RUNNING HEAD: CLINICAL FIELD EXPERIENCE D: BEGINNING TEACHER

OBSERVATION AND FEEDBACK 1

Clinical field experience D: Beginning teacher observation and feedback

Bradley J Ostendorf

Grand Canyon University: EAD-530: Improving Teacher Performance and Self-efficacy

Dr. Scot Beckerman

06/08/2022
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Summary of Pre-Conference, Observation, and Post-Conference

Pre-Conference

For this field experience, my principal mentor and I observed a first-year science teacher.

I had already established a professional relationship with this teacher prior to this experience. I

helped in recruiting this teacher and served as a mentor for them throughout the year. As a

mentor, I was able to assist in their professional growth with individualized support. This

allowed the teacher to “… implement teaching practices as part of an experienced team, rather

than isolation.” (Martin, Buelow, & Hoffman, 2015) The mentorship was very helpful, but the

experience from the perspective of an administrator felt very different.

The pre-conference was a short meeting lasting about only ten minutes. During this time

all parties established a class period in which it would work best to observe. My mentor stated

that it is helpful to select a period where the teacher is comfortable so that they don’t feel they

are being unfairly evaluated. After a date was established, we reviewed the lesson plan the

teacher would be using to gain a better understanding of what we would be observing and how

they intend for the lesson to go. The part of our pre-conference, that I had not reviewed during

this course, was the time spent discussing the growth areas of the previous observation. It had

been established that this teacher needed to improve upon student engagement and minimizing

unstructured time. We spent several minutes discussing how their current lesson was adapted to

assist with this. As a coaching staff, we recommended that the teacher work on having the

students participating in constructive activity throughout the entire class period. The goal is to

avoid unstructured downtime.

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Observation

During the observation, it was noted that the teacher spent the first half of class

presenting on different muscle groups. Students were provided with guided note sheets as the

teacher presented their materials on the Promethean board at the front of the class. This use of

technology and scaffolded note taking helped keep every student engaged with the lesson. There

were also several opportunities for the students to ask questions and clarify their thinking.

For the second half of class, students participated in a lab which required them to explore

the muscle groups they previously took notes on. Students selected their own groups and spread

out across the room to complete their lab packet. During this time, it was observed that the

teacher floated to a few groups to check on their progress. Several groups were not spoken to and

many students were distracted or off task. No technology was used during this lab experience.

Post-Conference

During the post conference, we opened the conversations by discussing the positives of

the lesson. I stated that in comparison to the previous observations, the first half of class had

practically no unstructured time for the students. All students were engaged with the lesson and

technology was positively used. We also noted that the use of guided notes helped bridge the

learning gap for several students in the class.

We then spent time discussing growth areas. It was noted that during the second half of

class, there was a significant portion of students that were distracted and not completing work.

Prior to providing feedback on this observation, we asked the teacher why they thought this was.

The teacher stated that the lab was not engaging enough to keep the students interested. This led

to a conversation regarding how the teacher could have used technology and created a more
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interactive lab that the students would have been more engaged with. By allowing the teacher to

elaborate on their own lesson, they were able identify where they felt the lesson went wrong and

what adjustments they would make next time in a similar situation. Getting this out of a new

teacher is a very positive aspect of the post-conference experience. (Mitchell & Bolt, 2015)

To end the pre-conference, my mentor and I stated that the largest positive from this

experience was the notable changes made by the teacher based on previous feedback they had

received. Although the entire lesson was not perfect, it was far better for the students and their

learning. If this teacher continues to receive feedback and adjust as they have, their future is

bright.

Recommendation for Effective use of Technology

As stated in the post-conference reflection, administration had made the recommendation

to use technology to engage students more during their lab activities. This teacher has access to a

Chromebook cart which allows all students to have access to their own laptop during class.

Instead of completing a paper packet, students could participate in a virtual lab, allowing them to

better visualize what they had learned at the start of class. Simply making this recommendation

caused a domino effect of the teacher looking into virtual labs which may lead to the district

allocating funds towards this teacher and their growth.

Promotion of Collaboration, Trust, and Personalized Learning Environment

This coaching cycle created a significant amount of collaboration. My mentor and I spent

a significant amount of time outside of the observation process discussing this new teacher, their

strengths, and areas of improvement. These discussions lead to us sharing our past experiences as

teachers to come up with strategy recommendations for this teacher. Without this collaboration, I
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would be limited to my own perspective. Collaboration with the teacher was also prominent

during this process. Once the growth areas were acknowledged, we quickly shifted our

conversation, as a team, towards how improvements can be made. The teacher coming to an

understanding that our goal as coaches was not to criticize, rather assist in growth, trust was

quickly established. They were more willing to open up about their concerns with their teaching

methods and their students learning.

Although this trust came quickly, it will be important for administration to continue to

build on this relationship. Trusted leaders act with consistency. Teachers must come to

understand that they can count on their administrators to act consistently in pursuing the school’s

mission. (Danielson, 2016) This includes coaching new teachers to reach their full potential as

educators.

Self-Awareness, Vulnerability, Transparency, and Ethical Behavior

Vulnerability and transparency helped get me through this coaching process more than

anything. Being a peer to this individual, prior to the coaching process, made it difficult to

interact with them as their “boss”. At first it was an uncomfortable feeling, but after I helped

them understand that I had been in their shoes before and was very clear that my goal was to help

them get better, the discomfort was alleviated. Essentially, I tried my best to make sure this

teacher knew that I am not perfect and being overly critical is not my goal. I wanted this teacher

to see me and think “If he is observing me and providing me with feedback, it is because he

genuinely has my, and the kids, best interest in mind. I will gladly accept any feedback from this

individual because he believes in and is willing to build into me.” As a future administrator, I

hope to establish this mentality with all my teachers.

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My principal mentor also helped me understand that although positive relationships are

important, one must be careful to not let these prevent necessary feedback from being delivered.

In the case of this field experience, there were several concerning aspects of this teacher’s

performance that needed to be addressed. If I hold onto a fear of upsetting my teachers, I may

miss on giving them the feedback they need to develop professionally. “Effective leaders place

children at the center of education and accept responsibility for each student’s academic success

and well-being” (Professional standards for educational leaders, 2015) It will be my ethical

responsibility as a principal to honestly help my teachers grow so that students are receiving the

best possible education.

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References

Danielson, C. (2016). Talk about teaching! Leading professional conversations. Thousand Oaks:

Corwin.

Martin, K. L., Buelow, S. M., & Hoffman, J. T. (2015). New teacher induction: Support that

impacts beginning middle-level educators. Middle School Journal, 47(1), 4-12.

Mitchell, M., & Bolt, T. (2015). Preparing student teachers and beginning teachers for the post-

teaching conference. The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 86(2),

10-13.

Professional standards for educational leaders. (2015). Retrieved from National Policy Board

for Educational Administration:

https://www.npbea.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Professional-Standards-for-

Educational-Leaders_2015.pdf