Clinical Supervision

Reflection

Kimberly R. Scott

Clinical Supervision I

On Monday, March 21, 2011, I conducted a pre-conference with

Michelle Springer, a fellow third grade teacher at Bearfield Primary School.

Prior to our pre-conference, I emailed Ms. Springer pre-conference questions so she would be familiar with what I was going to ask her prior to the conference.

During our pre-conference, I asked her questions concerning the objectives that would be taught. I used active listening. I gave her a chance to talk. I asked her questions that made her think about how she was going to deliver the lesson. I also inquired to see if there were any special circumstances that I need to be aware of while I was in her class.

After conducting the pre-conference with Ms. Springer, I gained insight as to what her lesson would be about. I also had an idea of what she expected to accomplish at the end of the lesson. Ms. Springer gave me an idea of how she was going to assess the students needs. At the end of the pre-conference, I felt it went very well. I felt comfortable going to observe. I left the pre-conference with a feeling of eagerness to see the lesson.

On Tuesday, I arrived in Ms. Springer’s class at approximately 10:30 a.m. The class was transitioning from Reading into Math. The transition was very smooth. As Ms. Springer started her lesson, I took notes on a legal pad as well as on an observation notes sheet. Throughout the observation I focused on Standards II-IV: Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students, teachers know the content they teach, and teachers facilitate learning for their students.

The lesson that Ms. Springer had planned was very good. The teacher used North Carolina Math Coach to review fractions. She called on various students to answer questions. Ms. Springer did not allow wait time for the students to answer. If one student answered incorrectly, she just moved on to the next person. After the students had finished their review, Ms. Springer called them to go to the various stations: Smartboard, Computers, Number

Line, and Games. Prior to the students going to stations, Ms. Springer did not give the students directions. She told the team leader to read the directions to the students. The students were not knowledgeable of what they were suppose to do. As a result, the teacher became frustrated with the students.

After several minutes of stations, Ms. Springer realized it was not working.

She called the students back to their seats.

On Wednesday, March 23, 2011, Ms. Springer and I had our post con- ference. I started the post-conference by asking her how she thought the lesson went. It was a relief that she had recognized what went wrong. She told me that she should have gone over the directions before sending the students into stations. She also informed me that the students needed prior knowledge before going into stations. I listened as Ms. Springer did the majority of the talking. At the end of the pre-conference, I suggested to her that the next time to post the instructions and websites prior to the students going to stations.

As I reflect back, I think my strengths were actively listening to what

Ms. Springer had to say and giving her a chance to reflect on the questions prior to our pre and post conference. I realized I should have let her know what Standards I would be focusing on prior to going into to observe her.

Above all, I think everything went well.

Clinical Supervision II

On March 25, 2011, I conducted a preconference with Mrs. Annette Askew, a second grade teacher at Bearfield Primary School. Prior to the Pre-

Conference, I emailed Mrs. Askew the questions that I was going to be asking her.

During the pre-conference, I prompted Mrs. Askew by asking her the pre-conference questions. She informed me that the lesson that I was going to be observing was a Science lesson on Clouds. She gave me prior knowledge letting me know that this lesson was a follow-up from what they had been studying this on weather. She told me that the students were going to go outside and observe the clouds. After observing the clouds, they were going to come back in the classroom and draw and label the types of clouds they observed. I informed Mrs. Askew that I would be using Standard II-IV as a foundation for collecting data of her lesson. At the end of the pre- conference, I learned that there were some students in Mrs. Askew’s class that were very active.

On Monday, March 28, 2011, I entered into Mrs. Askew’s class at 1:00 p.m. The students were seated on the floor listening to Mrs. Askew read them a book entitled, “The Cloud Book”. All of the students were listening very attentively. Once the teacher finished reading, the students went outside and observed the clouds. When they came back in the class, Mrs.

Askew showed them a chart with the various types of clouds on it. She asked them to name the type of clouds they observed outside. Some of the students were able to name them, but some had difficulties. The ones that had difficulties, Mrs. Askew assisted them. The students were then told to draw the type of cloud they saw outside. The students were very actively engaged.

I could tell they were interested in what they were doing. While observing

Mrs. Askew’s class, I took notes on a legal pad and an Observation Notes page.

Mrs. Askew and I conducted our Post –Conference on March 30, 2011.

I think the post-conference went very well. I had emailed her the post- conference questions prior to our conference. She informed me that she thought the lesson went very well. I shared with her that it was apparent that the students were knowledgeable of what they were doing. I did suggest that she allow the ones that were having difficulties work in groups with the ones that understood. Overall, the second clinical supervision went better than the first. I feel that I was more relaxed and felt more comfortable.

Questions in Regards to Evaluation of Teachers:

1. If teachers do not see what they did wrong, what is the appropriate way

to get them to see it?

2. When is it appropriate to offer suggestions? **These are the pre and post conference questions I used. I hope they were acceptable.

Pre-Conference Questions

1. What objectives will you cover?

2. What exactly do you plan to accomplish?

3. How are you going to assess students needs?

4. Why did you choose this activity?

5. What impact do you think this will have on student

achievement?

Post Conference Questions

1. How do you think the lesson went? What happened

that caused it to go that way?

2. When you think about what you had planned and what

actually happened, what were the similarities, and

what were the differences?

3. As you think about the results you got, what were some

of the ways you designed the lesson to cause that to

happen? 4. When you reflect back, what would you do differently

next time you teach this lesson?

5. As you consider this lesson, what outcomes do you

want to have happen again?

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