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Observation Instrument: Promoting Physical Activity to Improve Math Skills among

Elementary Students at Bob Harding Shawmut Elementary

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course

Instructor

Date
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Observation Instrument: Promoting Physical Activity to Improve Math Skills

among Elementary Students at Bob Harding Shawmut Elementary

Supervision Instrument

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MATH SKILLS OBSERVATION TOOL

Observer:

Date:

Time:

Class:

Lesson Overview:

Indicators of Best Description Notes

Practices in Math

Instruction

Active Learning Are students

physically

engaging with math

content (e.g.,
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through

movements, hands-

on activities)?

Differentiation Are activities

adjusted to meet

different learning

levels or student

needs?

Engagement Are students

Levels attentive and

actively

participating? Are

they showing

interest in math

activities?

Cognitive and Is the activity

Behavioral challenging

Engagement students to think

critically and

collaborate?

Math Skills Focus How well are the

activities aligned

with specific math

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goals?

Scoring Sheet

1 2 3 4 5

Indicators of Best Practices in On a Likert Scale, Rate the achievement on

Math Instruction 1-5

For example 1= Active learning was worse

5=Active learning was

excellent

Active Learning

Differentiation

Engagement Levels

Cognitive and Behavioral

Engagement

Math Skills Focus

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Instructions for Observers

 Observers must familiarize themselves with the lesson plan by reviewing the

planned activities to understand the approach of integrating physical activity with

math objectives for the observed lesson.

 The observer must be keen on student’s engagement by putting the focus on how

well students respond to physical activities-are they actively participating,

enthusiastic, and attentive?

 The observer must assess the alignment of intervention activities with math skills

by ensuring that they are directly linked to specific math skills and support the

objectives of the lesson.

 The observer must evaluate differentiation by checking on modifications or

alternative options provided at different skills hence ensuring that all students are

able to participate meaningfully.

 The observer must monitor the cognitive engagement by checking how students

are intellectually challenged by activity and engage in critical thinking/problem

solving in addition to the physical movement.

 The observer must check for the authentic learning experiences by noticing how

activities comprehend the real-world situation or integrating the experience of

students to promote the understanding of concepts.

 The observer must notice behavior management techniques by paying attention to

the way the teacher implements the behavior management skills during activity

while focusing on strategies of keeping students attentive.

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 The observer must check on the clear instructions and guidance to assess the

ability of the teacher to use clear instructions about the physical activity to set

what students expect in the participation.

 The observer must check on the collaboration and interaction of students to

constructively participate in the class.

 The observer must provide the constructive feedback on how well the physical

activity integration into the math learning succeeded and provide suggestions for

improvement.

Narrative

This is an observation tool that helps instructional leaders command the

appropriate approach to assess the incorporation of physical activity in math classes to

deliver the best outcomes for students. The tool provides the framework for guiding

teachers on the best practices of using physical activity as part of their math learning

methodologies (Barrogo, 2020). The tool has distinct indicators that observers would

use to capture the progress of the implementation of the project and provide the

appropriate feedback (Yusrina & Bima, 2020). The tool ensures that instructions

delivered by the teacher are intellectually challenging. It contains specific indicators

such as the "Math Skill Focus" that depict the means by which physical activities

culminate into helping students understand the class concepts. The observer is

expected to assign ratings based on the indicators to link the ability of class activities

to stimulate critical thinking.

The observation instrument ensures that there are authentic learning

experiences as it assesses the ability of the teacher to compel students to relate math

concepts with their daily encounters. The observation tool has a framework that
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analyzes how the teacher provides activities that resonate with the daily lives of

students. "Differentiation and Student Engagement" is one of the elements of the

instrument and ensures that the learning outcomes appeal to the diverse classroom

setting. This element assesses how teachers meet the specific needs of students,

thereby promoting inclusion. The instrument tracks engagement to note the extent to

which the class keeps students attentive and interested in the learning process

(Yusrina & Bima, 2020).

The tool has the "Behavior Management" element, which considers that

physical activities avail natural methods of eliminating classroom behavior issues. As

such, this element checks on how the teacher succeeds in managing the behavior of

students. It checks on how class activities deal with possible disruptions. Minimizing

disruptions and fostering a focused learning environment.

The observation instrument has the "Clear Communication and Instructions" that

focus on the essence of effective instructional delivery methods. This element ensures

that teachers set expectations that effectively integrate the participation of students

(Barrogo, 2020). The tool also assesses the extent of collaboration and social skills as

it investigates the ability of classroom participation to utilize the teamwork approach

to improve the comprehension of math concepts. The tool also has the "Feedback"

element that allows observers to provide feedback about the lesson and recommend

ways of improving the project (Barrogo, 2020). Lastly, the observation instrument

provides guidance on professional development as it identifies strengths and

weaknesses observed. These can be used to improve the project.

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References

Barrogo, S. D. (2020). Teachers' Perception of Standardized Classroom Observation

Tool. Online Submission, 4(7), 33-37.

Yusrina, A., & Bima, L. (2020). Classroom observation tool for assessing the

dimensions of teaching practices (CERDAS). Jakarta. The SMERU Research

Institute.