Empowering Practitioners’ Professional Learning Through Unseen Observation

Matt O’Leary introduces an innovative “unseen observation” project at Walsall College, replacing traditional classroom observations with a teacher-centered approach focused on self-reflection and professional dialogue. The two-year project, launched in November 2023, aims to transform teaching quality enhancement through collaborative professional learning rather than judgmental evaluation.

Project Background and Vision

This is the first in a series of articles that focus on the experiences and perspectives of a group of FE college staff, all of whom have participated in an innovative 2-year research project designed to support their professional learning. The method used to support these staff participants in their collaborative professional learning is an innovative model of observation known as ‘unseen observation’. This first article is written by the project lead and creator of the model of unseen observation, Professor Matt O’Leary. Matt introduces the project and provides a brief overview of how unseen observation works. The subsequent articles that will appear over the coming weeks are written by staff from Walsall College, each of which provides a unique range of insights into their experiences of using unseen observation to support their own and others’ professional learning.

In November 2023, the unseen observation project with Walsall College was officially launched. It was the culmination of many months of hard work behind the scenes between the project lead, Professor Matt O’Leary, and senior leaders at the College, David Turner and Sarah Cattell. Central to the initial discussions that took place in the development of the project was the desire of these college leaders to change the culture around teaching and learning, particularly in terms of how the College managed and supported its quality enhancement work. Tired of the continuing reliance on judgemental approaches to evaluating the quality of teaching and learning, David and Sarah were both passionately committed to embracing a new vision. A vision that was underpinned by innovative thinking and practice, but also one which placed the emphasis on supporting and developing teaching staff rather than sorting and measuring them. Hence the creation of the unseen observation project at Walsall College. But before sharing some of the details of the project’s progress to date, I am mindful that unseen observation may be unfamiliar to some readers, so it is important to provide a brief overview of what it is and how it differs from conventional models of observation.

Understanding Unseen Observation

Unseen observation is a teacher-centred model of observation that relies on self-observation rather than an observation by a third party. Unlike conventional models of observation where the observation itself is the main focal point, unseen observation emphasises the importance of what happens before and after the taught session. Thus, it is in the pre- and post-session professional dialogues where the fundamental work takes place in the unseen observation cycle (see Figure 1 below). In other words, unseen observation deliberately places greater emphasis on planning and reflection, as it recognises these processes as being at the heart of effective practice.

The Seven Stages of Unseen Observation

Figure 1 – An overview of the 7 stages of the unseen observation cycle

Unseen observation follows a seven-stage cycle that starts with the ‘unobserved’ teacher identifying a lesson and particular area of practice that they wish to focus on for the duration of the cycle (Stage 1). Unlike many observation models where the areas of focus are driven by internal or external policy agendas, the teacher is free to choose their own area of focus. The rationale is rooted in the belief that giving teachers the agency to choose their personalised focus not only emphasises their personal responsibility for taking charge of their continuous professional learning but also invokes an ownership that is likely to be more authentic and sustainable. As Figure 1 highlights, Stage 3 of the cycle is a pre-session meeting between the teacher and their collaborator. This is where the teacher shares the details of their chosen session and its intended focus, providing their collaborator with a draft plan. This meeting is crucial to establishing a reciprocal understanding of the focus of the session, the rationale, tasks and resources etc.

The Stage 3 dialogue is also an opportunity for the two to develop a shared understanding of some of the contextual factors relating to the chosen session and students, as well as exploring more holistic issues about teaching and learning that reveal some of the underlying rationale that informs teachers’ thinking and decision-making when preparing a session. Stages 2 and 3 of the cycle highlight the importance given to the planning and preparation elements of teaching, with the depth of reflection, discussion and articulation of decision-making distinguishing unseen observation from many conventional models of observation, where much of the discussion centres on the post-observation stage. In this sense, unseen observation repositions the traditional emphasis of observation from a product-focused event to a process-driven practice that prioritises deep, meaningful thinking about teaching and learning through collegial conversations and collective reflection.

The teacher’s recounting and reflection on the taught lesson is what provides the stimulus for the professional dialogue between them and their collaborator in Stages 5 and 6. In Stage 5, the teacher writes up and/or digitally records a reflective account of the lesson, which they share with their collaborator prior to meeting. The teacher and collaborator then meet in person/virtually in Stage 6 for a post-lesson dialogue to discuss the lesson, during which they interrogate the assumptions upon which the plan was based and examine the sources of evidence, along with the teacher’s perceptions of the lesson’s effectiveness in achieving the anticipated outcomes. Stage 7 concludes the unseen observation cycle with the teacher writing up or digitally recording a series of feed forward action points that form the basis of their continuing development on their chosen area of focus. For those who are interested in knowing more about unseen observation, this open access article contains a detailed account. But let us now return to the unseen observation project at Walsall College.

Project Implementation at Walsall College

It is a 2-year research project that combines both training and research. Year 1 involved the piloting of the model of unseen observation with 18 academic staff participants and took place from November 2023 to July 2024. The pilot included three days of in-person training and skills development work at the College, which was delivered by Matt O’Leary and Joanne Miles. Joanne was an integral member of the team as she has expertise and experience in coaching and mentoring development with FE staff. Following the training, staff undertook 2 cycles of unseen observation and a range of data was collected (e.g. an online survey, focus groups, reflective write ups, workshop group task data, Padlet targeted group questions) to evaluate their experiences and effectiveness of unseen observation. We met with the staff on an ongoing basis and hosted online catch-up meetings to check on progress and capture their experiences as they progressed. In short, it would be fair to say that we collected an overwhelming wealth of data during the first year of the project.

Year 1 Pilot Outcomes

Whilst it is not possible to do justice to the richness of the data we collected in this short article, below is a small sample of comments from the Year 1 participants in response to their experiences of participating in the pilot:

“I can confidently say that it has been a positive and enriching experience. The unseen observation process has allowed me to develop a deeper understanding of my teaching practices and has provided valuable insights into my strengths and areas for improvement. It has fostered a culture of continuous improvement and provided a supportive framework for enhancing my teaching.”

“This process allows practitioners to show their vulnerability without judgement, it allows for more honest dialogue, and it creates space to build meaningful professional relationships based on teaching and learning.”

“It’s been so rewarding, such a breath of fresh air, despite the challenges involved in protecting time to be able to meet with my peers to engage in these professional dialogues.”

“We’ve both found it very beneficial and exciting potential for development work across the department in terms of common areas we can work on for teaching and learning projects. Participating in the pilot sparked conversations about teaching and learning that may not have happened without this process. We feel privileged and fortunate to have been involved and had the opportunity to work together. And we both feel this will do a lot for staff morale across the college.”

“It’s great to feel ‘buzzed up’ about an idea. This process allows practitioners to show their vulnerability without judgement, it allows for more honest dialogue. It makes you fall in love with your job again!”

Moving Forward: Year 2 and Beyond

The project is now in Year 2 and a new cohort of participants are currently undertaking their cycles of unseen observation, supported by those who participated in the pilot in Year 1, thus creating a model of sustainability for its wider implementation. In the words of one of the college leaders who has been coordinating the work in Year 2:

“It’s all about building a community, where colleagues are allowed the space and the support for critical reflection on their practice. We want talking about teaching and learning to become the norm and this model provides a framework to make that happen.”

By Professor Matt O’Leary, Professor of Education at Birmingham City University