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The Stallings Classroom Snapshot Observation System: measuring change in teachers’ use of classroom time for an EGR initiative in Ghana

Tue, April 16, 3:15 to 4:45pm, Hyatt Regency, Floor: Pacific Concourse (Level -1), Pacific E

Proposal

This presentation showcases a use of the Stallings Classroom Snapshot Observation System, developed in the 1970s by Professor Jane Stallings to improve the efficiency and quality of basic education teachers in the United States. The Stallings System is a subject- and curriculum-neutral observation tool which provides reliable quantitative measures of teacher use of instructional time, use of materials, core pedagogical practices, and pupil engagement. The System’s reliability and usability by enumerators with limited classroom experience also makes it a popular tool for measuring the effects of large-scale education reform initiatives on teacher classroom practice in developing countries, and it is particularly useful in experimental and quasi-experimental research. The observation involves dividing a lesson into ten equal segments and then taking 15-second “snapshots” of what is happening in the classroom at that moment, including teacher activities, student activities, use of materials and learning aids, learner engagement, and classroom management.

The Stallings observation system is being used to evaluate a large-scale reading improvement initiative in Ghana to determine if the intervention implemented in 2017 has improved teacher time-on-task, as well as document changes in the way teachers use class time; baseline and midline results from this study will be shared for the purpose of demonstrating the uses and limitations of this approach to classroom observation. Experiences and reflections on training, inter-rater reliability, and cultural context with regards to the Stallings tool will also be shared.

This presentation is relevant to both the Global Literacy and the Teacher Education and the Teaching Profession Special Interest Groups, as the observation system is useful for measuring elements of instruction that are relevant to teaching literacy. Data gathered from classroom observations can then be used to improve teacher professional development efforts.

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