Although Bob Marzano claimed that he wasn’t a keynoter when he took the stage at the closing general session of NASSP’s convention, the audience certainly responded as if he was, staying completely engrossed as he gave them the basics of his latest book, Supervising the Art and Science of Teaching. Marzano first qualified two common beliefs: that frequent observation is good for teacher development and that focusing on high yield strategies makes it easier to recognize good teaching. He reminded attendees that frequent feedback is good only if it’s accurate and high yield strategies are useful only if the observer is aware of where the teacher is in the scope of the lesson. Bottom line: There are no perfect strategies. School leaders can’t use a checklist approach to observing teachers and providing feedback. It requires a comprehensive model that acknowledges the segments that make up a lesson. It isn’t possible to walk into a classroom and get a full perspective from a little slice of teaching unless you know exactly what is happening and which segment is occurring. Marzano confided that he has sat in the back of a classroom and thought, there’s a symphony going on and I’m the only adult seeing it. That, he says, has to change for teaching to improve. A comprehensive observation method includes teachers’ self-reflection, walkthroughs and formal observations by principals and peers, and instructional rounds led by teachers. The goal, Marzano said, is for feedback to be part of the culture of the school. Teachers should be able to get better at their craft of teaching just from being in your building.