PGCE PROCESS WORK MODULE 1 UNIT 3 TASK 1A- TEACHING OBSERVATION

PGCE PROCESS WORK MODULE 1 UNIT 3 TASK 1A- TEACHING OBSERVATION

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Reading Hargreaves and Wolfe chapter entitled “Beginning Teaching, Beginning Learning (2007) reminded me of when I conducted observations as part of my research into “Dance Teaching Methods for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders”. I considered different ways of conducting the observations. I wanted to use video observation as I felt this was the most appropriate way to document what happened in the different dance classes. I then wanted to be able to look at the videos, make comparisons and document them. Hargreaves et al state that:

“Video allows the actual words spoken (discourse) and the meanings constructed and exchanged between teachers and children to be studied even more closely when parts, even quite short sections, are transcribed” 
( ibid,p218)

However, after considering the ethical implications involved in videoing vulnerable adults I decided to use an observation chart to document the activities instead. I was surprised that no mention was made by Hargreaves and Wolfe about the ethical considerations regarding the videoing of pupils in this chapter. Nowadays, with so many strict rules and regulations governing the use of photographs and video, the ethical implication and how one seeks permission is, I feel, something that should be addressed when promoting this as a method of observation.

I was interested to discover some observational techniques that I was not aware of such as the map-style observation for tracking a pupil or a teacher’s movements within the classroom. An example of this is below:

I was also not familiar with the method of observing teacher talk called :Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories (FIAC: Flanders 1970). Hargreaves et al state that:

“FIAC is especially useful for observation of whole class teaching. It distinguishes between direct teaching (lecturing, giving information or telling) and indirect teaching (asking questions, listening to pupils’ answers)… It is a semi-continuous system, consisting of ten codes, recorded every 3 seconds which is the typical rate of classroom interaction. Wragg (1999) gives more details. A simplified version would be to recordT (Teacher), &P(Pupil) or S ( Silence/no spoken interaction) every 3 seconds in a list ( T T P T T S T . . . ) according to who is speaking.” (ibid, p216-217) 

I think that observation in the classroom is very valuable for both the pupil and the teacher. I think that you can’t state that any one method of observation is any better than another as it depends upon the context and what you are trying to find out and also the timescale over which you are conducting the observations. This will determine whether it is more beneficial in a certain setting to conduct a structured observation or an open-ended one.

There are many different ways in which observation can be of benefit within a school setting such as:

documenting a pupil’s progress or patterns of behaviour

tracking how much time a teacher spends moving around to help students

tracking a pupil’s movements around the class

documenting teaching methods

recording teacher-pupil interaction

The process of observation is, I believe, as much for the benefit of the teacher as it is for the pupil because it provides evidence of behaviour. This evidence might support a hypothesis or contradict it and lead to changes in teaching methods or in behaviour being implemented as a result. 

A key feature of observation is the reflection process that takes part, before, during and after the observation. Once again I was reminded of my work on Kolb’s Learning Cycle and Argyris and Schon’s Double Loop Learning theories which I discussed in my blog entitled “Critical Reflection on Professional Practitioner Inquiry” ( Lynn Terry, 2015, online).

I think it is important for any teacher to observe others in her profession and to be observed. This can be a nerve-wracking experience and create feelings of self-doubt. I think it is important to remember :

“the value of your own perspectives, which can lead to insights derived from a particular way of seeing” (DeMarrais et al, 2008, p 115). 

Bibliography

Lapin, S.D. and DeMarris K. B. ( 2008)  Foundations for Research: Methods of Inquiry in Education and the Social Sciences (Inquiry and Pedagogy Across Diverse Contexts Series)

Terry, L. (2015) “Critical Reflection on Professional Practitioner Inquiry” (weblog) (online). Available at: http://lynnterry001.blogspot.com.es/p/critical-reflection-on-practitioner.html (accessed October 23rd 2016)