The CSO Quick Guide offers a concise, step-by-step overview of the key elements of the CSO instrument through a series of short videos and Q&As clipped from the original training session for easy reference.
General Observation Procedures
Science Content & Instruction Section
Q1: Name of the science program/curriculum used during instruction?
Q2: What was the theme of the lesson?
Q3: Was there additional instructional support personnel present? (includes Q&A)
Q: If an instructional support person is in the classroom but is not assisting the student, should this be documented?
A: The person should be engaged in the science content or lesson (including providing behavioral support). If they are engaged in some other activity, then that would not need to be documented.
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.
Q4: Instructional format in which science instruction occurred: (includes Q&A)
Q: Is the instructional type question referring to what the teacher is doing or what the students are doing?
A: Both. The primary focus of the observation is on the students, but if the teacher is using technology then you would check the box for technology. You can also provide more detail in Q9 to describe the lesson.
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.
Q5: What instructional types were included in the lesson?
Q6: Was the instruction structured around a phenomenon (i.e., observable event)?
Q7. Was a crosscutting concept(s) explicitly addressed?
Q8: The lesson’s primary science-based activity was… (includes Q&A)
Q: How is “scientific models” defined? Are they representational or concrete?
A: They can be a combination of both. A scientific model could be representational, such as digital or pictures, or it could be concrete simulations.
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.
Q9: Briefly describe the lesson:
Overall Quality of Science Instruction Section
Q10: Overall student interest in the science lesson
Q11: Target Student interest in the science lesson
Q12: Overall discourse opportunities
Q13: Overall teaching for scientific understanding
Observation Grid & Opportunities to Respond (OTR)
Observation Grid Header (includes Q&A)
Q: On the observation grid, are the column headers (e.g., A, B, C) the number of responses?
A: Yes! As you code, you will move left to right with each letter counting as a response.
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.
OTR Overview
OTR Guidelines (includes Q&A)
Q: Is the OTR about the teacher giving the opportunity or the student’s response?
A: The OTR is based on the student’s response. Relatedly, if the teacher asks several students the same question and they all respond individually, those would be marked as separate OTRs.
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.
Q: Does an OTR require a response from the student to be coded?
A: Yes! There does need to be a response from the student, but it does not need to be a correct response.
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.
Q: Does the student response need to be academic in nature?
A: Yes! The student response needs to be related to scientific content. Physical gestures (e.g., head nod, thumb up) are also counted student responses.
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.
OTR Examples
OTR Non-Examples
OTR Types (includes Q&A)
Q: Should non-verbal responses be documented?
A: Yes! On the left-hand side of the grid, you would categorize that type of response as a “Physical Gesture.”
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.
Q: For a reading OTR, do students need to be reading aloud or does silent reading count?
A: All OTRs must be overt responses. In this case, the student needs to be reading aloud for it to count as a reading OTR.
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.
Q: Do follow up prompts from the teacher count as a separate OTRs (e.g., during hands-on activities)?
A: Yes! If the teacher is walking around and engaging with students during an activity, then you would count those as separate OTRs.
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.
Q: What if the teacher prompts two behaviors at the same time?
A: This would be coded as just one OTR since the teacher combined the requests. If the teacher said, “First, measure the temperature of water,” then waited until students were finished and then said, “Now write the answer in your journal,” then it would be coded as two separate OTRs.
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.
OTR Student Codes (includes Q&A)
Q: Do choral (or whole class) responses count as one or multiple OTRs?
A: Choral responses only count as one OTR. The same with hands-on activities, if the whole class is engaged in an activity at the same time, this will count as one response.
Refer to the video clip to the right for additional information.