Post on 01-Jun-2018
8/9/2019 Self-Development Through Classroom Observation
1/9
8/9/2019 Self-Development Through Classroom Observation
2/9
The
self
Largely drawn from Edges 1992) idea of co-operative development,
development the self-development approach was adapted by the British lecturer and
approach her Chinese counterpart. It was designed to give teachers the inner
motivation to work on something important to them through a process
of awareness-raising. The use of self-development in classroom
observation had four main aims:
- to help the teachers understand that they have a responsibility for
their own development;
- to help the teachers have a clearer understanding of their own
classroom experiences;
- to introduce the teachers to a more developmental approach to
teacher training;
- to help the teachers build a more supportive and trusting relationship
with their colleagues, and to realize the mutual benefits that would
accrue from this.
Relat ionship
The participants were in three categories: the British lecturer, the
patterns and roles
Chinese counterpart, and the Chinese teachers, which led to four
of the
patterns of relationship: British lecturer-counterpart, British lecturer-
part ic ipants
teacher, counterpart-teacher, and teacher-teacher.
The British lecturer and the Chinese counterpart worked closely
together in a compatible, supportive partnership with shared responsi-
bilities, making the best of each others strengths. This was important,
since extensive negotiation needed to be carried out before the
programme could be implemented. The partnership needed to explore
ways of taking coherent, pre-agreed action
to
make classroom
observation as effective as possible. In the second relationship, the
British lecturer had to learn to adjust her behaviour to ensure that she
was accepted not only as an expert, but also as an insider. In the third
relationship, which tended to be the most crucial, the Chinese
counterpart was required to act as a link between the British lecturer
and the Chinese teachers. This demanded particularly careful handling,
given the need to maintain a good working relationship with the peer
teachers in order to avoid being isolated by the working community. The
fourth relationship was a peer partnership. This was generally found to
be the least problematic, since the partner was chosen by the teacher
him or herself.
In the initial design, the participants were assigned two roles, as both
Speaker and Understander Edge 1992). The Speaker was the teacher
who worked on his or her development during a given session. This
person decided on the issues that would be focused on and discussed.
The Understander was expected to help the Speaker develop his or her
ideas by clarifying them and following their development. More
importantly, the Understander had to interact in a more disciplined
way than in everyday conversation by being a good listener rather than
giving opinions or assessments. Whoever was in this role therefore
needed to possess good interactive skills, and training was needed to
206
Qun Wang and N i cola Set h
articles welcome
8/9/2019 Self-Development Through Classroom Observation
3/9
help the Understander to be fully effective. For this reason special
seminars on relevant topics e.g. introducing the self-development
approach, the notion of classroom observation, listening skills, receiving
and giving feedback) were given by the British lecturer and the
counterpart before the classroom observation.
The role of the Understander was originally intended to be played by
the British lecturer and the Chinese counterpart, but as the programme
developed it was also taken by the teacher/Speaker in the form of cross-
observation. This involved the teacher/Speaker observing the observer/
Understander, a role reversal which altered the power relationship. It
should be pointed out that the British lecturer and the counterpart were
in no way seeking to present model lessons, and in fact, this change of
roles provided a good opportunity for the observers to develop first-
hand experience, and gain a close insight into problems that the teachers
had spoken of during the feedback.
was the self
The process of self-development was carried out through interaction, In
development other words, the participants discussed relevant issues within a
structured framework. The interaction often went through stages of
in c lassroom understanding, reflecting, focusing, disclosing, and planning Edge
observat ion? 1992). However, this was not a fixed sequence, since situations varied,
as can be seen in the extracts below, which were transcribed from
conversations which took place during the project S = Speaker, U =
Understander).
Understanding tended to be the most important stage. The Under-
stander tried to stay with the teachers framework of classroom
experience, understand what the teacher said, and in general to make
the teacher feel listened to, for example:
S:
I like to have my students work in pairs, not in groups, when
doing this kind of activity, because in this way the weaker
students could have more opportunity to speak.
U:
Oh, yeah, I see your point.
During the reflecting stage, the Understander either acted as a warm
and human mirror, a thoughtful and selective tape-recorder, or a
supportive comprehension checker of the Speakers ideas Edge 1992:
29-30). The aim was to help the teacher gain a clearer view of what
actually happened during the observed lesson. Reflecting had the added
function of projecting the Speakers attitude and emotion. The Under-
standers function was to provide opportunities for reflection, rather
than to provide evaluative comments, thus leaving the teacher to explore
and discover fresh insights. The following example shows that teachers
did not have to accept everything the Understander said if they thought
that their intentions had not been understood:
U: I saw that it took almost 20 minutes to do the vocab exercise.
What do you feel about it, I mean, the pace of the lesson, was it a
bit slow or just OK?
Sel f development t hrough classroom observat ion
207
articles welcome
8/9/2019 Self-Development Through Classroom Observation
4/9
S: Well, I dont think it was too slow. Actually, Im just not sure if
you really understand what I mean by doing so.
