Is this an observation tool?

No. OPTIC supports teams of educators to calibrate their understanding of high-quality practice and feedback using snapshots of instruction.  This is not a tool or protocol for conducting actual observations or evaluations of teachers.  In the platform, participants “score” practice on a 1-10 scale in order to discern differences in perceptions of practice among observers and to engage in rich discussions of evidence. The platform is not intended to reinforce the act of scoring classroom observations, nor does DESE recommend providing an evaluation rating for a teacher based on a single observation. The goal of the platform is to help groups of observers work together to refine a common understanding of high quality practice and feedback, such that they can better identify effective instruction and support educators in their continual growth through high quality feedback.