Policy Studies in Language & Cross-Cultural Education Department
San Diego State University
Observation Prep Form
CONTEXT
Student Teacher: _______________________
Grade Level & Subject: __________________
Lesson Topic: __________________________
Teaching to (# & type): __________________
Observation Focus: ______________________
Next Observation: _______________________
Date & time: ___________________Visit # ______
Length of visit: ______________________________
District & School: ___________________________
Language(s) used: ____________________________
Cooperating Teacher: _________________________
University Supervisor: ________________________
Mark each category with S (Satisfactory), NG (Needs Growth) or NA (Not Applicable to this Observation). Circle or write
in your area of focus. Use the box to the side to record key notes.
__ 1. SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT [CSTP 2/TPE 11,14,15,161] __________________
a. Language Power: How did you support home/school languages/community dialects, and make connections between
languages in this lesson? [TPE 15] Give specific details – avoid generic answers.
b. Community Power: How did you make connections with the community? [TPE 14,16]
c. Student Power & Classroom Management: How did you set up the classroom and the tasks for student self-direction,
self-management & self-evaluation? [TPE 11]
__ 2. PREPARATION & PLANNING [CSTP 3,4/TPE 1,4,6,8,9,14,15] ___________
* Circle if lesson plan was prepared and available: Yes
No
Partial
a. Did you identify the standard/objective & relate it to the assignment/assessment so students were able to understand
what they would be learning? [TPE 9] Why should students learn this? [TPE 5] Does your plan make the purpose clear?
b. How did you relate it to the students’ world? What will it help them explain, express, challenge or transform? [TPE 14]
c. What teaching strategies were you using [TPE 1] to sequence instruction, preview key concepts/vocabulary &
adapt/select materials in L1 & L2 to differentiate instruction & pique interest? [TPE 4,6] How do these strategies reflect
individual students’ strengths, needs, and interests? [TPE8]
__ 3. TEACHING & INSTRUCTION [CSTP 1/TPE 4,5,7,15] __________________
a. Engagement [TPE5]: Teacher spoke ______% (___ min); How many students spoke?_____________
Use the box to the side to list the participation strategies that were used (include when and how) 
b. Differentiation [TPE 4,7]: Did the lesson have strategies that would accommodate a variety of learning needs and
language levels? Who was off-task (___%) & why? How can you transform the situation?
c. How would you rate your communication skills in this lesson (in L1 & L2 as applicable)? Is there anything you want to
look up or double check? How could you improve? [TPE 15]
__ 4. ASSESSMENT [CSTP 5/TPE 2,3,4,7,8] _______________________________________
a. How will you determine if students reached the objective? How will students self-assess? [TPE 2]
b. Differentiation: Will any students need support or extra time for the assessment? [TPE 4,7,8]
c. How will you use information from this assessment to plan or adapt your next lesson? [TPE 3]
_ 5. Student Teacher Self Reflection [TPE 1,5,10,13]: _________________________
* Circle if student teacher had dialog journal available: Yes No
Descriptive
Reflective
a. What was effective in the lesson? [TPE 1]
b. What were students able to do and what did they have trouble with? [TPE 5]
c. What would you change in the social environment, pacing [TPE 10], materials, or instruction?
d. What have you been learning in your credential classes and how does it apply to your class? [TPE 13]
Good: _____________________________________________________________________________
Suggestions: __________________________________________________________________________
Next Steps: ___________________________________________________________________________
1
CSTP = California Standard for the Teaching Profession. TPE = Teacher Performance Expectation.
Developed 8/5/11 by T. Collins-Parks with input from G. Sampson, D. Rider & L. Morales.