INTRODUCTION
Background information and rationale for the study
1.1 Peer observation, a reflective approach to teacher development
For teachers, “who dares to teach never ceases to learn” (Dana cited in Chang, 2006:
700) However, concerning the nonstop process of knowledge acquisition, the question has been what to learn and where to get it
According to Wallace (1991), knowledge can come to teachers in two types: “received knowledge” or “research-based knowledge” and “experiential knowledge” The former is acquired through teacher training with the knowledge and experience handed out from teacher educators as transmitters of knowledge, or from reading books about teaching theories while the later is derived from two phenomena “knowing-in-action” and “reflection”, which is from real teaching and self-evaluation Since “teaching styles and methods are very subjective, and … so far there has been no proof that any one method or style of teaching is significantly more successful than others” (Ellis, cited in Cosh, 1999), “experiential knowledge” has been convinced to be more important
Such a shift in teachers‟ sources of knowledge concords with the change in the focus of teacher education In this field, more has been discussed in favor of teacher development than teacher training No longer can one become a teacher just by receiving the knowledge from the educator In fact, she/he has to be self-initiated, self- directed, and self-evaluated with her own development, and what the educator can do for her/him then is to support, promote and further that development
Together with the emphasis on “reflection” and “teacher development”, peer observation, “a reflective approach to teacher development” (Vacilotto & Cumming, 2007:153), “is gaining popularity in the field of education” (Munson, 1998:108)
Peer observation will be more clearly understood when compared with the traditional evaluative classroom observation The common feature of the two approaches is the three stages with which they are organized, namely pre-observation, observation and post-observation However, differences can be found in all the stages and they can be categorized into the participants, the purposes, and the outcome (Cosh, 1999; Munson 1998; William, 1989; Pham Viet Ha, 2004; Anderson et al, 2005)
Traditionally, classroom observation has been carried out by either the supervisors or the administrators, who choose to sit at the back of some classes, silently observing and checking in the evaluation sheet as a judgmental move to decide on „good teaching‟ and
„bad teaching‟ (William, 1989) The post-observation, if there is, is full of negative feedback The observed teachers “often receive some sort of rating checklist that tends to be overly general, highly subjective, and vague in its analysis” (Munson, 1998:108)
Therefore, teachers don‟t like it “It … [is] threatening, frightening, and regarded as an ordeal” (William, 1989)
In contrast, peer observation engages two or more “teachers of equal status” in “a process of mutual collaboration and interpersonal support, assisting one another in reflecting on their own practices on a regular basis” (Gottesman, Showers & Joyce cited in Vacilotto & Cumming, 2007:154) Unlike evaluative classroom observation, “peer observation is not carried out in order to judge the teaching of others, but to encourage self-reflection and self-awareness about our own teaching” (Cosh, 1999: 25) It offers the teachers with opportunity to “share their professional experiences, doubts, insecurities, successes, and failure, free from fear of being evaluated” (Vacilotto &
A numbers of studies have been done on the benefits of peer observation in both pre- service and in-service teachers‟ teaching practices and their attitudes towards the activity (Anderson et al, 2005; Munson, 1998; and Vacilotto & Cummings, 2007, and so on) The findings confirmed that peer observation fosters development of teaching skills and that teachers feel very comfortable participating
1.2 The current situation of peer observation in the researcher’s working context
In Vietnam, it seemed to the researcher that peer observation was a new concept, or sometimes mistaken to traditional evaluative classroom observation Moreover, with her own experience in teaching in Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, she recognized that reflecting on one‟s own teaching was not a very common practice among teachers here Moreover if they reflected on their teaching, peer observation was barely used
The situations drove the researcher to do a study on “Novice Teachers’ Observations of Peers – The Values, Limitations, and Suggestions from the Perspectives of the Insiders”
Purposes of the study
This study was carried out with the purposes to
examine the extent to which the participants benefited from peer observation
examine the difficulties the participants might have in implementing peer observation
propose some recommendations for the implementation of the practice
Research questions
In order to achieve the abovementioned purposes, the study was conducted to answer the following research questions:
What are the benefits of peer observation to professional development as perceived by the teachers?
What are the limitations of peer observation to professional development as perceived by the teachers?
What suggestions do these teachers make for the use of peer observation as a tool of professional development so that its maximal benefits can be achieved?
