Classroom Observation

There are two actors in an education system: the students and the teachers.  There should be willingness to learn on the part of the student and commitment to impart knowledge on the part of the teacher. An efficient way to assess and monitor interaction between students and teachers is through classroom observation.  Classroom observation is usually done through a third-party observer like a school administrator or principal. Oftentimes, classroom observation is done on a regular basis to see improvement and measure its effectiveness.  Changes in the methodologies and improvement in skills can be a result of the evaluation and points noted during classroom observation. 

As a school system grows, administrators and principal take on different roles and regular classroom observation may not longer physically possible. To continue classroom observations even with limited manpower, schools can tap modern technologies. By using a video camera that is strategically positioned in a classroom setting, a teacher can already facilitate classroom observation through self-evaluation. The teacher can immediately adjust teaching methods in the next class after viewing the classroom observation on video.  Teacher improvement becomes a regular self-evaluation. 

The great thing about the classroom observation is that the teacher can repeatedly view the footage to fine tune what methods need to be changed.  With classroom observation on video, it is easy to share ideas with other teachers because the steps on how certain methodologies work or not can be seen in the video.  There are tools that can annotate the classroom observation videos accordingly. 

This modern way of classroom observation is a great learning tool for educators. Teaching is a continuous learning process. The great teachers learn from their experiences as well as mistakes.  By tapping modern inventions, classroom observation becomes an interactive experience between teachers.  Improvement on the teaching methods is more progressive.  For more information on teacher improvement through classroom observation, visit http://www.schoolimprovement.com.