A developmental view of classroom observations

Classroom observations often cause problems for teachers and trainers. They tend to be judgemental, relying on a trainer's subjective judgements, rather than developmental, developing the teacher's ability to assess his or her own practices. This article describes a scheme of developmental classroom visits currently in use in an in-service teacher-training programme for primary teachers in Singapore. The reasons for dissatisfaction with traditional observations are listed, and the principles behind the new format are discussed. A set of questionnaires with focus questions for the teacher to answer before and after the lesson is used, and the procedure for using the questionnaires is described. The purpose of these is to develop the teacher's own critical thinking ability. The trainer's role is positive and helpful, and becomes one of clarifier and helper. The visits were considered successful by teachers and trainers.