Significance of the study
This study would be of interest to teachers at Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi because peer observation, believed to be beneficial for teachers‟ professional development by such reputational scholars as Wallace (1998), Richards & Farrell (2005) and Vacilotto & Cummings (2007), was investigated with the participants teaching in the same context They would be excited to find out the similarities and differences between their own situations and the one described in the study so as to decide on the applicability of the activity
This study would draw the attention of educators, managers of Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi to one of the approaches in developing their trainees and employees The outcome of the study was hoped to lead to some changes in the Faculty‟s teacher development policies
This study would also be of certain benefits to those who were involved in the field of education training in Vietnam since it provided an experience of peer observation All aspects such as the assessment of strengths and weaknesses, and its implementation were thoroughly discussed so that pedagogical implications could be withdrawn for future reference and research
The study was hoped to contribute also to the system of research on teacher peer observation, professional development and support worldwide.
Methodology
The study involved 5 novice teachers in Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, whose teaching experience ranged from 1 year to 4 years These five were divided into 3 pairs with one being in two pairs
It would be ideal if the number of the teachers participating could be more than 5
However, five seemed to be suitable considering the feasibility and controllability of the study
First, the participants were interviewed individually The interviews aimed to investigate the participants‟ belief of and experience with peer observation At the end of the interviews, the researcher provided the interviewees with brief instruction on the procedures of observation and feedback giving
Then they were set for the observations Even though, the observations done and analyzed in the study were merely for the purpose of researching, they were arranged to follow the guidance that researchers like Munson (1998), Richards (1998), etc suggested so as for peer observation to be an effective tool for teacher professional development The observations went through three steps: pre-observation, observation, and post observation The post-observation conferences were followed by brief interviews between the researcher and both participants for further explanation and clarification of the points made during the conferences Also, in these interviews, the participants were asked for their fresh feelings and comments on the benefits and limitations of the observation they had just done The conferences and the interviews were audio-recorded for data analysis Findings from the post-observation conferences and the follow-up interviews would be of great value since they demonstrated genuinely the extent to which peer observation benefited the participants
After each observation, the participants freely described what they had done and how they felt about the activity in their journals What the journals came up with provided further evidences of the benefits of peer observation, the difficulties the participants encountered, and their suggestions for the application of the activity
The instruments for data collection were
the post-observation conferences and the follow-up interviews
the reflective journals The transcription was segmented and coded according to pre-determined categories
With these categories, the findings were then presented and discussed in accordance with the research questions.
Organization of the study
The research includes three parts as followed: Part I provides a brief introduction to the issue and an overview of the paper Part II includes three chapters, namely Literature Review (Chapter 1), Research Methodology (Chapter 2) and Data Analysis and Discussion (Chapter 3) In details, Chapter 1 reviews theoretical backgrounds to peer observation Chapter 2 describes the methods used to carry out the study Chapter 3 presents and analyzes the data collected from the interviews, the peer conferences, and the journals Part III summarizes the main findings, and some suggestions for the effective application of peer observation, the limitations of the research and suggestions for further studies Following the chapters are the references and appendices.
DEVELOPMENT
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter, which reviews the overall background concerning the study, will serve as the theoretical foundation on which the study is based In this chapter, the researcher will review beliefs and studies on the issues most relevant to the study – peer observation
Classroom observation has been existing for many purposes One very popular purpose is research However, observation for this purpose is for sure not the topic of this paper
Apart from research, classroom observation is widely used for the purpose of evaluation teacher professional development
Classroom observation for the purpose of evaluation
Classroom observation can be used for the purpose of evaluation, in which teachers are observed by administrators to be assessed Most teachers have often come across classroom observation in the context of assessment of their teaching practice during teacher training Later, when they start their profession, in-service teachers‟ classroom observation is used, often by the administrators with the purpose of judging the teaching The consequence of these supervisory practices is that classroom observation is not welcomed by teachers
Richards and Farrell (2005), from their own experience, have discovered “a negative reaction to the idea of someone observing … classes” According to them, since observation is often considered “a part of the process of performance appraisal” (p.85), teachers often feel scared and react negatively to the practice
Teaching performance evaluation being the purpose of classroom observation, administrators or supervisors being the observers, and unpleasant feelings such as defensiveness, distress, suspicion provoked in teachers are the common features of this kind of classroom observation noticed by Cosh (1999), Davies (2000), Munson (1998), Vacilotto & Cummings (2007), Wallace (1998), and Williams (1989) From their observation, teachers often feel resistant to classroom observation because they “tend to equate being observed with being assessed” (Wallace, 1998: 104)
More importantly, the researchers agreed on the adverse effects evaluative classroom observation has on teacher development Cosh (1999) concluded that not only does this approach have little value for teacher development, but it also negatively influences
“teacher confidence and a supportive teaching environment” (p.22)
