Focus Task Time

Peer observation is a proven strategy for increasing your effectiveness as a teacher. Research has shown that focused, specific, data-rich feedback and collegial conversations lead to real improvement in practice.

Each App in this suite is designed to give teachers feedback on one element of their practice. By inviting a colleague to observe how much class time you devote to your instruction and how much is given over to student work, you can best make decisions around how much you want to use of each.

Focused task time: Linear time graph

What this App measures
This App measures the amount of time a teacher allocates to teacher direction, student work time and teacher-student collaboration.

Why that matters
If the focus is student learning then it is important to see how much time is allocated to that practice. Teacher direction and input are essential but the focus should be on student learning. As one philosopher has said, ‘If students are not learning am I really teaching?’ See more on the video.

What you need to know to use this App effectively
The data collection relies on the observer making judgements about the action in a classroom – in blocks of one or two minutes. For each block of time the observer must decide if the action was more:
• Teacher direction
• Student work time
• Teacher/student collaboration
The teacher and the observer should agree in advance on how these three categories will be defined e.g. when the teacher is working a group of students and other students are on task, or how is a whole class discussion to be categorised?

What does the data show
The data shows in a clear visual format how much time was allocated in the lesson to each of these three types of activities.

How the data can be used in teacher coaching
This data should be gathered over a substantial period of time e.g. a full lesson. There is no correct proportion of time that should be allocated to each of the three categories in any given time but the discussion with the colleague being observed should focus on, ‘Was sufficient time allocated to student learning?” which can lead to ‘How do we know?’ and to questions on assessment of student learning.