Performance Task 2: Observation

In my observation of the class on Malala's Magic Pencil that Nancy taught, I chose to focus on area 2B of Danielson, "establishing a culture of investigation and love of literature." My rationale for choosing this area was that I didn't want to focus on behavior, because pretty much every observation I've ever been asked to do focused on student behavior. But I did want to focus in on Domain 2, because I feel that the environment of the library is the first thing you need to get right as a librarian, so I decided to practice looking at the culture of the library environment instead. I do feel as though much of my observation could be equally applicable to 3C, without the added specificity of activities, grouping and materials. I don't think I could choose one area of Danielson as most important overall, but I do believe that setting up the space, procedures and behavior expectations, which are all part of Domain 2, are extremely important first steps for new teachers that can lead to success in their instruction.

Based on the evidence I collected in my observation, I would say that I have strong evidence of Proficient performance in this area, and some evidence of Distinguished performance. The Proficient category describes a LMS who "conveys a sense of the importance of seeking information and reading literature." In my observation, I noticed a depth of engagement with the text, Malala's Magic Pencil, as Nancy referred to multiple prior readings of the book. She asked questions to support activating that knowledge before asking the students to go deeper into the book and "evalute the stories pictures tell and how they connect to the words." Nancy also connected this text to one that students had read previously (Ada's Violin), and recommended other books on the same topic/theme by creating a display. The Distinguished performance level requires evidence that students have internalized this culture, and that came in the form of a student returning to the subject of Ada's Violin and expanding on the connection. I also feel like the degree of concentrated attention, engagement, and eagerness to respond to the questions posed by the librarian indicate Distinguished performance.

I'm not entirely sure I would recommend this particular area of Domain 2 as a place for a mentee to set a goal, as it seems like it could be hard to quantify evidence supporting progress in a formal evaluation process. Brainstorming a bit, I suppose you could use circulation statistics and book award participation as two quantifiable measures, in addition to whatever workshops or coursework the beginning teacher is taking that supports it as well. In my district, formal observations and end-year evaluation are directly tied to whatever domain/area we have chosen for our goals for the year, so it is important to choose something observable and quantifiable when goal-setting. I can see providing advice about goal setting being a bit challenging when mentoring someone who works in another district under a different evaluation process.

While observing, I took my notes longhand, as I have done in other observations. I think in the future, when I have the opportunity to observe in person, I will try typing notes as I tend to type more quickly than I can hand-write. I appreciated that I was watching a video as I could pause the playback when I needed to complete a note. I tried to capture quotes, both from students and from the teacher, that supported the area I was observing on. The other possibility in future observations would be to take a video in addition to live notes. This would both allow me to improve my notes before processing the observation with my mentee. It could also be helpful to watch parts or all of the video together after talking through the notes. I have found it extremely helpful to watch videos of my own teaching in the past, and I think processing them with a mentor, especially when a trusting relationship exists, would be a very useful tool in the process of learning and growing as an educator.

Our work thus far in this course has emphasized for me the benefits I received from having a strong mentor in my first couple years of teaching. I kept a daily reflection journal throughout my first two years of school librarianship, using the high points and things to change model. It was a lot of work to write down those reflections each day, which is why I ultimately abandoned the practice, but I do still make longhand notes to myself in my plan book about aspects of lessons that need to change, as I refer back to those books when planning for future years. I would recommend the same style of reflection to a future mentee, as it was particularly helpful for me my second year to have the detailed information about what worked well for me and what needed to change.