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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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 Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 12:17 am Post subject: |
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| spiral78 wrote: |
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| Lecturing is when teachers come across as rehearsed. A true classroom observation is just that: observing the teacher-student interaction. |
I disagree with this definition of lecturing; I think of lecturing as a lesson heavy on teacher output and light on student involvement.
I supervise a wide net of teachers across the CEE region (they are not language teachers, but many of them teach in English). Many of them are in institutions where lecturing is very much the norm and for them to do anything radically different would diminish their credibility. We aim for them to at least deliver thoughtfully designed lectures that take the students into account in as many ways as possible.
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I think that how useful observations are depends VERY heavily on the context and the approaches taken. When they are collaborative and focused on ongoing development rather than evaluative, most teachers respond positively to the exercise in my experience.
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Ditto that. In your role, the teachers you supervise mainly impart knowledge as opposed to facilitating language learning.
For context, the few EFL teachers who chose to teach via a script for their observation appeared rehearsed because they were 1) insecure about their normal teaching abilities, and/or 2) weren't aware of the purpose of a classroom observation. One colleague, a fellow American, commented that she'd never been observed in previous teaching jobs and decided to rehearse her lesson so that it would be "perfect." That's what she thought the observers wanted even though it wasn't how she normally delivered her lessons. Not surprising, the observers wrote that her students were visually disengaged because she lectured for much of the lesson when she should have been connecting with them and having them engage each other. They also noted that she should have been attentive to her students' reactions during the lesson and subsequently adapted her teaching strategy. But she stayed on script. She said it was "painful" to have to explain to the observers what she could have done better in her classroom.
BTW, being observed was indicated as a condition of employment in our teaching agreements. Teachers who showed little to no improvement during follow-up observations risked not getting their contract renewed.
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JoThomas
Joined: 08 Jan 2017
Posts: 148
Location: Canada
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| Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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^Interesting.
Open classes in Korean public schools are often rehearsed. I once went to observe another public school where the Korean and native English teacher were teaching an open class for all to see. The whole thing was close to perfect in that you could tell that they had rehearsed the class. The children were perfect (quiet and obedient). This was a big grade one class of 30 children. Korean culture seems to thrive on what things look like on the outside.
Having said that as part of my current contract at an international school, I am formally observed twice a year. The admin also drop in about once a month unexpectedly. If you have constructive admin who have experience in a classroom, observations and feedback can be invaluable. I have grown quite a bit in the last three years. I like how my admin will tell me mostly good things about my lesson and then something I could work on to become even more effective. I was never observed when I worked in the public system. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 3:02 am Post subject: |
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| JoThomas wrote: |
| The admin also drop in about once a month unexpectedly. |
Those impromptu, drop-in observations are opportunities to see how the teacher really teaches and facilitates student interactions and learning. Plus, it can be a saving grace for a teacher who shines during these casual observations but is so-so when formally observed. |
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