A simple and quick conferencing protocol (described in my most recent blog post) not only focuses and energizes students’ writing, it also provides administrators with that same focus and energy in their post-observation discussions.

Typically, as administrators are pulled into one emergency after another, observations that they had planned to last a period become 10-minute drop-ins. In such a short time, most administrators are rightly uncomfortable drawing big picture conclusions about a teacher’s overall management skills or their lesson planning.

However, in that short time, administrators can appreciate and advance the teacher’s conferencing skills. If the teacher is using a quick and simple OTSC (over-the-shoulder conference) protocol, a principal can observe 10 of these conferences in 10 minutes. And, these OTSCs are simple to document and do not require much context:

• Did the teacher respond authentically to the student work? 
• Was the teacher able to recognize the student’s skill development or redirect the student?  
• After the OTSC, what did the student do? 

At the post-observation conference of the teacher I discussed in my previous blog about over-the-shoulder conferences, Ms. Laboy, the observing administrator said, “I was excited to see that Antonio sat up when you told him that his use of the word ‘fresh’ was interesting.” And, “You totally made me smile when you got Jessica to say that Langston Hughes was a baby.” The administrator’s authentic feedback demonstrates the pedagogical skill they want the teacher to implement, giving the teacher the experience of being on the receiving end of effective feedback. 

Hearing these comments, Ms. Laboy felt empowered. Her supervisor had noticed her specific instructional moves—and even enjoyed them. He did not fall back on the jargon of the district-mandated rubric but shared his honest reactions. Ms. Laboy, subsequently, was open and comfortable about talking about students who seemed to be stuck. Without prompting, she brought up Emanuel who had only written “I hate this book” and then did not lift his pen after their OTSC. They brainstormed for several minutes about how Ms. Laboy could give Emanuel a way to dig into the text so that he would have a way to start writing about it.

A school-wide approach to student conferencing like the one described above can provide administrators and teachers with the starting point they need to have robust discussions about instruction amidst their fragmented schedules.

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