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Case Study: Mr. Smith

Reyna D. Preciado

College of Education, Grand Canyon University

EAD 539: Improving Teacher Performance and Self-efficacy

Dr. Joan Hudson

June 15, 2022

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Part 1: Informal Observation Feedback

Assumptions

From the informal observation of Mr. Smiths class I can assume the following:

• The material on cells that Mr. Smith is presenting on is new information.

• This may be clarifying information about an activity already completed, or the introduc-

tion before a new activity.

• As a veteran teacher, Mr. Smith may be uncomfortable with a student led classroom.

• Students are required to take notes to ensure engagement during lecture.

Questions

• Where does this lesson fall within the unit?

• The time I was there was direct instruction, what activities did you plan for further stu-

dent investigation?

• Lots of students were focused on notes, do you require notes? Do you find this helps stu-

dent engagement and retention?

Positive Feedback

• There was no disruptive behavior and most kids were engage with your lesson.

• Your presentation was very informative and concise, with media that helped students un-

derstand.

• When asked questions, you answered student questions quickly and with out hesitation.

Constructive Feedback

• Asking question during the presentation can help student think critically about the infor-

mation being presented.

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• Creating opportunities for students to share their thoughts on the topic allows for aca-

demic conversations and extends learning.

• You have great engagement from what I can tell, by circling as you present you can en-

sure that all students are on task.

Part 2: Reflection

My initial assumptions about the observations were based off my personal experiences.

During one of my observations my lesson was primarily lecture. There was some student en-

gagement and dialogue but we were in the process of being introduced to a new topic and so di-

rect instruction was the way I chose to give that information. This can be seen as a negative for

many evaluators, since it is not student led. There is also this stigma that older or veteran teach-

ers don’t like a change of routine and the “stand and deliver” style is the best way. Since Mr.

Smith is in his 20th year of teaching one can assume that this is the case for Mr. Smith as well.

Lecturing has its place, we must ensure even when lecturing that we do so with the student en-

gagement in mind. Biases can influences evaluations, however, when we are aware of those

bases we can do a better job ensuring that they do not influence our evaluation.