Classroom observation

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Almost as important as observation per se is the requirement of keeping

an open mind about what we see. Our ways of looking at classrooms
should not be unnecessarily restricted by prior assumptions about what
should be going on there, nor even by the seemingly logical link between
the abstract processes of teaching and learning. In short, we must be
prepared and willing to give up many of our comfortable beliefs about
what classroom life is all about.
Philip Jackson
By the time trainee teachers start their training by observing lessons in schools, they
have spent at least fifteen years in the role of students, and have a very good idea of
what happens in the classroom. However, teachers and students do not view the class
in the same way. Thus, the essential problem of observation in initial teacher training
is to unlearn the pupil perspective in order to manage the transition to teacher (Walker
and Adelman, 1975). Beginning teachers may be bewildered by their new role and the
responsibilities it brings. They suddenly find themselves in a position where they are
the centre of attention in the classroom, they have to plan and organize the work in the
classroom, they are responsible for a large number of students who come to the
classroom with different attitudes, backgrounds, learning preferences, personalities,
etc. All these things can be quite shocking for beginning teachers. So, the importance
of live observations of lessons is that it helps trainee teachers to collect information
about what is going on in the classroom and to make the transition from student to
teacher easier. The role of observer should be taken very seriously and trainees should
try to get as much as they can because this may be the only time in their career when
they have the chance to observe series of lessons and to gain valuable insights that can
help them become better teachers. A study of over 100 postgraduate teachers
conducted by Wragg (1973) showed that they had already established fairly stable
styles of teaching even when on teaching practice. This indicates that firmly fixed
patterns of classroom interaction can be laid down quite early in a teachers career,
even during training (ibid.). Therefore, it is important that trainee teachers pay close
attention to what is happening in the classroom, keep a journal of the observations and
think about the different aspects of the lessons they have seen in order to draw
conclusions about good and bad teaching practices. They should approach this
experience with an open mind because careful classroom observation can help
illuminate even the most familiar of events (Wragg, 1991: vii). Sometimes observers
see what they want or expect to see and not what is really happening, so by leaving
previous assumptions behind they can not only learn new things, but they can also get
a new perspective on familiar things. Classrooms are very busy places and there are a
lot of different things going on in only one lesson. A study in which lessons were
videotaped (Adams and Biddle, 1970) showed that there was a change in activity
every 518 seconds and there was an average in each lesson of 174 changes in who
talked and who listened. Wragg (1991: 2) remarks that the job of teaching can be as

busy as that of a telephonist or a sales assistant during peak shopping hours, so

observers need to learn how to observe in order to get as much benefit as possible.

The observer
The presence of a person who is not normally present in the classroom may have an
influence of what happens in the classroom. Samph (1976) put microphones in
classrooms and then sent observers either announced or unexpected some weeks later.
He found that teachers made more use of questions, praise and were more likely to
accept pupils ideas when someone was present. Both teachers and learners may
change their behaviour and may attempt to provide what they think the visitor
expects. Thus, only one visit to a classroom will not give the right picture of what
really happens in the classroom. Wragg (1991: 15) points out that it is important for
non-participant observers to make sure they learn what they need to know by looking
beneath the surface of what happens, and discuss their perceptions with others. It is
also important that they do not come to the classroom with their own assumptions and
pre-judgements. Observers should approach observation with an open mind and try to
see things objectively.
It is also important to think about the place of the observer in the classroom. The basic
principle is that the observers should not draw any attention to themselves. The usual
place of observers is at the back of the classroom so that they can see the whole
classroom. However in this position, they can see what is happening in the classroom,
the teachers face, but they cannot see the learners faces, which will not allow the
observers to draw conclusions about the effect of classroom actions on the learners.
Thats why the best position is at the back but preferably to one side so that they can
see the faces of some of the learners. Moreover, in order to be able to see what is
happening when learners work in pairs or groups, it is good for the observers to be
close enough to at least one group so that they can listen to their conversation and get
some insights into the way they approach the task and organize their work.
Another important aspect is the dress and personal style of the observers. Observers
should not draw any attention to themselves with the way they look. They should look
tidy and respectful, which means short skirts, untidy hair, too casual clothes or
striking jewellery should be avoided.

