Guest blogger: The Power of Remembrance on a Teacher’s Pedagogy

Guest blogger: Jeff Henning-Smith, PhD Student, University of Minnesota Elementary Education

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Teachers often want to be remembered.  A bittersweet aspect for many teachers lies in the loss of their class at the end of each school year.  There is no surprise in the loss, and in fact, many teachers, aware of their fleeting time, desire to live on in the memories of their students. What will students remember about their class?  What learning will stay with them? What experiences will they recall year after year, and most importantly perhaps, how will they remember their teacher?  This question represents an important barometer for teachers, but, especially for beginning teachers, it can have a profound impact on their pedagogical development.  How we want to be remembered has the power to alter how we operate in the present and plan for the future. What do teacher statements on how they want to be remembered tell us about how they see teaching as an act of doing and a way of being? Could they be seen as an indicator of their own pedagogical beliefs, or the normed beliefs they feel obligated to espouse?

Teachers are surrounded by discourses regarding what it means to be a teacher at every level of their teacher development.  They are exposed to, explicitly and implicitly taught, and asked to exhibit (and be evaluated on) a wide variety of abilities and dispositions that at times overwhelm, contradict, and possibly re-prioritize the very qualities they are being asked to demonstrate. This pedagogical tension is present in all teachers, but especially in beginning teachers, as they attempt to find and develop their teacher identity. How do we then acknowledge, embrace, and ultimately, better support this pedagogical tension?

When asked how they want to be remembered, teachers often express a desire to be seen as a caring and intelligent person, capable of supporting both their students’ emotional and academic needs.  Based on the responses I got last summer from a group of amazing beginning teachers, it is clear to me that thinking about how they will remembered is a daily act. One teacher told me that she hoped her students would say that “She believed in me and saw my good,” and another said he hoped they would say, “He helped me learn new things and be excited about learning.”  These statements reflected a hope teachers had on how they wanted to be remembered in the future, but they were also statements on what kind of teacher they wanted to be in the present.

I think in the end, teachers want their work to have mattered, to have left a mark. They, like one teacher wrote, “want [their] students to say…that they will miss me.”   

How do you wish to be remembered by your students?

becoming a professional (part 2): working with others

The days of teaching "with your door closed" are no longer viable. Teaching is a collaborative effort, and for the better. New teachers can draw on their experiences during student teaching, when increasingly the model is to use co-teaching to support teacher candidates (and students!) during the student teaching experience. Co-teaching is one aspect of the collaborative efforts in schools, though there are many other ways that teachers need to work with others. The teamwork aspect of working in a school can be challenging but so rewarding. Here are some ideas to keep in mind when beginning your work with others in your new school (or to re-frame your work in your current school, for those with experience!).

1.  Working with others, and guidance from your peers, can help increase your self-efficacy. You may think that it is easier to keep your concerns, struggles, and failures to yourself. But sharing these with colleagues, and getting effective advice, can help make you more successful. Your colleagues are full of expertise and experience - find ways to tap into that.
2. Sharing ideas can save you (and others) time. Yes, working with others can be time-consuming. But when you tackle new projects together, and share what you develop, this can save all of you time.
3. Understanding the school goals can help you be a more productive member of the school community. Spend some time now, if possible, understanding the goals of the school. When you know these goals, and have thought about how your work supports the goals, the better able you'll be to dive into the work of the school. Knowing the school culture, history, and goals is an essential part of being part of the community.
4. Know that what you say and do is important to how others view you. Think about what you say and do, and do what you can to show others the capable, hard-working, respectful, responsible person you are!
5. Focus on student learning. Keep that running through your head as you work in the school and with others. It should be the top priority.
6. Ask for help! Similar to the first point, it is ok not to know things. It's ok to ask for help. Your colleagues expect it when you're new (or even if you're experienced!). 
7. And, on the other hand, be willing to help when others need help. Showing yourself to be quick to help will be a good thing for you in a new school.
8. Remain open-minded. This can be hard to do at times, but is so essential when working with others in a school. There is almost never one "right way" to do something, and you can always learn from others' expertise.

What do you keep in mind when starting a new job or beginning a new collaborative project with others?

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Reference: Thompson, J. G. (2009). The first-year teacher's checklist" A quick reference for classroom success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

becoming a professional (part 1)

The transition from student to teacher happens gradually, and then all at once. You have worked so hard in college throughout your courses, practica, and student teaching - as a teacher candidate. Suddenly, you have a job and are expected to be the full-time teacher for a group of students. Exciting! Terrifying! You have committed yourself the the well-being and success of your students, as well as maintaining rigorous standards of professional practice. But what does that really mean?