The failure of classroom observation in developing teachers was again confirmed by Vacilotto & Cummings (2007), who claimed that once carried out for evaluative purpose, classroom observation “prevents teachers from recognizing the professional development program as a process that focuses on improvement of instruction rather than on revealing weaknesses for the purpose of punishment” (p.153)
In Vietnam, the same situation can be observed in some teacher training institutions, and in a number of schools Pham Viet Ha (2004) stated that in Vietnam being observed is often linked with being evaluated and criticized Consequently, classroom observations are often carried out with resistance and reluctance in the participants
Classroom observation for the purpose of teaching development
The shift in the source of knowledge for language teachers from “received knowledge” to “experimental knowledge” observed by Wallace (1991: 13) and many other scholars has made it clear that classroom observation should not be used for the purpose of evaluation or teacher training, telling them the dos and the don‟ts Instead, it should be used for another purpose: teacher professional development
What differentiates the two types of classroom observations is what Gebhard &
As analyzed above, teachers often react very negatively to classroom observation because they equate it with being rated, with being assessed to be good or bad teachers
The judgment, or in other words, the evaluative opinions and conclusions, either positive or negative, formed by the supervisors or administrators as the observers, threats the teachers, makes them feel nervous, stressed, and depressed Moreover, the description of the observed lesson, if any, may not be attentively listened to (Gebhard &
Oprandy, 1999: 36), because “the minds … can be so absorbed in the process of judgment and trying to change this bad stroke that the person might never perceive the stroke itself” (ibid.)
In contrast, being nonjudgmental, which means “withholding an opinion or postponing a conclusion” (ibid.), is much more beneficial First, negative response to classroom observation is no longer found in the observed teachers This leads to another benefit: the trustworthy description of the lessons as the teachers and the students, when under no stress of being assessed, often act more naturally without trying to fake a good lesson Moreover, once the observed teachers, with no interference of judgments, pay attention to the objective description of the lessons, they are more likely to be able to take full use of it to come up with their own interpretation, and then reflect on their teaching behavior themselves At this point, the ultimate goal of teacher professional development is well served
In order to be nonjudgmental to avoid the negative feelings preventing teachers from taking full use of classroom observation for development purpose, it is advisory that observation be carried out by teachers of the same rank This type of observation has been widely recognized as peer observation
According to Richards & Farrell (2005), “peer observation refers to a teacher or other observer closely watching and monitoring a language lesson or part of a lesson in order to gain and understand of some aspect of teaching, learning, or classroom interaction”
(p.85) Peer Observation Scheme (2003) of Newman University College defines peer observation as a process which “involves one member of academic staff observing a colleague‟s practice and feeding back, in a reflective way, on what they observed” (p.1)
The concept is also insightfully defined by Lublin (cited in ProDAIT, 1) as
A collaborative and reciprocal process whereby one peer observes another‟s teaching (actual or virtual) and provides supportive and constructive feedback Its underlying rationale is to encourage (continued) professional development in teaching and learning through critical reflection, by both observer and „observee‟ It may also include
„observation‟ and feedback of non-classroom aspects [such as] a staff member‟s approaches to teaching and learning, including module or course design and documentation, teaching resources, appropriateness of assessment etc
From the definitions, it is obvious that peer observation should involve the following elements
METHODOLOGY
This chapter, which introduces the methodology of the study, covers the subjects, the research method, the methods of data collection, and the methods of data analysis
Involving in the study were 5 teachers of Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi They were selected with regards to their approachability and their eagerness to participate in the project The 5 participants were the researcher‟s colleagues who had been working with her for years Concerns about generalizability of the findings, which are of great likelihood regarding such a small number of participants, may be resolved by the fact that it was the perspective of the participants about the benefits of peer observation, not the benefits of peer observation in general, which was the scope of the study, and that the extent to which the findings can be generalized was determined by the detailed descriptions of each participants that follows Accordingly, peer observation could also be claimed to be beneficial among those who bared the same characteristics as the above five
Teachers Gender Age Teaching experience
Na F 25 3 M.A.-to-be (in months) (The names of the participants have been replaced by pseudonyms.) There are common features in all the participants Firstly, graduating from College of Foreign Languages (or currently University of Languages and International Studies), Vietnam National University, Hanoi, these are all the so-called “novice teachers” whose teaching experience ranged from 2 to 4 years Even though there were hardly any clear- cut definitions of teachers with how many years of experience could be called
“experienced/ novice teachers”, the researcher thought that these figures were quite suitable for her study whose scope was neither peer observation between experienced- experienced nor experienced-novice teachers
Similarities in terms of levels of students, textbooks, course objectives were also found in individual pairs
La and Ma were both members of Division of English for Minority Students at the time of the research All from mountainous areas, La and Ma‟s students entered the university to be taught English mostly from the beginning to be English teachers for their hometowns in the future Besides four language skills, teachers for this type of learners, especially those teaching first-year students like La and Ma, had to spend more time instructing basic grammar and pronunciation Not only the contents of the lessons but also the teaching methods were advised to be carefully chosen to be compatible with low levels of students in this division
The second and the last pairs, which actually involved three teachers only, includes Na,
