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Quality Teaching and Learning Evaluation


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If your name isn't listed, please choose "Other BT Staff"





If Program is unclear, please choose "Other Programming" and enter the Venue or Site name.


Where was this observation conducted?


** If the name of the adult being observed is unknown, please enter "Partner" as First Name and "Staff" as Last Name. **





Number of Students

Number of Adults (not including the teacher)



Overall Notes to Observers
  • Before using this tool, you must be familiar with the dimensions (see next page for an overview) and indicators of quality used to assess teaching and learning. This will make your evidence more comprehensive and accurate. 
     
  • Throughout your observation, you are looking at how adults and youth each contribute to a setting where: 
    • SEL Centered learning develops self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills to better cope with everyday challenges and effectively problem-solve.
    • Youth Voice advances learning opportunities to contribute to their own and others’ growth.
    • Culturally responsive learning that acknowledges and anchors curriculum and discussions within the multiple languages, traditions and experiences youth carry with them and seek to draw upon. 
  • The focus of the observation is both on the adult(s)’ and youth’s behaviors during the session you observe. Both of them contribute to the overall climate, content, challenge, and expectations you observe.

  • Where the term “youth” is used, it refers to many, not just a few individuals. Moreover, it refers to the participation by a range of young people (in terms of race, gender, physical abilities, etc.).

  • Keep in mind that you are rating the quality of the instruction and learning as you observed it in the session. You are not rating the quality of the overall program as you know it or have heard about it. An excellent instructor, working in a widely-respected program, can lead an uneven, or even a poor, session depending on many variables, including what youth bring, or fail to bring, to the learning.

  • Some indicators may not occur if a lesson does not lend itself to a particular activity within the allotted time of the observation. Select N/O (a.k.a., not observed) if this is the case. 

Page 2

Six Dimensions of Quality Teaching & Learning

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As planned, ...


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CREATING A CLIMATE THAT SUPPORTS LEARNING


Review rubric below.  For each row, consider the "Look-For" and choose the description to the right that best corresponds with what you did or did not (N/O) observe.
6DQr Banner - Beginning to Exemplary
Signature Practices & Routines 
N/O
 Adult uses simple routines and signature practices to organize activity (e.g., clapping for attention, welcome, and closings).
1
 Adult engages youth in routines and practices characteristic of the activity or discipline (e.g., pre-game warm-ups, brain breaks, mindful moments, focusing exercises).
2
 Youth use and contribute to established routines (e.g., leading a class warm-up or closing circle, setting up materials in a new way) while adult(s) facilitates.
3
 Youth create and lead routines that expand how the group works together (e.g., proposing new way to warm-up or to close a session).
4
Positive Atmosphere
N/O
 Adult sets rules to maintain a positive atmosphere (e.g., post and refer to rules, monitor behavior).
1
 Adult establishes and models positive interactions (e.g., calling youth by name, using gallery walk to ensure everyone's work is seen).
2
 With support from adult, youth create a classroom community where there is mutual respect (e.g., offering constructive feedback).
3
 Youth take responsibility for positive atmosphere, modeling, peer-to-peer respect and value, as well as youth-to-adult respect.
4
Interaction
N/O
 Adult sets up activities to facilitate youth engagement (e.g., assigning roles, allowing for some choice).
1
 Adult fosters positive interactions among all participants (e.g., using small groups, creating specific classroom roles).
2
 Supported by adult, youth interact in positive ways that build a community (e.g., using "circle time" to process a difficult event).
3
 Youth actively call for and contribute positive interactions that sustain community where their own and others' identity and perspectives are respected.
4
Materials
N/O
 Adult provides adequate materials and tools for all participants (e.g., each child has a brush, paper, water, and a shared watercolor set for painting).
1
 Adult ensures that youth have the tools and materials to develop their skills and interests (e.g., variety of brushes, clean watercolor palettes, good paper in a watercolor lesson).
2
 Supported by adult, youth work with tools and materials to execute what matters to them (e.g., supplies, examples of what's possible drawn from artists and peers).
3
 Youth select and use materials, tools, and human resources to problem-solve and generate new approaches (e.g., youth experiment using watercolors in different ways, then choose which they want).
4
Space 
N/O
 There is adequate space in the environment for the activity.
1		 Space is ample, allowing clear sight and easy movement. 
2		 Adult helps youth to adapt their space to support learning (e.g., using a milk crate to store creative writing folders).
3
 Youth create spaces for their learning, sharing, and performing (e.g., creating an impromptu state in cafeteria).
4

