ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: With Peer Visits, Teachers See For Themselves How To Improve Practice

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ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: With peer visits, teachers see for themselves how to improve practice

Vol. 40, No. 6

A 1st-year teacher popped into my office to talk about her recent evaluation. Jennifer shed tears as she noted her low scores for poor classroom management that led to too many students not being engaged in the lesson. “I already know I’m having classroom management issues. But what do I do to make it better?” she asked. As Jennifer’s instructional coach, I had already discussed with her techniques that improve classroom management, and the principal had likely given her tips, too. But simply being told what needed to be done wasn’t working for Jennifer. She needed to observe other teachers so she could see for herself what effective classroom management practices look like. Jennifer is not alone in needing hands-on, personalized support. Just like their

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Authors

Catherine Trinkle

Catherine Trinkle (catrinkle@avon-schools.org) is an instructional coach at Avon High School in Avon, Indiana.

References

Burgess, S., Rawal, S., & Taylor, E.S. (2019). Teacher peer observation and student test scores: Evidence from a field experiment in English secondary schools. (Working Paper). Available at scholar. harvard.edu/files/erictaylor/files/teacherpeer-obsv-brt-jan-19.pdf.

Mizell, H. (2010). Why professional development matters. Oxford, OH: Learning Forward.

O’Leary, M. (2013). Classroom observation: A guide to the effective observation of teaching and learning. New York, NY: Routledge.

Trinkle, C. (2018). What’s behind the revolving door: A study of push and pull factors influencing teacher retention. (Doctoral dissertation, Ball State University). Available at https://pqdtopen.proquest.com/pubnum/27543903.html