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Don't Hide Your Eyes - SUPERVISE!

By Rachel Stern, ISJL Director of Education
 
Supervision is the way that we check in on our teachers and identify ways for them to grow. There’s basically no con to supervising your staff. When supervision is done effectively, it involves both parties and has a shared goal driving it. While there are no cons, however, there are some downsides if we do it ineffectively; it can feel invasive and result in both teachers and supervisors being more divided than before the supervisory experience. Here are some tips to get it right.

Dos:

• Set a time to meet beforehand and set up the time to be observed in the classroom. It should never feel like a surprise. The classroom observation should be laid out to describe exactly what will happen so that everyone will feel at ease.
• Come up with something that both parties identify as an area for growth. Growth doesn't imply that something is wrong, it can also mean that a teacher wants to try out something new and would like some guidance or feedback.
• When the supervisor enters the classroom, try to disrupt as little as possible. The goal is to blend in—students should not notice anything out of the ordinary. Solely observe, do not comment, interrupt or intervene. Letting students know that we are always working on making our teaching better is a good thing!
• Document what you see so both teachers and supervisors can have a written occurrence of the observation to reference. You may even draw a map of the classroom to help you reference the experience while debriefing.
• Always set up a debriefing meeting to discuss what was seen and lay out follow up steps strategies to achieve the set goal. You can even set this date before the observation to make sure it is on your calendar. The results of this meeting may lead to setting up a follow-up observation.
• Make sure to stay in touch and check in on progress.

 
Don'ts:

• Supervision is meant to be a proactive tool, making sure teachers are supported and can be set up for success. Don't use supervision as a negative response for when something goes wrong. It's not a punitive tool, but a tool that can build a great relationship between teachers and supervisors.
• Don't pop into a classroom unannounced for formal supervision. If you as the supervisor don't have the real time to devote to a planning meeting and a set aside time for observation (not a five minute pit stop), then your presence will have no purpose and you will be causing more harm than good.
• Don't keep your observation to yourself. Even if you see something that needs correcting, the communication with the teacher needs to be open and fair. If a teacher needs to improve something, they need to feel a sense of trust and respect from the person guiding them. It's tough to hear that you are missing the mark.
• Don't just point out a problem without offering some strategies to turn things around and the support needed to do it.
• Don’t just make supervision a one-time situation that comes only when there is time. Plan for it and show your teachers that they are a priority.
• Don’t do supervision for only a specific set of teachers—it may seem like you are singling them out and erode their confidence (not to mention your relationship). You may even want to have teachers formally observe and “supervise” you in a teaching setting as a learning experience!

 

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