Observation points
Wragg (1991: 20) remarks that systematic analysis of lessons has often concentrated
on a number of matters in the classroom. They include the following, some of which
overlap with each other:
Personal traits. The traits of either the teacher or the pupils: for example, whether
the teacher is warm or aloof, whether certain pupils appear to prefer collaboration
or disruption.

 Verbal interaction. What teachers and pupils say to each other, who does the
talking and about what, question and answer, choice of vocabulary and language
register.
Non-verbal Movement: gesture, facial expression like smiles and frowns.
Activity. The nature of the pupils tasks, what the teacher does.
Management. How the teacher manages pupil behaviour, the use of resources, the
organisation of group or individual work.
Professional skills. Questioning, explaining, arousing interest and curiosity.
Teaching aids. The teachers use of audio-visual aids, such as television, slides,
tapes, or other materials and equipment, like the computer.
Affective. Teachers and pupils feelings and emotions, interpersonal relationships.
Cognitive. The nature and level of thinking in the classroomfor example, the
level of reasoning necessary to answer a question, or the degree of understanding
a pupil appears to have of a topic or concept.
Sociological. The roles people play, norms, codes, the effects of social
background, status, power.
In order for the observation to be more successful, observers need to decide in
advance what will be observed in a particular lesson. As there are many aspects of the
lesson that can be observed, it is useful to decide which elements to focus on in each
lesson.
Some of the observation points listed by Walker and Adelman (1975: 8-14) are the
following:
1. Physical setting:
Note any posters, pictures, wall charts or exhibits, animals or plants. How long
have they been there? Do the children notice them?
Note overall room shape and size and the location of fixed furniture and service
points. These can be vital in determining patterns of friendship grouping and
informal communication.
Location of blackboard, OHP (overhead projector) etc. Is blackboard/screen in a
position where everyone can see it?
2. Pupils
How many? How old are they? Boys, girls or mixed? Ability? Course
Name/number of class?
Notice who arrives first. Do pupils remain in the same groups inside the
classroom as those in which they arrived?
Look at the overall pattern of spacing between groups of children. Is the spacing
uniform, does it reflect the location of furniture/resources or is it related to
friendship groups?
Estimate the kind and degree of movement within and between groups and the
ways in which these change during the course of the lesson.
Who are the isolate children?
Who is the joker?
Which children always raise their hands when the teacher asks a question?

 Which children never raise their hands to answer a question? (Are they ever asked
to respond by the teacher?)
Notice the children who sit at the back and in the corners. Is their behaviour any
different from that of rest of the class?
Who asks for pens, rubbers etc.? Whom do they ask?
Try and assess the extent of division of labour within groups. Does each child do
much the same as another in carrying out the tasks, or are there different roles?
Are the roles fixed, or do children move from one to another? Is there any
negotiation over allocation of roles or over who does what? How does the
division of labour relate to the way children talk to each other? Are all groups
equally cohesive and smooth-running?
Is there much communication between groups? Are they aware of what the others
are doing? If one group discovers a novel way of doing things, how does this
diffuse through the class?
When the teacher asks a child a question does it ever get answered by another
child in the same friendship group? Is the relationship between the children
predominantly protective or competitive?
How far do individual children possess territory in the classroomi.e. do they
have areas where other children do not invade?
3. Teachers
How do they enter the room, and where do they do they go first? Do they enter
before or after the pupils? Do they make them wait or line up outside?
What are the teachers first posture, gesture and statement; to whom are they
addressed?
What effects are apparently intended? (Notice tone and loudness of voice, as well
as what is said.)
How long is it before the lesson proper can begin? What things have happened up
to this point?
Does the teacher seem to be a different kind of person inside classroom and out?
How?
Assess the complexity of vocabulary and grammar used by the teacher. Do they
match that used by the pupils in (1) their responses to the teacher, (2) their talk
among themselves? The teachers language may be precise, esoteric, everyday but
accurate, or loose. Does the language used by the teacher elucidate the intended
meanings or does it hinder them?
What does the teacher do when a child asks a question that reveals he has not
understood the lesson? Does the teachers language change at this point? How?
Are questions to pupils
o previously worked out
o spontaneous and exploratory
o implying an answer
o by several exchanges leading the pupils to the one answer expected?
Does the teacher use analogies? Do they communicate the point to the children?
Does the situation seem to be one of mutual communication between teacher and
children? How do you assess this?
Does the teacher use many negated sentences as compared to positive sentences?

