Trying to decide what to look for when observing your teaching candidate? A number of varied observation tactics are available here. Some are things you may already do, but some are not-always-obvious ways to help your teacher candidate improve their teaching strategies.  Decide what works for you and your teacher candidate, and download an example from below to get started.

Observation Ideas (doc)

Performance Checklist as a Formative Tool- Questions and Prompts 2024 (doc) (pdf)

Types of Collaborative Teaching (doc) (pdf)

What will I focus on during your lesson?

The Observation/Feedback Cycle (doc) (pdf)

Suggestions for both school advisors and teacher candidates on how make best use of suggestions before, during, and after a lesson.

Sample Observations

Observation No. 1 – Response Statements (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 2 – Control Statements (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 3 – Teacher Movement 1 (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 4 – Teacher Movement 2 (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 5 – Questioning (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 6 – Rules/Routines/Procedures (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 7 – Non-Verbal Language (doc) (pdf)

Observation No.8 – Hot Spots 1 (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 9 – Hot Spots 2 (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 10– Ideas on What to Observe in a Lesson (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 11 – Voice and Oral Communication (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 12 – Maintaining Appropriate Student Behaviour (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 13 – Record of Observations (doc) (pdf)

Observation No. 14 – Observation Form for Questions (Bloom’s Taxonomy) (doc) (pdf)

These observation suggestions can be useful tools to determine where your teacher candidate is performing well and where they may need to improve.  Having a wide selection of observation types may also help you write your final report and will certainly give you and your teacher candidate a better understanding of their teaching style and classroom interactions.