When Middletown built a new middle school, it added this unique classroom to train teachers

Middletown Middle School Teacher Leader Jennifer Hayes shows off the new school’s classroom viewing room used for undetected observations of teachers as they instruct students. Behind is a two-way mirrored wall that features a small viewing area on the other side so other teachers may observe - and learn from - the instructor being watched.

Middletown Middle School Teacher Leader Jennifer Hayes shows off the new school’s classroom viewing room used for undetected observations of teachers as they instruct students. Behind is a two-way mirrored wall that features a small viewing area on the other side so other teachers may observe - and learn from - the instructor being watched.

Classroom observation to improve teaching has long been a cumbersome process because of reviewers had to sit in the same room as the instructor and students.

But the new Middletown Middle School, which opened in September, has a high-tech solution that is among the first in the region.

A specially designed classroom was built into the new Butler County school, with extension microphone wiring and an entire back wall made of a two-way, observation glass allowing classroom trainers to watch teachers without themselves being seen.

Traditionally, teacher trainers would sit in the back of classrooms, but students – and especially teachers – were sometimes awkwardly aware of their presence and note-taking during the observation process.

Middletown’s new viewing room, which is available to teachers throughout the city school system, helps to mediate teaching’s version of the observer’s paradox – the act of observing an activity inadvertently alters the activity.

Unseen on the other side of the darkened observation glass is room for a small group of observers to hear – via microphones suspended from the classroom ceiling – and see how teachers perform with students.

“It’s for teachers to come and to learn skills they might not have seen before and the room also offers the opportunity to give feedback to the teacher,” being observed, said Jennifer Hayes, teacher leader at the middle school who coordinates use of the viewing room.

With traditional, in-room observations “sometimes the students put on a show or they shut down because they have a special connection with that teacher but when somebody else enters the room that puts up a wall,” said Hayes.

“This allows the teacher and the students to be more comfortable so we can see the reality of what is happening. It’s working because it’s always beneficial for teachers to observe and learn,” she said.

Middletown Middle School Principal Michael Valenti is in his third decade of working in public education, and he said the viewing room is a game-changer for improving the quality of teaching.

“Teachers usually don’t have the opportunity to go and observe other teachers,” said Valenti. “In this situation, we can bring in 15 people, which you can never do in a classroom setting.”

“We get to showcase what other teachers are doing very well and other teachers can get to see it,” he said.

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