Transforming School Culture through Lesson Observation

A Collective and Collaborative Approach

Christine Cunniffe

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9780367196431
• eBook ISBN:
  9780429515514
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Classroom Management

This book sets out a three-stage programme for lesson observation showing how a collaborative whole-school approach can transform the culture of the staffroom and improve outcomes for pupils. Focusing on the emotional environment of the classroom, the relationships between teachers and pupils, and teaching and learning outcomes, it will enable schools to provide a consistent approach to lesson observation where good practice can be celebrated and shared.

Revealing the positive impact of the programme on pupils' engagement and exam results, co-operation between departments and teacher wellbeing, the book:

• Provides clear guidance on implementing the programme and adapting it for different contexts.
• Shows how data can be used for both Ofsted and Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) inspection documentation.
• Adresses key issues such as culture, staff psychological contracts, the emotional environment of the school and leadership development.

If you are looking to make real impact within your school and bring about change for the better, the three-stage lesson observation programme is the tool for you. This innovative approach brings consistency, parity and fairness to lesson observation creating a secure and safe environment in which pupils can learn and teachers can teach.

Part 1

CHAPTER 1What lesson observation is and current attitudes to it

This chapter explores what lesson observation is, its purpose and general attitudes towards it. This chapter explores the backdrop to traditional lesson observation practice and why it needs to change.

So what exactly is lesson observation? Technically, it is an opportunity for a teacher to be observed by another member of staff to get feedback on their practice in order to develop and grow. In reality, lesson observations are often not warmly received and can be seen as a threat with opportunities for misuse. It is important to understand how lesson observations are currently viewed and used in order to put the three-stage lesson observation programme into perspective and identify how different it is from the one-off snapshots of traditional practice.

A fear of being observed

I remember my first lesson observation, after qualifying as a teacher in 1994, was actually during an Ofsted inspection when I worked in a challenging comprehensive school in Stevenage. I can remember pulling into the car park on the first day of the inspection and feeling physically sick with nerves.

Looking back, I think I must have bored the inspector senseless; being part of a 1.5-teacher music department and there being a dedicated music specialist on the team, the poor man sat through my lessons hour after hour. On reflection, though, I feel sorry for him rather than myself: my teaching was boring. Boring because of the absolute fear I had of the accountability placed at my feet as a new teacher in the position of Head of Music. My lessons that week were not typical in that I had planned listening-related lessons to the nth degree because I couldn’t trust the pupils to do a practical lesson. This was a school where pupils routinely jumped out of windows to chat with pupils next door. In the plaster wall of the temporary building where music was taught, the imprint of a pupil who had launched himself at it the week before spoke volumes about the challenges we had. It wasn’t just a lack of trust in the pupils – with water running down the walls, one keyboard and a few drums between 35 pupils, practical work was always a mighty challenge itself.

Although the school was a nice place to be, I was left alone, never observed or mentored, and Ofsted was something to be feared and not embraced. Created in 1992, Ofsted represented a new regime and the first inspections took place in 1993 to drive up standards. In my first year of teaching, I was unaware that I was technically in my probation year and yet I never had a meeting with a senior member of staff and didn’t complete any paperwork, unlike the current system. Without a doubt, if I had taught in this way in the present system, the best scenario is that I would be on capability procedures, and worst case: fired!

Back then, and even today, there is widespread fear of being observed. Often linked to annual appraisal, probation, quality assurance, identifying under-performance and assessment that reports as judgements (Gosling 2005), lesson observations are the single highest cause of disputes and grievances in the sector, with reports of bullying and favouritism among managers (Allen 2014). The most significant issue of observations in the past has been the one-off planned observation that has resulted in over-planning, which is time-consuming and a false snapshot of the learning experience for pupils. Pete Smith in the Guardian of 24 July 2013 likens one-off observations to the smell of fresh paint in a hospital when the Queen is about to visit (Smith 2013).

The problem with traditional lesson observation is that the title ‘lesson observation’ itself breeds fear. With anything we do, while we are being watched we are conscious that someone is making judgements about what we are doing, which is very personal; and the essence of human nature is to feel wounded and threatened by judgement. It takes a person with a very thick skin not to be affected by scrutiny. Traditionally, there has always been a motive for lesson observation and it usually has had negative connotations.

What’s the problem?

Association with appraisal or teacher training

Schools have different ways of undertaking lesson observations, but they are normally associated with appraisal or teacher training. Usually booked in advance, the lead-in time to an observation can be an extremely anxious time for the teacher. The amount of planning that goes into the planned observation is nonsensical. It’s not a special occasion and surely the same amount of angst and planning should be put into every lesson. I remember a very irate teacher literally attacking a line manager for cancelling a lesson observation when she had put so much work into it! One lesson on its own and out of context does not show a true representation of what is going on in the classroom. Not only does the observer know this, the teacher does and so do the pupils. As part of the three-stage lesson observation programme, pupils are given feedback forms including the question, ‘Is this a typical lesson?’ I can assure you the response to this for the first round of the three-stage lesson observation programme will be overwhelmingly ‘No’. So a member of staff may receive some good feedback from the snapshot lesson, but what happens now? Is it a case that the box is ticked and no further activities, projects or INSET happens? Are good practices shared and developed as a department, or noted and then filed away? What good comes out of traditional lesson observation? How flawed is the process?

