Classroom Observation

Classroom observation is one of the most complicated and highly

challenging enterprises in th e field of education as it has a very large
n u m b e r o f i n t e r a c t i n g v a r i a b l e s t o b e m a n i p u l a t e d . It i s a p r o c e s s i n w h i c h
some educationalists (teachers, advisors, school principals and others)
observe, learn and reflect on the practice of other teachers in classes with
the purpose of examining th e general pedagogic knowledge and various
aspects of the class which includes is sues such as classroom management
strategies, teaching methods and learning styles, differentiation ,
instructional strategies, activities, timeframe, procedures, students’
engagement and interaction , students learning needs and interests, and
many more. Professional teachers are those who us e renewable different
teaching approaches to create auspicious learning environments, acceptin g
others’ comments and viewpoints, not taking a defensive attitude all the
time to justify and protect their ideas and resources. Observers, on the
other hand should be aware of this complexit y to avoid dealing randomly
with vague generalities, bearing in mind that they should know wha t
they look for, which is their ma in challenge, focusing on one or two of
these variables at most t o have a more productive learning experience,
which is the essence and main purpose of th e classroom observation. As
long as this is done in a considerate and respectful way, observation ca n
be beneficial for both the observed and the observers and for the teaching
and learning process as well.

A lot of studies have been conducted to investigate the way teachers

interact and implement the instructional methods that impact their stu dents’
learning degree. A classroom observation i s used purposefully to examine
the process of teaching and learning through the systemati c processes of
d a t a c o l l e c t i o n a n d a n a l y s i s ” ( B a i l e y 2 0 0 1 ) . It ’ s a c h a n c e t o “ s e e r e a l - l i f e
teachers in real-life teaching situations” (Joseph 2017). At the same time,
it’s an opportunity for teachers t o learn about new teaching strategies they
h a v e n ’ t c o m e a c r o s s b e f o r e . It i s a n i n s t r u m e n t t h a t e v a l u a t e s t o w h a t
extent there is a consistency between what has been p lanned to be learnt
and what is actually delivered by teachers in the classrooms “to see whether
there is mismatch between intention and strategies"(Wagg 1999). In order
to improve the teaching practices in th e classrooms, many researchers have
yielded certain significant information for classroo m observation. It “is not
limited to classroom research only but it extends to the professiona l
development of teachers” (Hopkins 2002). They have gone further to
classify it into four methods :
open, focused, structured, and systematic observation. Each method needs
special instrument (Hopkins 2002). Depending upon the observation
technique, these forms or instrument may simpl y be used according to what
the observers decide on to observe. The systematic obser vation is used
in three significant areas including; “description of instructional practices,
investigation of instructional inequities for different groups of students and
improvement of teachers’ classroo m instruction” (Joseph 2017).On the
other hand, teachers may use different observation tools on thei r classes or
in peer observation settings (Malamah -Thomas 1987, Wajnryb 1992).
Consequently, both teachers and observers must have similar conceptions of
the instruments to avoid misinterpretations of the items within the tools. In
order to carry out “the task in an appropriat e way,” (Thornton 2005), the
observer should observe and take notes as a non -participant observe r
(Gebhard and Oprandy 1999), concentrating on “a particular behavior - a
specific criterion (Wragg , 1999, Hopkins 1999, 2002). This requires the
observer not to take part in any interactions happenin g during the
observation because in case this happens, “observation doesn’t have a
benefit; however, it is time-consuming” (Robson, 2002) and may lead to
misinterpretation of the collected dat a (Brophy & Good 2003). Researchers
believed that the main reason behind some teachers ’ dissatisfaction of their
observation process was the “judgmental, evaluative nature of observation ,
authoritative role of observers and prescriptive nature of feedback” (Akbari
and Tajik 2007). This puts too much stress on the observed teachers and
consequently leaves its negative impact o n their performance inside the
classrooms which discourages them to “deliver the lesson s effectively”
(Murdoch, 2000). Relying on this, the observation shouldn’t be a kind of
assessing the teachers’ knowledge and skills, but rather a tool for
developing and improving their implemente d teaching approaches. As long
as the observers get different style dimensions of learning, they ca n have
impressive impact on the teachers’ feedback (Randall and Thornton 2001).
Moreover, the teacher's potentials to manage v arious teaching strategies are
also observed (Wragg 1999). So , during the observations, teachers need to
have self-confidence when being observed and observer s should be skillful
when delivering their feedback (joseph 2017). Additionally, classroom
observation should be intended at enhancing professional growth of the
teachers rather than threatening them , focusing on the strengths of the
lesson, and the interactions with the students to stress whic h areas
delivered efficiently and the ones that requir e development.