A School Leader’s Guide to Promoting a Positive School Culture through the Teacher Observation Process

“What makes a school leader successful today?” 

Roland Barth, author of “Improving Schools from Within” and “The Culture Builder,” answered that question: 

The successful school principal is a culture builder, one who discovers and has the courage and resourcefulness to provide conditions within the school that are hospitable to human learning–that’s what it means to be an educator. Successful principals are maniacally focused on promoting learning. Successful principals are more focused on promoting learning and long-term life-long learning than they are on short-term performance.

Whether you applaud or abhor the educator accountability movement, observing and evaluating teachers will likely be a part of your job description for years to come. This guide should help you strengthen school culture before, during, and after teacher observations.  

Defining School Culture and a Cultural Vision 

Culture is the current way people in your school behave and interact. A cultural vision is the code of conduct you want people to follow.  

To keep a school’s culture aligning with its core values requires that leaders consistently model and encourage the actions they want to see. In cases of extreme neglect, the environment becomes toxic. Aligning your observation practices with your desired school culture is a big step in supporting your core values. These two short videos describe the interplay of mission, vision, values, strategy, and culture in an organization. 

Understanding mission, vision, and values 

Understanding how culture fits in with mission, vision, and values  

Culture is so pervasive that staff who have been at the school a long time may not recognize their culture. They just know, “This is the way we do things.”  For example, do teachers share ideas, resources, and lesson plans or work independently? Outsiders and newcomers recognize cultural differences easier than those who have come to view their culture as normal. 

One teacher recalled the moment she became aware of her new school’s culture. At her old school, a visit from the principal indicated a problem. When her new principal did a walkthrough in her second week there, her anxiety skyrocketed. She stammered and lost her place in the lesson and felt that she failed to make a good first impression. Her teammate informed her later that day that this principal goes to all classrooms in the first few weeks just to see how things are going. Had she known that his visit would not have phased her. 

Distinguishing Observations and Walkthroughs 

Some people use the words “observations” and “walkthroughs” interchangeably; this guide distinguishes the two. Both can be critical components to creating a culture of professionalism. However, only observations are part of the evaluation process. 

A teacher observation typically lasts from 15-60 minutes and uses a framework, such as the Framework for Teaching (FFT), with specific criteria the observer should be looking to find. The observer is trained in using the framework to observe, evaluate, and provide feedback. 

Observations are either formal or informal. A formal teacher observation is scheduled and lasts close to 60 minutes. They also include documented pre and post-conferences that follow a specific format. An informal observation may be unannounced and last only 15-30 minutes. It does not have a pre-conference but usually has a quick post-conference. Many districts require a minimum amount of formal and informal observations for each teacher. 

A walkthrough takes about 10 minutes or less. They are often impromptu, and feedback is brief, informal, and given almost immediately. Most districts leave the number of walkthroughs entirely up to the administrators’ discretion. Frequent walkthroughs may reduce teachers’ anxiety about observations because they normalize your visits and increase trust.? 

Engage in Conversations Before Observing to Increase Transparency 

Frequent walkthroughs can be instrumental in supporting a professional school culture. Their informality and speed make it easy for administrators to stay updated on classroom activities and needs. Teachers often look forward to walkthroughs because they offer a low-stakes way to show administrators what they are working on, ask questions, and get feedback. Students like seeing their principal in their classroom actively participating in their success. 

Walkthrough feedback usually consists of a few sentences. An example could be “I popped in from 1:15-1:25. You were walking around the room monitoring student writing. I saw all but two children working independently or peer editing. Those doing peer editing were using a checklist. You spoke with the two children who were not working, and they returned to work. I would love to know more about how you taught peer editing and what you plan as the next steps.” 

Walkthroughs foster meaningful dialogue about what you want to see. The feedback allows teachers to adjust instruction before an evaluative observation. These informal interactions also help build rapport and provide you with insight into various teachers’ styles. By encouraging every teacher’s instructional improvement, you nurture their learning curve. Listening to and addressing their questions and concerns reassures them that you view quality instruction as a team effort. 

Pre-observation conferences provide further opportunities for collaboration and clarify how to earn an effective rating. Ask the teacher about their lesson goals, preparations, and concerns. The number of components on a framework can feel overwhelming, especially to novice teachers. To help prioritize essential elements that a specific teacher should work on, you might list and discuss three to five criteria that you will pay particular attention to during the observation. 

Consider Mr. Potter’s story. He was a first-year teacher experimenting with various strategies to engage his students. He noticed that offering students extra computer time motivated them to participate in class. His principal saw the incentive strategy as not aligning with “students taking ownership of their work.” When Mr. Potter saw his evaluation feedback and rating, he felt discouraged. He says if he had known that his principal looked for specific discussion techniques to encourage active participation, he would have practiced that technique. While Mr. Potter appreciated actionable feedback, it eroded Mr. Potter’s confidence in his ability to get an effective rating. 

During the Observation 

Being watched and evaluated makes most people anxious. There are a few things you can do to help alleviate that anxiety. If it is a scheduled teacher observation, arriving on time prevents the teacher from wondering if they should delay the lesson until you come. Being as unobtrusive as possible will decrease the disruption your presence causes. 

