Observations
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OVERVIEW
Mentors and interns will meet at least twice each year to
have a reflective conversation about the intern's classroom practices. These conversations are a cornerstone of professional development as an educator and require preparation and thoughtful participation by both mentor and intern.
OBSERVATION PROCESS
- Intern provides their mentor with the Classroom Observation Pre-Visit form so the mentor has some context for the lesson before they come in to observe. Interns can also ask to focus on a certain issue, student, or segment of the class that they want feedback on.
- Mentor observes the intern's class, ideally in person, and sets up a video camera to record the lesson. This way, the intern has the opportunity to look at their teaching from an "outside" perspective and see the lesson in the same way that the mentor did. The mentor takes notes using the Mentor Classroom Observation Protocol form.
- Both the mentor and intern should take time to review the video of the lesson and choose an area or areas to focus on during the reflective conversation. It is important to look for things that worked well and not just focus on rough spots. It is most helpful for the intern to choose a small clip, maybe a few minutes, of the video that will be the focus of the reflective conversation.
- The mentor and intern come to their conversation ready to share the overall positives and challenges of the lesson and to then focus on one or two specific issues. The focus can be something that the intern would do differently, a particular student's needs, or even something that went well that the intern would like to have time to reflect on in order to continue a successful practice.
- During the reflective conversation, the mentor may guide the conversation but the intern should do most of the talking and thinking as it is their time to reflect on their skills and apply what they are learning to their future plans. Mentors should be taking notes during the conversation and ensuring that key points and "next steps" are summed up at the end of the conversation.
