4: “the teacher focuses practice on specific skills and processes, including literacy and numeracy, in response to student needs” (AITSL, 2014, p. 94) Feedback 0.73 (Hattie, 2012, p. 173)
14	The teacher creates groups of students based upon formative assessment	Feedback 0.73 (Hattie, 2012, p. 173)
15	The teacher modifies homework in response to lesson progress	Feedback 0.73 (Hattie, 2012, p. 173)

Appendix 4: Teacher Adaptive Practices Coding Guide

	Indicator	Low	High
1	The teacher modifies learning goals in response to formative assessment	Teacher did not undertake any formative assessment	Teacher checks for student understanding and makes changes to the lesson in response
2	The teacher modifies their instructions during the lesson to increase learning opportunities	Instructions are given once and in one modality to the whole class	The teacher did an impromptu demonstration to a small group using the classroom globe in response to student questions about international time zones
3	The teacher uses formative assessment to differentiate their responses to individual students	The teacher asks students to move to the true or false side of the room but does not follow up with why questions	Teacher sets Do Now task at the beginning of the lesson, helps students with the task and asks questions about the task when all students have attempted it
4	The teacher negotiates learning activities with students, ensuring these are aligned with learning goals	All students completed the same activity at the same time	The teacher used students’ misconceptions as a guide to the learning activity that was chosen
5	The teacher prompted students to discover key concepts through responsive open-ended questions	Teacher used shallow questions that did not require deep conceptual responses from the students	“Why is it expensive to make things in Australia?” “How has technology changed religion?” “In which direction does the water flow into the drain in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere?”
6	The teacher prompted students to express their thinking and used this as a springboard for learning activities	The teacher used ‘guess what is in my head’ questions; “It starts with…?”	The teacher asked the students to annotate their notes with an ‘E’ if they required more evidence
7	The teacher uses a thinking routine to prompt deeper exploration of concepts or skills	“The steps I would like you to take are: decode, position, read the poem, write your response”	Teacher used a “See, Think, Wonder” to prompt students to think metaphorically on a concept
8	The teacher prompted students to demonstrate open-mindedness and tolerance of uncertainty	Teacher answered big science questions directly instead of asking them why	The teacher explored the different definitions of a concept evident across different sources to demonstrate the contested and uncertain nature of it
9	The teacher provided a synthesis of class generated ideas	Teacher uses Initiate, Response, Evaluate to individual student answers	“I feel if we joined these last three responses we should have a good answer on identity”
10	The teacher links, when appropriate, lesson concepts to larger disciplinary ideas	Teacher talk focused on the execution of the learning activity rather than the underlying big idea	The teacher linked the preservation of vegetables by bottling to the chemical processes
11	The teacher provided analogies and metaphors to increase learning opportunities	Teacher does not use analogy and metaphor when the opportunity arises	The teacher used an image of a waterfall to assist student understanding of the life cycle of a business The teacher roleplayed a character in the text to expand understanding
12	The teacher demonstrated flexible pacing of lesson in response to student learning needs	Teacher adheres to their script without checking in with students to see if they understood the concept	The duration of each learning activity is contingent on student understanding
13	The teacher demonstrated responsive use of literacy/numeracy interventions	No dynamic literacy/numeracy interventions evident	Teacher identified the word “essential” as expressing high modality Teacher used a think-aloud process to identity story retelling in literary analysis as a practice to be avoided
14	The teacher creates groups of students based upon formative assessment	Students not grouped or are in previously assigned table groups	Students moved into groups based on a self-rating of their knowledge