Teachers work under tremendous pressure. Not only do they have to teach their classes, but they have to teach to very large classes. This makes individual attention to struggling students very difficult. In addition, teachers are required to do an enormous amount of administrative work. They have to be involved with other school activities and they need time to prepare their lessons. There is no time for personal development, but with school based instructional rounds they do get an opportunity to grow professionally.
Implementing such a system does not cost money and it requires very little effort. It basically consist of small numbers of teachers attending the class of a colleague with the express purpose of observing him at his job. The system is voluntary and the teacher asked to agree to be observed by others is normally a well respected professional. The observers are there to learn, nothing else.
Before the observation session, the observers have a meeting in order to formulate some specific objectives for the coming session. These objectives normally focus on the strong points of the teacher that will be observed. The observers will then focus on how the teacher uses his strengths, such as the ability to use humour, or to maintain discipline in the class, for example, to achieve his results.
It is important to note that these observation sessions contain no element of evaluation whatsoever. The observers are not there to evaluate a colleague. They are there to learn from him. For this reason, observers never provide feedback after the session, unless the teacher that was observed request it. Great care is also taken to make sure that the learners understand the purpose of the observation session.
Once the session is over, the observers meet again. The purpose of the meeting is to share the experience with each other. Participants are encouraged to discuss the lessons that they have learnt, the ideas that they gained and the ways in which these can be used to improve their own class room techniques. Observers are not allowed to criticise in any way and they do not compile a report either. The meeting is, in fact, strictly confidential.
Ever since its inception, these observation sessions have become hugely popular. Teachers say that they definitely benefit and, of course, if they benefit then the entire educational system and especially the learners benefit too. Similar systems are now being introduced in institutions of higher education. Teachers under observation also benefit. They are acknowledged as professionals worth observing and this can be extremely motivating.
There always has to be critics. They say that these systems are worthless, mostly because they are far too informal and too short. They say that if there is no element of evaluation then there can be no corrective action. Supporters, however, point out that the purpose of these sessions is not to improve the one being observed, but rather to give the observers an opportunity to learn.
Nobody will argue the fact that the educational system needs to improve in all ways. If observation sessions help teacher to do their jobs better, then they are certainly worth it. They do not cost much and they are extremely easy to implement and to manage.
Implementing such a system does not cost money and it requires very little effort. It basically consist of small numbers of teachers attending the class of a colleague with the express purpose of observing him at his job. The system is voluntary and the teacher asked to agree to be observed by others is normally a well respected professional. The observers are there to learn, nothing else.
Before the observation session, the observers have a meeting in order to formulate some specific objectives for the coming session. These objectives normally focus on the strong points of the teacher that will be observed. The observers will then focus on how the teacher uses his strengths, such as the ability to use humour, or to maintain discipline in the class, for example, to achieve his results.
It is important to note that these observation sessions contain no element of evaluation whatsoever. The observers are not there to evaluate a colleague. They are there to learn from him. For this reason, observers never provide feedback after the session, unless the teacher that was observed request it. Great care is also taken to make sure that the learners understand the purpose of the observation session.
Once the session is over, the observers meet again. The purpose of the meeting is to share the experience with each other. Participants are encouraged to discuss the lessons that they have learnt, the ideas that they gained and the ways in which these can be used to improve their own class room techniques. Observers are not allowed to criticise in any way and they do not compile a report either. The meeting is, in fact, strictly confidential.
Ever since its inception, these observation sessions have become hugely popular. Teachers say that they definitely benefit and, of course, if they benefit then the entire educational system and especially the learners benefit too. Similar systems are now being introduced in institutions of higher education. Teachers under observation also benefit. They are acknowledged as professionals worth observing and this can be extremely motivating.
There always has to be critics. They say that these systems are worthless, mostly because they are far too informal and too short. They say that if there is no element of evaluation then there can be no corrective action. Supporters, however, point out that the purpose of these sessions is not to improve the one being observed, but rather to give the observers an opportunity to learn.
Nobody will argue the fact that the educational system needs to improve in all ways. If observation sessions help teacher to do their jobs better, then they are certainly worth it. They do not cost much and they are extremely easy to implement and to manage.
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