Lisa Patterson's Observations

Date	Time of Observation	Teacher	Grade / Subject	Class Make-up of Students
9-20-07	11:00 – 12:10	T/1	4 / English – Language Arts	Regular Ed. Students of Varying Abilities
10-3-07	12:20 – 1:20	T/2	5 / English – Language Arts	SPED Inclusion LD & Reg. Ed. Students
10-23-07	8:20 – 9:20	T/3	5 / Science	SPED Inclusion Mildly Impaired & Reg. Ed. Students
11-15-07	8:10 – 8:40 9:55 – 10:25	T/4	3 / Math	Regular Ed. Students of Varying Abilities

In order to help me make sense of teaching and learning in the diverse school context, I observed the teachers above for the following reasons: each teacher is new to our school; to familiar myself with each teacher’s style of teaching; and, to find out how each teacher uses support personnel (SPED co-teacher or para-professional) assigned to her.

I am the Instructional Coordinator in our school of 750 3^rd – 6^th graders. I observe teachers on a regular basis. I was especially interested in these observations because each of the teachers I observed is being trained to use Learner Focused Schools (LFS) best teaching strategies, a shared vision supported by our school community, in their classroom instruction. I was pleased to find each of the teachers using LFS strategies effectively. Various LFS strategies I observed include, GPS standards and elements posted as essential and key questions, hooks to begin students thinking, acquisition lessons, the use of graphic organizers / visual aids, performance based activities, evidence of current vocabulary use, on-going assessment, etc.

I recorded my observations and spoke with each teacher directly to point out strengths I saw in the lessons and suggestions of possible improvements in the future. I gave each teacher a copy of the written observation. T/1 requested ideas of ways she can differentiate instruction to meet the individual needs of her students. I scheduled a meeting with her to offer suggestions in this area.

T/2, T/3, and T/4 utilized their co-teachers or para-professionals effectively. Each co-teacher participated in the oral presentation of material, monitoring of student behavior, and assisting individuals and small groups of students with their assignments. However, T/1’s para-pro just sat in the back of the room and watched T/1 teach. When I met with T/1 in our post-observation conference, we also brainstormed ways she could use her para-professional to support instruction.

As I continue to develop leadership skills through my role as Instructional Coordinator, I will strive to uphold ISLLC Standard 1 – Facilitates a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community; and Standard 2 – Sustains a school culture & instructional program conducive to student learning & staff professional growth.