The Classroom Observer: Unwanted Interruption or Welcome Witness?
by Dr Lee Campbell
has now been published on ETE: Exploration Through Education
and can be accessed online here:
https://explorationthrougheducation.com/2016/10/06/the-classroom-observer-unwanted-interruption-or-welcome-witness/
Abstract
For many teachers, classroom observation can be a painful interruption/intrusion (Wragg, 1994:15) in the flow of a lesson’s delivery in terms of facilitating a meaningful, creative and enjoyable learning environment that is supportive to both learner and teacher. Whilst I acknowledge that observation can be a daunting experience, eliciting fear and dread at having someone, an ‘intruder’ (Minton, 2005:18) who is not normally part of the audience, watch and scrutinise an individual’s teaching style (O’Leary, 2014:62), I argue for the positive promotion of classroom observation (Double and Martin, 1998) and stress the benefits of ‘develop[ing] personal skills of evaluation and self-appraisal’ (1998:162). The discussion of an observed teaching session that I gave to a group of first year Fine Art undergraduates at Loughborough University in 2015 whose overall purpose/aim of the session was to familiarise students with core issues relating to the usage of sketchbooks as a common staple within contemporary art practice, helps to support my argument that the positive aspects of classroom peer observation (as a live process) outweigh the negatives and can in fact be supportive in providing an opportunity for teachers to realise or reinforce (O’Leary, 2014:62) the strengths in what they are doing. This is in addition to providing a window for the teacher to gain critical constructive feedback from often a more experienced colleague, who has probably at many points during their own teaching career, experienced similar moments of anxiety, positivity and reflection. The danger and the unanticipated events that ‘liveness’ can throw up is half the excitement of teaching. Indeed, ‘coping with the unexpected is an important part of successful teaching’ (Race, 2009:20).
References
Double, Jeremy, and Martin, A, Graham, 1998. Developing Higher Education Teaching Skills Through Peer Observation and Collaborative Reflection in Innovations in Education & Training International, 35:2, 161-170
Minton, David, 2005. Teaching Skills for Further and Adult Education.Thomson Learning
O’Leary, Matthew, 2014. Classroom Observation: A Guide to Effective Observation ofTeaching and Learning. Routledge
Race, Phil, 2009. Using peer observation to enhance teaching. Leeds Met Press
Wragg, Conrad, Edward, 1994. An Introduction to Classroom Observation. Routledge
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