Classroom observation is an important method for understanding the efficacy of projects committed to enhancing teacher knowledge and skills and student achievement. Without observation, the causal or correlative relationships between a project’s treatment efforts and subsequent teacher performance are more difficult to determine. However, observing classroom practice is costly in terms of personnel and time.
What effective instruments are available for use? As the authors have investigated observation instruments for eight Mathematics and Science Partnerships, two tools have emerged as the most frequently recommended for use in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classrooms: Horizon Research Inc.'s Inside the Classroom Observation and Analytic Protocol (ITC COP) and the Reform Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP), developed by the Arizona Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers.
As leading instruments in frequent use, these two instruments are the focus of the comparisons presented in these two papers. As additional efforts continue to develop other classroom observation instruments, the authors hope these analyses will assist both in the use of the ITOP COP and RTOP, and in framing some of the considerations required in implementing any similar observational tool.
Link to Quantitative Analysis of Indicators on the RTOP and ITC Observation Instruments (pdf).
