This article discusses the necessity to inform students prior to the lesson about the observation and some aspects of the observer role in the session.
As discussed in Article 2,understanding the purpose of observation, lesson planning, and participating in a well-organised and conducted pre-observation meeting play a significant role in ensuring the effectiveness of an observation. An aspect that has not been analysed so far is that of the learners. This will be examined in this part.
INFORMING STUDENTS ABOUT THE OBSERVATION PRIOR TO THE OBSERVATION DATE
Why: students need to know a ‘new’ person will join the session because their presence can impact session dynamics (i.e. interactions, participation, engagement) significantly.
When: a couple of days before the observation or at the previous session
What: learners are informed that a new person will join the session and take notes on what’s happening. The observation focus will be on how the tutor works and provide suggestions on how things can be done differently. Students need to understand that there will be no focus on student performance and their language accuracy and fluency and they are expected to act and interact as they do during every regular session (which is not observed).
What if students have no prior information about the observer’s presence: learners may be surprised and feel nervous and intimidated to see an unfamiliar face/ or a face who has a different role (i.e. a teacher of another class) in their class and their performance will differ from what would happen in a non-observed lesson. This can lead to fear of poor performance, the misconception that they’re being evaluated and eventually minimum interaction and participation.
If the session develops like this, it will provide limited evidence to the observer who will have a distorted picture of the session and won’t be able to provide useful and relevant comments and helpful feedforward. That will result in a waste of resources (i.e. tutor and observer’s time, effort, preparation, student class time).
It is important to recognise that each tutor and student rapport, class atmosphere and dynamics have very unique features which will inevitably be impacted negatively if learners feel their learning and interaction space has been ‘invaded’ by somebody who does not ‘belong’ in the class team.
Even when they are informed about an upcoming observation and its purpose and process, their behavior in the session can be influenced by the presence of the ‘new’ person. We can imagine what it could be like if no prior notice has been given to them.
Observer’s role
Before the session the tutor and the observer need to agree on how long the observer will stay in the session and their role and interaction with the learners. An observation that lasts about 30-45 minutes usually provides a lot of evidence to explore and use for professional development afterwards, but the observer may wish to stay for fewer minutes. Their role is usually limited to observing what happening, though when pair/ group work tasks are assigned, it could be a good idea to involve them. In the past, as a tutor, I have decided to have the observer join a group for a speaking task. This can bring a breath of fresh air to the task and learners who talk to the observer may like the experience. However, every tutor in their context knows their learners well and can decide if involving the observer is appropriate.
The main responsibility of the observer is to take notes of what happens and what doesn’t happen during the session, by referring to the lesson plan and the specific aspects that were discussed at the pre-observation meeting. Notes can be taken on everything worth commenting on and the more the notes taken, the better for everyone as long as they tackle a number of points. While taking notes aspects more closely observed include student interaction with materials, tutor and peers, time management practices, question-handling and feedback provision, instructions, explanations, examples used for language and skills teaching and task allocation, prioritizing, encouraging participation and inclusion, opportunities for pair/group work, overall class atmosphere. While note-taking, it is essential to make a note of specific examples and language use, as this works as evidence of support comments made later when discussing with the observe and providing suggestions to them.
Important Reminder: We’ve talked in previous articles about the constructive nature and purpose of observations. When an observer notes down what happened during the session, at the same time they often consider and make notes on how the session could improve. They use these considerations in order to provide alternatives and ideas to tutors for future use. An observer, can’t only note problems arising during the session, but should focus on what worked and when learners looked engaged, satisfied and happy.
When a professional assumes the role of an observer, they need to take a lot of notes of the positive features of the session, what was effective or even added to the value of the teaching and what the tutor should continue to do in the future because it works extremely well and brings excellent results.
After explaining the necessity to inform learners about the scheduled observation and what the observer role entails, the next article will discuss the observee role, some good practices, possible challenges and suggestions that deal with them.
