Teach English in Dongshu Zhen - Tai'an Shi

Marilyn Vos Savant once stated that, “To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.” As teachers, we often think about how to improve and further our teaching practice in the classroom. Sometimes we find ourselves teaching a concept only to find that most of the class is very lost. Other times we succeed in helping our students master the concept but find one or two students who despite repeated instruction, still fail to understand the concept. When these difficult situations occur, we often find ourselves looking for online resources or finding professional developments that cover the specific kind of issue we are having. Often, we turn to observing teaching practice last. Observations are something that makes people uncomfortable. We become self-conscious and worried if something goes wrong during a class. In addition, often in education, observations become tied to something bigger such as pay. However, observations are extremely important and beneficial and should be something that we all should strive to make a part of our regular practice. As people, we each have our own strengths and weaknesses. A teacher could be exceptional at explaining and breaking down difficult concepts but struggle with classroom management. Another teacher could have great rapport with the students but have difficulty thinking of activities that allow students to dig deeper into topics. Teachers will often look online for resources and tips on how to improve those areas that they are lacking. However, these resources often just describe a theory or what to do without demonstration. When we are able to observe other teachers, we are able to see first-hand practices that work or don’t work in a classroom. In my previous workplace, I had served as a math department chair and was required to do observations twice a month for each of the math teachers. Despite the fact that I was a more experienced teacher than the teachers in my department, observing their lessons taught me a great deal and gave me some helpful ideas for my own classroom. One specific example was when I was observing a middle school math lesson. At the time, the teacher was leading their daily warm up activity. Students completed an activity where they had 1 minute to answer questions based on lessons they had done previously. Although at first, the activity itself felt like it would just cause anxiety and push back from the students, the teacher implemented several fun procedures to make the activity less intimating and more exciting for the students. If I had read and studied about this activity, I would not have seen the ways that the teacher made it more effective and approachable for her students and would not have had as clear of an understanding of how to implement it. In addition, observations are a great way for us to gain objective insight into how we are doing in our own classrooms. As a teacher we can become wrapped up in the day to day routines that we forget to reflect on how a lesson actually went in our class and how we can improve our practices. Also, during the rush and busyness of class, we can miss small things that we do that work well or deter a student from learning to the fullest. When we invite a peer teacher to our classroom to observe, we are able to see how our class is going from a fresh pair of eyes. Peer teachers are able to give insight into things happening in our classroom that we normally would not be able to see and provide suggestions for things that we can do to improve our teaching practices. Without observations, I would never have known that I speak very rapidly when I teach and that I sometimes select the same students to volunteer answers rather than getting the whole class involved. However, thanks to various teachers who have come into my class to observe, I was able to not only know of those issues but was able to gain tangible solutions to address it. In addition to constructive criticisms, observations have helped me to see what I was doing well in my class. This not only have given me encouragement but has allowed me to put certain activities and methods into my teaching toolbox to use regularly throughout the year. I sincerely believe that observations are an essential part of being a teacher and should be regularly practiced in all educational institutions. One of the most dangerous thing for a teacher is not being willing to learn and grow in our own practice. When a teacher is not willing to learn, students are not able to become the best that they can be. As educators, we all should strive to observe the teaching practice of others as well as to invite others to observe our own classes.