The Teaching Observations Form provides a comprehensive overview of my recent observations in a teaching environment. During this observation, I closely examined various aspects of the teaching process from other instructors, noting strengths and improvement areas in my classroom.

Course/Class Details (Describe the context around the class you are observing (e.g., title, day, time, location, number of students, placement in program, etc.):
  • Graphic design course. 10:00 am on a Tuesday with fifteen students
Describe one thing you observed that you would like to add to your teaching repertoire.

  • I like how the instructor used the hands-on approach to the content. It engaged the students in the idea of grid design, though as aninstructor, the silence would unnerve me as they worked. While I focus on group collaboration in the classroom, individual contemplation is highly effective.

  • Although this was only supposed to be one, the True/False game worked really well! The students were talking, laughing and very engaged. I always try to digitize my content, so when I saw the true-false papers being handed out, I thought the students might rebuff the idea as they tend to embrace anything digital. I was completely wrong! There was less focus on getting the exercise to work, and the instructor was able to get to the assessment. I love the idea, and I plan on stealing the idea for my classroom.
Describe one thing that you want to modify or remove from your teaching repertoire based on what you observed.

  • I am eager to pull away from lecture-based presentations. When I am doing it, the students tend to glass over and tune me out after about twenty minutes. The idea the instructor introduced of using individual development of grids and then turning to a partner lends to the think, pair, share model. The students seemed more engaged during this exercise, which helped with encoding. Then, when the true-false exercise was introduced, the material seemed to come to life. Nicely done!
Add any other thoughts or details you want to remember from your observations.

The biggest takeaway from this exercise is that getting the students “hands dirty” really assisted the learning. I loved how the instructor went around the room and took up the subject. The exercise got the students talking about the three different grid layouts. Not such an interesting subject, but it got the students thinking well.

Adapted from the Centre for Teaching and Learning, Georgian College.