PEER OBSERVATION PROCEDURES

PEER OBSERVATION PROCEDURES

1. The purpose of observation is to learn from the experience of observation, to do this the observer cannot simply rely on memory, procedures are needed that can be used to record information about the observation.

   • The procedures I have used depending on the purpose of the observation are as follows.
     • Field notes
       • Advantage
         • Is a flexible way of observing a lesson, when significant things are happening, the observer notes down relevant information, when relatively little is happening, the observer can focus on something else
       • Disadvantage
         • The information collected may be insufficient to capture what is really going on in the lesson
     • Written narrative
       • Advantage
         • Provides a broad picture of lesson and can be useful in helping to see what the structure of the lesson was like and how the teacher implemented or departed from his or her lesson plan
       • Disadvantage
         • Many aspects of the lesson are difficult to describe accurately in real time, such as the actual language that was used during a teacher- student exchange
     • Checklists
       • Advantage
         • Is highly focused and relatively easy to complete, it provides a systematic way of collecting information on specific aspects of a lesson
       • Disadvantage
         • Some aspects of a lesson are difficult to identify using a checklist, checklist sometimes focus on trivial aspects of the lesson and fail to account for much of what happens

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