Ka, and Li These three were all teacher of Division of English for Second-year Students, teaching second-year mainstream and Double-Majors students whose English was assumed to be intermediate For second-year students, teachers in this division had to give speaking, listening, reading and writing lessons using common textbooks, following common schedule assigned at the beginning of each semester Li and Na were both in charge of speaking classes and Li and Ka reading The speaking course books were Inside Out intermediate for mainstream students and Market Leader Intermediate for students of Double-Majors whereas the reading course book was Interaction – Reading
Qualitative method was utilized in this study so as to achieve the desired aims
Qualitative method can be defined as “non-numerical examination and interpretation of observation for the purpose of discovering underlying meanings and patterns of relationships” (Babbie, 1983: 537) Qualitative research aims at an in-depth and thorough understanding of the phenomena than just answering the questions of how well, how much or how accurately something is done (Frankel and Wallen, 1996) This method proved to be appropriate in this study since the ultimate question to be answered is “how can peer observation enhance professional development from the perspective of the participants?” Qualitative study is based mainly on three basic data gathering techniques, that is, interview, peer conferencing, and journal In this study, qualitative data is gained by means of all the three techniques in the following order
At the early stage, the interviews helped reveal the fundamental information about the participants, which by some means influenced the way they perceived the benefits of peer observation Then, after each observation, a post-observation conference was recorded, data from which served as a valuable source of information to answer the research questions Along with the recorded conference, two short interviews with the observer and the observed teacher was initiated by the researcher to clarify any of the information from the conference, as well as to find out how the participants felt about the experience Another source of qualitative data exploited in the study was the journals from participants which played an important role in putting straightly in writing the findings implied from the conferences
2.3.1 The on-going combination of data collection methods
The study targeted at peer observation, which had been a research method long before this study and so might be misunderstood to be a data collection method However, it was not In fact, the data for the study was collected by utilizing two kinds of interviews, peer conferences, and journals To collect the data, these methods were used in three phrases of the research, which were in accordance with the procedure of peer observation
The first phase was before the peer observation In this phase, the preliminary interviews with questions mainly related to the participants‟ experience with and knowledge about peer observation were used Also, the participants were instructed about how peer observations were going to be conducted, and the peers discussed to set the time and place for the first observation However, only data from the preliminary interviews was collected and analyzed
The second phase was during the peer observation This was when the pre-observation meetings, the observations, and the post-observation conferences were held In order to maximize the reliability of the data, the researcher tried to minimize her interference in the peer doing the three stages However, the post-observation conferences or peer conferences as they were named to be a data collection instrument of the study were audio-recorded Besides the peer conferences, another method was used in this phase It was the so-called follow-up interview This semi-structured set of questions aimed at further clarification and sharing of the experience, but in most cases gave participants more time to reflect and discover new findings These interviews were also audio- recorded
The last phase was after the peer observations At this phase, the data was collected through the participants‟ journals, in which they could freely express their opinions on their practical experience with peer observation, and on peer observation in general
Interviews as an instrument of data collection were used in two different phases with different purposes o The preliminary interviews The preliminary interviews aimed at the participants‟ initial perception of the benefits, and limitations of peer observation These interviews were quite structured with a fixed list of interview questions The researcher chose to ask the participants fixed questions since at the very first moment of this research-aimed peer-observation program, the researcher did not want to make an impression of a time-consuming study, which might discouraged them
The interviews were conducted face-to-face and informally so as to create a relaxing interaction between the interviewer and interviewees With some terms like „peer observation‟ or „professional development‟, etc used in English, throughout the interviews, all the questions and answers were in the interviewees‟ native language, which was the most effective tool for them to express themselves
During the interviews, audio recorder was utilized with a view to promoting the accuracy of data It could help record accurate and complete information much better than traditional notes Moreover, it was not as distracting to the interviewees as time- consuming note-taking All the data were then transcribed for data analysis (See
Appendix 1 for sample preliminary interview extract) o The follow-up interviews The follow-up interviews were conducted right after the post-observation conferences
They consisted of both unstructured and structured questions Initiated by the contents of the conferences, unstructured questions aimed at explaining the points that were unclear to the researcher in the conferences The clarification and explanation provided in the first part of the follow-up interviews would later assist the researcher analyzing the data from the peer conferences On the other hand, structured questions in the follow-up interviews sought for the fresh feelings of the observers and observed teachers about the benefits and limitations of the peer observations they had just done
Also, the questions aimed at their suggestions for the next observations
Face-to-face and informal conversations, together with the utilization of audio recorder and transcription were how the follow-up interviews were conducted with the same purpose as the preliminary interviews (See Appendix 2 for sample follow-up interview extract)
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This study was aimed to answer the following questions
What are the benefits of peer observation to professional development as perceived by the teachers?
