No society or country can prosper without a high quality educational system. Teachers have a very difficult job. They often have to work under difficult circumstances and without all the resources that they need. Discipline is often a problem and many teachers have to battle on in isolation, without frequent interaction with other educators. At least instructional rounds have proven to be of great benefit to all concerned.
Such a system is very easy to implement. A small group of teachers visit a colleague in his class and observe him. The visiting teachers are led by a teacher that is well respected and that is regarded as a professional. The teacher being observed either volunteered or even asked for the event. No teacher is forced or pressurised to participate in this type of exercise.
The observers meet before each observation session. During this meeting they set goals for the forthcoming session. The teacher being observed may be well known for using humour in the classroom, for example, and the observers may want to learn how he does it. It is advisable to try and focus upon the strong points of the teacher under observation. In this way the observers can learn more.
The main aim of observation sessions is to learn from the teacher under observation. These sessions have no element of evaluation attached to them because that will defeat the purpose of the session utterly. That is why only experienced teachers are asked to agree to be observed. The students are told about the session beforehand. The teacher under observation is not given any feedback but he may ask for such feedback.
After each observation session the observer teachers meet to discuss their experiences. This meeting is deemed to be confidential and no official report is ever submitted. The focus is on lessons learnt and not on criticizing the observed teacher in any way. The observers also share their ideas on how they will be implementing new ideas in their own classrooms. In this way innovation in the classroom can be achieved.
Organizing regular teacher observation opportunities hold many benefits. The teacher being observed is motivated because his expertise and experience are acknowledged. The observer teacher benefit because they learn new techniques from experienced colleagues. Naturally, the students also benefit because they will be exposed to new methods and a more innovative approach to teaching. Everybody benefits and the quality of education is raised at the same time.
Such systems have critics too. They are of the opinion that observation sessions offer little or no value to the observers. They argue that teachers being observed prepare specially for these sessions and that they defeat the object of the exercise in this manner. Many teachers and educational authorities disagree. They are satisfied that teacher observation sessions are beneficial to all concerned.
Learning from experienced and well respected colleagues is as old as mankind itself. After all, that is where the apprentice system originated. Teachers willing to share their experience and teachers willing to learn from them can only help to improve the overall quality of education. That alone should be enough to keep motivating those that believe in teacher observation sessions.
Such a system is very easy to implement. A small group of teachers visit a colleague in his class and observe him. The visiting teachers are led by a teacher that is well respected and that is regarded as a professional. The teacher being observed either volunteered or even asked for the event. No teacher is forced or pressurised to participate in this type of exercise.
The observers meet before each observation session. During this meeting they set goals for the forthcoming session. The teacher being observed may be well known for using humour in the classroom, for example, and the observers may want to learn how he does it. It is advisable to try and focus upon the strong points of the teacher under observation. In this way the observers can learn more.
The main aim of observation sessions is to learn from the teacher under observation. These sessions have no element of evaluation attached to them because that will defeat the purpose of the session utterly. That is why only experienced teachers are asked to agree to be observed. The students are told about the session beforehand. The teacher under observation is not given any feedback but he may ask for such feedback.
After each observation session the observer teachers meet to discuss their experiences. This meeting is deemed to be confidential and no official report is ever submitted. The focus is on lessons learnt and not on criticizing the observed teacher in any way. The observers also share their ideas on how they will be implementing new ideas in their own classrooms. In this way innovation in the classroom can be achieved.
Organizing regular teacher observation opportunities hold many benefits. The teacher being observed is motivated because his expertise and experience are acknowledged. The observer teacher benefit because they learn new techniques from experienced colleagues. Naturally, the students also benefit because they will be exposed to new methods and a more innovative approach to teaching. Everybody benefits and the quality of education is raised at the same time.
Such systems have critics too. They are of the opinion that observation sessions offer little or no value to the observers. They argue that teachers being observed prepare specially for these sessions and that they defeat the object of the exercise in this manner. Many teachers and educational authorities disagree. They are satisfied that teacher observation sessions are beneficial to all concerned.
Learning from experienced and well respected colleagues is as old as mankind itself. After all, that is where the apprentice system originated. Teachers willing to share their experience and teachers willing to learn from them can only help to improve the overall quality of education. That alone should be enough to keep motivating those that believe in teacher observation sessions.
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