A few weeks ago, I jumped on the opportunity to go to Helsinki to attend a workshop on Collaboration and Peer Observation with expert Fran Prolman. The one-day workshop was being held at the International School of Helsinki (their entire faculty was attending) and sponsored by CEESA (which made it free for me to attend, thank you very much!). We had a small crew from Warsaw there, and there were other teachers from Krakow and Riga as well.
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| Did you know . . . HEL is art deco? |
My school brought in Fran this past fall, to work with our faculty on team building and protocols for having those "difficult conversations". Having worked with Fran before, I knew that this would be something worth going to. I really like Fran's straight-ahead, tell-it-like-it-is style of presenting, and how she encourages everyone to engage in professional conversations . . . even when they are difficult ones to have. As I was going to HEL, I had a few "burning questions" (sorry, own intended ;-) in mind for Fran to answer about what I have been doing as a Tech Coach with conducting regular Tech Walkthroughs.
As we progressed through the workshop and got into the meat of Peer Observations, I began to wonder about how my Walkthroughs fit in with the model that she was presenting. To help build a culture of collaboration in a school, having the trust and shared goals in place first, for Peer Observations to take place, are a given. Peer Observations should be initiated by the observee (yeah, I know this is not actually a word but I am going to use it anyway), and they should direct the observer on the areas/topics they want data and feedback on, and the observations are typically longer or even over a period of time.
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| Storm clouds in HEL |
So how do Walkthroughs fit in? That was my new "burning question" that immediately sprang to mind, which Fran answered for me. She told me that my tech walkthroughs were perfectly fine to do, and serve a different purpose than the more formal peer observations. Although the observees are not initiating the walkthrough and are not directing what I am observing, they do know in advance why I am there and what I am looking at (technology integration in the HS). Because the faculty know this in advance and expect me to regularly drop by their class at random times for a few minutes, my Tech Walkthroughs are productive and useful. They have a clear purpose and understood parameters, the most important of which is that I am visiting their classroom in a non-evaluative role. And when the walkthrough turns into a check-in with the teacher (because there is no class), then it is still time well spent through making connections with faculty, building currency, and bringing coaching/support directly to them.
Once I had confirmed with Fran that conducting regular walkthroughs as a tech coach was a good practice, I then pressed on with my original "burning questions" - Should I encourage other faculty to come along on walkthroughs in order to see other people's classes in action? When I observe something in a class where I could suggest a change of approach/delivery/tools, should I give that unsolicited feedback to the teacher?
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| Yes, it does snow in HEL! And they do like the colour red! |
For the first question, I have been trying to get other faculty members to come with me on a walkthrough but I have not had anyone take me up on it. Fran set me straight on this though - this will not work as anyone's class that we walked into will change the dynamic of the walkthrough. In essence, the observee knows why I am there and what I am observing, but they don't know what someone else will focus on or what their goals for being there are. This is where the Peer Observation model comes into play, where the observee directs the observer in what jot look for, collect data and give feedback on. Fran cut quickly to the root of why I shouldn't do this and why it wouldn't be productive, so I will no longer suggest or pursue doing this and I now know why.
For my second question, it is something that I have been wondering about - giving unsolicited feedback or suggestions to a teacher about something observed in their lesson. Fran's basic direction here is "don't do it". Again, relating back to the Peer Observation model, the observee needs to choose what they want to learn about in their class, and direct the observer in what data to collect and what they want feedback on. Giving unsolicited feedback can be perilous - Fran's advice here was to tread lightly or not at all. If you really have to provide some feedback on what you observed in someone's classroom, then you must guide the teacher to think about and reflect upon what you observed. Do not judge, do not evaluate, do not interrogate, do not ask "why" and do not make suggestions on what to do to "correct" the issue. All you can do is gently/collegially/professionally guide the teacher to reflect on what happened and to come to their own conclusions about what the problems & solutions might be. Or just don't say anything at all . . . after all, as a Tech Coach I am not there to evaluate, but to support and coach.
These are my personal takeaways (there were more, but more specific to my school rather than for my role) from a short, one-day focused workshop with Fran Prolman. Each of these items has a direct impact on my daily coaching practice and how I work with my faculty - that's a big win in my books! It's a great feeling coming home from a conference experience with your "burning questions" extinguished, and with practical advice which you can implement immediately . . . well worth the trip to HEL and back.
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