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One of the most commonly used observation instruments is a pro-forma with a set of rows and columns or a table. Quite simply, the trainer designs the form to pick out areas he or she wishes the observer to look out for. It can be used for virtually any area of teaching.
The example below shows a form designed by a trainer to encourage inexperienced teachers on a pre-service course to focus on how new language is introduced. The first three columns require some kind of straightforward reporting back of what happened but the fourth column demands a response from the observer and in this way it begins to develop the observer’s evaluative skills.
| Stage | The language taught and practised | The method used to present new language | The activities used to practise the language | Comment on the success of the methods and techniques used |
Here is an extract from a rows and columns observation form that the observing teacher has started to complete:
| Time | Is the focus of this stage on fluency or accuracy? | Write one learner error at this stage | How did the teacher deal with the error? | What aids, materials or equipment were used at this stage |
| 10.33 | Fluency | ‘I go there last night.’ | Waited until then end of the activity and wrote it on the board. Asked students to comment. | Board. |
Here’s another example but this time it combines ideas from other types of observation forms (see previous posts in this series) and puts them into the rows and column format.
Using scales for observing is a simple technique but it can have many applications. For example, it can focus on areas such as pace of the lesson at a certain stage (slow<—> fast) or how controlled or teacher-centred a lesson is every ten minutes or so (free<—> controlled. Other areas that lend themselves to this type of observation include spoken error correction (immediate <—->delayed), teacher talking and students talking (teacher talk<—->student talk), pace (slow<—->fast), practice activities (free<—>controlled) and teaching of grammar (guided<—>unguided). Usually I insert a scale into my written notes on a lesson as and when it sees helpful. Alternatively, if you are running training courses with trainees observing each other, I sometimes use a proforma similar to the one below. I’ll ask one observer to focus on one area of the lesson (e.g. role of the teacher in terms of facilitator <—> ‘preacher’) and ask another observer to use the scales for something else. That way, the group builds up a picture of the lesson from difficult perspectives.
With this type of proforma, you write the two opposites at the top and then use this as the basis for the scales throughout.
| Time/Stage | …………… ………..…..<—————————————->
|
What was happening? |
| <—————————————-><—————————————->
<—————————————-> <—————————————-> <—————————————-> |
How else do you use scales when you observe?
Pictures are often more effective than words, so drawing an image or a diagram of what happened in the lesson is a useful way to observe. Even if you are writing things down, you can usefully illustrate a point with a diagram. For example, ask the observer to make a record of the classroom layout at each stage of the lesson, like this:
(T = teacher, SS = students working pairs)
| Time | Observation |
|
15 mins
|
___________
T SS SS SS SS SS |
This example might show that the teacher has put the students into pairs but the teacher’s position may suggest no monitoring is taking place. Another type of diagram observation can reveal where the teacher tends to focus most attention during the different stages of a lesson. In this example, the teacher spends a great deal of time interacting with students at the front on the left-hand side. This may serve to highlight the fact that certain students are demanding more of the teacher’s time and perhaps why students in the rows behind may not be taking any interest.
A graph or chart is another visual tool for reporting back on an observation. For example the horizontal or X axis can represent time during the lesson. The Y axis can represent an aspect of teaching such as one student’s involvement in a lesson, the use of a coursebook, student talking time, or the pace and authenticity of a task. When these aspects increase or decrease, the trend line rises or falls. If you have more than one observer of the same lesson, then assign the same graph but set two different areas of focus.
The example below shows a graph observation where the observer has marked periods of teacher talking time. After the lesson this presents an instantly accessible record of the teacher’s activity. The observer could also note on the graph what purpose the ‘peaks’ of talking served. Another observer could have been set the task of marking student talking time on the graph and then the two can be contrasted.
Tomorrow, I’ll continue the theme of visual observation feedback and look at ways of using scales.
