negative lesson obervation

[UmberTraybake]

Class of 2, one attended. Feedback said too much teacher talking even though there was only one very introverted and shy child and no one for her to pairwork with. Class is also very high level so lecture-style works for that particular class.

Feedback also said the powerpoint suggesting pairwork suggested the lesson was not tailored to the student even though there is normally another student who did not attend that day.

AIBU to think this is slightly unfair feedback?

We can't judge that, you need to discuss it with them, or someone in your niche teaching position.

I would laugh like a drain and write a response asking for suggestions to help my learning. Spell it out to this dickhead.

Impossible to say if the feedback was unfair on the information given - but a couple of thoughts:

• Could ‘too much teacher talk’ indicate a lack of other tasks (eg written, applying what they’ve learned etc), rather than just referring to lack of pair talk?
• I would probably agree that the whole class should not be prevented from pair discussion because of one shy child. For example, you could go over and talk to that child about the discussion topic, while the others are in pairs.

As teachers, we can always improve and develop, and perhaps there is some useful learning from the feedback? Try not to take it personally.

Sorry I misread your post - a class of 2 and 1 attended? Sounds very unusual and even more difficult to comment!

A lecture style PowerPoint for a single student, really? When student 2 didn't turn up it sounds like the lesson plan needed a major rethink and adaptation to suit the changed needs of the 'class'.
Sorry , the feedback sounds fair to from what you've said here.

Do you imagine that the teacher can do any replanning once the lesson has started? All you can do is adapt what resources you have, which it sounds like OP did.

Are all of your classes this small? If not, this sounds like a really unsuitable class for an observation to be done on. Even if they’d both been there it would have been difficult to demonstrate everything observers are looking for.

Sounds bizzare feedback - were they a subject specialist?

My job involves a lot of observation outside of my subject - I judge what I see against a reasonable set of criteria. There's no single "tick list".

I saw A level German and y8 PE last week and was able to comment on both effectively. An observer should be capable of adapting to the class in front of them, just as the teacher has to be.

Not all observers are able to appreciate that there different curriculum needs

Do you imagine that the teacher can do any replanning once the lesson has started? All you can do is adapt what resources you have, which it sounds like OP did
@Talltreesbythelake you can't replan an entire lesson's content, but any teacher worth their salt should be able to think on their feet and adapt the way they deliver that content according to the situation and students' needs. Standing at the front delivering lecture-style in a one to one session with a reticent student doesn't sound like much adapting. OP could have sat next to the student, done the pair work with them as partner etc