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Clinical Field Experience C: Special Education Teacher Observation and Feedback

Rebecca Birch

College of Education, Grand Canyon University

EAD 530: Improving Teacher Performance and Self-Efficacy

Dr. Patrick Tucker

June 28, 2023

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Clinical Field Experience C: Special Education Teacher Observation and Feedback

Summary of Collaboration Experience

My mentor and I met with Mrs. Trent, who is a second-year special education teacher

and worked as a paraprofessional in our elementary school for 12 years. My mentor and I both

asked pre-developed questions during the pre-conference and engaged in great conversation

with Mrs. Trent about her lesson. The questioning revealed that we would observe Mrs. Trent

teaching a phonics lesson to a small group of three students from different grade levels. Mrs.

Trent had great knowledge of the content and the levels that the students were at prior to this

lesson and the justification for grouping the students. To enhance the instructional delivery and

learning outcomes, Mrs. Trent referenced her self-evaluation and that she is focusing on

providing specific feedback to each student. She revealed that she did not have much

assessment data outside of the data from the classroom teacher and that is an area that she

wants to strengthen. During the observation, my mentor and I noticed the strong rapport Mrs.

Trent had with each student and how she provided very specific and helpful feedback to

everyone. One student in the group suffers greatly from behavioral outbursts, but Mrs. Trent

had an individual behavior tracker for this student to earn stickers for on task behavior which

helped this student’s motivation and engagement greatly.

Mrs. Trent used manipulatives to help students identify phonemes in simple words

while one student, who was a little more advanced, use a marker to write the letters for the

sounds as a model for the other two students. My mentor and I discussed that feedback in the

post-observation conference would be given by both of us and we would discuss her positive

relationships, intentional planning, succinct timing, proactive structures put in place to reduce

behavioral issues, and how to collect and utilize informal assessment data to prepare for future
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lessons. The feedback is always written on the formal evaluation form under the standard it

addresses and submitted to the teacher to process and reflect on prior to the post-observation

conference.

Evaluation Tool

The formal evaluation tool is comprised of the Standards of Professional Practice from

the Danielson Framework. It includes ratings for the domains of planning and preparation,

classroom environment, instruction, professional responsibilities, and student learning and

growth. This tool is administered to all certified teachers during their formal observations

which could be one to two times per school year. The forms for general education and special

education teachers are the same. The ratings are assigned based on a proficiency scale with

specific attributes that label what was observed as unsatisfactory, in progress, effective, and

highly effective. The results are recorded and shared electronically through the Frontline

Management System with the teacher, the building principal, and the superintendent. The

results of the formal observation are used to support teacher goals and growth. Mrs. Trent

scored “in progress” and “effective” in most areas. She scored “highly effective” for

components on the planning and preparation domain and the instruction domain. My mentor

and I will provide affirming feedback in these areas to encourage Mrs. Trent with her

strengths. The area that Mrs. Trent has an opportunity to show the most growth is with student

learning and growth regarding student growth on performance assessments which also aligns

with her personal growth goals. There are some professional development opportunities

available we will suggest, and my mentor will organize to have a teacher at the middle school

who can come collaborate with Mrs. Trent and the special education PLC to help her and the

team feel more confident in this area and provide ideas and templates.
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PSEL Standard 5 and Implications for Future Practice

I can apply this learning to my future practice by valuing the importance of asking a

variety of questions to understand the perceptions and planning of the teacher. The evaluation

tool was extremely helpful in understanding how this teacher was rated for this observation and

it provides detail about the areas teachers are strong in and areas that they can develop. The

tool also provided insight into the questions that I can ask during the pre-conference to guide

the teacher to a successful reflection. The most significant learning from this observation was

that the evaluation tool is the same for all our teachers, whether they are special or general

education teachers. This provides a very consistent and coherent system of expectations and

supports that support academic learning and a positive social and emotional development as

stated by PSEL Standard 5 (National Policy Board for Educational Administration [NPBEA],

2017). I also gained valuable insight into how our special education teachers model an inclusive

and supportive school community that promotes the academic success and well-being of each

student that can be shared among all teachers in the building and honored by administration

holding equal high standards for all teachers and their students.
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References

National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2017). Professional-standards-for-

educational-leaders_2015 [PDF]. npbea.org.

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

Educational-Leaders_2015.pdf