Evaluations: Conducting Observations

Managing Observations

 When you would like to view/manage observations, you will click on the tab in the actions column.

Once you click the "Observation" button, you will be brought to a  "Manage" screen. This screen will show you all of the observations, self-assessment, and the summative the selected staff member has.

Staff Information you can View from Here

You can view different staff information from their "Manage" tab:

• SGO Forms
• NJSMART Information
• Current School Year Summative Report
• PDP Plans

SGO Forms

To view a submitted SGO Form by that staff member, click the "SGO #" button. The PDF report of that form will load for you to view.

NJSMART Information

You can view the NJSMART information that will be sent to NJSMART on that staff member by clicking the "View NJSMART Info" button. The page will reload and bring you to the NJSMART Information.

Current School Year Summative Report

You can view the current school year Summative Report by clicking the "View (date) Summative Report" button. The page will refresh to show you the Summative Report.

PDP Plans

You can view all submitted Professional Development Plans for that staff member by clicking the "PDP Plans" button.

A popup will show you all of the submitted plans. Click the "Print" button next to the plan you want to view.

View Other Observation Data

You can view specific observation data from observations conducted on a staff member by other observers. You can view the Pre-Conference form a staff member filled out, the post conference form a staff member filled out, all documents the observer and observed staff member uploaded to the observation, the observation report, observation rubric, the total observation score, the date the observation was scheduled for, and the date the observation took place. You will also be able to view any response comment a staff member makes for that observation.

Scheduling Pre-Conference / View Pre-Conference Form

On the list of observations you will see a box where the pre-conference can be scheduled, and you can view the pre-conference form. 

When you click on the "Schedule" button, you will get a pop up box allowing you to select dates and times. The first date box is when you would like to make the form available to the observed staff member. The second box is the date the pre-conference will be scheduled or when the request form should be submitted by. There will be a check box below to send the observee and email with the scheduled information.

To View the Pre-Conference, click on the "Pre Conf. Form" button.

You will then see the form as a read only, and it will show you the observee's comments.

Allow Edits to Pre-Conference Form Answers

You can allow the evaluated staff member to make changes/edit to their pre-conference form answers. To do so, view the pre-conference form, then click the red circle icon at the top of the form.

On the popup, you will be prompted to confirm that you want to mark this conference form as unsubmitted. Doing so will make the form editable to the staff member. Click the "Mark as unsubmitted" button to perform the action. The staff member will then make their changes and resubmit the conference form back to you.

Scheduling / Conducting an Observation

 To schedule an observation, click on the "Schedule" button in the observation column.

Once the box pops up allowing you to select the scheduled date and time, you will see two options at the bottom, "Schedule" & "Observe" now. If you click schedule, it will schedule the observation for the date and time which you selected. If you click observe now, it will start an observation immediately.

When the observation is scheduled, a button to "Observe" appears inside the column. The "Observe" button will begin the observation. In this field you will see a tab for Notes, Rubric and the Observation Form.

Notes

When adding notes, if you click the "Add" button will allow you to add any notes. You have the ability to change the field type for your notes. By clicking the "Option" button you can choose the field type you would like. "Single Line of Text" is a single text box, and when pressing the Enter/Return key, it will automatically add the note for you. The "Multiple Lines of Text" field type, gives you a bigger box. In order to add the note, you have to press the "Add" button. The "HTML" field type gives you a larger text box than the other two, with the options for "Bold" and "Italic," but you can only use the "Add" button when adding multiple notes.

When a note is added, you can Edit the note, Map it, or Delete it.

If you click the Map option, you will see a screen that looks like the one below. If a note could be used in more than one area, you can check off the box next to the different components of the rubric.

Rubric

A regular rubric with no critical attributes:

Navigating Rubric Pages

At the very top of the rubric, there is a "Page" control. This gives you the ability to go to the previous page, any page, or the next page. You can either navigate by using the red arrows, or by using the drop down.

You will only see pages for all of the 'domains' or pages of the rubric you are going to score for the current observation.  You may not see the entire rubric: just the pages to be scored 'this time'.

Scoring Rows

Each row has one scoring possibility per page. There are multiple ways to score the rubric. You can either score the cells individually, or score every row the same number. Please note the order in which your rubric is scored. Some rubrics are 1, 2, 3, 4 (, 5) for their scoring layout, while others might be (5,) 4, 3, 2, 1.

Score a Row:  Select a Column

Initially, all cells in the row are up for grabs and all display a Select button. Clicking the "Select" button selects that cell and therefore scores the row.

Selecting All Cells in the Column

Clicking the "All" button at the top of the column selects all cells in the column, as long as they are available to be selected:

If one of the rows already has another column chosen, the "All" button does not change that selection (that is, it skips rows that are already scored).

