Clinical Supervision

When I first learned about this project I was a little overwhelmed by the thought of having to choose a teacher to observe in the classroom.  Since I work in a school that consists of grades 6^th – 12^th,  I knew that I had many options.  After speaking to my principal, I decided to observe a middle school teacher.  She made some suggestions as to which teachers to observe but I decided to choose for myself.

The teacher I chose to observe was Ms. Melendez, one of the 8^th grade science teachers.  She has taught 8^th grade General Science for the last four years.  The reason for wanting to observe Ms. Melendez was because whenever I pass her classroom, the students are all seated and seem to be engaged in a lesson.  It piqued my curiosity in that she is able to keep middle school students engaged day after day.

Pre-Observation Conference

I approached Ms. Melendez and explained my assignment to her. I let her know that the lesson will be videotaped and that no one but my fellow colleagues will view it.  She agreed and we set up a date for the pre-observation conference.  The day before the lesson, she came to my office for the pre-observation conference.  I immediately let her know that during the pre-observation I would be asking her a variety of questions pertaining to the lesson.  I wanted to start off by making her feel at ease.  I told her that I think she is a terrific teacher and that she is doing a fantastic job with this group of 8^th grade students.  I also mentioned that the students always seem so at ease in her classroom and seemed to be engaged throughout her lessons.  She laughed and said that it is hard to keep them actively engaged but feels that this 8^th grade is more mature than last years.  After I put her at ease, I began to ask her a series of questions:

Me: What do you want the students to know and be able to do by the end of the lesson?

Melendez: I want them to become familiar with the testing guidelines and test format for the NYS Science exam.  I want them to be able to display the correct use of the lab instruments.  I also want them to be able to understand the reading and organization of data.

Me: How will this lesson address the NYC Common Core performance indicators?

Melendez: Students will be using lab instruments, manipulating variables, collecting data and applying science content with actual scientific practices.

Me: How will you engage the students in their learning?

Melendez: The students will be engaged by audio (instruction given verbally), visually (measurements, reading) and kinesthetically (writing, data collection, use of lab materials)

Me: What will you be doing during the lesson?

Melendez: I will guide students through modeling and review.

Me: How will the students be engaged during the lesson?

Melendez: Students will have 3 tasks at lab stations.  The students will be describing organisms, recording measurements, and observing organisms on a microscope.

Me: How will you assess the students throughout the lesson and at closure to ensure the lesson objectives have been met?

Melendez: During the lesson I will look over answers and comment to the class on what major pitfalls to avoid.  I will review questions and assess.  I will also grade their worksheets.

Me: Are there particular issues in terms of students instruction that you would like me to be aware of?

Melendez: One student, Sam, has autism and has a para-professional with him throughout the day.

Ms. Melendez informed me that the lesson I was going to observe would take place in the science lab.  The class consists of 31 students and one para-professional.   She knows that the students have not been in the lab for some time but doesn’t expect that to have an impact on the lesson. 

Post Observation Conference

After I observed the lesson, I waited a day to have the post-observation conference.  I went to Ms. Melendez’s room to conduct the post-observation conference.  I immediately thanked her for letting me observe her. I asked her the following questions:

Me: How do you think the lesson went?

Melendez: As far as the organization and pacing of the lesson I think it went very well.  My main goal was to get the students familiar with the state test and I think that was very successful.

Me: I have to agree with you in that the lesson was very successful.  The students were engaged throughout the entire lesson. I know that you were upset that you yelled at the students while they were entering the room, but I think you had a point.  They need to take lab seriously and next year it’s a whole different atmosphere.  They need to understand that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated in high school.

Me: What do you think that most effective thing you did in this lesson was?

Melendez: I think that the task I had set up for the students made them pretty comfortable. My main goal was to have them familiar with the format, organize their work and pace their timing as well.   For the most part, when I looked back at their worksheets, most students were ok with that.

Me:  Have they ever been in that kind of a situation before where they went from station to station?

Melendez: They did it at the beginning of the year but not since.

Me: That’s pretty good that they were able to do that.

Me: What did you want the students to be able to do after this lab that they couldn’t do before? Where they able to do all three things before?

Melendez: They weren’t able to do them successfully.  What I did was after going over their work and saw where there major pitfalls were, I used that as a review for the next lesson.

Me: Do you think that they could do it now?
Melendez: When I re-assessed them most of them were able to do it correctly.

Me: How does this lesson fit in for your overall objective for this course?

Melendez: They are responsible for knowing what a variable is and how to collect data.  They were able to do this. Being able to categorize different types of organisms. They were also able to do that.  Being able to use the microscope and identifying cell parts.  This is something that we need to work on.

Me: Are there things that you would change if you were to teach this lesson again?

