Essential role of classroom observation in improving the quality of teaching
Observing a teacher in the classroom is one of the oldest and most conventional methods of holding a mirror up to a teacher.
To have them comprehend where they stand in terms of not only their curriculum delivery skills, but also classroom management, differentiating techniques/abilities, etc.
Teachers are the backbone of any educational endeavor, as their job performance is crucial to the activity’s success.
Performance is an individual-level variable that is essential to work performance since it must be goal-relevant. Performance must be aligned with pertinent organizational objectives.
According to the Teachers Service Commission (2015), the job performance of teachers is the collection of responsibilities a teacher executes in order to meet the school’s goals at a specific point in time.
These responsibilities include timely curriculum covering, correct pedagogical skills, and consistent school and class attendance. The relationship between teachers’ work performance and students’ outcomes as the final product of education is strong.
Consequently, the concept of classroom observation among teachers plays a crucial part in explaining why some schools achieve outstanding results while others constantly do poorly nationally.
Catholic University of Eastern Africa professors Martha Wairimu, Jacinta Adhiambo, and Stephen Mailu did a research study in 2019 titled Classroom Observation: Practice and Impact on Teachers’ Job Performance in Kangundo Sub-County, Machakos County.
The majority of teachers in the schools under study do not monitor one another in the classroom as a means of strengthening supervision and enhancing teachers’ work performance, according to the findings of the study.
The survey also found that the majority of teachers do not employ teaching and learning aids during the session, which is a crucial component of the instructional process meant to clarify concepts.
Insufficient effort was made by school administrators to discuss results with affected teachers in order to improve their educational techniques.
The outcomes of this study indicate that classroom monitoring is not accorded the utmost attention in many schools across the concept.
Observing teachers in the classroom is an important tool for education policy and research. By observing teachers in the classroom, it is possible to assess the effect of training programmes and other interventions on teachers and, consequently, on student learning.
Observation in the classroom can assist education administrators in benchmarking the performance of schools and school systems in crucial areas, such as teachers’ utilization of instructional time and educational resources, student engagement, and use of best-practice teaching practices. It can provide school teachers and mentors with formative teacher input.
And for educational systems moving toward performance-based promotion and remuneration, classroom observation is a crucial component of a full evaluation of individual teachers’ performance.
To obtain valuable data, however, classroom observations must follow a regulated protocol and be conducted by professional observers.
Stalling’s “classroom observation system” and CLASS are the two systems most frequently employed in developing nations (Classroom Assessment Scoring System). The CLASS, developed by Robert Pianta, is a tool for evaluating teaching effectiveness and teacher-student relationships.
It gives qualitative teaching ratings on a scale of 1 to 7 in three broad domains: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support.
Jane Stallings created the Stallings instrument, which generates quantitative data on teacher-student interaction in classrooms across four major variables: teachers’ use of instructional time, teachers’ use of materials, core pedagogical methods, and teachers’ ability to keep students engaged.
Teaching quality is perhaps the most influential school-based determinant on student performance. Obviously, circumstances beyond the school’s control (such as parental education and family money) play a significant role.
Principals, teacher collaboration, and the curriculum are also crucial school-based elements. Several studies indicate, however, that among the variables that the education system can genuinely influence, teaching effectiveness is the most significant, with two to three times the impact of any other school element.
It is estimated that teaching quality accounts for as much as 20% of the variance in student performance.
Consequently, instructional leaders, politicians, and scholars are asking: what factors influence teacher effectiveness? And what are the most effective strategies to enhance it?
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project, a collaboration between dozens of independent research teams and 3,000 teachers from seven U.S. public school districts, was one of the greatest study attempts to answer these concerns.
The MET study indicated that classroom observations, especially when conducted by several observers, can give teachers with the vital feedback they need to enhance their teaching.
“Teachers must become students of their own teaching if we want students to learn more.” Tom Kane, a professor of education and economics at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and the MET project’s head, stated that teachers must view their own teaching in a new way.
The MET study highlighted the importance of class monitoring and feedback in enhancing teaching quality. This is not a question of responsibility. It is about development and delivering the feedback required for every professional to pursue excellence.
Iran’s Masoumeh Zaare, a researcher in the Department of English Language at Islamic Azad University, published a study on the effect of classroom observation on teaching methods in 2012.
The purpose of the study was to determine the significance of ‘classroom observation’ in evaluating teaching procedures and to suggest appropriate methods for planning and carrying out classroom observations in order to achieve the desired results in terms of developing teachers and maximizing their abilities.
In June 2012, the study was done during a week of visits to an Iranian institute. All participants were affiliated with this institution. The observer collaborated with three peers who were expected to give their observations and evaluations.
The procedure assisted in calculating the inter-rater reliability, which determines the level of agreement between those rating. All observers chose for the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing model of observation checklist, which was then adapted to the demand of teaching English as a second language.
Both classes’ participants were adults and at the Pre-intermediate level, although Class 1 had six students and Class 2 had seventeen.
This study found that teachers acquired a great deal about how to teach by observing their qualified colleagues, and that these experiences helped them develop self-awareness and become more reflective teachers.
It was evident from the research that classroom observations can serve as a guide for teachers, allowing them to reflect on their own teaching approaches, and that observers can learn from other, potentially more effective educators about their methods.
Educators and administrators may enhance classes and schools as a whole through classroom observations.
Observing another teacher’s classroom and having your own class observed provide multiple educational benefits, including the capacity to define instructional procedures, examine disparities for a single student or group of students, and enhance your own classroom instruction.
So how precisely should teachers proceed?
Observation in the classroom is the link between theory and practice. Observation can discover a great deal about how and why specific theories or tactics succeed or fail in a local setting. There is no system that works equally well in all instances, and methods and theories are developed and tested in the classroom.
To prevent misinterpretation, observers must be trained to record data objectively and provide constructive criticism. Similarly, teachers require training in order to incorporate the data into their own teaching.
Teachers gain a stronger comprehension of theoretical information and practical options for what, how, and to what extent they can apply this knowledge in their classrooms. Observations are most effective when approached as a collaborative endeavor to the mutual advantage of all parties.
For the observee, an observation can provide feedback that may not be exposed by other means of evaluation. Before being observed, the teacher should be prepared to share goals for the class, what he or she aims to do in class that day, and what the observer should focus on.
The teacher should introduce the observer to the class, explain the purpose of the observation, and describe the observer’s role to the students while being observed.
After being watched, a teacher should reconstruct what happened in class, consider goals for the class and the observed class session, and request explicit descriptions and constructive ideas.
Before observing, the observer should specify the purpose of the observation, meet with a colleague to discuss what will occur in class, describe what they will do during the observation, and then discuss the observation afterwards.
After observing and reconstructing what happened in class with the teacher, if you are the observer, ask your colleague to describe what he or she would change and what was common and unusual about the class.
Additionally, you should listen to your colleague, convey your observations without evaluating them, and provide constructive ideas.
Classroom observation may be a powerful instrument for professional growth and development if approached with the child’s best interests in mind and the proper attitude.
If conducted improperly, however, as a fault-finding and blame-assignment exercise, it can be harmful in numerous ways.
Essential role of classroom observation in improving the quality of teaching