In group activity, the most important reason for the teacher to be an active observer is to

Benefits for the teacher being observed

Peer observation works alongside other forms of professional development.
Peer observation gives you an opportunity to apply what you have learned from other forms of professional development, such as conferences, training courses or reading. For example, after attending a training event where a new learning strategy was introduced, you could use peer observation to get constructive feedback on how this strategy would work in your situation.

Peer observation encourages honest conversation.
It is essential that the observation is used to gather evidence to encourage a constructive and supportive feedback conversation. At no point should you be judged. Without fear of being judged you may want to focus on how particular groups of students responded to stages of the lesson. Your observer could carry out a case-study observation of students you identified who are easily distracted or those students who need challenging further to extend their thinking. You may be able to begin to unpick the causes of distractions and plan how you can develop students’ thinking during the feedback as a result of being open with your observer.

Peer observation provides a new way of approaching a problem.
It can help you to develop a fresh approach to managing a challenging group of learners or developing strategies for supporting students with specific learning needs. This could be especially effective if the observer also has experience of teaching the same class or some of the same students and can share their experiences with you.

Peer observation boosts confidence.
It provides an opportunity to work with someone who understands the daily demands of the classroom, and this can help relax you. It is also a good reminder that all colleagues have parts of their teaching that can be developed, regardless of how long they have taught or what position they hold in the school.

Peer observation encourages reflection.
Being reflective is crucial to developing your teaching and learning. Being observed gives you the opportunity to reflect, both before and after the observation, giving you the space to stop and think about how you teach. You shouldn’t just reflect on what you need to develop but also on your strengths and what good practice you should be sharing with your colleagues.

Benefits for the observer

Peer observation develops communication skills.
Being an observer gives you the opportunity to discuss teaching and learning and practise giving constructive feedback, using evidence from the observation. A teacher taking part in peer observation in a secondary school reflected on her role as the observer: “It challenged us to sit on the ‘other side of the fence’ as the observer, giving us an opportunity to feed back using this format; challenging us to be honest with our colleagues as well as highlighting our own development points.”

Peer observation helps you to reflect on your own teaching.
When observing you can pick up useful strategies and solve issues that arise in your own teaching. Also, you may teach some of the same students that are in the observation lesson. It can be enlightening to see how students react differently in other subject areas, with different groups of learners and in different classroom layouts.

“…in observing another teacher, the observer draws on her professional vision, her adapted way of seeing the field of practice, to render the observed scene intelligible. In doing so, she engages in a ‘double-seeing’ of her own classroom in comparison to the classroom that she observes.” Tenenberg, 2016

Benefits for the school or institution

Peer observation demonstrates a school’s commitment to professional development.
It can contribute to the development of the whole school by creating a professional learning community dedicated to improvement. By opening up the classroom and sharing strengths with each other, good practice is seen and celebrated. Importantly, areas for development are highlighted and colleagues then work together to plan next steps.

“What you do not know, indeed what you cannot know, is often more important than what you do know.” Healy cited in Macbeath, 1999

Peer observation can improve teaching and learning in a school.
It gives colleagues the opportunity to learn from each other, with the aim of improving teaching practice and gaining new ideas. John Hattie (Hattie, Masters and Birch, 2015) notes that a shared approach to professional development has been proven to improve teacher effectiveness. If resources are available, the school could give all staff a written document containing excellent observed teaching strategies to make sure good practice is shared with everyone.

Peer observation encourages an open and sharing school culture.
It provides teachers with dedicated time to share good practice with colleagues so that they are not isolated. This helps to prevent teachers passively accepting new knowledge and only making changes to their teaching as a result of a senior leader coming in and telling them what to do. We wouldn’t want our students to approach their learning like this and the same applies to our staff!

Peer observation gives teachers the power to make changes.
When teachers feel supported to make changes to their practice they can help shape conversations about teaching and learning in a school. Effective schools make sure a teacher’s voice is heard, and encourage teachers to develop their own teaching. Teachers who talk about teaching and learning may help to influence policies set by the school.

In the video below, Teaching School Director, Kay Blayney identifies collaboration as a key benefit of peer observation. Do you agree? Which benefit most appeals to you? Which would develop your practice further?

Transcript

Before Observing

• As far in advance as possible, ask the instructor for permission to observe the class, explaining your purpose for observing. Sometimes, if the observation is for research purposes, you may not want to give away too many details that could affect what is done in the classroom, but it is still reasonable to explain in general what your research is about (e.g., “I’m studying classroom interaction”) and what you plan to do with the information. (Keep in mind that it’s the instructor’s right and professional responsibility to decide whether or not you can visit their class.)
• Avoid observing during the first two or three weeks of a semester. Give the teacher a chance to get the class gelling. (A possible exception to this would be a study that focuses on the beginning of the semester, such as how different teachers develop rapport. In a case like this, however, it’s even more important to get the permission of the instructor and the ELI Director.)
• Before going to observe the class, check with the teacher to see if they would like to meet with you in advance, to let you know what’s upcoming, give you copies of any handouts, and discuss anything specific they would like you to pay attention to. Some teachers prefer to meet with each observer, while other teachers are too busy, so it’s always best to check with them and find out their preferences. It helps if you find out in advance about the class you will be observing — what the course is designed to do, what level the students are at, what the teacher is planning to do in the specific class to be observed and why. This could help you to make more sense of what it is that goes on in the classroom.
• Other things to double-check with the teacher prior to the observation are:
  • where you sit in the classroom. Many teachers may not care where you sit, as long as it doesn’t interfere with instruction, but some teachers may have preferences.
  • whether or not it’s all right to move around from group to group during group-work activities.
  • whether or not you are going to participate in activities or just observe. (Generally speaking, it’s probably preferable not to participate while doing an observation, unless the purpose of the observation is to see how a certain activity works from a participant’s point of view. When the purpose is to observe the teacher and/or the students, it makes more sense to focus your attention on observing.)
  • These are just a few things that are important to check in advance with the teacher you are observing. You may have some additional items that you’d like to check, as well.

