Today I had my first observation for the school year. Since I am at a new school this year, it was also my first observation with a new administrator. I always get a little nervous before observations, but I think the lesson went well today. The activities flowed together well and we met the learning objectives for the lesson. I feel as if my students have a firm grasp of the skill we were working on. It was helpful to reflect on the observation this afternoon using the high leverage elements from the evaluation standards--I found myself actually writing more than the 1 or 2 paragraphs recommended on the observation handout. I'll know more after my post-observation conference on Tuesday, but for now, I'm optimistic!
What about you guys? Do you get nervous before observations? Any advice for dealing with jitters? Is it helpful for you to reflect after your observation?
My first observation isn't for a couple of weeks yet, but I too get nervous before the observation. Luckily, the administrators at my building do a great job of making the observations about growth, not evaluation. I feel confident that they genuinely want us to be successful as teachers, so that really helps take the jitters away. Also, we are required to write a reflection after our observations, and I think it is great. It is good practice anyways to reflect, so this is just a nice way for the administrator to see another perspective on the class/lesson.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to everyone as observations start up!
What do you think about the growth model we're implementing district-wide this year? It sounds like a positive experience so far.
ReplyDeleteI think that the growth model that the district is using this year really encourages everyone involved to look at observations more of a professional development opportunity, rather than having the observation feel strictly evaluative. I like that the administrators have been in and out of my classroom more this year. I am more use to mine coming in and don't feel so nervous when he stops by. My first observation of the year is tomorrow and I am the least nervous that I have ever been. I try to remember that my adminisrator hired me for a reason. He knows that I am a qualified teacher. Just do what you normally do and be confident. You will do great. Not every lesson is going to be perfect. I think it is good for an administator to see that maybe a lesson didn't go as planned. It is a good opportunity to show your administrator that reflective piece and share what you would do differently next time. If it makes you feel better, I will still get jitters when an administrator comes to visit me until the day I retire from teaching!!
ReplyDeleteWell if it makes you feel better, my lesson did not go as well as I had hoped! There came a point though, where I just had to go with the flow and salvage what I could! I think it is good for administration to see how we handle bumps in the road too:) I am a special education teacher, and in my room you just never know what will be thrown at you. In the end the students learned what they needed to and all were happy. My principal and I had a good laugh about some of what occured, as he stated "You couldn't have tried to make that happen if you wanted to":) I do like the new set up for evaluations that they are using this year though. I think it does help reflect on all aspects of our jobs. My post observation meeting was positive and I came out with great ideas, so that is all I can ask! I will always be nervous, but we can only do our best! And as I experienced, some days our best looks very different on different days:)
ReplyDeleteI get nervous before observations too! I also have a new administrator this year, so I was even more nervous for my first observation, because he hadn't seen me teach before or knew my style. I think the worst part is just the anticipation, and then once the lesson starts the jitters usually go away. But I found both the reflective piece and post-observation helpful as well!
ReplyDeleteI think the important part of having an observation is to just be yourself. My sister is a first year teacher this year (I was last year), and she was just talking to me this morning about her observation today. It's important to remember that the administrators hire you for YOU, so being your natural self in observations is most beneficial to you and the admin. I think it can also help the post-ob process. If you see it as an opportunity for growth, it can greatly enhance your everyday practice and you can learn a lot. I think the process is a great opportunity to get some new ideas and it it always helpful to have an objective pair of eyes see things that maybe you are unable to see on your own.
ReplyDeleteI usually get nervous, but I agree with Sarah, it has been easier since our administrator has been stopping by periodically. That helps ease the stress a little bit because even if the lesson you had planned doesn't go the best, s/he has seen you and your students at other times when both were more successful. I am happy with the way that my observation went but I can't say that I look forward to them; the time passes much too quickly between them...afterall it is just two short months away!
ReplyDeleteAlthough my first formal observation isn't until later this month, I am not feeling nearly as nervous as I usually do. Having my principal and other administrators stopping by to do observations and walk-throughs throughout the school year already has helped take a bit of the stress off.
ReplyDeleteWith the updated growth model implemented this year, I feel as though we all have a clearer picture of what exactly we are being evaluated on how it is being evaluated. As a teacher I can really focus in on how I am meeting the 'high leverage' elements of the domains. The reflection and post-observation time offers a chance for my principal and I to discuss together how I am meeting these elements and for me to get new ideas of how to better my instruction.
I also get nervous...I dont think that ever goes away. I just think its knowing that someone is in there watching your every move and what your students are doing that causes the anxiety.
ReplyDeleteI also have a new administrator this year and so just even going in for our meetings has made me nervous. Going through the data collection is new for both of us too, so we are learning together as we go through my observation. Its pretty intersting to just get the data and not always many suggestions. However, I kind of like that because now it really gets me thinking and reflecting on my lessons and the different domains before I go in therie for our meeting. I found it really helpful last time because I had already reflected on the domain and it pretty much coincided with what he had to offer as well, so the conversation was much smoother.
I had my first observation 3 weeks ago with a new administrator to our building. I was also really nervous about my first observation of the year because my co-teacher and I were observed at the same time. We are both new teachers to the district and new to co-teaching. The observation ended up going well. I find the post-conferences to be very beneficial. It is nice to hear what you did well and areas to improve on. The information helps me grow as a teacher.
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