A collection of observation protocals assembled by Steve Iona. Depending on your research interests, you might choose one of these rather than the rather generic ideas provided in our syllabus.
Take a look to see if one of these might better suit your goals.
This one provides characteristics of the following areas: Science Content, Implementation, and Science Classroom Culture. Another section asks Likert scale questions on: Likely Impact of Instruction on Students’ Understanding of Science, and Capsule Description of the Quality of the Lesson.
A checklist that divides the lesson into: Introduction Emphasis. Modes of instruction, Questions, Teacher Behavior, and Materials Used. You then rate the following areas: Introduction, Emphasis - How a teacher introduces the lesson, Modes of Instruction - What teacher directs students to do, Questions, Teacher Behavior - what teachers do to help students learn
A rather detailed coding for a class every 5 minutes. (Then, a Likert rating for the Ratings of Key Indicators.) A section is provided for general comments as well.
LSC (another Horizon protocol)
Local Systemic Change Classroom Observation Protocol. Raters look at major activities of students in the lesson and code the apparent motivation and consequence of the activities. It offers sections on: Design, Implementation, Math/Science Content, Classroom Culture, and Likely Impact of Instruction on Students’ Understanding of Mathematics/Science. It has a Likert scale for each of the Key Indicators rather than just a listing of the characteristics.
Differentiated Classroom Observ.doc
This is focused on involvement level of different groups of students (special education, women, minorities, gifted). There is an elaborate coding scheme addressing Student Engagement, Cognitive Activity, and “Learning Director”. Raters identify a code every 5 minutes.