In the Classroom

• No matter how non-threatening and cooperative the observer may be, observations are an imposition on the teacher and the students of a class. They are a necessary imposition, but an imposition nonetheless. As observers, it’s good to keep this in mind when observing and let it guide your actions.
  Also keep in mind that the observation should be a positive experience for both the observer and the instructor. Ideally, both the observer and the instructor will gain something as a result of the observation.
• Also, observers should remember that it’s the teacher’s class, not yours. This seems obvious, but sometimes it’s easy to make choices, without even realizing it, that may not fit with what the teacher is planning for the class.
• Arrive on time, or early — arriving late is always an interruption. And stay throughout the entire class period. Getting up and leaving early is also an interruption.
• Remember to sit in the agreed-upon place. If you didn’t have a chance to meet prior to the observation, ask the instructor when you arrive.
• Don’t do things that disrupt the flow of the class or draw attention to yourself (e.g., don’t chat with students while class is in session, don’t get up and walk around to observe individual students while the teacher is giving instructions or lecturing, don’t make facial expressions or gestures that indicate disapproval, or anything else that may interfere with what the teacher is trying to accomplish or with student-teacher rapport).
• If the teacher is comfortable with having you move from group to group during group-work activities, it’s better to eavesdrop inconspicuously than to join the group — if you join groups, the students will probably direct all their comments to you instead of to each other. And keep in mind that the teacher may also be moving from group to group, so be careful not to get in the teacher’s way.
• When the class has ended, thank the teacher (and, if possible, the students) for allowing you to observe them.

Debriefing

• Debriefing should be done as soon as is feasible after the class session, while the events are still fresh in mind.
• In general, it’s bad etiquette to launch into a critique of a teacher if you have invited yourself to observe the class. That is, if your observation is an assignment for a course you are taking, and the teacher is doing you a favor by allowing you to observe her class, don’t tell them everything that you think was wrong with the class immediately afterwards. If you have concerns, it’s better to ask questions to clarify some things that happened in the class (e.g., “I’m very interested in learning more about XXXX. Could you explain why you set up the XXXX activity the way you did?” perhaps followed by “How do you think it went?” instead of “You should have done XXXX” or “In my opinion, XXXX didn’t work very well.”). The teacher may have planned something that they thought was going to work marvelously, but didn’t, and they may already know (and be able to explain to you) why it didn’t work. Or, if they noticed that it didn’t work, they may ask you for your ideas about why it went so poorly, or how it could have been more effective. Again, it’s more polite to allow the teacher to ask you for your opinions, rather than volunteering them too quickly.
• If, however, the teacher has asked you to observe her class, or has asked you specifically for constructive criticism, then it’s fine to give your honest appraisals — but please talk about what worked really well as well as what you might have done differently. If, prior to the observation, the teacher asked you to pay attention to certain aspects of her teaching or the students’ interaction (or some other specific point), then it makes sense to limit comments to those areas (unless, of course, the teacher asks you for your comments about other points).
• In any of these situations, though, if there is something that stands out in your mind as particularly troubling, and if you have a good working relationship with the teacher, then by all means tell them about it in a polite manner.
• Keep in mind how you would feel if you were the one being observed, and what kinds of feedback would be most useful to you.
• Since many teachers tend to be introspective and self-critical, remember to point out not just the ways you think they could improve, but also, specific things they did that you thought were effective. (Teaching is a hard enough job as it is, so highlighting the positive things can be very encouraging.)
• Special situations sometimes arise involving novice and experienced instructors. If you are a novice instructor observing someone with a great deal of teaching experience, it’s probably even more important to approach the debriefing from the perspective of finding out why the instructor made the choices they did, which can provide you with a number of insights to inform your own teaching. At the same time, just because someone is an experienced instructor, it doesn’t mean they are perfect. Everyone has room to grow, and we hope that experienced instructors will be reflective about their practice and welcome any insights you may have to offer (particularly if you phrase them as recommended above).
• Similarly, if you are an experienced instructor observing someone who is relatively new to teaching, it’s good to keep in mind that they do not have the years of experience you have, so give extra care to choosing how you provide them with feedback. Additionally, if you notice a number of areas where the novice needs to improve, try not to overwhelm them with suggestions; limit your feedback to the areas where they are seeking feedback, or perhaps those points that seem most immediately important to address.

And After All is Done

• If you write a report or paper that is informed by the observation, it is considered common courtesy to offer the instructor a copy. Some instructors will want one, and others won’t, but again, the choice should be theirs.
• A short note, or email message, thanking the instructor for allowing you to observe, is a thoughtful gesture.