Classroom Observations
If you would like more information about your teaching skills, your time management skills, your students’ involvement in your course, or your ability to engage all of your students in learning, a CLASSROOM OBSERVATION might be for you. All UC Davis faculty, teaching assistants, and associate instructors can sign up for a classroom observation and confidential follow-up consultation with a teaching consultant, free of charge. Supervising faculty do not need to be involved, but they can be, if you desire.
Applications for classroom consultations
TA/Associate Instructor application
FAQs
What happens after I schedule a classroom observation?
A teaching consultant will contact you to confirm your appointment, answer any questions you have, and schedule a follow-up consultation session.
What happens during the classroom observation?
A teaching consultant will sit quietly in the back of your classroom and take thorough notes on everything s/he sees in the classroom. Inevitably, s/he will miss much of what is happening, but the consultant makes an effort to record information that will be useful to you in increasing your teaching effectiveness. To put your students at ease, it may be helpful for you to explain to them why the consultant is there – explain that you want information about your own teaching and the consultant is there primarily to watch you, not them. The consultant will observe between 20 and 30 minutes of class, then quietly leave the room.
What happens during the follow-up consultation session?
You will view the transcript of the observation with the consultant, who will help you interpret the “data” in the transcript. The consultant will also offer you constructive advice and strategies to consider in your continuing development as an effective instructor. You will find that you get far more ideas for improving your teaching by looking at the 20 to 30 minutes of classroom transcript than you can implement in the current quarter!
What type of information will I get from an observation of my class?
Classroom observations of your teaching are just one method of “gathering data.” When you examine the classroom transcript, i.e., your “data,” there are several types of information you can glean from what you see. The transcript is useful in letting you know
- Time management in your classroom, by you and by your students. For example, do you speak too quickly? Do you pause to give students time to process the information or respond to your questions?
- Spatial dynamics of your classroom. For example, do you speak only to students in the front of the room? Are students in the corner playing video chess?
- Classroom atmosphere. For example, do you make eye contact with your students? Do students stay on task during small group activities?