The educational system is under tremendous pressure. There are simply not enough resources and teachers have to deal with numerous responsibilities. They have to achieve good results in the classroom but they are over burdened by administrative responsibilities, endless meetings, extra curricular activities and other tasks. They have almost no chance to develop professionally. At least, with instructional rounds teachers are given the chance to learn and to develop their professional teaching skills.
The good thing about this system is that it is easy to implement and to manage. All that happens is that a few teachers get together to visit a teaching session of a colleague. It is a voluntary system and even the observed teacher has to agree to such an observation session. The whole idea behind the system is to observe more experienced teachers and to learn from the way that he teaches.
Before the observation session the observers meet in order to define some aims for the session. The observed colleague is often acknowledged as a successful educator and he may even be know for using unique techniques to achieve better results. The purpose of the observers is to see how he does that and to find out if they, too, can use his formula in their own classrooms.
Observers never evaluate the colleague that is observed. That will negate the entire idea behind these sessions. They have only one goal and that is to learn from the observed colleague. This is why the learners are informed about the reason for the visit and that is also why no feedback is ever given. The observers do not participate in the classroom activities and they do not interact with learners.
After the observation session the observers meet once again. This time round the purpose is to give each other feedback regarding the lessons that was learnt. They discuss ways in which they can use these lessons to improve their own teaching methods. Criticism of the observed colleague is not allowed. No report is drawn up and all discussions are deemed to be confidential.
These sessions have become commonplace and teachers say that they greatly benefit from them. They learn from experienced colleagues, find new inspiration and they get the opportunity to interact with colleagues. When teachers grow professionally everyone benefits. Learners obtain better results, schools are obtaining better results and the entire educational system is improved. Observed teachers also benefit because they find new motivation in the knowledge that they are deemed as worthy to learn from.
There are always critics. In this case they say that these sessions are of no consequence because they are too short and infrequent. They say that observed teachers put on an act for observers. They are in the minority, however. Most educators are in favour of the system. They say that they cherish the opportunity learn and that they find that they are once again enthusiastic about their jobs.
Improving the educational system, even in very small ways, should always be a priority. Teachers should be given every possible opportunity to improve their skills. Their charges are, after all, the future leaders of the world.
The good thing about this system is that it is easy to implement and to manage. All that happens is that a few teachers get together to visit a teaching session of a colleague. It is a voluntary system and even the observed teacher has to agree to such an observation session. The whole idea behind the system is to observe more experienced teachers and to learn from the way that he teaches.
Before the observation session the observers meet in order to define some aims for the session. The observed colleague is often acknowledged as a successful educator and he may even be know for using unique techniques to achieve better results. The purpose of the observers is to see how he does that and to find out if they, too, can use his formula in their own classrooms.
Observers never evaluate the colleague that is observed. That will negate the entire idea behind these sessions. They have only one goal and that is to learn from the observed colleague. This is why the learners are informed about the reason for the visit and that is also why no feedback is ever given. The observers do not participate in the classroom activities and they do not interact with learners.
After the observation session the observers meet once again. This time round the purpose is to give each other feedback regarding the lessons that was learnt. They discuss ways in which they can use these lessons to improve their own teaching methods. Criticism of the observed colleague is not allowed. No report is drawn up and all discussions are deemed to be confidential.
These sessions have become commonplace and teachers say that they greatly benefit from them. They learn from experienced colleagues, find new inspiration and they get the opportunity to interact with colleagues. When teachers grow professionally everyone benefits. Learners obtain better results, schools are obtaining better results and the entire educational system is improved. Observed teachers also benefit because they find new motivation in the knowledge that they are deemed as worthy to learn from.
There are always critics. In this case they say that these sessions are of no consequence because they are too short and infrequent. They say that observed teachers put on an act for observers. They are in the minority, however. Most educators are in favour of the system. They say that they cherish the opportunity learn and that they find that they are once again enthusiastic about their jobs.
Improving the educational system, even in very small ways, should always be a priority. Teachers should be given every possible opportunity to improve their skills. Their charges are, after all, the future leaders of the world.
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