RUNNING HEAD: Supervision Cycle 1

Clinical Supervision Cycle Reflection

Sarah M. Cowell

Johnston Principal Leadership Academy, NCSU

Introduction

Benson Elementary is a Title I Restart School in the Johnston County Public Schools

district. The school’s “restart” status requires ​all ​certified staff members to receive a “super

observation” in the first quarter. For the purpose of fulfilling that requirement and completing

this assignment, I observed Ms. Jamie Butler, a first grade teacher with fourteen years of

experience. Ms. Butler has worked at Benson Elementary since she began her career in

education; she served as a teacher assistant for six years before becoming a classroom teacher.

Pre-Conference

During our pre-conference, I asked Ms. Butler several questions to get a solid

understanding of her students and her upcoming lesson. She explained that her students are very

sweet, and their academic abilities range from low to high. Ms. Butler told me she has two EC

students who have behavior issues at times; both of these students require a great deal of Ms.

Butler’s attention. In terms of her lesson, she explained that I would observe her during a whole

group reading lesson focusing on discovering the meaning of unknown words using context

clues. Ms. Butler indicated she planned to implement “turn-and-talk” opportunities for students

and independent practice to determine students’ understanding of their new terms. According to
RUNNING HEAD: Supervision Cycle 2

Ms. Butler, scaffolding will occur as students are working with their peers; she explained that her

higher students will be able to use context clues to determine the meaning of the vocabulary

words, while her lower students will require prompting and support from her during their peer

discussions. Ms. Butler did not ask for feedback on anything specific, but did want me to know

that she is working to build her students’ ability to work independently.

Observation

I observed Ms. Butler from 9:00 to 9:45 am on September 30, 2019. Ms. Butler had

exceptional classroom management; her classroom routines, positive reinforcement, and clear,

detailed directions ensured all students were heard and on task. Her lesson incorporated

instructional strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners; she read aloud, used visuals, and

created movements to help students learn the meaning of six new vocabulary words. While

reading, she emphasized how both pictures and words in the text can help readers learn the

meaning of unfamiliar words. Ms. Butler made the content relevant by explaining the reason

students needed to learn these new terms and connecting their read-aloud text to their upcoming

community field trip. She used multiple formative assessments to gauge her students’

understanding of the material, including listening in while partners were collaborating, “status

checks”, and walking around to monitor students’ progress during independent practice. Ms.

Butler was accomplished or distinguished on all observable areas of the North Carolina Teacher

Evaluation Instrument.
RUNNING HEAD: Supervision Cycle 3

Post Conference

Our post conference occurred on the day after the observation. In addition to posing four

reflection questions, I also shared positive feedback with Ms. Butler. She is truly an amazing

teacher, and I wanted to make sure she knew I thought so. Our post conference can be seen ​here​.

Reflection

Overall, my first observation cycle experience went very well. Ms. Jamie Butler was very

thoughtful when answering her pre-conference questions, which gave me a clear picture of what

to expect going into her classroom. Watching a rockstar teacher in action is a great reminder of

how important it is for administrators to get into classrooms. Great teachers need to be given

positive feedback, and school leaders can use what they learn from watching great teachers to

help others grow from good to great. My goal is to continue to grow in my ability to give useful

feedback to teachers; I want ​all​ teachers to walk out of our post conferences feeling like they

really “got” something from our conversation, such as new insights about their teaching or action

steps for professional growth.