i was looking back to see if she was looking back to see if he was looking back at me
(Teacher Development Series Number One – Classroom Observation )
This is the first in a series, inspired by this originally off-the-cuff, just-for-fun poll, looking at teacher development techniques the old-fashioned way… teacher development unplugged, if you like
As much as I love my on-line Personal Learning Network, it is only a part of how manage my development. In the early stages of my career, until fairly recently, it wasn’t a factor at all. So what, I asked, is the best way to learn how to teach ‘off-line’?
In the poll, I separated observation into two types – observation OF other teachers / trainers / supervisors, and observation BY the same. Unsurprisingly, to me, the former was amongst the most popular choices offered – running at 18% of the vote. Being observed is not considered so helpful, with just 7% picking it as their top choice.
Why do so many of us want to watch other teachers, yet shy away from being watched ourselves? As Nick Jaworski commented, when
“…there is a complaint …. management swoops in in a flurry of paper and ink. Why do so many teachers fear observations? Because at most schools, they are never done for positive reasons.”
I cringe when I think back to my early days in private language schools… this is exactly what happened. If you were doing a good job (if no one was complaining) you wouldn’t see a trainer. If you were having trouble, you’d be looking over your shoulder waiting for a trainer to show up and sit at the back of your classroom.
Fortunately for me, I was the one doing the watching. I must have seen literally thousands of classrooms hours, and then written every one up in a two page report. I like to think I was able to help some of those teachers improve. But if I am being honest, I think it was far more formative on my teaching career than it was on any of theirs. Good or bad, I took something from every lesson. A great activity. Something you should never say. A smart way of transitioning. An awkward silence… and in writing each one up, I had to reflect on what made a lesson fail or succeed and put it into to words, again and again.
I think that we have to recognise that observation is beneficial to one person, and one person only – the observer. Unfortunately, we are set up to expect feedback from peers who are unused to giving it, and reluctant to do so.
As part of the DELTA programme, I was involved in observation from every angle. I observed and was observed by my peers, and observed and observed by the trainers. Am I alone in this, or is it actually much easier when there is a clear power differential? However well you prepare, however much you negotiate in advance, however gently you tread, the peer observation is fraught with danger. As much as I love Ruth Wajnryb’s book Classroom Observation Tasks I wonder …. are peer feedback programmes doomed to uncomfortable failure?



