Post Conference Reflection

• What strengths and/or improvement areas did you notice about the environment and tone of the post-observation?
  

My post observation conference was done in a computer lab while the class was working on Lexia. This was not ideal but we were pressed for time and had to be flexible. Sharon and I sat at a table just across from each other but where she could still see her class. We were only interrupted once, when a student with a hearing impairment was working on the program and needed the headphones unplugged so his assistant could hear the prompts. This student was moved to another location so that we could finish our conference.

Sharon was very open to the discussion. She views me as the expert for integrating the ActivBoard and was looking for ways to make her flipcharts more interactive. I was very positive in all of my comments and encouraging in my statements to improve things. I feel like my tone was always positive. The one critique I have of myself is that I should had her talk to me. I ran the entire meeting with my recaps. I should have asked her how she thoughts things went before launching into my own thoughts and ideas.

• • What strengths and/or improvement areas did you notice in the conference about strategies to improve instruction? Items to look for:

Sharon had specifically asked me to watch for ways she could improve her flipcharts and student involvement. The start of the class we were faced with technical difficulties so I had to come out of my role to get her up and running. In the post conference I reiterated what we had discussed in the pre-conference so that she knew what it was I was specifically looking at.

I always began constructive feedback with a positive comment about something that had happened during the lesson. I did not ask enough probing questions and should have led with some questions that would allow Sharon to reflect on her lessons.

I did not want to use student names due to confidentiality but I was able to recount the actions of several students....such as the one who found the lost penny hidden under the dime.

I shared my observation forms with Sharon who agreed with my assessments

• In the conference, which behavior did you seem to predominantly use? Do you think this was an appropriate approach given the developmental level of the teacher? Briefly explain.
  

I predominantly went with a Directive Informational approach. Both Sharon and I view me as the expert in the integration of the ActivBoard into the classroom instruction. I have worked on the boards for the last 7 years and I do training on the side for Promethean. Sharon received her board 3 weeks ago. She has come a long way. Before making any suggestions I would re-state what I had seen in positive terms, then clarify what I had seen and then finally I would make a suggestion. Sharon did not need to take any of my suggestions, but in fact she chose to try all of them within the last week. She emailed me to thank me and share her successes.

I think this was the best possible approach I could have used given Sharon's lack of experience using this tool. Directive Control was not warranted in this situation, as there was no need for me to make any demands for change. By definition "Directive Informational Supervision is used to direct the teacher to consider and choose from clearly delineated alternative actions" in this approach the "supervisor (me) is the major source of information, goal articulation and suggested practices"(Glickman p156). A collaborative approach is not possible due to Sharon's lack of expertise in the subject matter.

I believe that I clarified, presented and was encouraging throughout the entire experience. I laughed, smiled and still managed to deliver good constructive criticism without stepping on anyone's toes.

It was a great experience even if the whole assignment started out so rocky for me personally.

I am attaching the audio from the post conference to this blog entry.