Sample Observation Letter to Departmental Faculty
Swarthmore College Education > State Review
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Thank you so much for agreeing to observe __________ in his classroom. The observation by a faculty member within the student's discipline has several purposes. First, it provides the student with feedback from yet another person, someone who may see the classroom differently than does the student's cooperating teacher and college supervisor who observe the student on a daily and/or weekly basis. Second, it provides the student and the Program in Education with some insight into the student's ability to translate key concepts in the field of study into activities, procedures, discussions and presentations that lead to student learning.
To these ends, we recommend the following procedure:
- Meet with the student prior to the observation to hear about
the class(es) you will observe. The student should fill you in on
the content being taught, goals and approaches, and plans for the
specific day on which you will observe.
- Following the observation, meet again with the student to
discuss your perceptions of the class and how they match the
student's goals, plans, and views of what occurred in the class.
Through our own weekly observations of students we work to help
them become proficient at reflecting on their practice. They tend
to be quite open to feedback and interested in others' perceptions
of what happened in the classroom.
- Write a letter to the Teacher Education Committee, addressed to me, summarizing your observations and analysis. This letter goes into the student's Education file, along with letters from the cooperating teacher, supervisor, and other faculty who have worked with the student. The file goes to the Teacher Education Committee (made up of College faculty) which decides whether or not to recommend the student to the Pennsylvania State Department of Education for certification. This is not so much a letter of recommendation as it is a reflection on what you have seen in the student's class. We would like to receive this letter by January 5, 2001.
Please feel free to call me if you have any questions about the observations or the letter. And again, thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Eva F. Travers
Professor and Chair
