Teachers play a vital role in shaping the future of the country by taking responsibility of educating young people to become responsible adults. Yet teachers are under tremendous pressure. They have to deal with a shortage of resources, big classes and many demands upon their time. In addition, teachers have to be involved with numerous non teaching activities and they simply have no time for personal development. With instructional rounds consultation teachers are least given the chance to learn from their colleagues.
The concept is very simple and it is easy to implement. A small group of teachers will visit the class of an esteemed colleague that is known to be strong on one or more aspects of the teaching profession. The visiting teachers simply observe him in action and they strive to learn from him. The visitors do not participate in the class at all. The system is always voluntary.
Before every observation session the observers meet in order to formulate specific objectives for the session. These objectives normally focus on the strong points of the teacher that will be observed. A teacher may, for example, be known for his ability to elicit class participation from his students and the observers will then focus on the ways in which he achieve this feat.
It is important for all role players to understand that these sessions are not evaluation exercises. The visiting teachers do not evaluate their colleague under observation. Instead, their purpose is simply to watch and to learn. Students are briefed on the purpose of the session too. In fact, visiting teachers do not even provide feedback after the session unless the teacher under observation requests it.
After each observation session the visiting teachers meet again. This time the purpose is to share the lessons that each of them has learned and to discuss ways in which those lessons can be implemented in their own class rooms. No criticism is allowed and these discussions are treated as confidential. Visitors also never submit any official report on the results of the observation session.
This easy to implement system has become all the rave. Schools now visit each other and even colleges and universities are starting to see the benefits of observation sessions. It does not require a lot of money and it offers many advantages to both teachers, teachers under observation and, of course, students. Most participants in this system report that they benefited greatly from observing and being observed.
Critics dismiss this system as useless because the observation sessions are too short and they are, according to them, far too informal. They feel that the system should make provision for feedback. Critics also say that teachers under observation are prone to grand standing in order to impress their colleagues and in this way they do not portray the way in which they normally teach.
The importance of a quality educational system simply cannot be overemphasized. The reality is that the system is struggling to cope and that teachers are under tremendous pressure. If observation sessions helps to improve the overall system, then it should be supported and encouraged everywhere.
The concept is very simple and it is easy to implement. A small group of teachers will visit the class of an esteemed colleague that is known to be strong on one or more aspects of the teaching profession. The visiting teachers simply observe him in action and they strive to learn from him. The visitors do not participate in the class at all. The system is always voluntary.
Before every observation session the observers meet in order to formulate specific objectives for the session. These objectives normally focus on the strong points of the teacher that will be observed. A teacher may, for example, be known for his ability to elicit class participation from his students and the observers will then focus on the ways in which he achieve this feat.
It is important for all role players to understand that these sessions are not evaluation exercises. The visiting teachers do not evaluate their colleague under observation. Instead, their purpose is simply to watch and to learn. Students are briefed on the purpose of the session too. In fact, visiting teachers do not even provide feedback after the session unless the teacher under observation requests it.
After each observation session the visiting teachers meet again. This time the purpose is to share the lessons that each of them has learned and to discuss ways in which those lessons can be implemented in their own class rooms. No criticism is allowed and these discussions are treated as confidential. Visitors also never submit any official report on the results of the observation session.
This easy to implement system has become all the rave. Schools now visit each other and even colleges and universities are starting to see the benefits of observation sessions. It does not require a lot of money and it offers many advantages to both teachers, teachers under observation and, of course, students. Most participants in this system report that they benefited greatly from observing and being observed.
Critics dismiss this system as useless because the observation sessions are too short and they are, according to them, far too informal. They feel that the system should make provision for feedback. Critics also say that teachers under observation are prone to grand standing in order to impress their colleagues and in this way they do not portray the way in which they normally teach.
The importance of a quality educational system simply cannot be overemphasized. The reality is that the system is struggling to cope and that teachers are under tremendous pressure. If observation sessions helps to improve the overall system, then it should be supported and encouraged everywhere.
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