What are the limitations of peer observation to professional development as perceived by the teachers?
What suggestions do these teachers make for the use of peer observation as a tool of professional development so that its maximal benefits can be achieved?
This part presents the findings with reference to the above research questions
3.1 Benefits of peer observation to professional development
3.1.1 Benefits of peer observation in comparison with related concepts
It was revealed in the data that the participants did not value observation if it was made by administrators This is because administrators‟ observation was chiefly for evaluative purposes and the observed teacher always tried to satisfy the observers‟ expectations
La, Ma and Na had experienced such an observation According to Ma, the problem with evaluative observation was that the positive changes it made to the teacher‟s performance was not permanent Ma said,
“Only with the presence of the administrator did the teacher teach very well; she dressed up to look very eye-catching; and she organized many interesting activities However, once the observers had gone, everything was back to its normal situations.”
Like Ma, Na also observed that the classes observed by the administrators were totally different and that the observed teachers tried to fake a good lesson in front of the administrative observers even by preparing the students to answer the questions asked in the observed lessons
The outcome of these evaluative observations was never professional development as pointed by Li, who observed that rather than develop teachers professionally, evaluative feedback judged whether or not an observed teacher met the requirements of the institution, so it turned out to decide whether she/he could “survive” to continue her/his profession
In comparing peer observation evaluative observations, Na concluded that peer observation would be friendlier, more comfortable, and more constructive; and the observed teachers would have the feeling of being supported rather than evaluated
The benefits of peer observation over evaluative classroom visit spotted by the participants might not directly answer the first research question about what the benefits of peer observation were; however, the fact that differences between the two kinds of classroom observations were the very first concern of the participants made clear the necessity not to ignore this part Moreover, in order for peer observation to be fully- valued, the distinction was believed to be important to avoid misunderstanding
Munson (1998)‟s conclusion about the effectiveness in enhancing the teaching skills of peer observation over “the usual procedure of having an administrator act as the observer” (p.110) was confirmed by what was found in this study Moreover, the detailed description of real evaluative observations provided by Ma and Li supported the generalizations made by the scholars on the “threatening or negative experience”
(Richards and Farrell, 2005: 85), and the resistance and the reluctance to participate in classroom observation (Pham Viet Ha, 2004: 26)
Once peer observation was differentiated from evaluative classroom visits, the current study might eradicate teachers‟ most possible fear of being judged and evaluated to welcome peer observation as a “comfortable” tool for their professional development
Besides evaluative observation, the participants also compared peer observation with the practice of mentoring at their working place Li said even though the ultimate goal of the two activities was quite similar, i.e “you try to improve the one you observe”, mentoring was a very stressful experience for the observed teachers, who would be greatly affected by the assessment of their mentors If the feedbacks were not very promising, then these new teachers were unlikely to be able to continue working in the university Li also recalled the comment of one of her colleague, who witnessed the very significant change in the way a mentee prepared and delivered the lessons She said that when that particular teacher taught to be observed and assessed, her lessons were very interesting with colorful PowerPoint slides, useful handouts, etc., however, at that moment, when the mentee had officially been employed, her lessons were not nearly as carefully prepared She said,
“Evaluation often leads to overaction That‟s what I don‟t like about [mentoring].”
