Lesson Observation Protocol Designer Agent Skill

Design a focused lesson observation protocol with specific look-fors and evidence collection methods.

Context cost
5k tokensestimated from the bundle, loaded when it triggers
Bundle
1 file · 20.2 kBtext throughout, nothing executable
Licence
not declarednone named by its author
Last change
—v1.0
Servers it uses
Noneruns standalone

What it does

Design a focused lesson observation protocol with specific look-fors and evidence collection methods. Use when planning peer observations, coaching visits, or developmental classroom visits.

What this skill changes about the agent has not been set out here as a list. Its SKILL.md, shown below, says it in the author’s own words.

documentationevidence-basedfeedbacklook-forsobservationprofessional-development

The skill itself

A skill is instructions the model reads, so you can see what you are getting: below is the start of its SKILL.md. The front matter loads with every session, the body loads when the skill triggers, and the whole file comes with the install.

SKILL.md20.2 kB · preview
--- # AGENT SKILLS STANDARD FIELDS (v2) name: lesson-observation-protocol-designer disable-model-invocation: false user-invocable: true effort: medium # EXISTING FIELDS skill_id: "professional-learning/lesson-observation-protocol-designer" skill_name: "Lesson Observation Protocol Designer" domain: "professional-learning" version: "1.0" evidence_strength: "moderate" evidence_sources: - "Darling-Hammond (2010) — Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness: how teacher performance assessments can measure and improve teaching" - "Hill, Charalambous & Kraft (2012) — When rater reliability is not enough: teacher observation systems and a case for the generalizability study" - "Wragg (2012) — An Introduction to Classroom Observation" - "O'Leary (2014) — Classroom Observation: a guide to the effective observation of teaching and learning" - "Coe et al. (2014) — What Makes Great Teaching? Review of the underpinning research" input_schema: required: - field: "observation_focus" type: "string" - field: "observation_purpose" type: "string" optional: - field: "teacher_context" type: "string" - field: "student_level" type: "string" - field: "subject_area" type: "string" - field: "observation_duration" type: "string" - field: "school_context" type: "string" output_schema: type: "object" fields: - field: "observation_protocol" type: "object" - field: "look_fors" type: "array" - field: "recording_format" type: "object" - field: "feedback_framework" type: "object" chains_well_with: - "instructional-coaching-conversation-guide" - "lesson-study-cycle-designer" - "reflective-practice-prompt-generator" - "explicit-instruction-sequence-builder" - "pedagogical-content-knowledge-developer" - "technological-pedagogical-content-knowledge-developer" teacher_time: "3 minutes" tags: ["observation", "look-fors", "feedback", "professional-development", "evidence-based"] ---
72# Lesson Observation Protocol Designer
73
74## What This Skill Does
75
76Designs a focused, evidence-based lesson observation protocol for a specific teaching practice — providing clear "look-fors" (observable indicators of the practice in action), a structured recording format, and a framework for the post-observation feedback conversation. The critical principle is that observations should be FOCUSED (looking for specific things, not "everything"), EVIDENCE-BASED (recording what is seen, not judgements), and DEVELOPMENTAL (generating learning for the teacher, not just a grade). The output is a ready-to-use protocol that an observer can take into a classroom, plus a feedback framework for the post-observation conversation. AI is specifically valuable here because designing effective look-fors requires translating abstract teaching practices ("effective questioning") into observable, specific indicators ("the teacher waits at least 3 seconds after asking a question before accepting a response") — a translation that requires both research knowledge and practical teaching experience.
77
78## Evidence Foundation
79
80Darling-Hammond (2010) argued that teacher observation is most effective when it is standards-based (linked to clear criteria), evidence-based (grounded in observable behaviour, not subjective impression), and developmental (designed to improve practice, not just rate it). She emphasised that the quality of the observation depends on the quality of the protocol — vague criteria produce vague feedback. Hill, Charalambous & Kraft (2012) demonstrated that observation reliability depends on focus: observers who are looking for specific, defined practices produce more consistent ratings than observers looking at "overall quality." Wragg (2012) provided foundational guidance on classroom observation methods, distinguishing between structured observation (systematic recording against predefined criteria) and unstructured observation (open-ended narrative). He argued for structured approaches because they produce more reliable, usable evidence. O'Leary (2014) challenged the use of observation as performance management, arguing that observation is most powerful when used for professional learning — when teachers observe each other, receive specific feedback, and use it to develop their practice. Coe et al. (2014) in "What Makes Great Teaching?" identified the practices with the strongest evidence base for student outcomes: content knowledge, quality of instruction (including questioning, feedback, and assessment), classroom climate, and classroom management. These provide the evidence base for what to look for during observations.
81
82## Input Schema
83
84The teacher must provide:
85- **Observation focus:** What to look for. *e.g. "Checking for understanding — how does the teacher assess whether students have understood before moving on?" / "Think time and student participation — how many students are actively involved in responding to questions?" / "Feedback during independent practice — what does the teacher say to students as they circulate?"*
86- **Observation purpose:** Why. *e.g. "Developmental — coaching cycle, looking at questioning as an agreed focus" / "Peer observation — two teachers observing each other to share practice" / "Quality assurance — SLT monitoring the implementation of the new feedback policy"*
87
88Optional (injected by context engine if available):
89- **Teacher context:** Experience, subject, background
90- **Student level:** Year group
This is a preview of SKILL.md. Download or install the skill to get the whole thing.
In the file
SKILL.md2,831 words
Files1
Licencenot declared
Why you can read it

Nothing in a skill executes. The client loads the text and the model follows it, so a skill can be audited the way a runbook is — by reading it.

