The Instructional Leader's Guide to Informal Classroom Observations (Second Edition)

Citation

Boller, R.L. (2009), "The Instructional Leader's Guide to Informal Classroom Observations (Second Edition)", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 47 No. 4, pp. 526-528. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230910967509

Educational leaders have many competing responsibilities to fulfill; from providing vision to managing facilities, from supervising staff to allocating resources, from establishing connections with the greater community to maintaining legal requirements. Of all the innumerable duties educational leaders must juggle, none is more crucial than providing the instructional leadership required to support teacher growth. No educational leader can achieve success without attending to the essence of the profession; great teaching. While many other tasks may demand attention, fostering teacher effectiveness is considered the ultimate role of the administrative leader.

Sally Zepeda's book, The Instructional Leader's Guide to Informal Classroom Observations is a clearly written, well‐thought out resource for principals, administrators and other instructional leaders in search of tools that support the art of informal classroom observation to advance teacher growth and learning. In light of the numerous and compelling demands administrative leaders must manage it is especially critical that efficient and successful instructional approaches are developed. Zepeda's second edition of her best selling book provides the detailed, succinct steps that may be used as (p. 1) “the first step toward improving instruction and assisting teachers to examine their practices”. Zepeda has demonstrated a unique ability to establish clear and practical techniques for educational administrators based soundly on theory for the achievement of successful school leadership. Here she offers a protocol for using regular, informal classroom observation as a key component of exemplary instructional leadership. Included in this expanded edition are 40 reproducible classroom observation tools that are also available in downloadable PDF format from: www.eyeoneducation.com. Also included in this edition is a new chapter detailing Zepeda's technique to guide in the evaluation of student work as part of the informal observation process.

Zepeda has produced a practical toolkit for principals and other instructional leaders eager to implement informal classroom observation as part of their improvement cycle. Her style is direct, clear and to the point; facilitating use of the book as a manual for instructional leadership. The book opens with a chapter providing the rationale and groundwork for use of the approach, “Readying for informal classroom observations”. Describing the strengths of (p. 3), “job‐embedded learning”, Zepeda emphasizes the opportunities informal observation affords for relevant, timely, transferrable teacher learning. While the informal observations Zepeda promotes do not require a pre‐observation conference, they should entail at least 15 to 20 minutes of observation time and must include a post‐observation conference a majority of times. She provides the first two of the book's numerous and well‐designed tools here for administrators to use in assessing the characteristics, career stages and developmental needs of the faculty. Acknowledging that (p. 8) “learning can neither be mandated nor imposed”, Zepeda emphasizes the need for the Principal or other instructional leaders to properly plan for informal classroom observation. Further, she urges the development of a unified and well prepared administrative team to cultivate appropriate dialogue, relationships, and enhance a culture of learning as well as to extend the ability of the team to perform frequent and universal informal classroom observations.

Building on this groundwork for implementing an effective program, Zepeda moves further into the intent and design of informal classroom observation as a tool for instructional improvement. In chapter 2, “Framing informal classroom observations”, she enumerates the benefits of such informal observations, noting that (p. 16) “effective classroom observations support the overall instructional program and the teachers who deliver it”. Encouraging principals to make the commitment to being present in the classrooms, Zepeda explains how the spirit and practice used to conduct the instructional program will impact how a faculty responds to the program as a continuing element of professional development. Administrators are urged to (p. 18) “catch teachers in the art of teaching” and celebrate the efforts and achievements taking place. The concept of creating a positive, visible focus on classroom instruction through frequent observations that culminate in an opportunity to debrief and reflect is powerful. Zepeda also clarifies that in order to implement successfully it is necessary that all teachers are visited (not just new teachers or those believed to be experiencing difficulty), that visits are made as often as possible, that a focus area is chosen and that follow up should be consistent and include needed resources.

Maximizing results of informal classroom observations can only take place if data‐collection is well performed. In chapter 3, “Understanding data‐collection techniques and approaches” and chapter 4 “Looking in while stepping out” Zepeda details steps to gathering and using relevant data through informal observation. The principal is advised to define a relatively narrow focus as this creates a greater likelihood that events observed can be meaningfully related. Where possible, tying the use of informal classroom observation to school‐wide instructional improvement efforts will support success of the improvement cycle. More than two‐dozen reproducible tools appear in these two chapters, offering solidly designed choices for gathering and recording relevant quantitative and qualitative data. Administrators are urged to tailor and adapt the resources found throughout the book so that a perfect fit between purpose and instrument can be reached.

Zepeda's rich and carefully constructed classroom observation tools offer excellent options for data collection, including both narrow‐angle and wide‐angle methods. Ultimately, once the observer has prepared possible areas of focus and data collection instruments, the actual events within the classroom at the time of observation will present decisions to be made on the spot. In chapter 4, there are constructive tips for implementing the technique and suggestions for how to approach the post‐observation conference depending on the type of data collected and the purpose of the observation. Chapter 5, “Talking with teachers after looking in,” delves deeper into the follow up process, without which no informal observation program will yield much impact. Zepeda points out that feedback should be timely and delivered in both written and oral forms to be most effective. The process of feedback is where the observational data is put to greatest use, as Zepeda states (p. 112), “through a purposeful discussion in which the meanings of data are explored, with the teacher assuming an active role in the process” (p. 112). Over time the principal and leadership team will also use the data in order to shape the ongoing goals and objectives addressed and measure school‐wide progress.

In chapter 6, “Studying student work during and after classroom observations”, Zepeda closes with her approach to analyzing student behavior, responses, and work products in order to assist teachers in improving their instruction. This analysis of student work is seen by Zepeda as a crucial component of the post‐ observation feedback process and is used by the leader to guide the teacher in formative assessment of their curriculum delivery. Multiple tools are offered that support the technique. Zepeda states (p. 133) the “objective is to study not only the artifact but also the learning objective, the standard and the instructional approach”. While it is not advocated to evaluate student work at every post‐observation conference, Zepeda strongly recommends it be incorporated as appropriate for optimal results.

This book furnishes a well‐reasoned, soundly designed and practical plan for using informal classroom observation to improve the educational outcomes of students. By placing a positive, thoughtful and analytical spotlight on teaching, the instructional leader can enhance the professional development of faculty. While the challenge of finding time for regular, frequent, universal classroom observation is daunting, the purpose justifies the effort involved. Zepeda has provided a roadmap with clear and rich directions, landmarks and turn‐by‐turn guidance. This guide would be of benefit for any principal hoping to provide the kind of quality instructional leadership that teachers require reaching their potential and assisting students in turn to reach their own.