It is a sad fact that many teachers have to perform their many responsibilities in isolation. They mostly interact with their students and they seldom receive objective feedback from other professionals. Classroom walkthroughs have changed all this. It allows teachers to receive advice from their peers. Best of all, this advice is non judgmental and its sole purpose is to benefit the teacher concerned.
It is not the aim of instructional rounds to evaluate teachers in a formal manner. It aims at providing teachers with the opportunity to interact with peers and to learn from each other. The visiting teacher observes the methods of the local teacher and they compare notes after the visit. No formal feedback is expected or given unless it is requested. The visit is normally discussed in an informal way and the purpose is purely to compare notes.
It is not difficult to organize an instructional round system. In most cases a small group of observer teachers are led by a respected and experienced senior teacher. The observers can even be from different schools. Observers never interfere in the instruction and they do not participate in any way. Students are simply told that there will be some people that want to learn from their own teacher.
In order to gain maximum benefit from an instructional round it is necessary to set one or two very specific goals. Rather than observing in a general manner attention is paid to specific aspects such as the use of teaching aids or the way in which the teacher gets the students to interact with the subject matter. Observers discuss their impressions with each other after the visit.
The debriefing after an observation session is important. Observers can learn even more by sharing their experiences and by discussing the techniques and methods employed by the host teacher. These discussions are not shared outside the group of observers. Part of the discussions should be on how to incorporate new ideas in their own classes. The host teacher can choose whether he or she wants to be part of the debrief session.
Most education experts are in agreement that instructional rounds are beneficial to the educational system as a whole. Teachers learn from each other and relations between different schools are improved. Students also benefit because their teachers are often exposed to new ideas and methods. Host teachers are motivated by positive feedback and this can play an important role in building morale and in teachers making additional efforts to improve.
Great care should be taken to make sure that an instructional rounds system does not cause harm. This is certainly possible if any teacher is forced to participate or if observers discuss their opinions with outsiders. If the system is seen as a formal form of evaluation it will not achieve the benefits that can be gained. Teachers under observations should never be criticized.
There can be no doubt that everyone involved in the education system, including the learners, can benefit from instructional rounds. This is especially the case when innovative and experienced teachers are willing to be observed by less experienced educators. Nobody is ever too old or too experienced to learn from another.
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How Classroom Walkthroughs Help To Improve The Quality Of Education
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