What it costs in context

Skills are not billed by the call. They are paid for in context: every token the instructions occupy is a token your code, your diff and your conversation cannot use. Here is what this one takes and when it takes it.

≈810
always loaded
The name and description, so the model knows the skill exists and when to reach for it.
4,240
on trigger
The instruction body, read only when the skill fires.
2.5%
of a 200k window
Ten skills this size would take about 25% of the window before you open a file.
050k100k150k200k context window

5k tokens, estimated from the bundle at four bytes to the token, held for the rest of the session once it triggers. Heavy. Teams tend to install this one per project rather than globally, and load it only when the job comes up.

Servers bill, skills cost

A server charges by the month. A skill charges once per session, in context, and then keeps charging it for as long as the session lives.

Before and after

The same question, put to the same model twice: once as it comes, and once with these instructions loaded.

No worked example has been published for this skill yet.

The procedure it runs

The procedure has not been set out here step by step. It is in the body of its SKILL.md: the start of it is shown above, and the whole file comes with the install.

Prose, not code

These steps are written for a model to follow, not executed by a runtime. It can still be told to skip one, and it will say so when it does.

Servers it uses

None. This skill calls no MCP servers at all.

Everything it needs is in the instructions, so it works in a project with nothing connected — the model reads the file and changes how it works with what it can already reach.

Its SKILL.md does not declare which tools it asks the agent for, so what it touches is whatever the instructions themselves ask for — read them before you install it.

What it asks for
Writes filesnot declared
Network accessnot declared

This SKILL.md carries no allowed-tools line, so neither is declared. A skill grants no permissions of its own — it can only ask for tools your client already has.

What it will not do

Every skill is narrow, and the useful ones say where they stop. These are the jobs this one is the wrong tool for.

What this skill is not for has not been published here. Nothing is implied by that: it is a section the author has not filled in.

What is in the bundle

1 file, 20.2 kB on disk. A bundle is text throughout: the instructions the model reads, plus the templates it fills in.

  • SKILL.md20.2 kB
What is not in it

No dependencies and nothing executable: a skill is text the agent reads, so the bundle is 1 file you can review in full before installing.

Install

Installing copies the bundle into your project. Nothing runs at install time — the files sit on disk until the model reads them.

# Lesson Observation Protocol Designer · 5k tokens when loaded · macOS, Linux mkdir -p .claude/skills && t=$(mktemp -d) && curl -fsSL -o "$t/bundle.tar.gz" https://mcprush.com/api/skills/lesson-observation-protocol-designer/bundle.tar.gz && tar -xzf "$t/bundle.tar.gz" -C "$t" && [ -d "$t/lesson-observation-protocol-designer" ] && { [ ! -e .claude/skills/lesson-observation-protocol-designer ] || { mv .claude/skills/lesson-observation-protocol-designer "$t/.previous" && echo "Previous copy moved to $t/.previous"; }; } && mv "$t/lesson-observation-protocol-designer" .claude/skills/ && echo "Installed .claude/skills/lesson-observation-protocol-designer"
On Windows, or any OS with Node 20+
npx mcprush@latest skill add garethmanning/lesson-observation-protocol-designer

Windows PowerShell says 'running scripts is disabled on this system'? Run Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSigned once, or type npx.cmd instead of npx (codex.cmd, gemini.cmd, grok.cmd likewise). PowerShell 7 needs neither. Writes to .claude/skills/lesson-observation-protocol-designer/ in the current project. For every project instead, run mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && t=$(mktemp -d) && curl -fsSL -o "$t/bundle.tar.gz" https://mcprush.com/api/skills/lesson-observation-protocol-designer/bundle.tar.gz && tar -xzf "$t/bundle.tar.gz" -C "$t" && [ -d "$t/lesson-observation-protocol-designer" ] && { [ ! -e ~/.claude/skills/lesson-observation-protocol-designer ] || { mv ~/.claude/skills/lesson-observation-protocol-designer "$t/.previous" && echo "Previous copy moved to $t/.previous"; }; } && mv "$t/lesson-observation-protocol-designer" ~/.claude/skills/ && echo "Installed ~/.claude/skills/lesson-observation-protocol-designer" (macOS, Linux) — or add --global to the npx line. The curl line replaces .claude/skills/lesson-observation-protocol-designer/ only after the download succeeds, so files left there by another skill of the same name, or by an older release, do not mix in. A copy already there is moved aside, not deleted, and the line prints where.

Which clients pick it up on their own

A skill is a folder of text. Most of these read a skills folder and pick it up without being told; the rest take the same folder another way — an upload in the app, a parameter on an API call — and then choose it by its description just the same.

Claude Code.claude/skills/
Claude DesktopCustomize › Skills
ChatGPTSkills › Create › Upload
Cursor.cursor/skills/
VS Code.github/skills/
Codex CLI.agents/skills/
Gemini CLI.gemini/skills/
Grok Build.grok/skills/
Microsoft CopilotSkills › Upload a skill
PerplexityComputer › Skills › Upload a skill
DeepSeek Harness.dsh/skills/
Zed.agents/skills/
Devin Desktop.devin/skills/
Windsurf (legacy).windsurf/skills/
OpenAI Agents SDKInstructions or sandbox Skills
HTTP / APIa request parameter
This release
Version1.0
Publishedno release date on file
PriceFree
Referencegarethmanning/lesson-observation-protocol-designer

Versions

v1.0 is what is on the shelf; no release here carries a date. Instructions change more often than APIs do — a skill can be rewritten entirely without anything it depends on moving.

v1.0
  • No earlier releases have been published to the marketplace.
Pinning

The install command always fetches the release that is current the day you run it — v1.0 today — and cannot ask for an earlier one. The copy on your disk does not change until you run it again.

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