To help districts and schools improve the organization and efficiency of classroom observations, Teachscape, the leader in delivering Web-based professional learning content, innovative technologies, and expert services to improve teaching practice, has developed Teachscape Reflect Live. This observation management and reporting system allows observers to move from traditional paper forms to a technology-enabled process that allows them to seamlessly schedule classroom observations, collect and organize observation data, align evidence with a framework, and then store it on one secure platform.
“Classroom observations are the backbone of any teacher evaluation system and are necessary in supporting and sustaining data-informed instructional improvement,” said Mark Atkinson, founder and chief strategist of Teachscape. “Reflect Live makes the observation process easier and more efficient for individual observers and teachers, but more critically, the technology greatly increases the manageability and scalability of observations for an entire district.”
With Teachscape Reflect Live, observers can use any Internet-connected tablet device or laptop to schedule and plan observations and request a pre-observation form from the teacher, including lesson artifacts and samples of student work. The system allows observers to take notes during the live observation and associate the evidence collected to framework components. Teachscape Reflect Live comes pre-loaded with Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching. However, districts have the flexibility of loading any instructional rubric and pre- and post-observation forms.
Upon completion of the observation, the system’s reporting tools allow users to see a teacher’s self-review and observer feedback side-by-side, summarize strengths and weaknesses, and document recommendations. Observation data is securely stored for measuring teaching effectiveness trends over time, viewing aggregated results across a school or district, and easily accessing individual observations when needed.
When Teachscape Reflect Live is combined with other recent additions to Teachscape’s evaluation and observation product family – the Framework for Teaching Proficiency System, Teachscape Reflect Video and Teachscape Walk – it creates a comprehensive set of tools that support professional growth, strengthen teaching practice, and provide a platform for scalable, systematic, and consistent evaluations. This, in conjunction with Teachscape’s Professional Learning Suite of online professional development courses, provides a robust teacher improvement program for districts.
