“I never allow teachers or school leaders to visit classrooms to observe teachers; I allow them to observe only students”.
John Hattie (2012)
I’ve been mulling this statement over for the past few weeks and it seems to boil down to this: are we interested in how teachers teach, or how students learn? It’s become a truism in recent times to say that just because a teacher is teaching there is no guarantee that students are learning anything.
But, if you walk into a classroom it’s hard not to look at the teacher. Especially if they’re standing at the front delivering their lesson. It’s very hard to remember that what the teacher is up to is not actually that important; it’s what the students are doing that ought to matter most. By observing teachers are we really only focussing on hot air? We routinely ask questions of teachers like. are they differentiating? How are they asking questions? Are they using this or that strategy? This kind of observation runs the risk of merely inviting the observer to give their advice on how the teacher could teach ‘more like me’. All this results in is cosmetic change for change’s sake. at best it’s well meaning but ineffective and at worst it’s bullying and used as a club to force compliance. Why should we change the way teach just because an observer has a preference we don’t happen to share?
Isn’t it more reasonable to ask what the effect of teaching is? Hattie suggests that all observations should be either from the students’ point of view, or of the students. If observations were focussed on what the students were doing instead of what the teacher was doing would we have a much sounder basis on which to make judgements and offer advice?
Some questions to ask about teachers’ effects on learning might be:
- Are you aware of each student’s progress from their starting point to the point at which the success criteria have been met?
- How close is each student to attaining the success criteria?
- What needs to happen to help students move closer to meeting the success criteria.
- Are the students aware of their progress?
I’ve been videoed teaching a few times in the past and have always found it a salutary experience. I cringe watching myself and vow that I’ll find ways to rid myself of all the irritating verbal tics and the nasal Brummie twang. I think now that all this agonising has been missing the point. Beyond my own vanity, it’s not really about me. Maybe, I need to look into filming my students instead? This will certainly be something I try to focus on in future classroom observations.
Total waste of time to video the teacher unless it is for some remote learning purpose or revision aid. Need to see the students reactions and work if it is to be truly developmental for the teacher. Otherwise the ‘performance’ is quite subjective. That’s the problem with most observations. They judge the entertainment value!
Hi David, while I think the suggestions that Hattie makes are valid – there are many forms of observation that have merit. I believe that teacher observation is very important.
Firstly, teacher observation is not just about the teacher who is being observed. It is also about the observer. What are they learning from the experience? Having observed a colleague only a couple of weeks ago, I was left exhilarated by the experience of watching her teach. Even as the more experienced teacher in the situation, I learned a lot – her use of the physical space and the way she got the students to interact was both creative and effective.
Moreover, while I am of the mind that the best educators reflect on and evaluate everything. Relying solely on subjective self-assessment is not always the best thing. I relish the opportunity for other teachers (at any stage of their career) to come in and observe me teach. I want to know what they thought, I want to know if they would have approached it differently. That objectivity is important. For that matter, I also want to know what my students thought about it too.
I think the problem with teacher observation, is that once again it has been mangled by the government and Ofsted. Just as I do not believe that grades have a place in my classroom when it comes to my students, I don’t believe grades have a place in teacher observation. Giving a teacher satisfactory has no benefit whatsoever. However, providing formative assessment is as valid for teachers as it is for students. After all, we don’t stop learning the day we gain QTS do we?
The other problem is that many teachers are not dissimilar to our students, in that all they want to know is what grade they achieved. I would argue that they are missing the point of observation. Perhaps this is because of their school’s ethos? However, having been observed today by a colleague as part of a departmental review, I was reminded by her that my self-confidence has a significant part to play in how I approach observations. She knows me well and quite rightly (IMO) suggested that whatever grade I achieved would have little bearing on me, as I see all observations as a learning opportunity. As a member of SLT who conducts a significant amount of observation she reminded me that a lot of people do not have that level of self-confidence. The grade matters to them a great deal.
How to conclude? Observation of teachers has its place, if used correctly as part of a teacher’s reflective strategy. It should not stand alone but accompany a range of reflective strategies, including: feedback from students, keeping a journal or blog, and as you mentioned, even being videoed. I too have experienced this and while I did cringe a lot, it really helped me hone my teaching style. AfL FTW!