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ENGAGING AND INVESTING IN LEARNING


Review rubric below.  For each row, consider the "Look-For" and choose the description to the right that best corresponds with what you did or did not (N/O) observe.
6DQr Banner - Beginning to Exemplary
Goals    N/O Objectives are posted or announced by adult.
1
 Adult engages youth in discussion of the objectives and possible outcomes.
2
 Youth have some voice in expectations and objectives.
3
 Youth create expectations and/or goals for their own or their group's work.
4
Culturally Responsive 
N/O
 Curriculum provides opportunity to explore BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) communities' contributions.
1
 Adult encourages youth to employ their culture, experiences, abilities to extend and/or personalize learning.
2
 Youth take up opportunities to include their culture and experiences in discussions, as well as in their work.
3
 Youth create opportunities to include their culture and experiences in discussions, as well as in their work. They advocate for others to do the same.
4
Differentiated
N/O
 Adult acknowledges that youth have different learning styles, experiences, or abilities.
1
 Curriculum/practice acknowledges and/or incorporates diverse learning styles, cultures, experiences, and abilities.
2
 Youth recognize individual assets and challenges of peers and partner with adult(s) to incorporate everyone in the learning.
3
 Youth build work/learning around the variety of peer experiences, abilities, and cultures.
4
Community Engagement
N/O
 Adult invites community/family members to view final projects/performances.
1
 Adult reaches out to community/family members as sources of expertise.
2
 Youth, supported by adult, draw on the knowledge and heritage of their family and community.
3
 Youth engage their families and communities at many stages in their learning -- intake of new knowledge, practice, creation, and performance.
4
Sustained Learning
N/O
 Adult reminds youth what they know/can already do.
1		 Adult shares how new work with new challenges can build on strengths/prior knowledge (e.g., growth mindset).
2		 With adult encouragement, youth take on new, harder activities and projects.
3
 Youth pursue continuous improvement and development (e.g., asking questions, seeking help, devising ways to practice, taking on new challenges).
4

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Pages 6-9 are hidden if "Dallas ISD Programming" is selected as the Program Observed on page 1.
Only Dimensions 1 & 2 are being assessed for DISD Programming.  

TAKING PART IN DIALOGUE AND SHARING


Review rubric below.  For each row, consider the "Look-For" and choose the description to the right that best corresponds with what you did or did not (N/O) observe. 
  
6DQr Banner - Beginning to Exemplary
Questions/
Discussion
N/O		 Adult leads the conversation (e.g., lecturing, directing, asking closed-ended questions).
1
 Adult engages youth in questioning and discussion (e.g., asking open-ended questions, promoting youth discussion).
2
 Youth participate actively (e.g., asking questions, sharing information and experiences).
3
 Youth develop powerful ideas and knowledge through discussion with peers and adults (e.g.,  asking each other questions, raising issues, synthesizing ideas).
4
Vocabulary
Concepts
N/O
 Adult introduces key vocabulary and concepts (e.g., the different parts of a song).
1
 Adult connects new vocabulary or concepts to youth's existing vocabulary and knowledge (e.g., applies new terms/concepts to songs youth know).
2
 Youth use key vocabulary and concepts to develp their own work/activity (e.g., youth generate original songs illustrating new terms/concepts learned).
3		 Youth present or extend their own or analyze others' work using the vocabulary and concepts they have learned (e.g., youth use these terms/concepts to help one another revise their songs).
4
Equitable
Exchange
N/O
 Participation is limited (e.g., involves only a few youth and the range of recognized rewarded responses is narrow).
1
 Adult facilitates equitable participation and a range of perspectives (e.g., acknowledges all who contribute, encourages wider participation).
2
 Youth share diverse perspectives, experiences, and belief systems (e.g.., discussion includes multiple voices that are all heard and acknowledged).
3
 Youth actively and respectfully share, critique, discuss, and analyze (e.g., youth and adults collectively extend learning by pulling and weaving in diverse viewpoints).
4

