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SamTastic Weekly Tip: 1/12/15 - How much is enough?

  • Writer: Jim Mercer
    Jim Mercer
  • Jan 12, 2015
  • 1 min read

How much is enough?


How frequent should observations be? Most SAM teams pay close attention to the frequency of interaction the principal has with each teacher. This is a powerful factor in achieving improvement.


But how frequent should the principal’s observation of a teacher be?


There is not a “right” answer. Some experts suggest ten separate observations in a year. Others suggest thirty. Some SAM teams schedule one observation each week for every teacher.


Most teams vary the kind of observation. In the SAM process there are four:

1. Observation (longer, usually formal/summative)

2. Walkthrough (shorter, usually informal/formative)

3. Work w/students (principal works in a classroom with kids while teacher is teaching, informal/formative)

4. Student Supervision (principal helps redirect students who are not engaged while teacher is teaching, informal/formative)


Talk about the number of observations you want to plan for at your next SAM Daily Meeting. Take a look at your data for the last month. How many times did the principal see each teacher?

 
 
 

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