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.
The observers have a meeting prior to attending the class of another teacher. The purpose of this meeting is to set a few specific goals. In most cases, the teacher that will be observed is considered to be accomplished in at least one specific area, such as succeeding in getting learners to participate in the lesson. The observers will them concentrate on this specific aspect, hoping to learn just how it is accomplished.
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.
The system has its critics too. They say that these observation sessions are far too short to be of any value and they are too informal. They also say that teachers being observed tend to make special efforts to impress their colleagues, thereby completely negating the very purpose of the session. Critics are of the opinion that observation systems are merely watered down efforts to improve the quality of education.
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 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.
The observers have a meeting prior to attending the class of another teacher. The purpose of this meeting is to set a few specific goals. In most cases, the teacher that will be observed is considered to be accomplished in at least one specific area, such as succeeding in getting learners to participate in the lesson. The observers will them concentrate on this specific aspect, hoping to learn just how it is accomplished.
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.
The system has its critics too. They say that these observation sessions are far too short to be of any value and they are too informal. They also say that teachers being observed tend to make special efforts to impress their colleagues, thereby completely negating the very purpose of the session. Critics are of the opinion that observation systems are merely watered down efforts to improve the quality of education.
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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