Challenging perceptions of the lesson observation
Challenging perceptions of the lesson observation
Denise Inwood, Founder and Managing Director, BlueSky Education.
A study into lesson observations for school leaders
Observing lessons can give an insight into the most important thing taking place in a school – the teaching and learning behind the classroom door. However, there is mounting evidence to show that lesson observations are not as effective as assumed, as many schools are reviewing their traditional practices and beginning to explore new methodologies.
This blog is an extract from a report that examines some of the current theory and practice around lesson observation. Is it time to come together as a profession and set new norms?
Lifting the lid on lesson observations
Teaching is the most important activity that takes place in a school. Therefore, it stands to reason that a school’s leadership team should make regular reviews of its teaching.
Many in education would argue that only by seeing teaching in action can a school engage in informed conversations about teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) and the progress of its pupils.
Similarly, observations have long been a cornerstone for the school leadership team (SLT) in gauging teaching quality and guiding its talent management and succession planning.
Establishing consistency of practice from one school to another, or even within a single school, is fraught with challenges. Add to the mix a growing body of evidence which throws into doubt some of the long-established principles of lesson observations, and it feels like the time is ripe for change. Indeed, many schools are beginning to shift their own practices.
At BlueSky we are conducting a simple survey to test the temperature on this critical subject. The outcomes to date are proving to be very interesting.
When asked if lesson observation practice had changed significantly in the last two academic years, 74% of respondents said yes.
The comments that accompanied this response suggested that many were aware of the current research and challenges in traditional lesson observations.
Lesson observations are part and parcel of most SLTs’ school improvement toolkits. Teachers, school leaders and academics continue to scrutinise both the impact and validity of the lesson observation and this has raised a number of questions about the effectiveness of their current format.
Can observers identify good teaching?
When an experienced education professional observes a lesson, it would be fair to assume that they have the skills, knowledge and experience to spot good teaching practice.
However, it’s important not to underestimate the impact of subjectivity on an observation.
The key challenge here lies in the inconsistency of an observer’s judgement, because even among trained observers who are following explicit criteria, there can be considerable variation in the way lessons are rated.
Work by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation indicates that grading lessons can be an inexact science. In the foundation’s Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) research on observations, if a lesson is given a top grade by one observer, the probability that a second observer would give a different judgement is between 51 and 78 per cent.1
The MET research showed that trained observers such as principals and assistant principals were more likely to give differing results than fellow teachers with less observation experience. Yet, the observations led by senior leaders are often those that hold most sway.
Concerns about these variations in judgement are growing and some schools have already moved away from a graded approach to observations in order to avoid this type of cognitive bias.
The current results in our own survey throw some interesting light on how this issue is influencing work in schools today.
When asked if lessons are currently graded in their own school,
19% said yes always
21% said sometimes
60% said rarely or never
The commentary that followed these responses showed a definite trend among respondents suggesting that this academic year would see a shift in practice away from grading lessons and to a move towards a more developmental approach.
Where might we go from here?
While lesson observations have their limitations, the prospect of a school leader not seeing for themselves what’s happening in their classrooms is unthinkable. In scoping out a better future for the observation, it’s important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
The approach might not be to abandon the lesson observation altogether, but to allow it to evolve to serve the profession more effectively. School leaders can take all that works well from the lesson observation and shape it into a new, more collaborative format for the observer and teacher alike.
Perhaps it’s also time to leave the term ‘lesson observation’ behind and create new terminology that describes the professional dialogue that the observation should provide.
This new model must acknowledge the drawbacks of current observation techniques but accept that for school leaders to manage their schools effectively, some observation needs to take place.
The traditional lesson observation may be a thing of the past, potentially overly formal, restrictive and even in some cases, counterproductive. The practice of observing can have a damaging effect on teacher workload and morale.
Evidence from some of the most respected researchers and organisations has challenged the validity of the observation, pointing to, for example, areas of cognitive bias.
Many schools are already making a sustainable transition to a more dialogue-driven, collaborative approach in which teachers are confident, engaged and active participants. A transition to a new, improved lesson observation with the teacher and observer working together will enhance a school’s professional practice.
The challenge now is to find how we can share these emerging practices and their relative strengths to create a more effective and productive outcome for all.
Please do have your say and complete our lesson observation survey here today
Download our full lesson observation report here
BlueSky - Challenging perceptions of the lesson observation report
To find out how BlueSky, winner of the COBIS Supporting Member of the Year 2019 award, can support your school with observations and monitoring, as well as staff professional development and performance management, please call us on +44 1483 880004 or email info@blueskyeducation.co.uk
References
1. http://k12education.gatesfoundation.org/
About the author
Denise Inwood
Founder and Managing Director of BlueSky Education
Denise founded the company in 2001 because, during her 17-year teaching career, she had identified the need for a formal appraisal process and a means of tracking professional development. Today, through award-winning development, BlueSky remains the gold standard - for primary, secondary, special, FE, international schools, both maintained and independent in the UK and globally supporting over 300,000 users across 26 countries.
As an educationalist at heart, Denise has forged strong associations across the education sector, not only with schools that BlueSky supports directly but also the wider sector-building collaborative. BlueSky is a partner of organisations such as BESA, ISBL, COBIS, FOBISIA, BSME and ASCL, having worked closely with these companies for over 10 years.
As a teacher and senior leader for 17 years prior to starting her own business, Denise knows all too well the changing and challenging landscape of the education sector. She works tirelessly to empower those on the ground leading the way to support the improvement of processes and ultimately the outcomes of young people.
What makes Denise one of BlueSky’s greatest assets is her expertise as an educationalist, her drive to be a successful award-winning businesswoman and her passion in supporting the lives of those that work in education to make a difference for our next generation.