Deselecting a Column

If a cell has been selected, in order to change your score for the row, you must first deselect the scored cell. When the Deselect button is clicked, the column is unselected and scoring for that row is opened back up.

Critical Attributes

Depending on the rubric your School District uses and it's setup, you may have Critical Attributes to choose from. Two types of critical attributes are:

• Cell Critical Attributes
• Row Critical Attributes

Some Critical Attributes will only display once you score a cell, while other Critical Attributes will display at all times for you to choose from. This is dependent solely on how your School District has chosen to set up the rubric.

Cell Critical Attributes

Cell Critical attributes are specific to not only a row, but a scoring cell.

Row Critical Attributes

Row Critical Attributes are specific to only a row of the rubric.

"Not Applicable"

Throughout the scoring rubric process, you might find that there are aspects of the rubric you did not feel were even displayed during the observation. If this is the case, you will choose the "Not Applicable N/A" option. Selecting "N/A" for any row WILL NOT negatively affect the evaluated staff member's observation score. There are three ways to do this:

• You can choose N/A specifically for a row manually.
• You can choose N/A for any unscored rows per page.
• You can choose N/A for any unscored rows for the entire rubric.
  
  

Choosing "Not Applicable" Per Row

On the left side of the rubric, just to the right of the evidence Notes, there is the row label. The row label cell contains a "Select N/A" button. This will select "N/A" for just this specific row.

"Not Applicable" Mass Select Per Page

To select "N/A" for all unscored rows on a particular page, click the "N/A for All" button. This will set "N/A" for just this specific page.

"Not Applicable" Mass Select Entire Rubric

While scoring the rubric, you can leave any unobserved rows blank until the end of your observation. When you feel you have scored all aspects of the rubric you observed, you can click the "Set all unanswered rows to N/A for all pages". This will mass set all unanswered rows to the "N/A" option.

Rubric Notes

There are three areas within the rubric itself that you can take notes:

• Left side "Note" column
• Scoring Notes
• Page Notes
  
  

The Left Side "Note" Column

On the Rubric screen, the left most column contains links that will let you capture "Evidence" Notes right from this screen, as well as view all of the Evidence Notes that are mapped to each row of the rubric:

If a Note is already mapped to a row of the rubric, a "Note" button appears in that row. If there are no Notes linked to a row, there is no "Note" button:

To add a Note directly to a row, click the green plus sign button for that row. This brings up an "Add Note" dialog box. Enter the note, then click the "Add" button.

*Any Note added here will also appear on the "Notes" tab.

Scoring Notes

When you select a cell to score within a row, a "talking bubble" button will appear. Here, you can also add notes.

Page Notes/Comments

You can also add page notes. These notes are general to the specific page, but not specific rows.

Observation Form:

The Observation Form is where you will be filling out additional narrative questions. Make sure to click the "Save Changes" button to save these answers.

Scheduling Post-Conference/Viewing Post-Conference Form

The process for scheduling a post conference and viewing the post conference form, is the same as scheduling the pre-conference and viewing the pre-conference form.

Make the Observation Event Available to the Staff Member

The observation event will not be viewable to the evaluated staff member if the observation is unannounced. For them to see the observation event to fill out any conference forms, or view your data, you will first need to make the observation event available for them to view. To do so, in the "Actions" column, click on the "Edit" button.

At the bottom of the popup, you will see a check box that says "Show on observed staff's Employee Portal". This will ONLY show the observation event to that staff member. It WILL NOT make the observation rubric and observation report available to them.

Make the Observation Rubric and Observation Report Available to the Staff Member

After you have completed the Observation, clicking on the "Edit" button, you will be able to set a date that the Rubric and Observation Report will be available on the observed staff member's employee portal.

Signing off on an Observation

Once everything has been completed, before signing off on the Observation there are additional options in the last column, "Edit," view the "Document Log," "Clear Observation," and "Sign."

If you click the "Edit" button, you will be able to edit the Observation.

The "Document Log" button will show any Documents that were attached by the Observee and any documents you would like to attach to the Observation.

Pressing the "Sign" button will bring up a pop up to enter your "Signature Pin" that you created when you created your signature.

Once you enter your signature PIN, your screen will show your Signature as well as the date and time it was signed.

Unsigning Observations

If your district has chosen the ability for observers to unsign observations, you can clear out your signatures from the "Staff to Evaluate" tab for an observation.

When this is turned on, you will click the "Clear Signatures" button.

On the popup, click the "OK" button to confirm that you want to remove the signatures.

NOTE: This will remove both the observer signature and the observed staff signature. You will both need to re-sign the observation.