U:
Do you think its necessary to look up all the vocab?
S: I think sometimes its important. They should know the words.
Focusing generally followed understanding and reflecting, so that the
discussion with the Speaker could rise above a superficial level. The
Understander could return to previous comments made by the teacher
in order to develop his or her ideas, and think about possible solutions to
particular problems. The Understander could also help the teacher to
work on his or her understanding of classroom experience in two other
ways: by guiding comments to elicit a focus, and by providing possible
direction to the feedback.
U: Just now you said that the students dont like pair work very
much. Why do you think this is?
S: Im not really sure. Maybe Ive used pair work too often.
U: Do you get a better response from them if they work in groups?
In disclosing, the Understander only disclosed his or her own experience
to the extent that it might be useful to clarify what the teacher was trying
to say, by serving as a comparison or contrast to the teachers
experience. Disclosing was perhaps the most difficult stage to handle,
so it was vital for the Understander to remain within strict limits, and to
offer the teacher a perspective rather than a prescription. The
challenging initiated by the Understander should be creative destruc-
tive Stevick 1980: 106) or a constructive exchange Freeman 1982:
25), for example:
S: I was worried during the vocabulary contest that not all the
students were speaking.
U: Yeah, I think I understand what you mean. If I had that sort of
contest in class, I wouldnt be able to predict how theyll perform,
but I know some weaker students will probably just sit there.
Planning implied the action-taking process. It was essential for the
teacher to prioriritize long or short-term goals, and in most cases it would
be better to start with a narrow goal than an ambitious, broadly
conceived one, since it was easier for the teacher to implement it in full
and evaluate it Edge 1992: 67). The Understander then made sure that
the teacher understood what his or her future priorities were by talking
through the process step-by-step. The following example shows how one
Speaker set her future agenda after the observer had made her aware of
a lack of eye contact:
S: I never realized before that I had so little eye contact with
individual students. I think maybe I should try to look at the
weaker students more often, so they might pay more attention to
my instructions.
U: Yeah. Its certainly worth trying.
A procedura l
As already mentioned, the whole process of classroom observation was
f ramework
either decided in full by the individual teacher or through negotiation
208
Qun Wang and Ni cola Set h
articles welcome
8/9/2019 Self-Development Through Classroom Observation
5/9
between the teacher/Speaker and the observer/Understander as to what
to do, who was to be involved, for how long, etc. A typical procedure
was:
1 Pre-classroom observation questionnaire
2 Classroom observation process
a. pre-observation discussion
b. classroom visit s)
c. post-observation discussion
3 Post-classroom observation questionnaire
Pre- and
post- The pre- and post-classroom observation questionnaires aimed to
classroom
compare teachers past experience of observation with their impressions
observation of the current programme, discover if their perception of the usefulness
questionnaires
of classroom observation had changed as a result, find out what they had
gained from the programme, and elicit comments on the framework and
approach adopted.
Pre- and post- Aspects of teaching raised by the teacher could be discussed in advance
classroom
of the classroom observation. The lesson plan and observation tasks
observation Wajnryb 1992) could also be given to observers, and the self-assessment
discussion
worksheets Williams 1989: 88-90) to the teacher at the same time. The
most important thing about the pre-classroom observation session was
that the teachers got a clear idea about what was going to happen during
and after the observation, and thus felt more secure. The post-
observation discussions were also much appreciated by the teachers,
who were excited by the new experience of seeing themselves through
other peoples eyes, and discovering things they had never realized
before.
Feedback
All those who took part in the programme agreed that they had
benefited considerably in terms of their self-development. The
participants feedback especially from the post-classroom observation
questionnaire) was a rich source of information about their personal
experience in the collaborative activity. Some of the key issues which
emerged from their feedback were:
1 Classroom observation through the self-development approach was a
very effective aid to teacher self-development.
2 The post-classroom observation feedback session was the most
useful and enjoyable part.
3 The atmosphere was relaxed, personal, and informal, and the
observers were friendly, and sincerely interested in helping.
4 The participants were listened to, and while the changes in the
subsequent teaching were made with the help of the observers
feedback, the decisions were taken by the participants alone.
5 The feedback from the observers was relevant, constructive, and
supportive.
Sel f development t hrough classroom observ at i on 209
articles welcome
8/9/2019 Self-Development Through Classroom Observation
6/9
8/9/2019 Self-Development Through Classroom Observation
7/9
I feel it is useful to pick up on subconscious habits and find ways to
improve . . .
It made me think about what I do in the lesson.
Beforehand, I lost my motivation to plan lessons, but gained it back by
doing classroom observation. I also enjoyed seeing the style of my co-
teachers and taking things I like from them.
This is an opportunity to get to know some feedback on my teaching
as well as learn new techniques from others.