Spending time this summer thinking about what is expected of you as a teacher can be a really helpful framework for heading into a new school year. There are so many expectations for a teacher, but here are some of what makes a teacher a professional (adapted from Thompson (2009):

1. Establish positive relationships with every student. How will you plan to get to know your students? In what ways is the curriculum flexible to build on student interests, skills, knowledge? How will you show your respect for students?
2. Honor your students by having high expectations for all. How can you communicate high expectations? How will you differentiate to help all students succeed at high levels?
3. Maintain a productive and safe learning environment. How can you use your classroom to support students in their learning? What organizational structures / routines will support student learning?
4. Accept responsibility for what happens in your classroom. It can be tempting to find many reasons to excuse low student motivation, low test scores, inappropriate behaviors. But taking responsibility for these is empowering. You can do something to fix this! Think about ways to proactively plan for these in your classroom.
5. Initiate a teamwork approach with parents / guardians. What is your plan for working with parents? How will you keep them informed? How will you invite them to ask questions? 
6. Be a life-long learner. Being a successful teacher means that you live a life full of learning. Be open to new ideas, from your students and colleagues. Read. Attend workshops with an open mind. Take risks.

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Reference: Thompson, J. G. (2009). The first-year teacher's checklist" A quick reference for classroom success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

effective feedback

In my graduate course on assessment, teachers spend time observing other teachers teaching for their uses of praise and formative feedback during lessons. It is one of the activities that teachers in the course find most valuable. Not only do they learn new ideas for providing feedback to students (or, sometimes, what not to do), but the act of observing also encourages reflection on their own practices. The right kind of feedback is essential for effective teaching and learning, and several recent reviews of literature on feedback indicate that there is some good consensus on what works and what doesn't work when it comes to feedback.

It can be hard, if not impossible, to carve out time to observe colleagues during the school year, but the summer might provide a perfect opportunity to do this reflective work. You might not have access to summer school classrooms, but if you've got an internet connection, you can do this activity at home.

Review the chart of effective (and ineffective) feedback practices (McMillan, 2014). Then, find a teacher to observe. This can be in a summer school classroom or online. Teacher Tube and Annenburg Learner are great resources for finding videos of teaching. Observe the teaching, and make note of examples of the effective and effective practices you observe.

Do	Don’t
Use challenging yet attainable goals	Use goals that are too high or too low
Emphasize mastery goal orientation	Emphasize performance goal orientation
Ensure that feedback is clear, transparent, and easily understood	Use feedback that is unclear and/or difficult to understand
Compare student performance to standards, criteria, cognitive strategies and precious performance	Compare student performance to the performance of other students or emphasize the person rather than the task
Use a moderate amount of specific, individualized, and descriptive feedback	Use general or vague feedback
Give feedback as soon as possible especially for simple cognitive tasks, tests , and other assignments	Give delayed feedback, except for slightly delayed feedback for cognitively complex tasks, especially for high achievers
Use both verification and elaboration feedback	Use only verification feedback
Match feedback to student ability	Use the same feedback for all students
Focus on key errors and misunderstandings	Ignore key errors
Emphasize effort attributions	Emphasize external attributions
Give feedback as students learn	Give feedback only after performance
Anticipate probable feedback messages	Rely on unplanned or unanticipated feedback

If you're watching videos, you are highly encouraged to do this work on a porch, with a refreshing drink, while the sun is shining :)

After completing this activity, make sure to reflect on your own practices as they relate to praise and formative feedback. What are two things you could make a plan to do next year that will help your students move forward in their learning through your use of formative feedback and praise? Write them down in that notebook of great ideas you keep all summer (you have one of those right? to keep track of the brilliant brainstorms you have while you're on the boat, driving the kids to soccer, or standing over the grill but are sure to forget once back-to-school workshops start? yeah, that one!). Return to these ideas in the weeks leading up to school and throughout September to keep a focus on effective praise and feedback.

reference: McMillan, J. H. (2014). Classroom assessment: Principles and practice for effective standards-based instruction (6th ed,). Boston, MA: Pearson.

end-of-year reflections

It's finally here - the end of the school year. You have been frantically trying to tie up loose ends, final projects, portfolios, exams, fieldtrips. The spring is always a whirlwind.

