Be a Fly on the Wall
Whether you’re a new CLASS observer or you’ve observed in hundreds of classrooms, you may wonder about or struggle with where to position yourself in the classroom during an observation. There’s no straight answer to this conundrum since every classroom and each day is different, but it’s all about finding a delicate balance between being as non-obtrusive as possible (we at Teachstone like to call this being “a fly on the wall”) and still being able to see and hear what’s going on.
How Close Is Too Close?
You want to position yourself close enough to the teachers and students that you can see their faces and hear what they’re saying. Let’s face it—unless you have some really cool super powers, you likely won’t be able to accurately assess interactions if you’re standing on the opposite side of the classroom from the teachers and students. You’ll either miss important things or you’ll be forced to do some inferring, which of course, is a no-no when using the CLASS, a tool that requires very specific, objective observations. On the other hand, you don’t want to be so close to the teachers and students that you get in the way or disrupt the flow of the classroom.
Find Your Sweet Spot
Here’s where the balancing act comes in. You can think of yourself as a spectator at a sporting event. Aim to be in the middle section of the stadium—that’s your sweet spot. You’re too close if you’re in the front row and can reach out and touch the sweat dripping off the players, but you’re too far away if you’re in the nose-bleed section and can’t tell who just passed the ball to whom. After all, there’s no jumbotron in the classroom!
Follow the Teacher
Some activities are more stationary in nature (i.e., circle time), while others involve more moving about (i.e., free choice/centers). If the teachers and students are staying stationary for a particular activity, it’s probably best for you to choose a single spot to stand for the duration of the activity. Don’t forget your clipboard so you have a hard surface to write on! If there’s a chair in close proximity that’s not being used, you may even decide to sit, as long as you can clearly see and hear what’s happening. If the teachers are moving around the room, interacting with students in different areas, you’ll want to follow the teachers around to make sure you catch the interactions they’re having with the students. Often, during activities like small groups, the students will be split into groups, each working with a different teacher. If possible, try to position yourself somewhere in between the two teachers and listen in on both conversations. However, this can be tricky. In cases like these, it usually makes sense to split your time and observe one teacher for a little while and then move over to observe the other.
Easy as 1, 2, 3!
In nutshell, you’ll want to consider where the teachers and students are located and what they’re doing and use your professional judgment to make a decision about where to be at any given time. Just remember the keys to success:
- Remain inconspicuous.
- Make sure you can see and hear.
- Move around as necessary.
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!
