Classroom Observation/ Teacher Evaluation procedure

All four teachers and supervisor of this center confirmed that there was a proce-dure for formal observations. Their description of the details was a bit different from each other but generally, it comprised a few steps. Firstly, the supervisor proposed a specific time for the observation and teachers agreed with the set time.

They would response the email and confirm that. They would explain if the sched-ule was not suitable for them and proposed another schedsched-ule. But usually it would be fine if only there was a test. Teachers often were informed minimum one week in advance. Then, they had to prepare lesson plan and hand it to the observer before the class observation, 15 minutes was the latest deadline for that.

Then, it was the time for observation. The supervisor would come to the class-room usually the first hour of the lesson (one lesson in this center was two-hour

long) and sit at the back of the class and watch carefully and note down as much as possible. After one hour, the observer left the room and the teacher continued his / her lesson. Later, teachers should send a self-evaluation form in which they evaluated their own lesson. Generally, they specified three strong points from their lesson and three weak points they would need to do better in the next lesson and sent it to their supervisor before the feedback section so that the supervisor could compare with his notes and prepare for the face-to-face feedback section or an interview with that teacher. After that, a feedback section was setting up.

Teachers would go to meet their supervisor for the feedback. They would have a fair discussion on different things. Finally, the supervisor would type up the feed-back and sent it to teachers.

Teacher 1 completely agreed with the procedure above. She did not want to add anything else. She thought the whole process was quite good. It was consistent and easy to follow and it was very useful for her.

I think it’s really good and it’s quite easy to follow, uh very logical and some-thing that uh… I only thought it’s very helpful for us. Yeah

(Teacher 1)

Teacher 2 also agreed with the process above. However, he expressed the need to have the feedback section as soon as the observation finished. He also shared that one-hour observation was not enough to give a fair feedback. Maybe more obser-vations and then feedback section. He had to teach many classes in a month. He may have taught very good lessons in those classes but no one had watched them.

Then just in one specific class where he had a formal observation, he had made some mistakes because he was nervous and then it was generated into the result as his poor performance in the whole quarter of the year. However, basically, he felt that it was a good process.

I had another feedback section where there is everything you did wrong and that’s it, so it’s really really hard for me after that if you’re confident in a week after and another thing that was remain was kind of you always re-stricted to one hour in class right? Where I teach you know many hours in a month, I have many classes a year. It wasn’t really looking at kind of general

trend right so obviously every class you may make a few mistakes but looking at alright what the teacher gonna do in the class probably not forget that I just see something I am nervous of doing a lot in the class maybe that’s some-thing I’ve been doing all year. (Teacher 2)

Teacher 3 also had the same opinion about the observation process. He just wanted to have a quick “post feedback” section, just a few notes about the ob-served lesson right after the observation so that he could figure out what his su-pervisor was thinking about his lesson before the deep discussion. The post feed-back section should ideally happen no more than one week later because he might forget all things had happened that day. He had to teach many classes after that and this may make him confused of what lesson the observer was talking about in the feedback section. A quick chat right after the observation would be more helpful to him.

Uh… so I think that’s good too. And they observe …pretty clear and there is a post observation uh, maybe the post observation should be sooner after the observation? …. But I think having less a waste after the observation into the feedback section because during that week you have to teach other classes and … maybe you forget something about that specific class. It’s not so fresh in your mind. (Teacher 3)

Teacher 4 had no comments about the procedure of the formal observation above.

I think it’s a very good process. I mean it’s good. It’s … uhm, school profes-sional and it helps their voice as a teacher. (Teacher 4)

The Supervisor confirmed that he currently followed the procedure as detailed description above. However, when he was asked about the official document of the observation procedure, he shared that he had never seen it before. He got the steps of what to do for a formal observations when he was trained to a Senior teacher.

Uhm, They’re generally positive about it. Uhm, I mean it depends on the teachers I mean obviously, usually ones who are more passionate about teach-ing, have more positive view, uh, about observation because they want that feedback they want actually improve but everyone else have done like I ha-ven’t had any big arguments or anyone particularly, disagreeing with things that I’ve said uh or the people I observed after the observation will ask me for help about teaching things which tend that I believe in the case that have

positive experience and for they’ve got something out of it rather than just growing a relationship because I judge them too harshly uhm like I’m sure I’m sure it is more work for people and uhm I was quite like them because then they make you think about more details but if you’re not positive about that it is negative but I think you do get something positive out of it but I think the teachers generally think they get something positive about it, some-thing to work on. You’ve got somesome-thing note down like three action points so you’ve got something crystal to work on. (Supervisor 1)

Generally, teachers were positive about this evaluation process. However, it also depended on each teacher. If teachers were passionate about teaching and wanted to improve their teaching as a professional development, they would see it very useful. Others were not very enthusiastic about the evaluation process but they didn’t argue or disagree aggressively either. There were something called im-provement points, it meant that teachers would have something to work on, it was positive not negative.