Mentoring, which was defined by Fletcher (2000) as “a combination of coaching, counseling, and assessment, where a classroom teacher in a school is delegated responsibility for assisting pre-service or newly qualified teachers in their professional development”, was at the time of the study widely used at the participants‟ working place This explained why mentoring but not coaching or any other activities was to be compared with peer observation It was understandable why the participants came to the conclusion that peer observation was more effective than mentoring in promoting professional development since the ultimate goal set at the beginning of the abovementioned mentoring program was to determine whether the mentees were well- qualified enough for the jobs However, what was revealed by one of the participants about the overreaction of some mentees should be seriously considered by administrators and managers before deciding to use mentoring to develop their staff professionally
In summary, contrasting peer observation with evaluative classroom visit and mentoring program revealed the participants‟ preference of the former According to them, in supporting teachers‟ professional development, peer observation was a more comfortable, more constructive, and its effects were more permanent
3.1.2 Benefits of peer observation in promoting self-awareness
The ways in which peer observation promotes self-awareness
The participants believed that from peer observation they would find different perspectives of viewing themselves These perspectives were that of another teacher, of a student, and of the reflective self in each of them
Firstly, participating in peer observation, the participants would be able to see themselves in the eyes of another teacher Li and La explained for this perspective with the fact that peer observation involved teachers of same academic levels giving and getting feedback on what had been done well and what needed to improve, and that the feedback from the observer teacher was very helpful in promoting professional development The two teachers‟ ideas proved to be right in the peer conferences, in which the majority of the feedback given was derived from the observers‟ pedagogical knowledge, their teaching beliefs, as well as their teaching experience
In the journals, the participants showed that they enjoyed the feedback, which enhanced their self-awareness Ma thought her peer‟s feedback was like a detailed and objective report of what she did while La found fun and interest in hearing her peer‟s comment, from which she could discover something new about herself that she had never realized
CONCLUSION
Conclusions
The study has succeeded in answering the research questions
What are the benefits of peer observation to professional development as perceived by the teachers?
What are the limitations of peer observation to professional development as perceived by the teachers?
What suggestions do these teachers make for the use of peer observation as a tool of professional development so that its maximal benefits can be achieved?
For the first question, the study has found out some benefits of peer observation as perceived by the participants to their professional development They are
- Peer observation promoted the teachers‟ awareness of their personality, and their teaching including their decision-making process, their weaknesses and strengths;
- Peer observation initiated the sharing teaching principles, teaching ideas, and teaching experiences;
- Peer observation triggered discussion about teaching contexts including the students, the curricula, and the classroom facilities;
- Peer observation promoted job satisfaction in the participants;
- Peer observation networked the teachers in the same department;
- Peer observation encouraged the participants‟ future change; and
- Peer observation introduced new way of research into classroom
In terms of the benefits of peer observation, the study also found out that Peer observation was believed to be more beneficial than evaluative classroom observations and mentoring, and that the observed teachers were believed to be more benefited from peer observation than the observer
For the second question on the limitations of peer observation, the findings were
- The presence of the observer in the classroom had some effects on the psychology and the practice of the observed teachers;
- It was difficult in find a suitable peer; and
- It was hard to give and receive feedback in the appropriate ways
For the last questions, the participants made some suggestions for the use of peer observation Firstly, they suggested that some factors that determined the applicability of Peer observation be the voluntariness of the teacher involved, the teacher‟s awareness of the benefits of peer observation, their understanding of the nonjudgementalness of peer observation and the clear guidelines and schedules for peer observation program
Secondly, a peer to work with was believed to have the same ages, same teaching experience, same academic achievements, and same positions in the working place It would be perfect if peers taught the same students, used the same textbooks, and had the same perspectives; however, they were not necessarily so Another useful suggestion concerned the focus of observation, which had been concluded a scheme that placed more emphasis on the focus but still left rooms for teachers to give other comments according to the procedures of the lessons would be most ideal With the focus of the observation, it was crucial for both sides to spend time learning about it to understand the points that were included in the observation scheme before the visited lesson.