Before you lock your classroom door for a final time this year, take a few minutes (or more) to reflect on the year. While finding the time to do this might seem impossible, it is one of the best ways for you to think about all you've accomplished and set yourself up for even more successes in the next year.

I really like the list of questions found here: http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/2011/06/20-teacher-end-of-year-reflection.html

In particular, the following questions from the middle of the list might be really helpful for you to consider in planning for 2015-2016:

• What do you hope your students remember most about you as a teacher?
• In what ways were you helpful to your colleagues this year?
• What was the most valuable thing you learned this year?
• What was the biggest mistake you made this year? How can you avoid making the same mistake in the future?
• What is something you did this year that went better than you thought it would?
• What part of the school day is your favorite? Why?
• What were your biggest organizational challenges this year?
• Who was your most challenging student? Why?
• In what ways did you change the lives of your students this year?

Spending some time reflecting on these questions can be affirming as well as provide a roadmap for things to consider in planning for future teaching. 

What is your favorite way to reflect on the end of the year?

coming to a close

Everything has to come to an end, sometime.

― L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz

For those of you dear readers in the midwest (a.k.a. the land of the polar vortex), many of you had your school years extended due to school closings for cold and snow. Those days were necessary at the time, but for many, those added days are challenging now that summer has finally descended. 

The end of a school year is frantic, busy, and bittersweet. I find the reflecting stage of the end of the year invigorating. Many teachers find that they have them most interesting ideas for improvement during the ending weeks of the year and through the summer. Make sure you have a place where you can keep track of your ideas and that they don't get lost in the hustle and bustle of end-of-year packing (and throughout the summer at home). 

This time of year can also be a bit disheartening. There's so much I didn't get accomplished! This can lead to new ideas, though, and you can't forget all that you did accomplish! 

Congratulations on the end of the 2013-2014 school year. For you first year teachers, this is a particularly momentous ending. But with that ending comes anticipation for the 2014-2015 school year. Just don't forget to enjoy a bit of summer before then!

I'll be continuing to post throughout the summer!

self-efficacy

In the midst of testing season, it can feel as though the end of the year is right around the corner. In one way, it is. But most schools have 6 weeks remaining - valuable learning time - to the academic year.

One way to make this an even more valuable time is focusing students on their self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is someone's belief in their ability to succeed in a given situation. Many underachieving students do not believe they will be successful when facing tasks, and this lack of self-efficacy contributes to their ongoing struggles in school.

There are direct ways teachers can influence students' self-efficacy. Robert Marzano discusses seven phases for self-efficacy in an article in Educational Leadership.

The phases include helping your students reflect on the following questions:

1. What do I want to accomplish?
2. Who else has accomplished the same goal, and who will support me?
3. What skills and resources will I need to accomplish my goal?
4. What will I have to change about myself to achieve my goal?
5. What is my plan for achieving my goal, and how hard will it be?
6. What small steps can I take right now?
7. How have I been doing, and what have I learned about myself?

Perhaps a focus on these phases can help support students in the finals days of the year. And as I reflect on these questions, I think I will go through this process myself to improve my teaching for the remainder of the year. These questions can be just as helpful in supporting teacher efficacy as in developing student self-efficacy.

How do you support your students' self-efficacy through the year?

reflecting on the year

At this time of year, amidst grades and field day and packing up classrooms, it can be hard to find a moment to reflect on your school year. But now is the time, as you'll quickly settle into summer mode, and will forget to note the accomplishments and goals you'd like to set for next year. Some important things to consider include:

1. Describe your classroom culture. Were you happy with the relationships you had with students and students had with each other? Is there something that you'd like to improve for next year?
2. How did your classroom management plan work for you and your students? Any changes for next year? Anything you'd like to read up on this summer to prepare?
3. What were your expectations for students? Did students understand these expectations? Were they appropriate for your students?
4. What lessons and units went really well? Which fell flat?
5. Are there resources you need to be more successful next year? What are they and how might you access them?
6. What were some obstacles for you this year? How did you work through them? Are there ways to improve these for next year?
7. Are there concerns that you have for next year? Are there ways you can be proactive in planning?
8. Did you have goals you set for yourself at the start of the year? How was your progress on those?

I hope you can find a quiet moment or two in between end-of-year meetings and business to think about some of these questions to make a plan for next year. It might help focus your summer work and have you head into the 2013-2014 academic year with a solid plan.

