MODIFIED FOR USE IN THE WORLD BANK PROJECTS

STALLINGS SNAPSHOT OBSERVATION MANUAL JANUARY 2007 MODIFIED FOR USE IN THE WORLD BANK PROJECTS TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION CENTER FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING COMMUNITIES COLLEGE STATION TEXAS COPYRIGHT 2001 PERMISSION GRANTED FOR MODIFICATIONS Stallings Snapshot Observation Manual Stallings Snapshot Observation Manual TABLE OF CONTENTS OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION CLASSROOM SNAPSHOT OBSERVATION CODING MANUAL DESCRIPTION PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETING THE DEMOGRAPHIC PAGE PROCEDURES FOR TIMING THE 10 SNAPSHOTS .5 PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETING THE SNAPSHOT STEPS TO RECORD THE SNAPSHOT PICTURE CODING OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS AND PROCEDURES CLASSROOM SNAPSHOT ACTIVITIES CLASSROOM SNAPSHOT MATERIALS 14 OTHER CODING RULES 15 CALCULATIONS 15 REVIEW YOUR CODING FOR ACCURACY 17 APPENDIX 1: CLASSROOM INFORMATION SHEET/SNAPSHOT COVER SHEET 18 APPENDIX 2: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SNAPSHOTS (1-10) 19 Stallings Snapshot Observation Manual OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION The Stallings’ Observation System was developed in the 1970’s to evaluate how elementary teachers and students used their time in classrooms Early findings found that, most students in the United State attended school six hours a day, but on the average, they spent less than an hour engaged in academic activities This was a shocking finding In many studies, student engaged rates have been positively related to student achievement When engaged rates are low, student achievement is low Using the Stallings Snapshot Observation, we learned that in classrooms where students were achieving academically, the teachers provided 50% or more active instruction activities and spent 35% or less of the time actively monitoring students as they did their seat work Further, effective teachers were very efficient in managing the organization details, spending 15% or less of the class time (i.e taking the roll, passing papers, grading papers, making assignments) Little classroom time was wasted and students spent significantly more time on academic tasks During the 1980s and 90s the Stallings Observation System was modified for use in middle schools, high schools, and continuation schools Data collected from the Snapshot has been used as a teacher training program to make teachers aware of how they use classroom time By giving teachers specific, factual information about the activities they offer their students, the materials used, the groups of students with whom they work, and when their students are Off Task, teachers have significantly modified how they used their time In 2002 Helen Abadzi, representing the World Bank, requested Dr Stallings to provide training on the Snapshot in a variety of countries To answer educational questions raised by the World Bank, and simplify the system so that it can be used in a wide variety of countries, some modifications have been made, while retaining the integrity of the instrument Stallings Snapshot Observation Manual CLASSROOM SNAPSHOT OBSERVATION CODING MANUAL DESCRIPTION The Classroom Snapshot records the environment and the participants in the classroom as if they were being photographed at one instant It records every person in the classroom in the activity in which they are engaged and shows with whom they are engaged The distribution of adults and students among the activities that are occurring simultaneously are recorded as the observer places first the teacher on the grid and then going clockwise around the room places all of the students on the grid Essentially, the Snapshot provides data to assess the teacher activities, the student activities, the materials being used, and grouping patterns The snapshot can be implemented by computer, resulting in a database that can be used for immediate statistical analysis, by Scantron, or paper and pencil for later entry into a database The directions that follow are for the pencil and paper-based version of the instrument PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETING THE DEMOGRAPHIC PAGE On the first page of the Snapshot, the observer records the demographic data i.e the school, the teacher’s name and identification number, the observer’s name and number, the number of adults in the classroom, the number of students in the classroom, the subject being observed, the period or time of the class observed, grade level (including combination of grades in the room) The observer also records the percentage of students who have textbooks and the language or languages used in instruction in the class The observer should obtain some of this information from the teacher before or after the observation (See the Snapshot Cover Page in Appendix 1) PROCEDURES FOR TIMING THE 10 SNAPSHOTS Prior to starting the observation, ask the teacher how long the period will last If it is 50 minutes, the observer will record one Snapshot every five minutes If the period is 30 minutes in duration, the observer records a snapshot every three minutes The point is to distribute the ten Snapshots evenly over the entire class period To record the data for the snapshot, the observer sits at the back of the classroom or from a point where he/she can have a good view of the entire class Allow three minutes to pass after the bell rings and take the first Snapshot Stallings Snapshot Observation Manual PROCEDURES FOR COMPLETING THE SNAPSHOT Look at the Snapshot grid in Appendix Across the top of the grid are materials that may be used in the activities These seven form the columns Along the left side there is a list of 15 activities that may occur in the classroom (The “Other” activity is reserved for some special activity It is not often used) The 15 activities form the rows of the grid Within each Activity row are the letters T = Teacher I = Students working independently, without a teacher The 1, S, L, and E bubbles located on the T line and on the I line indicate the number of students who are in the group that is being recorded S, L and E vary on the basis of class size The following table (Table 1) can be used for reference to decide the category (Table 1: N denotes the class size or the total number of students present in the class S, L and E refer to small group, large group and everyone (or whole group) respectively and the number of students in these groups can be calculated using Table “