Recommendations
Teachers should be aware of the fact that not only can they learn from training courses but teachers should be responsible for their own development When training has been done, it does not mean that the learning is completed In fact, professional development is an on-going process
While professional development is mostly self-initiated, stemming from the inner motivation in each teacher, it can be achieved individually or cooperatively with the support of colleagues There are a numbers of ways for teachers to develop themselves professionally Some of them can take a lot of time and effort, but others are quite simple, providing teachers with a wide range of choice The best way is different from teachers to teachers depending on their teaching schedules, their teaching context, etc However, the more ways a teacher applies to him/herself, the nearer he/she to his/her development
Peer observation is one good choice among the ways to professional development It has been proved to be very beneficial for teacher‟s professional development However, for professional development, the consent from a colleague is crucial since it can not be done individually
Peer observation should consist of all three steps: pre-observation meeting, observation, and post-observation conference
Before the observation, the most important point to be agreed on is the scheme for observation It is usually advised to design the observation scheme in accordance with the focus of the observation when peer observation is a problem-posing method However, peer observation is totally feasible and effective without a focus when peer observation is carried out for other purposes, for examples, to have a more critical view of one‟s own teaching, or to learn from other teachers, etc
When it comes to the observation, the brief introduction about the observer and the purpose for his/her visit at the beginning of the lesson is of great importance to the students of the visited class so as to minimize the influence of the observer on their behavior When observing, one should search for clues in all aspects of a lesson, not only the teacher It can be the students, the facilities, the background noise, etc which provides precious evidence for the feedback at the post-observation conference
The post-observation conference has proved to be the most beneficial for both sides However, in the conference, the way to give feedback plays a decisive role in the success of peer observation For both the feedback giver and the receiver, it is essential to look at feedback as contribution, not judgment or assessment
Besides, it requires skills and techniques to give and receive feedback in an effective way
Writing reflective journals is also a good way to professional development It is quite simple since it can be done individually However, this can also counter- productive if one does not have his/her own motivation
2.2 For the educators, and managers
Teachers should be encouraged to initiate their own development They should be made aware of the need for so doing as early as in the initial training at the university and other training institutions where they are students educated to be teachers in the future
During the training period, pre-service teachers should be made familiar with some ways to professional development The introduction of the way gives the teachers the first idea of how they will develop themselves However, they should also be guided to carry these ways out to their best benefit
For in-service teachers, training still plays an important role in developing the staff However, in the training courses, teachers should still be introduced about different ways in which they can pursue their own development by themselves
Whereas teachers initiate their own development, and achieve it either individually or cooperatively, there are a number of other activities that can be done at a larger scale, which needs the support and encouragement from the management
While teachers are supported and encouraged to perceive their own development, their activities should be monitored carefully It is important then to have official encouraging and punishing policies to manage the teacher development in different situations
Among the ways to carry out at department scale, peer observation can be a good choice then
Since peer observation can be effectively used in the micro-teaching at the teacher-educating universities as well as in the practicum at the end of the training course, it should be introduced at the early stage for pre-service teachers They should be made aware of the benefits of the activity so as for them to feel interested Moreover, they should be carefully trained to carry out the activity, which will be the base knowledge for the future use when they actually work as in-service teachers.
Limitations and suggestions for further study
Despite the effort and time spent on doing the current study, the researcher felt that she could have done better The limit of time and words were partially reasons for the some limitations of the study, the avoidance of which would be also the suggestions for further research
Firstly, it would have been possible to generalize the findings if the number of participants were bigger than five However, involving more teachers in such a time- consuming and rather demanding project as which had been done in the study was admittedly not an easy task to perform The researcher needed to be patient and convincing and the teachers should be really cooperative and helpful; otherwise their business was very likely to make them to refuse Moreover, like in the study, the participants‟ initial agreement to help did not ensure their commitment till the end of the project, which was somehow understandable taking the teachers‟ busy schedule into account In that situation were Li and Ka, who found it too hard to squeeze the reflective journals to their overscheduled timetable Moreover, any increase in the number of participants would possibly lead to an addition to the amount of precious yet hard-to- analyze data, which also meant more challenges and more work for the researchers
Secondly, all the observations done in this study were arranged by the researcher with the agreement of the participants for the purpose of researching, which meant that the participants themselves did not involve in the activity voluntarily As it has been analyzed in the previous part, the lack of voluntariness might result in peer observation not as beneficial to the participants as it should be For this reason, the benefits, the limitations, and suggestions found in the current study, even though they were all right, were not sufficient This should be taken into consideration in any other study on peer observation
Moreover, with the transcription of 6 preliminary interviews, 8 peer conferences, and 6 journals, the researcher thought that her analysis and presentation of findings could have been more in-depth and insightful if she had had more training in making sense of qualitative data, or more experience in so doing
There could have been more room for improvement In identifying the limitations of her study, the researcher hoped that many better studies would be done on the worthy topic of peer observation
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Sample of preliminary interview extract
(…) Researcher (R): Thế theo Li peer observation và mentoring khác nhau gì về đầu ra?