What are some other questions you reflect on at the end of the year?

sarcasm

I've sat in on several conversations in the last few weeks with groups of teachers, particularly new practicing teachers as well as preservice teachers, who shared that they enjoy working with older elementary, middle school, and high school students partly because they get to be sarcastic with the students. They said that students think sarcasm is funny and that it is a way to help them connect with their students.

When I hear these comments, I have a hard time biting my tongue. I try to probe for more information about why they consider sarcasm an effective way to build relationships or as an instructional or management tool. It is hard for me not to jump in immediately with how I feel about sarcasm - that it has no place in a classroom. Elementary, middle, or high school.

See, the thing about sarcasm is that at the heart, it is meant to harm. Someone or something is always at the bad end of the joke. Even if it is directed at the teacher themselves, it sets up a classroom environment modeling that it is ok to make fun of others. Teachers do not mean for this to cause harm. But in actuality, sarcasm is hurtful. Criticism of sarcasm use by teachers dates way back, as evidenced in an interesting article by Thomas Briggs at Teacher's College, Columbia University from 1928.

And I'll tell you this - when I observe students in classrooms where teachers use sarcasm, more often than not, most students are visibly uncomfortable or confused by the jokes. There are students that get it and do think it is funny. And some students have learned to laugh even if they don't think something is funny. But what are we teaching them with this behavior? Think about new English Learners in the classroom, for whom every day can be a challenge just to keep up with what is happening in the classroom. How will they make sense of the sarcasm? With so much left to inference and interpretation, it is no wonder that sarcastic remarks can be confusing for all students. Because of all this, I don't think sarcasm helps a teacher build relationships, which is a top priority at the start of the school year. There are much better, safer, kinder ways to build relationships with students rather than resorting to sarcasm.

I can still remember a sarcastic remark my third grade teacher made to me, humiliating me in class when I made a mistake on an assignment. Teachers want students to remember the wonderful learning moments from class, the relationships they built with each other and with them, not for the humiliating, hurtful, or mean-spirited things they say about students or themselves.

This is not to say that students do not need feedback about their performance and behavior. Teachers, of course, have the obligation to provide students with accurate, ongoing, constructive feedback on their progress in school. Sarcasm, though, can detract from the message of feedback because of the emotions that can be tied up in the statement. Feedback is one thing, sarcasm is another. 

I'll be honest, that I can be sarcastic with my friends, and when I started teaching middle school, I resorted to sarcasm in my first year. I thought that the kids could understand it and that they'd think I was funny. The same few students would always laugh at the jokes, but once I really started to reflect on what I was doing and why, I realized that it did not help me reach my goals of helping students learn to be the best people they could be.

A couple of resources to help you think about this. NEA has a piece on building relationships with students that addresses sarcasm and is worth a read. I also love Peter Johnston's Choice Words, which isn't about sarcasm, it is about the power of teachers' words. You can hear a podcast with author Peter Johnston at the link.

As you begin this school year, consider the language that you use with students, the way your powerful words can be interpreted. If you know you use sarcasm in your classes, think about why, when, and how it is used, and perhaps consider other ways to meet your objectives. I think you'll find a better environment for your students and their learning will result.

student surveys

I've talked a lot throughout the year about the importance of teacher reflection. What I haven't spent as much time on is the importance of having students reflect on their learning. I mentioned it in a post on student reflection on assessment, but here at the end of the school year is an excellent time for your students to do some reflecting for their own and for your sake.

Edutopia has a great post on how to design a survey that elicits student feedback. The site suggests creating a survey to get a sense of how much and what students liked about the class and/or school year, what topics they enjoyed learning about the most, activities that helped their learning the most, when they felt frustrated and when they felt successful and respected. You can ask students what advice they'd give to incoming students about the class/grade, and see how they think they've grown throughout the year. You certainly have some additional ideas for what you might be interested in knowing from your students. And if you give a survey to students, consider giving one to parents as well. I always found it very interesting to hear what parents' perspectives were on the classroom.

The information gathered from a student survey can really help you as you begin to refine what your plans are for the following year. Even if you are teaching at a different grade level or school, some of this information will be helpful for you in your general plans for your instruction, assessment, and classroom environment.

A student survey is a great use of time in the final days of the school year.

the end is in sight!