Melendez: I wish I had more time.  I would have like to have more discussion after each child finished their station. They had to automatically move to the next one.  If I had more time I could of looked at what students were writing and say “Stop.  We are making some mistakes, this is what we should do.” And than move on to the next station.

After the questions were answered, I give Ms. Melendez feedback.  I start by saying that I would like to share a few thoughts with her.  I talked about what went well with the lesson . I let her know that the lab room was both physically and psychologically safe for the students. The students are comfortable with her as a teacher and feel comfortable when asking questions. I told her that I enjoyed the lab activity and I do think that the students understood the objective of the lesson. The objective of the lesson was stated at the beginning of the lab.  She communicated  her directions very efficiently and they were specific.  The students understood which stations they were supposed to go to and moved to each station correctly and quietly.   The lesson was differentiated in that students were involved in a variety of science skills.  As I walked around, I noticed students were engaged throughout the entire lesson and were taking responsibility for their own learning.  They were quiet, which is hard to do for 8^th grade students, throughout much of the lesson. I did notice that they were struggling with the completing some of the activities in the station.  I told her I liked how she moved around the room and helped the students when you could.  Another thing that worked well was at the end of  the lesson.  She asked the students what they found to be challenging.  Unfortunately, time ran out  before everyone had a chance to answer the question.  She informs me that she has to work on timing her lesson better. I noticed when I walked around that students were having trouble with using the microscope.  I ask her if the students have ever used a microscope before? She replies, that they have used it before but at the beginning of the year.  This leads me to asking her what she thinks can be done differently or how she can change that so the students can feel more comfortable? She tells me that prior to the lesson she can address the issue of how to properly use a microscope.

Recommendations

One recommendation I would make to Ms. Melendez is that she needs to watch her time management during the lesson.  Although the lab was completed within the 40-minute period, the question and answer part of the lesson was cut quite short.  Ms. Melendez began to ask questions about what the students found challenging about this lab.  Many students had their hands up.  She was only able to answer three questions because the bell rang signaling the end of the period. I felt that she put too much time in explaining each section of the lab.  She read the directions to the students while the students silently followed along.  The directions repeated themselves for two of the sections.  Next time, she should read the first set of directions aloud and have the students read the rest to themselves.  If there are any questions after reading the directions, than she could answer questions.

Another recommendation I would make, would be to review the instruments that the students will be using during the lesson. This microscope station seemed to give the students the most trouble.  They spend a lot of time adjusting the microscope and figuring out how to focus the lens correctly.  A few students realized their mistake and erased their answer but some students ran out of time at this station and couldn’t change their answer.  Before the next lab activity, she can incorporate the proper way to use the instruments into a lesson. 

Critique

I watched the post-observation conference over and over and realized a few things about myself.  I thought I would be a little nervous while conducting the post-observation conference but I wasn’t.  I felt comfortable speaking to Ms. Melendez.   I do think that has to do with our friendship. I didn’t want to observe any of the high school teachers because I do not have a close relationship with any of them.  I am much more at ease with the middle school teachers.  I should have pushed myself and observed a high school teacher.  This would of made me a little nervous and taken me out of my comfort zone.  I do get nervous and feel uncomfortable when it comes to talking about curriculum and observations.  This is one area that I have to work on and really try to concentrate on for next school year.  

I thought that I did a good job in communicating with Ms. Melendez.  I asked her questions and let her respond.  There were many times we talked about the response before going on to the next question.  While watching this part of the video, I felt like it was more of a conversation than a critique of a lesson.  I used a pleasant tone while speaking. It wasn’t harsh at all. I was at ease while conducting this interview and my body language showed it. I sat relaxed in the chair and even put my hands through my hair at one point.  I did however use my hands a lot when speaking.  That is a habit that I need to work on.  It is a hard one to break but I am going to try and learn how to speak without my hands. Also, I know that I need to work on my facial expressions.  I am constantly reminded of this both at home and school.  Many times I talk through my facial expressions instead of using words.  This is something that I have been trying to really work on.  When I don’t agree with someone or can’t be bothered with what is being said in a conversation, I make a face.  I know that it is unprofessional but it is a hard habit to break.  The one positive thing is, is that if  I agree with the conversation, the smile on my face is a big as can be. 

I know that I should have used some of Danielson’s key words when explaining how the teacher can improve the lesson.  I didn’t use any specific words to help her out.  I also should have explained that I used Marshall’s framework to observe her.  I didn’t explain SOTEL to her and wish that I did.  This would have given us both practice with this type of observation. 

Although there are areas that need improvement, I felt that I did a good job with the post-observation conference.  I put her at ease and felt comfortable when speaking to her.  I liked the atmosphere in that it felt more of a conversation than an observation.  I will however look to challenge myself in the future and observe a high school teacher.