Reflective Summary of Clinical Supervision Model
Summary of Clinical Supervision Cycle
Introduction
The clinical supervision model for conducting observations has been used in the education field for decades. Clinical supervision involves a teacher receiving information from an administrator, colleague, peer coach, or mentor, who has observed the teacher's performance and who serves as both a mirror and a sounding board to aid the teacher in critical examination of a specific aspect of their instruction and possibly alter his or her own professional practice. Clinical supervision is an instruction improving tool in which a high degree of mutual trust and commitment to growth is required on the part of the teacher and observer. The structure of a clinical observation cycle includes five steps: 1) pre-conference, 2) observation, 3) analysis and interpretation, 4) post-conference, and 5) critique.
While classroom observations are most often conducted by supervisors or principals, for the cycle referenced in this summary, I conducted an observation of a fellow teacher. We worked together to complete a clinical supervision cycle at a day camp where we both teach part time during the summer. The classroom (and I use that term loosely) used for this observation consisted of fifteen second grade students (or at least students around the 2nd grade age range.) The students come and go from week to week, so there is not much consistency through the summer. The education side of the program was designed to simply keep students/campers in the mind set of learning throughout the summer. Because students come and go fairly regularly lessons are project based with projects lasting only one week. Needless to say, Mrs. J and I are both aware that the structure of the clinical supervision cycle would be the same, but the experience and impact on student learning would be different if conducted with our school students during the regular school year.
Step 1: Pre-Observation Conference The pre-observation conference serves as
Introduction
The clinical supervision model for conducting observations has been used in the education field for decades. Clinical supervision involves a teacher receiving information from an administrator, colleague, peer coach, or mentor, who has observed the teacher's performance and who serves as both a mirror and a sounding board to aid the teacher in critical examination of a specific aspect of their instruction and possibly alter his or her own professional practice. Clinical supervision is an instruction improving tool in which a high degree of mutual trust and commitment to growth is required on the part of the teacher and observer. The structure of a clinical observation cycle includes five steps: 1) pre-conference, 2) observation, 3) analysis and interpretation, 4) post-conference, and 5) critique.
While classroom observations are most often conducted by supervisors or principals, for the cycle referenced in this summary, I conducted an observation of a fellow teacher. We worked together to complete a clinical supervision cycle at a day camp where we both teach part time during the summer. The classroom (and I use that term loosely) used for this observation consisted of fifteen second grade students (or at least students around the 2nd grade age range.) The students come and go from week to week, so there is not much consistency through the summer. The education side of the program was designed to simply keep students/campers in the mind set of learning throughout the summer. Because students come and go fairly regularly lessons are project based with projects lasting only one week. Needless to say, Mrs. J and I are both aware that the structure of the clinical supervision cycle would be the same, but the experience and impact on student learning would be different if conducted with our school students during the regular school year.
Step 1: Pre-Observation Conference The pre-observation conference serves as