The post-lesson feedback was helpful for both encouragement and to
bring to light possible problem areas and how to improve them. The
attitude of the observers was very friendly. Overall, very positive
feedback was given which gives the teachers encouragement and
confidence. Critical comments were given in a supportive/contempla-
tive rather than a judgmental manner. I think the observers can
suggest what areas might be helpful for teachers to focus on for future
observations. It would be up to the teachers to follow the suggestions
or not.
These positive comments do not tell the whole story. Observing the
performance of the native-speaker teachers in China, where they are
often regarded as the authority on the target language, needed great
sensitivity, and at times training them seemed a rather daring
endeavour. Some difficulty was found in providing them with feedback.
Quite why this was so was difficult to determine, since they had asked for
criticism of their lessons, but the feedback had to be handled with even
greater care than before to avoid confrontation. This could be accounted
for by cultural differences, or the fact that the British lecturer was a
friend of the American teachers, which altered the power relationship,
or perhaps by the fact that some people are naturally more defensive
than others. It could also be that because the two American teachers
were relatively inexperienced, they were more defensive. We feel that
this area needs further exploration.
Although the participants gave overwhelmingly positive feedback of the
classroom observation experience, they had some criticisms of both
classroom observation and the self-development approach. One
problem was the time taken up by the post-classroom observation
feedback sessions, another the fact that observers tended not to focus on
particular teachers needs. They also made many valuable suggestions
for further improvement of the classroom observation approach and the
classroom observation procedures, such as recommmending that class-
room observation should be carried out on a regular basis, and that
more teachers should be involved.
Conclus ion
The concept of teacher development in China today is new to many
Chinese teachers, and for most of them traditional classroom observa-
tion still prevails. Within this context, what was done in this project was a
successful attempt to make classroom observation a workable means for
teachers self-development. The perception of classroom observation
had been altered within the department, and a valuable contribution had
Sel f development t hrough classroom observat ion
211
articles welcome
8/9/2019 Self-Development Through Classroom Observation
8/9
212
been made to the teacher-training programme at Qingdao University. It
was also found that teachers in the department had become more willing
to admit strangers into the classroom, and that more observations were
being carried out independently. The result was a greater sharing of
ideas and debate concerning classroom issues, which could only be
positive. Moreover, the use of the observation tasks had enabled
teachers to develop their classroom observation skills, and work
independently of the programme. A large collection of self-access
training materials was created, from which teachers may select the task
they wish to do, and then observe their colleagues. Perhaps more
importantly, the programme has fostered an atmosphere of greater
enquiry generated from the teachers themselves, and improved the
interpersonal relationships among the classroom observation partici-
pants. The eventual aim is to expand the programme so that more
teachers can benefit, to fine-tune the self-development approach, and to
adapt the observation tasks to suit particular teaching situations. In the
meantime, the teachers are encouraged to continue to observe and
create their own observation worksheets as and when the need arises.
The final note of this article is one of warning. Despite the encouraging
results from the programme discussed above, some difficulties will
always arise in teacher development. Two things, at least, are necessary
for potential success and sustainability. One is the support of the
administrators, the other is the enthusiasm and devotion of the people in
charge of the programme, together with the understanding and
commitment of the majority of teachers. Without these two basic
premises, teacher development is in danger of becoming an expensive
leisure activity, or in Sunderlands words doing what Romans dont do
1990: 241). H owever, there are reasons to be cheerful. Although
collaborative observation/feedback and the broader notion of teacher
development are quite alien in the Chinese context, the success of this
project could be seen as an indicator that teacher development will
gradually take root in China. In the meantime, it is hoped, it will help to
illuminate similar situations outside China where more traditional
observation practices still prevail.
Received July 1997
Qun Wang and Ni cola Set h
articles welcome
8/9/2019 Self-Development Through Classroom Observation
9/9
J. 1992. Co operat i ve Development . Harlow:
Longman.
1982. Observing teachers: three
approaches for in-service training and develop-
ment.
TESOL Quarterly
16/1: 21-8.
E. W. 1980. Learning Languages: A Way
and Ways.
Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
1990. Doing what the Romans
dont do: advanced teacher training course in
China in Y.E. Dzau eds.). 1990. English in
China. Hong Kong: APL Press.
b R. 1992.
Classroom Observation Tasks.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Q. 1993. Adding one more ingredient:
teacher development in an ESP project in the
Peoples Republic of China. Unpublished MA
thesis, Aston University.
Williams M. A. 1989. A developmental view of
classroom observations. ELT Journal 43/2: 85 91.
The authors
Qun
Wang
is an associate professor at the Language
Centre, Qingdao University, Peoples Republic of
China. She was a counterpart in the ESP project
jointed conducted by the British Council and
Qingdao University 1991-95). She has an MSc in
TESP from Aston University, and is currently
studying for her PhD at the University College of
St Mark and St John. Her research interests involve
teacher training and development.
E-mail:
Nicola Seth was the British lecturer on the ESP
project at Qingdao University 1994-5) and is
currently working in the Peoples Republic of
China.
Self development t hrough classroom observat ion
213