Taking accurate, detailed, and objective notes during the teacher observation makes it easier to gather and document evidence. These notes provide information to see growth, collaborate with teachers about the next steps, and discover professional development needs.  

Avoid interpreting what you see because a lack of context can lead to inaccurate or unfair assumptions. Some decisions and actions teachers make are not observable. For example, you may see a student slumped over their desk and that the teacher did not try to engage them. It would be easy to conclude that the lesson failed to engage them, and the teacher didn’t notice. However, the teacher may have learned from an emotional check-in that the student is sad about a personal situation and decided to give them space for the day.  

To gather evidence that aligns with your school goals, consider using a cloud-based observational tool on a tablet. The tablet makes it easy to walk around, take pictures or videos, and upload documents. Cloud-based programs store all the information for later use. For improved accuracy, efficiency, and detail in your taking notes, look for these features in an observational tool: 

• A customizable checklist of look-fors based on the framework your school uses 
• Automatic timestamps with scripting 

• Fields with a drop-down list of choices 
• Houses media and uploaded documents connected to a specific observation/walkthrough 
• Shows teacher-specific historical data in real-time 
• An embedded timer to track various parts of the lesson 

Detailed and accurate notes are invaluable for referencing during conversations with the teacher and when you analyze them later. Teachers are more likely to trust the feedback when they agree on the circumstances. This trust is critical to establishing a healthy culture.  

Delivering Actionable Feedback after an Observation 

Everyone responds to constructive criticism better when it is delivered in a respectful, non-judgmental manner focusing on actionable goals. 

While your outside perspective offers tremendous value, starting the conversation with the teacher’s reflections shows that you respect them professionally. Their insights also help you frame the discussion. Given all the conversations you have had before observation, there’s a good chance they will mention some of the same ideas you were going to touch on. Having them bring it up makes the conversation put you in a position as a trusted advisor instead of an overbearing evaluator. 

You might start the conversation with a general opener, such as “Let’s review what I wrote in my notes and see if we agree on what happened while I was there. As we look, please walk me through and tell me about what you thought went well and your preparation to achieve those outcomes. Also, tell me if you were to repeat the lesson what you might do differently, if anything.” 

Some teachers will need some prompting beyond this. Using language from the framework, talk about your specific notes. For example, you might say, “Let’s talk about behavior management. I heard you explain expectations. Tell me about what elements you consider when setting expectations.” 

As they talk, gently guide them to consider some elements you noticed. You might say, “I saw you speak privately to a few students who were playing while waiting to sharpen their pencils. You asked them to calm down, and they did. Waiting is a common time for problems to occur. Tell me about your classroom routines. Can students get a sharper pencil without waiting for the sharpener?” 

Avoid asking teachers to generate or agree to a new strategy on the spot because that might pressure them before they have time to think and process. Instead, say something such as, “I get to see a lot of successful routines. Here are some suggestions based on what I have seen working. Feel free to ask your colleagues what they do. Decide on some routines that you think will work for you. Let’s get in touch in a week or two and see how things are going.”   

If your observation is part of an evaluation process, you will have to rate the teacher’s effectiveness. It isn’t easy to build culture when rating someone, but transparency, flexibility, and emphasizing the process help teachers trust that you are a team. Tell the teachers their rating in each domain and how you derived at it. If the post-observation conference reveals added information, you might even change a rating. Ask them how you can support their next steps and follow through with the appropriate resources. Remember to check in on them in a few weeks to see how they are feeling and progressing. 

Reduce Stress by Shortening Time between Observation and Feedback 

Filling out paperwork from evaluative observations takes up a lot of time and energy. Many teachers feel anxious when feedback gets delayed in a backlog of administrative duties. 

Observation and walkthrough software acts as a warehouse for all the documentation, including reports, so you don’t need to go shuffling through files. It also speeds up communication with scheduling and automatic responses. Instead of paperwork, you can devote time to building relationships, planning professional development, and infusing fun into the school day. You could even leave school on time without bringing work home! 

Explicitly Explain Expectations for Actions that Support your Core Values 

You cannot significantly improve a school culture without your staff participation. Your role as a leader is to set the tone and encourage staff to continue it through their actions. Staff, especially new ones, have a better chance of acclimating if you specify the school values and how to achieve them. Discussing your values and how to achieve them can be immensely valuable to promoting community buy-in. The following table is only an example of how you might explicitly detail expectations.  

One Action at a Time 

Barth’s notion of success takes a strong commitment to a vision. Culture shifts happen gradually because habits take time to change. Once you decide to develop a healthier school culture, every interaction becomes an opportunity to model the behavior of the culture you envision. With consistent and intentional effort, your teachers may one day echo the sentiments of one teacher who wrote, “I have grown a tremendous amount as a teacher when observation, feedback, and follow-up are done right.” 

eWalk is proud to offer walkthrough and observation software that improves transparency, collaboration, and organization. Schedule a demo today to see how it helps promote a positive school culture.