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• About the resources

• Mentoring

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• Teaching observation

• In your organisation:

• Introduction
• Why are we looking at
  teaching observation?
• What are the key features of
  effective practice?
• What models?
• Examples of effective schemes
• Understanding the issues

• Models
• Resources
• Teaching observation centres

• Models

• Pilot centres

 

 

Teaching observation in your organisation

Introduction

 

We use observation in a variety of ways within education. In educational research we use observation to gather data on:

 

• physical settings (e.g. the physical environment and its organisation)
• human settings (e.g. the organisation of people, the characteristics and make-up of the groups or individuals being observed)
• interactional settings (e.g. the interactions taking place)
• programme settings (e.g. the resources and their organisation, pedagogic styles, curricula and their organisation).

(Morrison, 1993:80) [Ref] Morrison K R B (1993) Planning and Accomplishing School-centred Evaluation. Norfolk: Peter Francis Publishers

 

Sometimes we observe in order to record a representational snapshot for analysis against set criteria; at other times we use a less-structured approach to build up a picture from what is being observed and decide on its significance. Quality assurance observations of teaching practice for appraisal and for inspection purposes are standard practice, as also are judgements based on observed behaviour, competencies and learning outcomes graded against pre-determined benchmarks of good practice.

 

In teacher education we tend to see observation as a two-way process, with both parties (the observer and the person being observed) actively involved in planning the observation. They will agree roles for the observation itself (participant or non-participant observer? peer, tutor, mentor or line-manager?), the type of observation (developmental or assessment observation?) and the way that feedback will be structured and used. 

 

There are broadly three types of teaching observation:

 

• developmental
• assessment based
• quality assurance.

 

Each of these involves judgements, whether these are reflecting on our own practice, those of our peers, those we are mentoring, our trainee teachers or staff we line-manage. How effective they are, however, depends on how we decide to observe and how we use what we observe to support quality improvement overall. Observation is an integral part of experiential learning; and experience, observation, conceptualisation and experimentation - all underpinned by reflection - are part of Kolb’s learning cycle (1984). [Ref]Kolb D A (1983) Experiential Learning Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall learning cycle.  This cycle, applied to the development of teaching, looks like this:

 

 

 

 

An overview of literature on teaching observation.  Click the theory button to view the literature review from City College Norwich [will open a PDF in a new window].