When a principal enters a classroom, the purpose should not be to catch the teacher doing something wrong. The purpose is to understand the quality of learning students are experiencing and to identify evidence that can support stronger teaching.
A classroom observation becomes useful when the observer moves beyond superficial indicators such as silence, neat notebooks or a confident teacher presentation. The central question is: What are students thinking, doing, understanding and learning?
This article complements the Classroom Observation: A Practical Guide for Teachers and School Leaders and the Classroom Observation & Feedback Toolkit.
1. Start with the intended learning
A principal should first understand what students are expected to know, understand or be able to do. Without this, it is difficult to judge whether the lesson activities are purposeful.
Look for a clear relationship between the intended learning, the tasks students complete, the questions they answer and the evidence the teacher gathers.
2. Look at students before judging the teacher
The strongest observation evidence often comes from students. Are they listening only, or are they thinking, discussing, solving, explaining, creating, practising or applying? Are most students participating, or only a confident minority?
A lively classroom is not automatically an engaged classroom, and a quiet classroom is not automatically a productive one. Engagement should be judged through purposeful participation and evidence of thinking.
3. Examine the quality of questioning
Notice whether questions simply check recall or also require students to explain, justify, compare, predict, analyse or create. Observe who answers. If the same three students respond repeatedly, the teacher may be hearing only a narrow sample of classroom understanding.
Also look for wait time, probing follow-ups and questions designed to expose misconceptions rather than merely confirm the correct answer.
4. Check whether assessment is happening during learning
Assessment should not appear only at the end of the lesson. A principal should see the teacher reading learning as the lesson develops through questioning, observation, student work, discussion, practical activity, mini-checks or other evidence.
The key question is whether the teacher changes anything in response to that evidence.
5. Look for differentiation without expecting separate lessons
Differentiation does not mean five different lesson plans. Look for sensible adjustments in support, challenge, grouping, questioning, resources, pacing or response formats. Some students may need a scaffold; others may need greater complexity.
The Differentiated Lesson Planning guide provides a useful reference for what planned differentiation can look like.
6. Observe clarity of explanation and modelling
Strong explanations make difficult ideas accessible without doing all the thinking for students. Observe whether examples are well chosen, whether modelling makes processes visible and whether students can explain the idea in their own words.
7. Examine classroom climate and routines
Look for respectful interactions, clear expectations, efficient transitions and students who understand what to do without constant correction. Good classroom management is not simply control. It protects learning time and creates conditions in which students can participate safely.
8. Look for student voice and independence
Students should not always wait for the teacher to tell them what to think. Depending on age and subject, look for opportunities to ask questions, make choices, explain reasoning, collaborate, self-assess or take responsibility for part of the learning process.
9. Check whether resources serve pedagogy
Smartboards, worksheets, manipulatives and digital tools are useful only when they improve learning. A principal should not mistake technology use for teaching quality. Ask whether the resource helps students understand, practise, apply or receive better feedback.
10. Look for evidence of learning, not performance by the teacher
A polished presentation can still produce weak learning. Conversely, a lesson may feel less polished but generate substantial student thinking. The observer should therefore collect evidence from student responses, work and explanations.
11. Notice misconceptions and how the teacher responds
Misconceptions are valuable observation evidence. What matters is whether the teacher notices them, probes them and adapts. A lesson in which no misconception ever appears may simply be a lesson in which students were not required to reveal their thinking.
12. Look at the closure
A strong lesson should not just stop. The closure should help consolidate the key learning, check understanding and create a bridge to what comes next.
A practical principal observation lens
| Area | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Learning purpose | Clear intended learning connected to tasks and evidence |
| Engagement | Most students thinking and participating meaningfully |
| Questioning | Range, depth, distribution and probing |
| Assessment | Evidence gathered during teaching and acted upon |
| Differentiation | Support and challenge matched to learner needs |
| Climate | Respect, routines, safety and productive use of time |
| Independence | Student voice, responsibility and thinking |
| Learning evidence | What students can explain, demonstrate or produce |
What principals should avoid
- judging the whole teacher from one lesson;
- equating silence with discipline;
- equating activity with learning;
- focusing only on teacher behaviour;
- writing personality-based comments;
- giving too many improvement points at once;
- using observation only for appraisal rather than development.
After the observation
The observation is incomplete until evidence becomes professional dialogue. Begin by asking the teacher to reflect. Then discuss what was observed, why it matters and what one or two practical next steps could improve student learning.
Use the Post-Observation Meeting Guide, Teacher Feedback Examples and Lesson Observation Rubric for the follow-up process.
Final principle
A principal should leave a classroom knowing more about the learning than about the performance of the teacher. The most useful observation question is not “Was the teacher impressive?” It is “What evidence shows that students were learning, and what could make that learning stronger?”