Li: Đúng! Thực ra mục đích của nó cuối cùng đều khá là giống nhau, nghĩa là bạn đều cố gắng improve cho người bạn đi observe Thế nhưng có một điểm khác với hoạt động hiện giờ đang được thực hiện ở trường mình thôi nhé
Li: Đấy là một tiêu chuẩn bắt buộc nghĩa là nếu feedback không ổn, thì cơ hội họ ở lại trường là không cao Hoặc thậm chí là leader của chúng ta không nhận người ấy trong trường hợp là feedback không hề OK
Li: Nghĩa là ngoài chuyện feedback để phát triển gọi là professional development thì nó thành ra vấn đề mình có được survive ở đây hay không Cái này khác hẳn
Li: Nó lại không thoải mái Họ sẽ luôn luôn care về nhiều thứ Cứ lo lắng là feedback của mình không ổn
Li: Có thể khi nói chuyện nội bộ với nhau thì không sao, nhưng khi feedback thành một form thì người đưa feedback lại cũng không lỡ làm gì căng thẳng
R: Tớ thấy mô hình mentor mentee giống với cái hồi mà mình học cấp 3 khí có administrator vào lớp … Li: Ừ ừ ừ
R: Thì giáo viên lại chuẩn bị rất kĩ lưỡng
Li: Đúng rồi đúng rồi
Li: Cái cuồi cùng của nó ý nó đều là để evaluate Evaluate làm nhiều khi người ta overreact
Li: Nhiều khi không cần thiết phải như thế Nên nó không thực chất Đấy là điều mà tớ không thích nhất
Li: Chính vì thế mà tớ nghĩ là peer observation sẽ hay hơn hẳn Bởi vì thứ nhất là mọi người equal Và mọi người tham gia với tinh thần gọi là đóng góp xây dựng
Thế nên là sẽ rất thoải mái
R: Lớp học sẽ natural hơn
Li: Ừ Lớp học sẽ natural và đúng với bản chất mà nó vốn có Chẳng hạn như cô
Thanh nói ngày trước cô Thanh với chị Phương đi dự thì là đội mentee ấy chuẩn bị đầy đủ lắm Handout nữa Xong thôi lại thôi có làm gì nữa đâu
Li: Rất là không thực chất
Li: Thế nên tớ nghĩ là nói về độ phản ánh đúng thực chất nhất thì peer observation cũng tốt hơn
R: Nghĩa là một trong những benefits của peer observation là độ phản ánh đúng Li: Nó xác thực hơn
R: Điều thứ hai là khi nãy Li nói với tớ là khi mình observer thì mình được compare tiết học với đồng nghiệp
Li: Đúng rồi Tức là mình có thể đối chiếu Tức là mình sẽ có nhiều cách tiếp cận khác nhau với học sinh, mà đối tượng lớp rất là đa dạng nên mình học cách linh hoạt hơn Nói chung đó là một dịp tốt để mình trao đổi về chuyên môn một cách thoải mái Vì mình có một base chung
Sample follow-up interview extract
(…) R: lần trước Ma observe bạn đúng không?
R: Thế lần này em observe bạn em cảm thấy thế nào?
Ma: Em thấy bình thường Em thấy như là La không có ở trong lớp
R: Em không thấy 1 chút gì … Ma: Không không có áp lực
R: Đấy là do như La nói với chị là … Ma: Thứ nhất chúng em là bạn của nhau rồi Thứ hai là quen rồi Với thứ ba là có gì bọn em cũng góp ý với nhau thẳng thắn cả hai đứa cũng open về chuyện này
R: Thế bình thường hai đứa có hay trao đổi về việc dạy không?
La: Có bọn em hay trao đổi về sinh viên, với cả đề thi, và hay hỏi xem bạn Ma dạy đến đâu rồi, tớ nên cho bài tập như thế nào
Ma: hoặc là cách dạy như thế nào để phù hợp với từng lớp
R: Thế lần này em observe thì em học được gì từ bạn, thấy điểm mạnh nhất ở bạn em là gì?
La: Điểm mạnh nhất của bạn Ma là bạn Ma rất có uy ở trong lớp Tốt hơn em Em cảm giác thế Bởi vì em cảm giác là em không quen quát sinh viên còn Ma là đâu ra đấy Good management Ví dụ như là Sinh viên tên Quang không làm bài tập thì bạn ấy chỉnh đâu ra đấy còn em thì “Quang không làm bài tập à? Lần sau phải làm đi nhé!” em chỉ nói nhẹ nhàng thế thôi Còn Ma thì khác hẳn Cái đấy thì powerful hơn, em nghĩ là làm sinh viên sợ hơn
La: Em nghĩ là phải qua một quá trình thì sẽ học được nhiều hơn Còn bài hôm nay thì thế thôi
Ma: Còn em thì đúng là em mới observe bạn La một, hai buổi
Ma: Không có một buổi La dạy K43
Ma: Ừ Nhưng cũng là observer Nhưng nó không formal như thế này Informal hơn
La: Bạn ấy chỉ ngồi đợi em thôi!