UCLA Center X Teacher Education Program

MS/SS Observation Form

Novice/Apprentice/Resident Teacher Date

Observer School/Class

TPE 1: Pedagogical Skills Observer Commentary
Elementary Core Practices
Opening move
Questioning and responding
Secondary Core Practices
Engaging students in rigorous content
High Level Tasks, Concept Maps
Engaging students in discourse
Learning Cycle ?s, Think-Pair-Share
Providing Equitable Access to Content
Form. Assessment, Word Bank/Wall
Developing a positive classroom ecology
Opening/Closing Rout, Comm Circle

TPE 2: Monitoring Student Learning
Checking for understanding
Asking & answering relevant questions
Other
TPE 3: Use of Assessments
Use of criteria/rubric
Taking formal assessment
Completing projects
Student presentations
Other
TPE 4: Making Content Accessible
Accessing prior knowledge
Referencing lived experiences
Scaffolding
Other
TPE 5: Student Engagement
Student participation
Culturally relevant materials
Other
TPE 6: Developmentally Appropriate
Differentiation
Use of media & technology
Other
TPE 7: Teaching English Learners
SDAIE methodology
Academic vocabulary
Other
TPE 8: Learning About Students
Community building activities
Other
TPE 9: Instructional Planning
Lesson plans
Agenda communicated to students
Other
TPE 10: Instructional Time
Starting and ending class
Transitions
Other
TPE 11: Social Environment
Inviting and clean; safe
Student work displayed
Caring environment
Other
TPE 12: Professional, Legal, & Ethical
Classroom management
Teacher speech: clear, pace, warm, tone

TPE 13: Professional Growth
TEP portfolio
Daily reflections

Observation Focus:


Sarah Patterson May 5, 2014

Observer Name School and Class/Period


Observations/Commentary/Scripting

Sarah begins her lesson by telling the students that it is her first time
doing this type of lesson with them, but she expects them to act the
way that they would if Mr. Salazar was teaching. A student starts to
ask her a question, and Sarah reinforces her previous statement by
telling the group that she expects them to raise their hands if they
have something to say, because then she can see, and she them and
call on them.

Sarah references the book, and asks the group to read the title, which
is They Will Not Quit. They discuss the word quit, and then Sarah
asks the group to close their books so they can go over the sight
words together. After reviewing the sight words, Sarah asks the group
to look at the cover of the book, and then make a prediction about
what they think is going to happen in the book. Sarah asks the
students to keep their prediction in their head, and then they turn the
page to the title page, and they once again read the title together. On
the first page, Sarah asks a student what they think is going to happen
on that page. After the student offers a contribution, Sarah asks the
group if everyone agrees that is going to happen. After they reach a
group consensus, they turn a few more pages, and once again make a
prediction. Sarah then tells the group that she doesn't want to spoil the
story, so she asks them to put their books down and show her that
they are ready to read. Before asking students to read the book, Sarah
gives them the instructions for what she would like them to do when
they are done, which is to look for their favorite page/part, and think
about why. Students read the book out loud by themselves, and as
they read, Sarah walks around to check in and offer support. After a
bit of time has passed, Sarah checks in with the group, and asks them
to give her a thumbs up if they are ready to discuss the story. Students
begin to share their favorite parts preemptively, so Sarah claps to get
their attention, and brings their focus back to her. Once everyone is
focused, Sarah asks a student to share their favorite page, and the
group begins to discuss this.

After discussing favorite parts, Sarah also asked the group if they
found any words that they didnt know when they were reading the
story. After going over those, Sarah tells the group that they are going
to work with a partner and discuss their favorite page, and tell their
partner about it. Sarah tells them that when they discuss, they are
going to have to be really good listeners, because she is going to ask
them to tell her what their partners favorite page is, not their favorite
page.





Questions/Suggestions





TPE 12: Classroom
management







TPE 4: Making content
accessible
TPE 6: Developmentally
appropriate


TPE 1: Pedagogical skills





TPE 5: Student
engagement














TPE 12: Classroom
management

TPE 5: Student
engagement




TPE 8: Community
building activities


Debrief:
In our debrief, Sarah shared with me that she hadnt been able to observe Mr. Salazar lead a language arts
centers until the previous week because she had always run a center during rotations. She ended up
changing things up from her lesson plan to model her instruction after what she saw Mr. Salazar do with
another group that morning, which was going through site words and pictures with the students she was
working with. Sarah said that she really liked that Vartan suggested to do the site words in a different
order, and she liked that they were engaged. She also felt that independent reading went well, and that
this decodable story was a bit more interesting than other ones that she had seen, and she felt that the
students responded positively to that. Sarah felt like an area that she feels she needs improvement with is
management. I encouraged her to continue to remind students of her expectations. I also suggested using
finger pointers (like the kind they sell around Halloween) just to make reading a bit more fun. Also, I
encouraged her to have students share their predictions in a TPS. We talked about how it is ok to assess
student needs in the moment, and adjust if necessary/possible. For example, since her group was
interested in sharing their predictions, asking them to engage in a TPS would allow everyone to speak,
and they could get through that part of the lesson more quickly. Overall, Sarah is making great progress
and the students seem to be responding well to her.



Questions/Suggestions