Stage 1Pre-observation Conference

Teacher's Task: To mentally rehearse and orally describe the upcoming lesson, including the purpose and the content, what the teacher will do, and what students are expected to do and learn.

Clinical Supervisor's Task: To learn about and understand what the teacher has in mind for the lesson to be taught by asking probing and clarifying questions.

Questions to Consider: What type of data will be recorded (e.g., teacher questions, student behaviors, movement patterns)? How will data be recorded (e.g., video or audio recording, verbatim transcript, anecdotal notes, checklist)? Who will do what in the subsequent stages?

Stage 2Classroom Observation

Teacher's Task: To teach the lesson as well as possible.

Clinical Supervisor's Task: To record events occurring during the lesson as accurately as possible.

Stage 3Data Analysis and Strategy

Teacher's Task: To help make sense of the data (if directly involved in this stage).

Clinical Supervisor's Task: To make some sense of the raw data and to develop a plan for the conference.

Questions to Consider: What patterns are evident in the data? Are any critical incidents or turning points obvious? What strengths did the teacher exhibit? Were any techniques especially successful? Are there any concerns about the lesson? Which patterns, events, and concerns are most important to address? Which patterns, events, and concerns can be addressed in the time available? How will the conference begin? How will the conference end?

Stage 4Conference

Teacher's Task: To critically examine his or her own teaching with an open mind and to tentatively plan for the next lesson.

Clinical Supervisor's Task: To help clarify and build upon the teacher's understanding of the behaviors and events that occurred in the classroom.

Questions to Consider: What patterns and critical incidents are evident in the data? What is the relationship between these events and student learning? Were any unanticipated or unintended outcomes evident? What will the teacher do differently for the next class meeting (e.g., new objectives, methods, content, materials, teacher behaviors, student activities, or assessments)?

Stage 5Postconference Analysis

Teacher's Task: To provide honest feedback to the clinical supervisor about how well the clinical supervision cycle went.

Clinical Supervisor's Task: To critically examine his or her own performance during the clinical supervision cycle.

Questions to Consider: Generally, how well did the clinical supervision cycle go? What worked well? What did not work well? If you could do it again, what would you do differently? What will you do differently during the next clinical supervision cycle?