LEARNING FROM COLLEAGUES

LEARNING FROM COLLEAGUES

AZEEZ

Teachers Observing Teachers:
Everybody Benefits

We, teachers as life long learners, do give access to our teammates, called our colleagues to observe our classroom friendly.

If they do so, what are the benefits we get out of it. A new teaching method, a new teaching techniques and technology, students interaction in dimensions.

Apart from this, what are the benefits for our school incumbency, our adminstrators, our students...

Let's discuss about it from today onwards. Please make sure your points are very relevant to the topic. Please share your views in detail.

➖➖➖➖➖➖

"(Teachers) rarely have an opportunity to watch other teachers teach, the single best kind of training".

More and more schools, however, are using observation -- teachers observing teachers -- as a form of professional development that improves teaching practices and student performance.

More and more, administrators and teachers are viewing peer observation as a form of collaborative professional development. This kind of observation can yield its greatest benefits when used as a means of sharing instructional techniques and ideologies between and among teachers.

¶ Teachers Observing Teachers:
Everybody Benefits

1. Administrators benefit from:

• The opportunity for reflective dialogue with and among teachers.
• An increased sense of shared responsibility.
• An increased focus on student achievement.
• An increased trust and collegiality among staff.
• Participation in a professional and collaborative learning community.
• A cadre of self-reliant, confident teachers who love teaching.
• Enriched teacher efficacy
• Participation in a professional and collaborative learning community.

2. Teachers benefit from:

• An opportunity to engage in reflective dialogue about their work.
• The focused classroom support.
• Improvement of classroom practices.
• Support from an "expert" (peer) who understands the daily demands of the classroom.
• Satisfaction with one's work.
• Reduced job stress, especially for the new teacher.
• A welcoming atmosphere for new teachers.
• The comfort of knowing that someone is available to help, explain, and assist.

3. The school benefits from:

• Increased collaboration among teachers.
• The establishment of a professional learning community.
• An increased focus on student achievement.
• Enthusiasm for the teaching profession.

Teacher observation works best when expectations are clear and participants understand how to use and benefit from the process.

There is no single process or model to this method.

There is no single approach to teacher observation, but, it is least successful when a peer observes a struggling teacher who doesn't know how to benefit from the process, especially if the observer isn't adept at identifying his or her colleagues' needs.

¶ 'Teachers Observing Teachers" Models

A variety of approaches to teacher observation support professional growth and student achievement.

The following are several of those methods:

1. Lesson Study -- In this three-pronged approach designed by Japanese educators, teachers collaboratively develop a lesson, observe it being taught to students, and then discuss and refine it.

2. Peer Coaching -- In this non-evaluative professional development strategy, educators work together to discuss and share teaching practices, observe each other's classrooms, provide mutual support, and, in the end, enhance teaching to enrich student learning.

3. Cognitive Coaching -- Teachers are taught specific skills that involve asking questions so that the teacher observed is given the opportunity to process learning associated with teaching the lesson.

4. Critical Friends Group (CFG) -- This program provides time and structure in a teacher's schedule for professional growth linked to student learning. Each CFG is composed of eight to 12 teachers and administrators, under the guidance of at least one coach, who meet regularly to develop collaborative skills, reflect on their teaching practices, and look at student work.

5. Learning Walk -- The Learning Walk, created by the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh, is a process that invites participants to visit several classrooms to look at student work and classroom artifacts and to talk with students and teachers.

Participants then review what they have learned in the classroom by making factual statements and posing questions about the observations.

The end result is that teachers become more reflective about their teaching practices. Professional development is always linked to The Learning Walks.

➖➖➖➖➖➖

LEARNING FROM COLLEAGUES

Teachers Observing Teachers: Everybody Benefits

We, teachers as life long learners, do give access to our teammates, and call our colleagues to observe our classroom friendly.

If they do so, what are the benefits we get out of it. A new teaching method, new teaching techniques and technology, students interaction in dimensions.

Apart from this, what are the benefits for our school incumbency, our administrators, our students...

Let's discuss it from today onwards. Please make sure your points are very relevant to the topic. Please share your views in detail.
➖➖➖➖➖

Dr Sekar Srinivasan - UN Educationist

Teaching is an art. Teaching is done to a heterogeneous group of students.  A teacher using his own methodology in the initial years of teaching may not be that much effective as his teaching after a few years of observing other teachers at various classes,  inservice training,  paper valuation centres etc., 

Here the teacher not only enhances his academic credentials but also psychological aspects in teaching. Peer group learning is not only for students but equally good for teachers also.

By observation of other teachers and their motivational cum instructions of differential forms, attitude as well as professional ethics and commitment the fresh teachers find wide scope for improvement.

Even senior teachers observe the best in young teachers with modern technology oriented exposure. The real team spirit as well as management of critical issues in teaching is very much plausible while sharing with fellow teachers.

While observing other teachers of different subjects we have the opportunity of learning inter subject exemplary and how to incorporate their introduction or applications, innovative teaching models and aids preparation.
That is the reason most of the standard schools have the habit of weekend teaching classes for teachers with senior teachers conducting as moderators. There without inhibitions each one learns the scientific as well as artistic methodology including singing, dancing, dramatization as well as appreciation techniques.

This provides an opportunity for self interrogation as well as self appraisal.
Teachers need patient observations and keen ways to dispel mental conflict.

BarthruHari in his neethi Sathkam insists that attached becomes a mentor and elevates himself as Guru only when he starts questioning and learns the nuances of teaching from fellow teachers and subject experts periodically.

What to teach and What not to maintaining effective time management could be mastered only with the observations of other efficient teachers of professional excellence.  In the initial years all teachers will have the tendency to outcry all they know and learnt thinking that actually helping students with excess knowledge.  But this curtails the individual inquisitive curiosity of learning by students by themselves. 

To Kindle interest and make them raise questions and provide apt answers become an important function for a teacher.  This is to a great extent achieved by the peer teacher's teaching.

➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖

Learning from collegues

• Anju Datta - UN Educationist

The real teacher is one,  who always remains ready to learn from anyone. During online classes being a viewer we got a chance to watch the other teacher's class. It was very helpful on both of those days ( 2020).

At that time we were able to watch each step of teaching like introducing the chapter,  five minutes activity for excitement, and the questions asked P. K. testing,  the method used, the example is given, etc.

It was a blessing to add some thing or delete any thing else from your class. In other words, it's the best way to correct yourself for the benefit of students.

➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Learning from collegues

Leader. Leena Rai - UN Educationist

Teachers observing teachers and learning from each other in turn. This is actually a superb idea getting non-judgemental at that time but the motto of open discussion, learning and gaining with a pinch of positive criticism to let each other improve as a purification exercise without considering it to be an allegation.

This can prove to be a promising and novel method of creativity enhancement and experimental standards at a higher level.

Teachers do learn a lot from each other's experiences and devise methods which can be innumerable and get more inquisitive to may be outshine like a competition but with the positive bent of mind beyond subjective enmity and a race of proving oneself ahead to be at the podium of receiving accolades.

The results can be better in students learning when we can innovate with each other's mind and later the best part can be that more respect and team strength can be noted.

➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖

Learning from collegues

• Telagani Sujatha - UN Educationist

Learning, unlearning & relearning are all a part of the teaching- learning process each teacher needs to imbibe...

Sometimes learning means unlearning; replacing old concepts, views and opinions with new and challenging ones.

This can be exploited to the fullest in-house training programs within the school where teachers are made to display their different teaching strategies on a particular concept.