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ACQUIRING THE SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND PROCESSES


Review rubric below.  For each row, consider the "Look-For" and choose the description to the right that best corresponds with what you did or did not (N/O) observe.
6DQr Banner - Beginning to Exemplary
Skills &
Techniques 
N/O		 Adult presents or demonstrates skills, concepts, and techniques (e.g., shows how to hand-build pottery).
1
 Adult models skills, concepts, or techniques with opportunities for youth to try out the skill (e.g., adult builds a pot, youth follow model to make own pot).
2
 Youth, with adult support, explore history and diversity of experiences that bring meaning to skills and knowledge (e.g., Native American pottery tradition).
3
 Youth design and execute works or practices of their own that draw on and contribute to existing possibilities (e.g., youth design, execute, fire, and glaze vessels that reflect their heritage).
4
Knowledge
&
Concepts
N/O
 Adult presents information to youth (e.g., adult explains the different functions in a digital camera).
1
 Adult engages youth in active learning (e.g., youth take pictures that illustrate a list of different perspectives and effects available on their digital cameras or phones).
2
 Youth experiment and explore using a range of sources (e.g., youth research history of self-portraiture then produce a selfie using variety of digital functions).
3
 Youth generate new knowledge and powerful ideas that they share with others (e.g., youth curate an exhibition of their portraits in a local library with suggestions for books exploring similar themes).
4
Heritage
&
Tradition
N/O
 Adult mentions BIPOC and non-Western contributions (e.g., adult shows a view on hand clap games that traveled from Africa to the U.S.).
1
 Adult leads youth in learning about the traditions they have inherited (e.g., adult invites culture bearers to the classroom to share what they know).
2
 Adult engages youth to identify culture bearers and share learning with one another (e.g., youth interview their elders about the games earlier generations played).
3
 Youth draw on their own heritage and other traditions to inspire and inform their own works and activities (e.g., youth organizae a field day to teach younger children the games of earlier generations).
4
Process
N/O
 Adult teaches youth basic steps in a process (e.g., adult teaches children the steps in planting and nurturing a seed).
1
 Adult provides the parameters for a process -- steps, timeline, final product -- for youth to enact (e.g., adult provides garden space, plants, and watering instructions for youth)..
2
 Adult supports youth as they develop a process for their work/project (e.g., youth make calendar for planting, watering, and harvesting a crop of beans).
3
 Youth design and execute a process that applies what they have learned and has personal meaning (e.g., youth design, plant, and cultivate a garden based on personal or community mission).
4

Page 8

CREATIVE CHOICES


Review rubric below.  For each row, consider the "Look-For" and choose the description to the right that best corresponds with what you did or did not (N/O) observe.  
 
