It's lesson observation time at our school, and everyone is getting anxious and comparing notes. I always promise myself I won't get worked up, but I always do 
.
To cheer myself up, and to remind myself that judgements can be a bit abitrary, I wondered if fellow teachers would share the most pointless feedback they have received. I would like to offer the following:
"Just do exactly what you are doing but better!" (said to a colleague who asked for specific strategies to move a lesson from good to outstanding)
"Why did you waste 10 minutes having them read the book aloud? Wouldn't it just be easier to show them the film?" (said to me, an English teacher).
And my personal nadir of feedback bollocks: "you achieved the objectives, the behaviour was excellent, they all made progress, but it just didn't feel right. So I'm grading it "requires improvement"...
Anyone got any more?
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What's the most useless piece of feedback you have received after a lesson observation?
LizzieVereker · 19/09/2013 23:10
The piece of information that has of course improved my teaching BEYOND BELIEF is "... needs to tie her hair back!"
Same HT also commented on my use of ICT (something that I have been picked up on as being partic strong in EVERY obs ever bar this one) despite not even being able to switch on the projector with a remote when covering my class.
Not obs feedback but the bit that stuck in my throat (& still does) is being told that I'd raised my game/ was lucky with a grade 1 lesson in an obs despite me teaching a lesson that was the same style/ type as I have done a number of times in a number of schools. Same HT AGAIN!!!
Unsurprisingly I left above school as did most of the staff whilst HT maintains they are perfect!!! 
'Your lesson was satisfactory. I think.'
'What could I have done to improve it?' (This was in my NQT year).
-'I don't know'.
Yeah - you're stuffed if the observer has a vested interest in looking better than you - for example if they're not very good at obs themselves and only scraped satisfactory during Ofsted (and that only because the inspector didn't have the balls to fail SLT)
I had feedback on a lesson once where my mentor talked to me about the fact that I had used 'they' instead of 'he/she,' as in 'A pupil will stand at the front of the class. They will do x/y/z.' I was a bit miffed at that as it was put down in black and white as 'must improve written grammar'
I was told that the Good with elements of Outstanding lesson (when Good meant 'Good,' not 'Alright, I suppose') could only go down as Satisfactory because, although I'd been over several times what we would be learning about and what I was looking for, I hadn't actually uttered the words "success criteria." To eight year olds.
Friend's daughter was told as a student that she couldn't have Outstanding because the class teacher didn't believe in giving Outstandings to students, otherwise they wouldn't have anything to work towards. When she asked what, therefore, she should work towards, the teacher said "I don't really know." 
I moved the tables during an observation once to do some roleplay, revealing a crisp packet which I quietly put in the bin. Was told the presence of the crisp packet meant the lesson was only a 3. Well, that and the fact the observer could not judge how well I had set the lesson objectives - because he was 10 minutes late
I got a Requires Improvement last year because 'You obviously weren't at all well & the students picked up on it - two of them were definitely off task.'
I did indeed have the galloping lurgy, had already been told by dh that I was a loon for going in & had (very briefly) considered ringing in sick - because it was Random Observation Day, & I knew I'd get a crap rating if chosen.
Under normal circumstances, if too ill really to be at work but not actually completely incapacitated, I'd stagger in, & dig out the trusty 'do a worksheet for the first half of the lesson & you'll get a video to watch for the second half, I'll just sit here & go "uuuuurrrrgh" from behind my tissue occasionally' lessons - every Scheme of Learning has one. I really don't do time off ill! So it seemed dishonest not to drag myself in as I normally would just because of a possible observation.
Sure enough, I was picked, so I attempted the all-singing, all-dancing lesson I'd planned a week previously; only I shambled through it like something off Night of the Living Dead. Don't actually remember much about teaching it tbh.
Best of all, it took 6 months before I got my feedback. Luckily, I'd had an Outstanding since then, as the policy is that two RIs means that a 'support programme' of additional observations gets put in place, since you're obviously shite...
I did take this up with the DepH who observed me, who said quite reasonably 'Well, it's not like I could have given you constructive criticism. It was a very well planned lesson, it's just that you clearly needed to be tucked up in bed rather than delivering it. I'd just have had to tell you to FFS ring in sick next time. & we're certainly not going to be encouraging staff to do that - the whole place would fall apart!'
So that was helpful .
'The children were really excited during the activity. They created their own learning as well as working towards the learning objectives.'
This was a negative ... and I teach NURSERY!
The head didn't like that afterwards the children 'went off on a tangent' and started experimenting with the resources and learning about distance as well as size. Instead of sticking rigidly to the LO as 3 year olds obviously should
oh yes Little Machine, I am in EYFS and I share your pain. Ofsted chap who came to us just didn't get child initiated at all. Ten minutes before obs HT tells me I have to do Maths, instead of phonics as timetabled, 'and he wants to see you teaching. Cue bewildered 4 year olds sitting in groups for a Y1 lesson. That part got a good 
Crazy ninah! I got a 3 for my exciting activity with independent learning
I'm yet to receive any targets, 6 months later. Despite it apparently being so crap.
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My colleague got a 3 yesterday because some of the nursery children were playing side by side and not together.
Yes. Nursery children. For whom this is a normal stage of development.
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