The Graduate School

Certificate of Accomplishment in Teaching Program

Classroom Observation Form Option 1
CoAT Participants Name: Christina Tallman
Course observed: PHY595 Cell Physiology
Date of observation: 3-22-16
Time of class: 1:30 2:45pm
Observed by: Elaine Bohrquez
Teaching characteristics Comments
1.

Planning and start of session

Appropriateness of aims and outcomes (where it is possible to evaluate this). Communication of these to
students. Continuity with other sessions and students prior knowledge made explicit. Coping with any
unexpected occurrences, e.g. latecomers, missing equipment.

Christina organized her slides for background concepts well and utilized her
introduction to the class to outline the reason for these visual aids by stating that she will
periodically reference figures during the case study for students who are more visual
learners. The format of the class was group discussion on a clinical case study to
understand insulin cell signaling. To keep everyone together (13 students in the class),
she assigned each student a number and used those to divide up the case study readings
and questions to be answered. This ensured that all students were required to participate
in the class discussion.
The only unexpected occurrence that Christina had was students arriving after class
had begun. One recommendation that I have for such a small class would be to
acknowledge these late arrivals briefly so that they are not distracting other students as
they request their copies of the assignment document.
2.

Presentation

Structure. Relevance and organization of content. Attitude to subject matter. Clarity of presentation.
Emphasis of key points. Pace of session (time management). Tone, volume, clarity of speech. Links made to
other aspects of course (e.g. lectures, seminars or tutorials). Summary (end and/or interim).

Christinas presentation was to review concepts from previous courses as it related to

the current subject matter. She specifically referenced how these concepts from other
physiology courses and from biochemistry/genetics courses are applied in the current
setting to demonstrate the integrative nature of the case being discussed.
She did a good job with keeping on target with time and maintaining the focus on the
assignment at hand. The slides were only used as a reference for this class format, so her
organization was useful: brief overview at first followed by revisiting each slide as the
subject came up in the discussion.
Form adapted with permission from: Educational Development Centre, Royal Holloway,
University of London, Certificate in Academic Practice in Teaching and Learning (CAPITAL) Programme.

3.

Student participation

Question and answer technique. Exercises/activities. Class management (appropriate level of control and
authority). Instructions to students. General class atmosphere. Level of participation between students
(excessive? lacking?). Attention and interest. Attitude to students. Awareness of individual needs. Studentteacher rapport.

All students participated due to Christinas assignment of numbers to ensure that

everyone took a turn. Some numbers had longer sections than others but this
method ensured that everyone did participate and stayed on task for the class
period. If students needed help with their assigned question, Christina gave them
the opportunity to call on someone to help or for a classmate to volunteer, which
fostered teamwork among the students.
Christina did a good job of reiterating student responses when the topic came up
again in a subsequent question, which demonstrated her attention to their
responses and interest in supporting their correct answers/insights.

4.

Overall, the students enjoyed the activity and were attentive to the case study,
finding humor in their discussions.
Methods and approaches

Choice/variety of teaching/learning methods. Use and design of instructional materials (board, technology,
handouts etc.) Use of appropriate reinforcement. Examples and analogies. References and links to research,
other resources. Handling problems/disruptions.

Christina utilized powerpoint slides to introduce background information and

summary figures that accompanied the subject of the case study activity. The case
study was from The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science. As such,
it was a clear, straightforward handout that told a story, contained figures, and
posed questions for discussion. Christina did a good job facilitating the discussion.
When needed, she utilized the white board to explain difficult concepts (consensus
sequences, for example) that were necessary to answer a question.
5.

General

Were the aims and outcomes achieved? Appropriateness of teaching/learning methods. Was effective
communication achieved? Awareness of needs of learners and differences in approach.

Christinas career goals are to teach at the upper level high school or early
community college level. This format is good for keeping students accountable and
on task, and she did a good job of guiding students through the case.
Christina responded to unexpected questions well to clarify answers so that
students could understand complex concepts.

Form adapted with permission from: Educational Development Centre, Royal Holloway,
University of London, Certificate in Academic Practice in Teaching and Learning (CAPITAL) Programme.

6.

Aspects to improve

Comment in terms of both teaching style and content (if possible).

One area for improvement is to alter the types of questions posed to students when
they are struggling with an answer. Transition questions that lead student
discussions to appropriate responses would be better than asking a more direct
question that subtly tells them the correct answer. For example, instead of asking
directly, how is DNA packaged?, try asking, what is causing long-term changes in
the cell (ans. Transcription changes)? How does transcription get activated (ans.
Stimulating transcription factors and machinery to express genes)? How might
transcription levels differ between cells? (ans. Not all cells express the same genes
but all cells have the same DNA, so the expression/silencing of genes is cellspecific based on DNA chromatin structure). This gives students the chance to
think through the train of thought to connect seemingly distant ideas.
Signed by observer___________________________________________ Date: ______________

Form adapted with permission from: Educational Development Centre, Royal Holloway,
University of London, Certificate in Academic Practice in Teaching and Learning (CAPITAL) Programme.