It is hard to believe that there is less than a month left of the school year. You have almost made it! May and early June for first-year teachers is often the reflection phase in the cycle of teaching. You begin to reflect over the year, take stock in the successes and the failures, the changes made in management, curriculum, and instruction that influenced student achievement and development.

If you haven't done so already (and before you get settled into a well-deserved summer break), take some time to craft a new vision for teaching for next year.  Consider:

1. What was my overall impression for the year? How did I enjoy teaching, the school, the students?
2. What were my relationships like with: students, parents, administration, fellow teachers, support staff?
3. What was successful for me and for the students in my class(es) this year? Why was it successful?
4. What concerns me about the progress the students in my class(es) made this year? What else concerns me?
5. What can I try differently next year?
6. What professional development would help me as a teacher?

You probably have a list of things you want to rethink over the summer, and these reflections might help focus what you want to accomplish over the summer. Setting new goals and creating a new vision for your classroom can really help you get excited for a new school year, even when you're exhausted from the current year.

Every teacher, no matter how experienced, can benefit from continual reflection, and these questions can get you started. I have some reflecting to do myself!

** Resources:

http://edbuzz.org/djohnson/2010/06/end-of-school-year-reflections/

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/classroom-solutions/2010/05/improving-instruction-next-year

equity consciousness

The knowledge and skills to educate all children already exist... There are no pedagogical barriers to teaching and learning when willing people are prepared and made available to children. If we embrace a will to excellence, we can deeply restructure education in ways that will enable teachers to release the full potential of all our children. 

- Asa G. Hillard

Something I've been working on lately with teachers is to think about education in terms of equity instead of equality. The difference may be subtle to some, but to me, this is a huge shift in mindset. Equity is about providing the necessary and often different support and resources to ensure that all students can achieve high standards, which is different, then, to treating all students equally.

Your school may have a data team or may even have an equity team in order to wrestle with how to put this mindset to practice in the classroom. What we know from lots of data on schools in Minnesota that your data team might be looking at is that despite our efforts, we have not made enough progress to meet the needs of students of color in our classrooms. When we hold consistent for factors such as SES, students of color continue to fair worse on assessment measures, indicating we still have much more work to be done.

So what can you do? I'll be coming back to this topic several more times in the coming months, but for now, at this point in the school year, I think reflecting on your current practices and building a habit of thinking about equity is the best place to start.

One place I go to in order to prompt my thinking about culturally responsive teaching and a focus on equity is Teaching Tolerance (a site I've mentioned before), particularly the "Reflective Thinking" section of their website. There are some really interesting activities and writings designed to help you begin thinking about equity and culturally responsive teaching. It's a good place to begin.

You, no doubt, have heard a lot about reflecting in your preparation program, perhaps in a Master's program, or in your professional development at your school. And at times it can seem like an impossible task, given the constraints of time. But maybe while your students are taking the MCAs this week, you can use a little of that downtime to think about these questions to prompt your thinking and raise your awareness of your own teaching for equity.

• How do I currently attend to gender, race, cultural and socio-economic equity in my
  classroom and school?
• Who benefits from my current teaching practices and understandings? Do all children, parents and staff benefit equally?
• What knowledge do I have currently about gender, race, cultural, and socioeconomic equity in my classroom and school?
• What assumptions am I making about gender, race, cultural, and socio-economic equity in my classroom and school?
• How do others in my current workplace understand and respond to the issues of gender, race, cultural, and socio-economic equity in their daily work?
• How have I taken account of children's perspectives and experiences on this issue? Do I know what the students understand about gender, race, culture, and class?
• How have I taken account of parents' perspectives and experiences on this issue? Do I know what parents understand about gender, race, culture, and class?
• What are the differences between how I understand the issues of gender, race, cultural, and socio-economic equity and how others I work with understand them?
• Whose interests are served by how I currently understand and practice gender, race, cultural, and socio-economic equity?
• How might I challenge my current understandings and teaching practices and bring new insights to them?
• What in my current understandings and teaching practices might restrict the possibilities I have for working more equitably?
• What would I risk by working on a daily basis to promote gender, race, cultural, and socio-economic equity in my classroom and school?

**Adapted from the Centre for Equity and Innovation, 

Melbourne Graduate School of Education.

These are difficult questions to answer, sometimes because we aren't satisfied by the answers we're able to give. As I stated in the post on Teaching Trayvon Martin, students are interested in talking about race, equity, and culture, and they need opportunities to have structured conversations about these topics with caring adults (that's you!). 