Staff experience

The workload, angst and opportunities for abuse in the system are hot topics for unions and those more militant staff in the common room. There is an unprecedented amount of negativity in online forums and in staff bodies generally, and very little positive is seen in the traditional process. There is much dissent towards and ridicule of senior leaders, which would not be tolerated in corporate life and many other businesses. There is a vicious circle of antiquated and mismanaged lesson observation procedures that cause grievance and distrust, fuelling further ‘them against us’ scenarios. I carried out a survey as part of the research for this book to gain an insight into attitudes towards lesson observations and included a comments box to gather qualitative feedback. Although the responses were quite limited, I was taken aback by some comments including a statement that lesson observations were morally and ethically wrong. Online forums don’t really get much better, with a tremendous amount of negativity and senior management slating. Maybe it is just the negative teachers taking the opportunity to moan but it doesn’t make good reading for those on the outside, especially the apparent bad relationships between staff and management in schools.

Although unions are trying to protect their members – and rightly so against bad and unscrupulous management practices – the shop-steward culture of the 1970s and 1980s is still prevalent in some of them. In their attempts to dictate how many hours a year a teacher should be observed, the notice period before an observation, as well as what the process should consist of, they are sending negative connotations regarding the value of lesson observations, which adds momentum to the vicious circle. How many other professions would be restricted in how often they observed the work of their employees to ensure standards and compliance?

Observations linked to appraisal are normally carried out by a member of staff more senior to the teacher being observed – normally a head of department. The focus of the lesson observations would be centred around pedagogy, content, activities and pupil outcomes. Like any exam, based on a one-off judgement, it is only natural that a member of staff is anxious and will not enjoy the experience. Add in a line manager with an unpleasant disposition, and a school culture of bullying and unfair practice – the experience can be short of terrifying.

The purpose of the three-stage programme

By having three stages the observation programme communicates to staff that time and care is being given to them to coach and mentor staff through what they are already doing and what could happen next, really focusing on the learning environment. Through a consistent approach to observation and subsequent discussions across the school, a holistic picture of what is happening can be determined and staff can be directed towards other good practices across the school, promoting collaborative working between departments. With this programme, staff know that everyone is going through the same process, with the same people, and they can feel reassured that their experience is no better or worse than the next member of staff. By the time the second cycle of the three-lesson observation starts, staff know what to expect and have a shared vision of what the school is trying to achieve. Soon, the process becomes firmly embedded into the culture of the school. The three-stage lesson observation programme takes away the fear of observation and allows for meaningful staff development that improves teaching and learning.

Who can observe lessons?

Traditionally, lesson observations are carried out by heads of department or senior managers as part of performance appraisal (here, for me, lies the problem). All staff should have the opportunity to share good practice, although the time constraints of heavy timetables often do not facilitate this, and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) have a requirement to observe their own and other departments (this is great and not a problem). Forward thinking and proactive staff will seek out other members of staff who may be particularly good at one aspect of teaching, such as behaviour management, to improve and compare their own performance – but not all staff embrace this opportunity. Good practice such as peer observation should be part of the teaching and learning culture of the school. What the three-stage lesson observation programme promotes is that whoever undertakes the lesson observation as part of this programme is clear that it is not linked to appraisal, and the focus is on the emotional environment of the school. Ideally, the headteacher or senior manager should undertake this observation to gain a holistic view of the emotional learning environment in school.

In conclusion

Lesson observation practice in its traditional form just doesn’t work. No one should be fearful of being judged in any part of their work but instead be celebrated. Teachers have the subject knowledge through their degrees and teaching qualifications and have all been through a robust probationary period. We should take excellent teaching and knowledge as read and focus on what really matters: a healthy emotional environment where learning is vibrant, inspiring and celebrated.

Schools all have different cultures. You would hope all have a good learning culture of openness and shared good practice – but not all do. If you want to change the learning culture of your school, where do you start? What does your current school culture look like and what would you need to go through to get it where it should be? What are your obstacles and how do you chip away at resistance to forge a positive learning culture across the school?

CHAPTER 2What is school culture?

This chapter explores what culture is, what school culture looks like, and how we can identify our school culture.

Can you identify the culture of your school? Certainly, during the interview process we get a feeling of whether we would fit into a school – a place where we feel we belong. But how do you measure it and decide whether it needs changing? If an internal promotion, you know the devil you are dealing with, but if an external promotion, when do you really find out? Identifying your school culture, what it is, what it stands for and whether it works for what you want to achieve is an important step in establishing a collaborative culture.

Once you have identified your school culture and what you want to achieve you can use the three-stage lesson observation programme as a tool to help establish cultural change. This chapter explores organisational culture, theory behind it, the importance of culture and how to plan change.

A little background to organisational culture

Interest in organisational culture really took off during the 1980s, primarily due to the economic success of Japanese organisations. Japanese organisations had committed workers and were highly profitable, seemingly as a direct consequence of this strong culture. As a result, research surrounding organisational culture gained momentum, and studies revealed that it had a direct impact on productivity, efficiency and profitability. The research also revealed that Japanese companies operating outside Japan and with non-Japanese workers were still highly effective and threw into question national culture as a determining factor (Linstead et al. 2004). The rise of literature in this area coincided with the emergence of human resource management (HRM) and within this department predominantly lies the responsibility of organisational culture. This will become more apparent and understandable as this chapter progresses, explaining the tangible and intangible HRM processes that shape employee beh...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Preface
• Introduction
• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• References
• Index