Teachers have a very tough job. Their prime concern is to teach their students, but much of their time is taken up by administrative duties, extra curricular activities and meetings. They have to deal with students from dysfunctional homes, with poor discipline and with the absolute minimum in resources. Most teachers do not have time to attend self development courses and they work in isolation. With instructional rounds consultation they can get the chance to develop and to interact regularly with other teachers.
This innovation is simple and it is very easy to implement at any school. It works like this. A small group of teachers sit in on the class of a respected colleague to see how he conducts his lessons. The purpose of the class room visit is to learn from the colleague, normally someone that is very well regarded as a teacher. No observer or teacher being observed is ever forced to participate in this system.
Before every observation session the observers meet in order to formulate specific objectives for the session. These objectives normally focus on the strong points of the teacher that will be observed. A teacher may, for example, be known for his ability to elicit class participation from his students and the observers will then focus on the ways in which he achieve this feat.
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.
After each observation session the visiting teachers meet again. This time the purpose is to share the lessons that each of them has learned and to discuss ways in which those lessons can be implemented in their own class rooms. No criticism is allowed and these discussions are treated as confidential. Visitors also never submit any official report on the results of the observation session.
This easy to implement system has become all the rave. Schools now visit each other and even colleges and universities are starting to see the benefits of observation sessions. It does not require a lot of money and it offers many advantages to both teachers, teachers under observation and, of course, students. Most participants in this system report that they benefited greatly from observing and being observed.
Critics say that the system is far too informal. The do not like the idea that no feedback is given and that no reports are submitted. They also think that the observation sessions are too short to be of real value. They furthermore think that teachers being observed take special trouble with their lessons because they want to impress their colleagues. This, they say, creates a false impression of how that teacher normally acts in class.
There can be no doubt that the educational system is under great pressure. Every effort at helping teachers to grow professionally should be applauded and supported. Observation sessions have many supporters that say that they, and therefore the entire system, benefit from it.
This innovation is simple and it is very easy to implement at any school. It works like this. A small group of teachers sit in on the class of a respected colleague to see how he conducts his lessons. The purpose of the class room visit is to learn from the colleague, normally someone that is very well regarded as a teacher. No observer or teacher being observed is ever forced to participate in this system.
Before every observation session the observers meet in order to formulate specific objectives for the session. These objectives normally focus on the strong points of the teacher that will be observed. A teacher may, for example, be known for his ability to elicit class participation from his students and the observers will then focus on the ways in which he achieve this feat.
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.
After each observation session the visiting teachers meet again. This time the purpose is to share the lessons that each of them has learned and to discuss ways in which those lessons can be implemented in their own class rooms. No criticism is allowed and these discussions are treated as confidential. Visitors also never submit any official report on the results of the observation session.
This easy to implement system has become all the rave. Schools now visit each other and even colleges and universities are starting to see the benefits of observation sessions. It does not require a lot of money and it offers many advantages to both teachers, teachers under observation and, of course, students. Most participants in this system report that they benefited greatly from observing and being observed.
Critics say that the system is far too informal. The do not like the idea that no feedback is given and that no reports are submitted. They also think that the observation sessions are too short to be of real value. They furthermore think that teachers being observed take special trouble with their lessons because they want to impress their colleagues. This, they say, creates a false impression of how that teacher normally acts in class.
There can be no doubt that the educational system is under great pressure. Every effort at helping teachers to grow professionally should be applauded and supported. Observation sessions have many supporters that say that they, and therefore the entire system, benefit from it.
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