For many educators, the thought of having someone come into your classroom and observe you is daunting and often terrifying. There is a sense of fear about the judgements they will make about your teaching, student engagement and learning. For many, this has been their only experience of observations from colleagues - clip board in hand, identifying what we are not doing well, coding or ranking lessons etc. I suppose, it is then this fear that drives us to close our doors and teach in isolated 'silos'. Harvard Professor Tony Gap states that "isolation is the enemy of improvement." It is this closed culture that encourages and perpetuates ineffective and inconsistent practices across the school, and prevents better ideas from emerging and impacting the teaching and learning that occurs in any educational context. That's not to say that little pockets of innovation aren't occurring, but for it to truly impact all students at your school then we need to break down those doors and create a positive peer observation experience. Katie Martin in her book Learner-Centered Innovation highlights that "seeing new and better models of desired learning environments [and pedagogical practices] helps deepen one's understanding of how to organise instructional time and effectively teach. To build capacity and develop a shared understanding of what powerful teaching and learning looks, sounds and feels like, educators need to get in to classrooms and observe ." The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) outlines several key elements that are necessary for peer observation to be an effective professional learning tool for all parties involved.
Focus on the needs of the individual teacher informed by their students' needs
Agreement on protocols
Trust between teachers observing and being observed
Mutual commitment to the sharing and ongoing development of practice
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AuthorHi, I am Alice. I am a primary teacher and leader in New South Wales, Australia. I have been teaching for the past 14 years in both the Public and Catholic school systems. I am passionate about supporting and mentoring colleagues to think deeply about their efforts to cultivate thinking and learning opportunities for students. Read more Archives
August 2023
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