I have found that the more time and energy I spend reflecting on these questions, the more capable and confident I am at leading conversations about equity in my own teaching. The questions posed here will have a different answer on different days, and every year you teach, your experience will lead you to different conclusions about your current understandings and evolving teaching practices. The value in this practice doesn't lie in the answers, but the willingness to engage.

moving beyond disillusionment

A few months have passed since I last wrote about the common phases of first year teachers. At this point in the year, firmly into second semester or starting your final trimester soon, there is a new excitement. Some of it is overwhelming (I only have 57 days left in the school year and I need to accomplish all this?!?!), but some of it comes from taking a look at what you've done so far and how much your students have grown. You might be feeling more comfortable with the curriculum and the workings of the building. Maybe you've developed a unit you're particularly excited to try. Maybe, just maybe, you're able to reflect on what you'd like to do next year. Hopefully, you have moved out of disillusionment and into rejuvenation.

For today's post, I wanted to share an article written by a first year teacher, because I think it will speak to many of you. Posted on the New Teacher Center's website, I think that the experience of this new teacher will strike a chord with you.

How are you feeling at this point in the school year? Are you moving beyond disillusionment?

reflections on grading

Grades. Such a point of tension and anxiety for new teachers. Especially as many of you are now finalizing first semester grades for your students.

Grades can serve many purposes: evaluation of student learning, feedback to students and families, instructional planning for teachers, incentive for progress, and administrative purposes - matriculation, retention, transfers etc. And not all educators share the same philosophy on grades - some educators grade on effort while others see grades as evaluation of academic achievement only. These varied purposes and perspectives makes grading within a team/grade level and/or school difficult - when an A carries different meanings in one class from another.

Regardless of our philosophies on grades, students often think of grades as a mystery, not really understanding what a grade is communicating, if anything! I remember my first year of teaching, I was surprised to hear how varied my teammates' grading policies and philosophies were, and I hadn't really done a lot of reflecting on how I was grading and what purpose grades served in my own classroom. No wonder my students were stymied!

As you finalize semester grades, if you haven't already, talk with students about how their grades are determined. If you haven't had a chance, let them know specifically what they can do to maintain or improve their grades next time. This will vary depending on whether you include effort, growth, or completion of assignments or projects. And whether you allow redos (something I'll talk more about soon).

Perhaps your grading policies need revision based on your experience the first half of the year. And if you change something, be sure to communicate the changes to your students (and why the change). Parents are sometimes left out of these conversations, so let them in on the policies and any changes. The more clear you are with students and parents, the greater the chance that students will be able to attain the high standards you set for them.

References:
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/100053/chapters/What-Are-Grades-For%C2%A2.aspx
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct03/vol61/num02/Grading-Students-with-Disabilities.aspx

learning from others

One piece of advice that new teachers often get is to observe master teachers and learn from them. This is good advice! You've been in your classroom for a few months now, and you have a routine down. Now might be the time to work with your principal to secure a substitute and spend some time in your colleagues' classrooms. Maybe you'd like to observe a teacher at your grade level or in your department. Or maybe you've heard such great things about the innovative teaching of someone way on the other side of the building. Many principals are very amenable to facilitating a day for new teachers to observe the most effective teachers in the building. But even if you can't schedule an entire day away from your classroom, perhaps you can work ahead to use your prep time a few days to observe.

Observing another teacher's class can provide you a chance to see how other teachers run their classroom, and provide an opportunity for you to reflect on your own. More than just meeting and talking with your grade level or department colleagues, you get to see them in action. It can be wonderful professional development for you. I know I learn something every time I'm in a teacher's classroom. It can be most helpful if you go in with some sort of frame for the observation - are you looking for classroom management ideas? How the teacher works with small groups? Maybe transitions are a tricky time for you and you want to observe how other teachers deal with transitions. Are you looking for ideas to work with EL students? Wait time? Questioning and/or discussion techniques? There are lots of things you can consider in prep for an observation. And though not necessary, a framing question for your observation may help you come away with more specific take-aways.

And yes, you did lots of observing during your practica and student teaching. However, this is an opportunity to observe teaching knowing the exact context of your classroom. This will make observations more focused and helpful, because you can have in mind all of your students and your content and your instructional practices as you observe. Plus, it can help you understand your school community better - when you see more teachers in action, you better understand the culture of the school,