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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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