Teaching as a career has seen many changes over the past few decades. Modern teachers are under tremendous pressure. They have to plan their lessons, teach and be involved in sport, culture and other extra curricular activities. On top of all these responsibilities they are expected to manage many administrative responsibilities too. Teachers simply do not have the time to enrol for courses in order to improve on a professional level. With instructional school rounds teachers at least get the chance to learn from respected colleagues.
The system has been designed to afford teachers the opportunity to learn from colleagues that are more experienced and who have proven themselves. It is a simple system that can be implemented at any school. A few teachers gather and then attend a class presented by a well respected colleague. The purpose of the exercise is to learn from that teacher under observation. At present participation is voluntary.
Observers meet before they attend a lesson. The aim of this meeting is to decide on the objectives that they hope to achieve during the observation session. These objectives often focus on issues with which the teacher under observation is regarded as very good. A teacher may be well known for his ability to use practical examples to explain difficult theoretical or abstract concepts. The observers will then focus on that element of his teaching during the session.
The teacher being observed is never evaluated in any way. This will defeat the purpose of these sessions. The students are also informed that the visitors to their class is there to learn, not to judge. Observers never participate in the classroom activities. Observers therefore never provide feedback to the teacher under observation, although he may ask for some form of feedback.
After each session, the observers meet once more. The purpose of this meeting is to share the lessons learned, the ideas generated and their thoughts on how to implement change in their own classrooms with each other. During this meeting no criticism is allowed and no report, verbal or written, is submitted. Observers are expected to keep the discussions during this meeting as confidential.
Observation systems are widespread and are now even in use at some universities and colleges. Teachers and other educators maintain that they learn a lot from these sessions. Even the individuals under observation benefit because they are publicly acknowledged as accomplished professionals. Of course, students also benefit from renewal in the classroom and in this way the entire system of education is improved.
Critics of colleague observation sessions say that it is a waste of time. The sessions are far too short and teachers under observation do not act or teach as they normally do. Instead, they go to ridiculous lengths to make an impression upon their observer colleagues and in the process they make it impossible for observers to copy his techniques in their own classrooms.
Nobody will deny the fact that the entire education system is facing many unique challenges. Efforts to improve the quality of teaching should therefore be lauded. Observation sessions have been proven to help and should therefore be supported. It does not require much funding and if it improves the quality of education, then it should be promoted on a wide front.
The system has been designed to afford teachers the opportunity to learn from colleagues that are more experienced and who have proven themselves. It is a simple system that can be implemented at any school. A few teachers gather and then attend a class presented by a well respected colleague. The purpose of the exercise is to learn from that teacher under observation. At present participation is voluntary.
Observers meet before they attend a lesson. The aim of this meeting is to decide on the objectives that they hope to achieve during the observation session. These objectives often focus on issues with which the teacher under observation is regarded as very good. A teacher may be well known for his ability to use practical examples to explain difficult theoretical or abstract concepts. The observers will then focus on that element of his teaching during the session.
The teacher being observed is never evaluated in any way. This will defeat the purpose of these sessions. The students are also informed that the visitors to their class is there to learn, not to judge. Observers never participate in the classroom activities. Observers therefore never provide feedback to the teacher under observation, although he may ask for some form of feedback.
After each session, the observers meet once more. The purpose of this meeting is to share the lessons learned, the ideas generated and their thoughts on how to implement change in their own classrooms with each other. During this meeting no criticism is allowed and no report, verbal or written, is submitted. Observers are expected to keep the discussions during this meeting as confidential.
Observation systems are widespread and are now even in use at some universities and colleges. Teachers and other educators maintain that they learn a lot from these sessions. Even the individuals under observation benefit because they are publicly acknowledged as accomplished professionals. Of course, students also benefit from renewal in the classroom and in this way the entire system of education is improved.
Critics of colleague observation sessions say that it is a waste of time. The sessions are far too short and teachers under observation do not act or teach as they normally do. Instead, they go to ridiculous lengths to make an impression upon their observer colleagues and in the process they make it impossible for observers to copy his techniques in their own classrooms.
Nobody will deny the fact that the entire education system is facing many unique challenges. Efforts to improve the quality of teaching should therefore be lauded. Observation sessions have been proven to help and should therefore be supported. It does not require much funding and if it improves the quality of education, then it should be promoted on a wide front.
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