PRE-OBSERVATION MEETINGS

This page shows how to guide the teacher towards giving the observer a main focus during the lesson.

The best way to approach this meeting is to divide it into four clear stages:
1. Details of the section
2. Details of the lesson
3. Focus for the observer
4. Other points the teacher wants to raise

DETAILS OF THE SECTION
As noted on the last page - observations 1 - the first part of the meeting just gets the details of the section noted down.
This factual start to the meeting allows the teacher to relax and the observer should make sure they can refer to the students in the section as well.
Make sure the following are noted:
Teacher's name.
Section / class / level / room - number of students.
Day, date and time.
Discuss the level, the room and the students and note any comments the teacher makes.

The result should look something like this:

DETAILS OF THE LESSON
The meeting should then flow into a description of the lesson planned by the teacher.
The observer needs to assure the teacher that they do not want anything special prepared for this lesson.
The idea is to see the teacher as naturally as possible.
We do not want to see some over-prepared lesson that is not reflective of their daily teaching practice.
The teachers have been hired as they are considered the best in their field and anyone of them could produce a sparkling 55-minute lesson, probably with their eyes closed, hands tied behind their back and hopping on one leg.
No, we want to observer what goes on in their classes every day, or as near as possible given the intrusion of us as an observer.

So, the teacher should not have anything more written down than they usually would.
Some teachers may work from fairly detailed lesson plans; others from bulleted stage points; others use their materials and handouts to indicate the stages; whilst the most experienced teachers may well have everything in their heads.
Whatever the case, the observer only wants to have copies of what the teacher usually does. Nothing different.
The one exception is that there should be a clear aim to the lesson.

So, the observer will end up with any handout copies, a possible lesson plan and bulleted notes at the top of their observation page like this:

FOCUS FOR THE OBSERVER
The next stage usually requires more input from the observer.
If the meeting has gone as planned so far, the teacher will have done 95% of the talking.
Some experienced teachers will already have determined what focus they want the observer to take, often based on work / research they are currently doing or previous observations.
However, the vast majority will often say, "Whatever you like.." or, "Just see what comes up..."
Rather than just accept this, give examples from past observation focal points and discuss possibilities based on the lesson outlined.
This does not mean we have to have a main focus.
Many of the observations I do with teachers for the first time have no specific focus.
We just see what comes up in the course of the observation.
But, we should first allow teachers to see the kinds of focus we can put on an observation.
Here is a rough list of observer focal points I have used in the past:

Teacher talking time
Teacher talk
Instructions
Effectiveness of the material
Student talk
Student participation
Teacher movement
Student movement
Effectiveness of pair and group work
Teacher responses to student queries
Board work
Use of technology in the lesson
All student involvement
Pace of lesson
Timing
Flow of lesson
Staging
Accomplishment of aims
A specific student
Of course, there can be hundreds more.
However, the focal points must be based on the lesson and the students.
You should not attempt more than three focal points, or the observation will become too scattered.
The notes at the top of the observation page should be brief and look something like this:

OTHER POINTS
It is rare that the teacher will not continue talking about the lesson and want to go into more detail.
Allow them to do so and try and get a better understanding of the relationship between the teacher and the class as well as between the students themselves.

YOUR TASK
Now that you have read the ideal flow to the pre-observation meeting, observe the pre-observation meeting of one of your colleagues.

Answer and discuss these questions:
1. Were all four stages evident?
2. What was missing or added?
3. Was the meeting effective?
4. Based on the observed meeting, what would you add to this page?