A fresh way of looking at Lesson Observations

1. A fresh way of looking at Lesson Observations Leadership Development Time 10 March 2015 M Quinn

2. How accurate is lesson observations as a measure of successful teaching? ‘Evidence of impact on student outcomes is generally limited.’ (What makes great teaching (October 2014), Sutton Trust) Hill, Charalambous and Kraft (2012) estimated that using observations of practice to produce ratings of teacher quality with a reliability of 0.9 would require seeing a teacher teaching five different classes and having each lesson observed by six independent observers.

3. A fresh way of looking at Lesson Observations “Ofsted does not award a grade for the quality of teaching for any individual lessons visited and it does not grade individual lessons. It does not expect schools to use the Ofsted evaluation schedule to grade teaching or individual lessons.” (Ofsted inspections – clarification for schools 2 October 2014, No. 140169)

4. A fresh way of looking at Lesson Observations Why have Ofsted stopped grading lessons? Aside from teaching the classes, teachers spend an uncounted amount of time planning and marking, running after-school revision, intervention and other clubs. None of that is observed, and arguably none of it contributes to the teacher’s grade. We know that ‘high-stakes’, ‘one-off’ lesson grading systems lead to cultures which are about proving, rather than improving; they encourage performance, not learning (C. Watkins). Teachers play it safe, covering ground they know their students are comfortable with. Grading is unreliable. It is notoriously difficult to train observers so that they will agree on a grade. Because graded lessons are poor predictors of student outcomes. Because 63% of all lesson judgements are wrong (Strong et al, Journal of Teacher Education, 2011.) If a lesson is graded ‘inadequate’ there is a 90% chance a second observer will grade it differently (Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, www.metproject.org)

5. A fresh way of looking at Lesson Observations

7. A fresh way of looking at Lesson Observations The Chace Great Teaching and Learning Toolkit This is not a checklist – do not look for all of this when observing a lesson. Do not look FOR. Look AT This is a toolkit – when you want to improve an aspect of your own practice, or advise a colleague. What should our T&L Toolkit include? Will the new observation form do the job?

8. A fresh way of looking at Lesson Observations “Ofsted will usually expect to see evidence of the monitoring of teaching and learning and its link to teachers’ performance management and the Teachers’ Standards, but this should be the information that the school uses routinely and not additional evidence generated for inspection.” (Ofsted inspections – clarification for schools 2 October 2014, No. 140169)

9. advice on implementing PRP • Appraisal should be a supportive, developmental process designed to ensure that all teachers have the skills and support they need to carry out their role effectively. It should help to ensure that teachers continue to improve their professional practice throughout their careers. • Each school, or local authority, determines its pay policy • Teachers’ performance assessed against Teachers’ Standards and objectives

10. “Assessment to improve practice requires that teachers be open to admitting weaknesses, which can happen only in a relatively non-threatening environment. … Teachers whose work can be improved but who are feeling at risk may understandably be inclined to hide, rather than confront, their problems—precluding valuable formative feedback.” Hinchey (2010)

12. A fresh way of looking at Lesson Observations New CPDP Grid Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be EVEN BETTER. Dylan Wiliam. Front page of portfolio Completed in appraisal meeting Helps set personal objectives Analysed by AHT to establish development priorities for the school Sample evidence – what could go in here?