6DQr Banner - Beginning to Exemplary
Original
Work
N/O		 Adult asks youth to use their imagination but offer no supports or entry points (e.g., while writing an essay, youth are asked to "be creative" but logistical demands seem paramount -- must be 3 paragraphs).
1
 Adult creates projects/practice that inspire youth to imagine and provide structures to support them (e.g., prompt for essay invites diversity of possibilities and adult promotes youth voice).
2
 Youth take on the challenge to work creatively in ways that reflect their original ideas and draw on their personal experiences and interests (e.g., youth write about personal experiences and mix in cultural slang to create vibe).
3
 Youth create original work that advances learning and showcases new possibilities for work and its messages (e.g., youth write stories with a personal message and a call to action that will help them/their communities).
4
Inspiration 
N/O
 Adult asks youth to notice or identify creative choices others have made that personalized or innovated (e.g., using video clips, adult shows how new choreographers have changed traditional ballet).
1
 Adult creates assignments or projects that call on youth to find inspiration in many places (e.g., an assignment to create a dance phrase using a wide range of inspirations:  everyday life, popular culture, the animal world).
2
 With adult support, youth create work that draws on many sources of inspiration (e.g., youth choreograph original pieces inspired by their own experiences and observations).
3
 Youth make work and respond to their peers' use of experience, heritage, and others who have come before (e.g., dancers perform original work and write/speak about what inspired them).
4
Ways of
Working
N/O
 Adult provides highly structured steps and processes (e.g., in a theater class, adult lays out steps for creating a character).
1
 Adult provides open-ended structures designed to help youth accomplish creative work (e.g., in theater class, teacher offers guidelines for creating a character).
2
 Youth explore how to create processes in ways that inform and sustain their original work (e.g., youth go to a mall and observe people to add dimensions and specificity to their character).
3
 Youth use processes that work well for them and support peers in doing the same (e.g., youth share their processes for creating and inhabiting characters by performing for and responding to one another).
4

Page 9

EXPECTATIONS, ASSESSMENT, AND RECOGNITION


Review rubric below.  For each row, consider the "Look-For" and choose the description to the right that best corresponds with what you did or did not (N/O) do. 
6DQr Banner - Beginning to Exemplary
Setting
Expectations
N/O		 Adult posts or describes expectations for youth behavior and activities (e.g., the expected features of a landscape drawing).
1
 Adult makes expectations public and debatable (e.g., using rubrics, examples of other youth work, works illustrating excellence drawn from many times and cultures).
2
 Youth try out and react to the standards that adults share, proposing ideas and examples of their own (e.g., youth point out that landscapes don't have to have realistic features like perspective).
3
 Youth collaborate on setting expectations that reflect the diverse approaches they take (e.g., creating an expanded rubric that can encompass sci-fi, anime, and other landscapes).
4
Feedback 
N/O
 Adult feedback is general (e.g., in listening to student poems, adult responds to youth broadly, "I like this," "this needs work," etc.).
1
 Adult feedback is specific to individual youth and the work they are doing (e.g., adult writes comments to youth poets that pose questions and make suggestions for specific poems).
2
 Adult structures opportunities for youth to learn how to offer specific feedback to peers (e.g., youth listen intently during a class reading and write post-it comments to the poets).
3
 Youth offer specific, thoughtful, and respectful feedback to one another (e.g., youth poets have "writing buddies" to whom they respond each week).
4
Reflection
N/O
 Adult states the importance of being able to reflect on own work but does not offer models or time (e.g., there is no time in a theater class to reflect on what went well and what needs work).
1
 Adult models respectful response and reflection among adults and youth to determine next steps (e.g., adult offers notes to actors in a scene).
2
 Youth contribute to respectful response / reflections that open new approaches or ideas for next steps or new works (e.g., youth in a scene share "what did I do well, what can I do better").
3
Youth initiate and lead respectful response to improve their own and others' work (e.g., youth watch a scene in rehearsal and give one another notes).
4
Recognition
N/O
 Adult acknowledges student work based on neatness, completeness, and punctuality.
1
 Adult shares rubric based on continuous improvement and invited youth to offer thoughts and comments to improve it.
2
 Adult and youth co-create a rubric / conduct a discussion that values continuous improvement, creativity, development.
3
 Youth help adults to refine a rubric / expectations that acknowledge many forms of excellence.
4

Page 10

SCORING SUMMARY AND FINAL REFLECTIONS

Overall Scoring Summary


Thank you for your time and thoughtful observations!