Observation Best Practice

Effective observation is an important part of developing your professional eye as a Pilates Practitioner.

At postgraduate level, Observation is not a passive activity. It is an opportunity to watch with intention, analyse professional practice and reflect on how what you observe might inform your own teaching.

When observing within a Studio environment, you are also entering another Instructor's professional space and working around their Clients. Your conduct should demonstrate respect for the Instructor, the Studio and Client privacy at all times.

Your role during an Observation session is to be a quiet, attentive and non-disruptive observer.

Unless specifically invited or directed otherwise by the Instructor:

• Do not interact with Clients or participate in the teaching of the session.

• Do not interrupt or engage the Instructor while they are teaching.

• Do not ask questions during the session. Make a note of anything you would like to explore afterwards.

• Do not take photos, video or audio recordings of the session, Clients or teaching activities.

• Do not use your phone, tablet or other device during the session. Devices should be silenced and put away.

The goal is to allow the session to unfold as it ordinarily would, without your presence changing the experience for the Instructor or their Clients.

Bring a notebook or use an appropriate Observation framework to help direct your attention.

Rather than attempting to record everything you see, choose areas that connect with your current postgraduate learning and look more deeply.

You might consider:

• Repertoire and movement: What repertoire is being used? What is familiar or unfamiliar? How is it sequenced or layered?

• Teaching strategies: What teaching choices, corrections or approaches appear particularly effective? Why?

• Programming and flow: How is the session structured and progressed? How does the Instructor maintain flow while responding to individual Clients?

• Cueing: How are verbal, visual and tactile cues used? When does the Instructor change their approach?

• Progressions and adaptations: How is repertoire progressed, regressed, modified or varied, and what appears to inform those decisions?

• Responsive teaching: How does the Instructor respond to the individual in front of them, including movement capability, feedback, discomfort or other relevant considerations?

• Professional decision-making: What choices do you notice that you might not have considered earlier in your teaching career?

• Your own practice: What might you take from this experience into your own teaching? What would you do similarly or differently, and why?

The purpose of Advanced Observation isn't to collect another Instructor's cues, programming or teaching style to reproduce in your own sessions.

Use what you observe to prompt thinking, make connections and develop your own professional reasoning.

Consider how the session relates to your coursework, what it challenges or reinforces in your existing understanding, and how you might apply those insights appropriately within your own professional context.

When completing Observation in a Studio:

• arrive with enough time to settle before the session begins;

• follow any Studio-specific policies or directions provided by the Instructor or Studio team;

• position yourself where you can observe without interfering with the Instructor or Clients;

• maintain Client privacy and confidentiality;

• do not eat during the session;

• water may be brought into the Studio in a securely closed bottle; and

• leave the space as you found it.

Remember that access to a professional Studio and its Clients is a privilege. Observe with curiosity, professionalism and respect, and use the experience to deepen the way you think about your own practice.