James
I agree that watching a skilled teacher at work can be exhilarating. I’ve watched some amazing teachers and come away with all sorts of ideas about what I can add to or change about my practice. And it’s all wrong. My students will not necessarily make any more progress if I’m concerned with tweaking my teaching; my focus has to be on observing the students in other people’s classes. What are they doing differently? How could I encourage the same behaviours?
I recently heard a colleague say that their poor GCSE results were a result of their outstanding teaching! This is mad! If we were to shift the focus on observations maybe this would change.
A lot of the points you raise I deal with in the related post What’s the Point of Lesson Observations? But your point about reflection is interesting. It’s my experience that teachers find it very easy to reflect on what they could do differently and to explain why they did what they did. They are less skilled at reflecting on lessons from the students’ perspective.
Cheers, David
Great post and it comes at a very appropriate time for me. I’m about to undertake some observation of student teachers. I offered to do this as I think teacher competence is perhaps the most important factor in the classroom with regards to students learning. I tend to agree with James, therefore.
However, I also believe that, in Scotland anyway, the concept of teacher observation is perceived at times as a threat. Perhaps past experiences have lead us there; perhaps management have deal with it badly; perhaps it is just simply unnatural to us. Regardless I have always found observation not only a positive experience but a necessary one. What other job can be as solitary as teaching?
If I can learn from a colleague’s comments then how could I possibly close my door to them. Perhaps, maybe, they might learn from me. We merely need to be aware of the purpose of the observation before we start.
Points well made, David.
In fact, the observation matrix we use at my school, the emphasis is not on teaching but on learning and progress. The majority of the time the assessment hinges on what the students are doing – I watch them more than the teacher. I look at their books/folders, assessed work. I talk to them about what they are learning – can they explain why they are learning it, do they know where they are heading, how can they improve etc… ?
In my previous comment I was trying to emphasise that I believe teaching to be a craft, it is something you have to work at. You are right that the focus needs to be on the students as you can better hone your skills by focussing on the learning that is or is not happening in your classroom.
However, I don’t think it is one way or the other. For example. If a teacher is struggling with behaviour management – I think they need feedback about what their students are doing but also need feedback on what they are doing. I do not believe that perfect behaviour is the product of amazing teaching nor do I believe that you can have great behaviour and deliver terrible lessons. I think it comes down to a combination of three things: personality, effective planning (learning styles, differentiation, variety) and routines. I think observing the students and the teacher are necessary to help a teacher understand this as the way a teacher plans/behaves will impact on behaviour just as much as the observing what the students are doing will.
So, allow me to adjust my previous comment by saying this: Lesson Observations are helpful to teachers in that if they are used as both you and I suggest they can be a powerful tool in helping a teacher improve their students’ learning.
Regards, James.
Hi
I read this post with great interest- Hattie’s comments also echo Richard Elmore’s ideas on observations which have been the stimulus and foundation for Learning Rounds here in Scotland. Learning Rounds is a system of collaborative classroom observation which is constructed as a CPD opportunity for the observing, not the observed teacher. The process is outlined in more detail in various posts on this blog
http://ltsblogs.org.uk/cpdteam/category/learning-rounds/
Learning Rounds give us a chance to break down the isolationism of the classroom that Kenny refers to above. As Elmore says – isolation is the enemy of improvement. I believe we do need to have some visibility of peer practitioners in action, but there are two key things which can change an observation from being a variant of a quality assurance exercise into a teacher -owned professional learning opportunity:
1. the focus of the observation and 2. the way feedback is used. In learning Rounds, an area of focus is agreed by the volunteer participants in the process. This might be use of technology; pupil voice; collaborative learning; AFL etc, but what ever it is, only observations on this theme are observed and noted. Feedback is shared using the descriptive voice, i.e no value judgments are permitted. And a set of statements is agreed, which then can be left to the Learning Rounds group in the school to take forward.
This changes the tone and emphasis of the experience. Feedback to individual teachers is not given, but collective, depersonalised feedback is made available for the whole school to take on and discuss and perhaps use to arrive at their own set of action points. So the ownership of the process remains with those involved (volunteers) and they can use it as the basis for some collective professional learning amongst themselves, or across the entire school if there is interest.
It give a whole new dimension to the idea of observations, and one which many schools are turning to. I’m doing M.Ed research into this at the moment, so if you want to get in touch, or speak to someone who’s done it please let me know.
Thanks Catriona, this looks great. Sounds very look the coaching model that my school is experimenting with. Would be good to find out more.
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