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 this system is easy and it does not require any funding or other resources. In essence, the system consist of smaller groups of teachers visiting the class of another teacher in order to observe how he teaches. The teacher under observation is almost always an accomplished educator. The purpose of the visit is to learn from the teacher teaching his class. No one is forced to participate in observation sessions.
Before every observation session, the observers meet. During this meeting they set some goals for the forthcoming session. In most cases, these goals will relate to some aspect for which the teacher that will be observed is particularly known. He may, for example, be known for using multimedia very effectively. The goals of the observers will then focus on this particular aspect, the use of multimedia to enhance the classroom experience.
These observations sessions should never be confused with any form of evaluation. The observers are not there to rank the teacher under observation. Their only focus is to learn from the teacher under observation. This is made clear to the learners prior to every session. In fact, no feedback is given to anyone after the session, not even to the teacher that was observed unless he asks for it.
Another meeting is held after the session. The observers discuss their experiences and impressions and they name the lessons that they have learnt. They also discuss ways in which they could perhaps incorporate those lessons learnt in their own classrooms and how they could adapt their own teaching methods. They never criticise the observed teacher and the certainly do not file a report. The entire session is seen as confidential.
This way of learning from accomplished colleagues have become extremely popular. Many colleges and universities have also implemented similar systems. Participants generally agree that they find the observation session very useful and that they have been able to improve their own teaching techniques in the process. Even the teachers that are observed benefit because the very fact that they asked to agree means that they are viewed as accomplished professionals.
There are those that disagree. They say that observation sessions cannot make any difference because they are too short and much too informal. Some critics say that teachers under observation do not act as they normally do in class. They even go as far as to say that education authorities use these systems to save money of very necessary formal development programs for teachers.
There can be no doubt that the entire education system is under great pressure. Every effort that is made to improve the quality of education should be applauded and supported. Earning from one another is an economical and practical step forward.
Implementing this system is easy and it does not require any funding or other resources. In essence, the system consist of smaller groups of teachers visiting the class of another teacher in order to observe how he teaches. The teacher under observation is almost always an accomplished educator. The purpose of the visit is to learn from the teacher teaching his class. No one is forced to participate in observation sessions.
Before every observation session, the observers meet. During this meeting they set some goals for the forthcoming session. In most cases, these goals will relate to some aspect for which the teacher that will be observed is particularly known. He may, for example, be known for using multimedia very effectively. The goals of the observers will then focus on this particular aspect, the use of multimedia to enhance the classroom experience.
These observations sessions should never be confused with any form of evaluation. The observers are not there to rank the teacher under observation. Their only focus is to learn from the teacher under observation. This is made clear to the learners prior to every session. In fact, no feedback is given to anyone after the session, not even to the teacher that was observed unless he asks for it.
Another meeting is held after the session. The observers discuss their experiences and impressions and they name the lessons that they have learnt. They also discuss ways in which they could perhaps incorporate those lessons learnt in their own classrooms and how they could adapt their own teaching methods. They never criticise the observed teacher and the certainly do not file a report. The entire session is seen as confidential.
This way of learning from accomplished colleagues have become extremely popular. Many colleges and universities have also implemented similar systems. Participants generally agree that they find the observation session very useful and that they have been able to improve their own teaching techniques in the process. Even the teachers that are observed benefit because the very fact that they asked to agree means that they are viewed as accomplished professionals.
There are those that disagree. They say that observation sessions cannot make any difference because they are too short and much too informal. Some critics say that teachers under observation do not act as they normally do in class. They even go as far as to say that education authorities use these systems to save money of very necessary formal development programs for teachers.
There can be no doubt that the entire education system is under great pressure. Every effort that is made to improve the quality of education should be applauded and supported. Earning from one another is an economical and practical step forward.
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