Handout #14
Observation Tool Briefing Template
Gradual Release and Student Engagement
1. Purpose of Observation Tool
a. The purpose of the Gradual Release and Student Engagement
observation tool is to collect information specific to the occurrence
of specific instructional components and the corresponding student
engagement rates. Data are collected related to teachers’ efforts to
set and communicate an instructional purpose and provide explicit
and modeled instruction and guided and independent practice within
a lesson cycle. Data are also collected regarding student engagement
rates specific to each instructional component.
b. The Gradual Release and Student Engagement observation tool is
designed to paint a picture of instruction within a school building
and/or within specific classroom as well as students’ engagement in
response to the instruction.
c. The Gradual Release and Student Engagement observation tool can
be used to collect snapshot data if the goal is to determine schoolwide, grade-level, or content-wide instructional and engagement
trends. In this case, observers would spend between 8 and 12
minutes observing within each classroom. If a team desires to
collect information which can be used to guide professional
development, coaching, and planning with individual teachers or
teacher teams, it is recommended that the observation team plan to
observe complete lessons which may require an observer to observe
a lesson over more than one day.
2. Process of Data Collection
a. The observer first observes the teacher behavior and determines
which instructional component the teacher is engaged by comparing
the teacher’s behavior to an operationalized behavioral definition for
each instructional component.
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b. After determining the correct instructional component, the observer
places a tally mark in the box corresponding with the appropriate
instructional component and immediately turns his/her attention to
the student behavior.
c. The observer counts the number of students demonstrating
engagement by comparing each individual student behavior with the
operationalized behavioral definition of student engagement which
corresponds with the indicated instructional component being
implemented by the teacher. For instance, while a teacher is
engaged in “Setting Instructional Purpose and Priming Background
Knowledge,” engaged students would “sit up, lean forward, ask
questions, provide input and respond to teacher questions, and track
the speaker with their eyes.” Record the number of students who
are engaged and not engaged in the corresponding boxes.
d. It is important that observers use the operationalized definitions of
engagement specific to each component, as different student
behaviors would be indicative of engagement within different
components of the lesson cycle. For instance, students would be
expected to demonstrate active collaboration with peers within
structured learning activities during guided practice with peer
support while more passive engagement (e.g., listening with eyes
tracking speaker) is more appropriate during explicit instruction.
e. When a teacher moves from one instructional component to another
(e.g., from guided practice back to explicit instruction or from
modeled instruction to guided practice) the observer marks the box
next to the newly demonstrated instructional component. It should
be noted that it is not expected that teachers would necessarily
move through the gradual release process in a linear fashion or
within a single class period. Thus, observers may witness teachers
moving back and forth between the various instructional
components. At the same time, observers may witness only some of
the instructional components during the observation cycle.
3. Process of Data Summary
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a. When data are collected with the purpose of identifying trends in
instruction and engagement across the school, a grade level, or
content area, data are summarized first by determining the percent
of observation periods within which each specific instructional
component was observed (e.g., 65% of teachers were observed
providing explicit instruction while 17% were observed providing
guided practice with teacher support). Second, the percentage of
students engaged during each observed instructional component is
calculated. This information is recorded on the observation summary
sheet (see attached).
b. When data are collected to provide specific feedback and guide
professional development and support for individual teachers, data
are summarized by indicating which instructional components were
observed during the lesson cycle and the corresponding student
engagement rates during implementation of each observed
component.
4. Expected Impact/Use/Implications
a. Data collected utilizing the Gradual Release and Student Engagement
observation tool can assist school and district teams in understanding
instructional trends within their school overall, at a specific grade
level, or within specific content areas. The tool can also be utilized to
provide specific feedback to individual teachers regarding their
implementation of a gradual release of responsibility model. In
addition to these initial implications, the data collected can be used
to understand the connection between specific instructional
components and student engagement rates. This information can be
used to strategize methods for increasing student engagement
through the manipulation of instruction. For instance, a team may
find that students are most highly engaged during guided practice.
This information may be utilized by the team to plan and implement
additional guided practice opportunities. The observation tool has
been scaffolded to meet the needs of educators with various levels
of comfort and expertise with gradual release components and with
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measuring student engagement levels (i.e., operationalized
definitions of each instructional component and student engagement
within each component). These scaffolds allow the tool to be utilized
for self-reflection and peer coaching and does not require an
extensive amount of training prior to utilization.
5. Relationship to Prioritized Focus Areas
a. Standards-Based Instruction
b. Student Engagement