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.
The visiting teachers meet prior to an observation session in order to formulate goals for the exercise. The teacher under observation may be acknowledged for the way in which he applies humour in his class, for example, and the visitors will then concentrate on this strong point. Because observation sessions are short, only a few very specific objectives are formulated for each session.
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.
Every observation session is concluded by another meeting of the observers. They share their experiences with the other observers, tell each other what they have learned and discuss ways in which to improve their own teaching. During this meeting, which is deemed to be confidential, no criticism of any kind is permitted. Observers also never submit any type of official report.
This simple system has become extremely popular in education circles. Schools now visit each other and even institutes of higher education have started to introduce observation sessions. The vast majority of participants say that they benefit greatly from these sessions and that their own teaching techniques have improved. Of course, if the teachers benefit, then the students and the entire educational system also benefits. The teacher being observed also benefits because he is recognized as an accomplished professional.
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.
The visiting teachers meet prior to an observation session in order to formulate goals for the exercise. The teacher under observation may be acknowledged for the way in which he applies humour in his class, for example, and the visitors will then concentrate on this strong point. Because observation sessions are short, only a few very specific objectives are formulated for each session.
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.
Every observation session is concluded by another meeting of the observers. They share their experiences with the other observers, tell each other what they have learned and discuss ways in which to improve their own teaching. During this meeting, which is deemed to be confidential, no criticism of any kind is permitted. Observers also never submit any type of official report.
This simple system has become extremely popular in education circles. Schools now visit each other and even institutes of higher education have started to introduce observation sessions. The vast majority of participants say that they benefit greatly from these sessions and that their own teaching techniques have improved. Of course, if the teachers benefit, then the students and the entire educational system also benefits. The teacher being observed also benefits because he is recognized as an accomplished professional.
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.
About the Author:
When you are searching for information about instructional rounds consultation, come to our web pages today. More details are available at http://www.instructionalrounds.com now.
0 comments:
Post a Comment