Post-Observation Conference Reflection

As this was my first “formal” post-observation conference, I was very happy with the outcome although I definitely need to work on some particular areas. Ms. C and I sat a few feet away from each other on the same side of a desk against a wall. The post-observation conference occurred in my office because Ms. C shares her classroom with another teacher, who was teaching at that time. It would have been ideal to have the conference in the classroom where she teaches.  However, it was great that Ms. C had the video tape of her observation so that if we needed to discuss an event that either I or her could not recall, we would be able to refer to the video. I definitely need to improve my eye contact and use of my transition words (mainly “uhmm”) not just in this conference, but in my daily life as well. I also am very animated with my hand movements and am not sure if that presents a distraction to the listener. I tend to do that when it’s my first time explaining something new or if I am a bit nervous.  Overall, the conference kept a positive tone throughout, which comes from us already having a good working relationship and I communicating to her that I am there to help and that she can trust me with any questions or concerns she may have.  I smiled throughout the conference so the she felt more relaxed. She did respond to my suggestions positively by writing down notes and frequently nodding yes, confirming if what I was saying was true, and saying “Gotcha” and “I agree.” We sat with our bodies facing each other throughout most of the conference which provided a message that we were open to receiving and sending information.

Prior to starting the clinical cycle with Ms. C, she did mention to me what her certified observer pointed out as her strengths and areas of improvements, so we were aware of certain points to focus on. Ms. C already possessed a copy of the Instructional Framework 2.0 Rubric, so she was aware of the points that were going to be addressed in the conference. Since I videotaped Ms. Cook’s observation, I provided her with the footage immediately after. I informed her to watch the video at least three times. The first time would be to get over the initial nervousness of watching herself on videotape, which is a very nerve-wracking experience for any teacher. The second time would be to note her general impressions of what she and her students did during the class. The third time was to look at specific actions that she thought she really did well on or that she wanted to improve. I set a date for three days later to discuss our findings as I was going to watch the video as well to fill in any holes in my verbatim script that I created while observing her class. I used the district’s feedback planning tool to determine what questions I would ask during the post-observation conference, what I thought were her strengths and areas of improvement, and what would be her next steps. When we met for the conference, I asked her first what her general impressions were. While listening to her, I noticed that she brought up many of the same points that I provided as evidence for her ratings. I then provided her with my script and my feedback to review. We then went through each of the TEACH Key Actions (1 – 9) to discuss the evidence for the ratings she received. Ms. C commented on each of the key actions and relayed if she agreed with what I said based on the evidence from the video and whether she needed assistance with that particular key action.  Ms. C has taught in an adult Vocational-Technical post-secondary school for a number of years but this is her first year in a high school setting. She is used to lecturing for six hours straight every day and teaching the students the skills needed for their particular job. After being in high school for three months, she notices the huge differences in what she was asked to do before and what she has to do now. Her teacher toolbox has expanded exponentially since she started with us but she is still very brand new and is not always sure what the best strategy is during certain times in her class.  Because of this, there were times during the conference that I wanted to just give her a list of strategies that she could use for some of her areas of improvements, but I asked her first what she thought she could do so that she would have a say in her own practice. She was very honest in saying if she was unsure or if she did not know. For her strengths, I repeatedly told her she did a great job on those areas so she did not feel defeated.  I also made sure to speak in terms of “We” so that she did not think that she had to figure out everything by herself.  She even mentioned that my feedback was a lot more specific and helpful than she received from the certified observer and gave her a lot more confidence because she knew exactly what she had to work on. One area of improvement is that I need to stop saying “We will figure out a way to fix…” because it might send a message that it is not an issue we will deal with right now.  This is why I made sure to ask what her top priority was for us to work on, which she mentioned planning her lessons in advance.

I noticed that my predominant supervisor behavior was presenting. I gave my own ideas throughout the entire conference because I wanted to address all of the areas of improvement and not just the one priority she chose to work on. Because she lacked the experience, I wanted to show her that I and other teachers face the same issues and ways that we addressed the issues. I also used listening frequently by acknowledging her point of view and concerns that she had. I wanted to know that this is all about improving her practice and not some standard school agenda. Since she is a first year teacher, I do feel that these two behaviors were appropriate for her developmental level, but I should have been more direct in our problem solving so that a definitive plan was created and our next steps would have been more concrete. I will still work with her on her planning throughout the next weeks.