Learning from Yourself, Learning from Others - Part 3

This blog is Part 3 of 4.

You can access the other parts here:

Making Observations Effective Part 1 (When you are being observed)

During your training, you will be observed on numerous occasions.

Primarily, your mentor will conduct these observations.

However, it is likely that you will also be observed by other teachers, including members of middle or senior management.

Being observed is a wonderful opportunity to make progress.

Having someone with whom to discuss your lesson and who can provide feedback and insight regarding what you planned, how you taught it, and the learning that took place, is invaluable.

Not all observations are the same, though.

Nor are all observers equally skilled.

The following techniques will help ensure you always get the most out of your observations.

They can all be used independently. Some can be used in conjunction.

Specify a focus

Before the observation takes place, tell the observer what you would like them to focus on.

For example, you may feel your questioning lacks rigor.

You would then ask them to pay special attention to this during the lesson and to examine the extent to which you push learners to think more deeply through the questions you ask.

At the end of the observation, the observer will be able to provide highly targeted feedback focussing on an area you would like to develop.

This raises the efficacy of the observation.

Pre-plan your questions

If you know you are going to be observed, think in advance about what you would like to find out from the observation.

Then, plan a series of questions you can ask the observer after the observation has taken place.

Here, you are doing two things.

First, you are training your mind to focus on that which matters to you.

Second, you are identifying a means (the questions) through which to elicit information about how you are performing in an area that is important to you.

Focus on learner outcomes

Through your training, it is likely that your focus will gradually shift from yourself to your learners.

This is natural.

At the start of the course, your interest will be mostly taken up with your own performance as a teacher – the process of settling into the role.

As time progresses, you will come to realise that learner progression is the central goal of all teaching (or you will realise it in a more profound, experiential sense) and that finding out about what learning has taken place is crucial to effectively assessing the quality of a lesson.

As you come to reach this point, ask observers to focus on learner outcomes and to provide feedback on this after observations have taken place.

Identify specific groups of learners

A similar yet subtly different approach involves asking your observer to focus their attention on a specific group of learners.

For example, you might ask them to observe what sort of progress less-able learners make in your lesson and whether the strategies you put in place to support them are effective.

When the lesson is over, you can have a useful discussion in which you analyse the efficacy of what you did and then speak more broadly about how best to support the group of learners in question.

Tie the observation to your target

Your mentor will know your target.

Other observers might not.

Ensure observations are tied to your target – what you are seeking to implement – by informing observers in advance.

Explain what your target is and what you intend to do to try to achieve it during the lesson.

Afterwards, your discussion will centre on whether you achieved this and, if you did not, what you can try next time around to be successful.

This will help you to keep focussed on your target and should also give you access to relevant ideas and feedback.

Invite constructive criticism

Constructive criticism is criticism that identifies things that could be changed and then suggests ways in which to make a change.

So, for example, constructive criticism on questioning might identify a problem with a teacher’s questioning, explain why this is a problem, suggest how things could be done differently and then provide an example or two of what this might look like in practice.

Not all observers are adept at providing constructive criticism.

You can help them in their task by asking questions/posing statements such as:

Tell me one thing I could improve and give me an example of how I could improve it.
What did you think about X? What could I do to make it better?
What advice would you give me on how to improve X? Could you give me an example from your own teaching?

Lead the reflection

Our final technique is to make sure that you lead the reflection.

Sometimes this isn’t necessary.

If you have a skilled mentor or observer who understands how to use the process to help you further your development, all is well.

If they are unskilled, however, for whatever reason, you will be better served to take control and direct things to suit your ends.

So, for example, you might begin the reflection by stating what you want to focus on and how this relates to your target.

Then, through the course of the discussion, you can continue to refer back to this to keep things relevant, useful and on track.