Observation packet

Keep the raw observation separate from your interpretation of it, along with where it came from and what went wrong.

After teaching a workshop, you jot a debrief note: "The case-study section bombed, people were bored." A month later, redesigning the course, that sentence is all you have. But what actually happened? Two people checked phones during minute 40, right after lunch, on a day the room was overheated. "Bombed" is your interpretation; the phones, the clock, and the temperature were the observation, and you threw them away.

Observation packet is the move of keeping the raw observation separate from your interpretation of it, along with where it came from and what went wrong during collection. The cue is writing up any result, debrief, or incident. The operation: record four layers distinctly. The raw observation: two of 12 participants on phones, minutes 40 to 45. The provenance: your own view from the front, partial. The deviations and gaps: post-lunch slot, hot room, you missed the back row. Then, separately labeled, your interpretation: the section may drag. What changes is that future-you can re-interpret the raw material when new ideas arrive, instead of inheriting a conclusion with the evidence burned. Skip the full packet for throwaway observations nothing will ever be built on.