 Is the teachers voice being clearly perceived (i.e. do the pupils recognize the
pronunciation as understandable even if the observer finds it difficult)?
Is the teacher pausing within and between sentences so as to make each clause,
phrase etc. stand out? Does the voice modulation enhance the meanings, or
disrupt them?
How does the teacher register that the pupils response is considered incorrect?
What is the response of other pupils to the teachers signal of incorrectness?
How does the teacher deal with the unexpected event?
In individual learning situations
o does the teacher get to all those needing help?
o does the teacher adjust his language and posture from child to child?
Does the teacher have particular postures and gestures which signal to the class
that he is expecting a major change in activity?
How does the teacher use silences to communicate?
How does the teacher adjust his talk to different groups of children engaged in the
same task?
4. Resources
What books, tools, apparatus, equipment, materials etc. are available and where
are they located and stored?
How are the tasks defined? (Worksheets, instructions, negotiation)
To what extent do pupils and teachers have equal access to resources?
Is there any variation in the way that the task(s) are perceived by different groups
of pupils?
If worksheets are being used
o do they specify a sequential programme of tasks, or
o do they attempt to initiate self-direction?
Are the questions asked of the teacher by the pupils related to
o difficulties in making sense of the worksheets
o the intended task
o extensions of the intended task?
What preparation was necessary for the particular lesson?
5. The lesson
What is its designation on the timetable?
What is the aim of the lesson from the teachers point of view?
How does it relate to a sequence or theme?
What is its logical structure in terms of content?
How are the different activities connected? What cues signal changes in activity
and who initiates them. How well formed, smooth and simultaneous these
transitions are for different members of the class.
Do the activities help learners achieve the aims of the lesson?

Rating scales

One way to record aspects of classroom life is by using rating scales. Some of the
rating scales consist of pairs bi-polar opposites scored on a five, seven or 10 point
scale. Evaluation of teachers characteristics can be carried out with a rating scale like
the one bellow (Ryans, 1960):
warm
1234567
stimulating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
businesslike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

aloof
dull
slipshod

This type of rating scales has been criticized because different raters may see the scale
points differently. Thus, one raters choice of scale point 4 may not mean the same
as another raters (Wragg, 1991: 23). Moreover, raters tend to choose the middle
scale points as a result of uncertainty or fear of stepping out of line (ibid.).
Instead of measuring intensity, observers may use rating scales that measure
frequency. In that case, the rater chooses a number from 1 to 5 to indicate how often
something seemed to happen in a lesson. The range might be 1=never, or almost
never, 2=rarely, 3=sometimes, 4=often, and 5=always, or almost always. The observer
would then score items like the ones below using this scale.
Teacher praises correct answers 1 2 3 4 5
Teacher deals with misbehaviour 1 2 3 4 5
Pupils distract other children
12345
(Wragg, 1991: 23)
Wragg (1991: 23) points out that one of the major problems with rating scales is that
they appear objective, but are in practice heavily laden with the values of those who
conceived them. He concludes that rating scales can be useful in classroom
observation, but they are best employed by experienced observers seeing numerous
teachers, and they should never be used automatically, only when the context seems
appropriate, and then with considerable caution.

Category systems
Another way of recording what is happening in the classroom is by using category
systems. Wragg (1991: 25) warns that there are many common errors that are made
when category systems are constructed, such as the following: pupil happily reads
book (covers two types of categoryaction and mood) teacher shows interest (too
vague, target of interest not clear, better to qualify it) pupil misbehaves and is told off
(two consecutive acts, should be coded separately). Because it is not easy to construct
category systems, many observers use published category systems. Observers can use
codes in order to record what is happening in the classroom. Wragg (1991: 29) gives
the following suggestions:
C=Class,
G=Group,
I=Individual,
T=Transition from one type of grouping to another,
TQ=Teacher asks question,

TR=Teacher reprimands or admonishes,

TQC Teacher asks question to whole class,
TRI Teacher reprimands individual pupil,
TQG Teacher asks question to group of pupils,
TRCT Teacher reprimands whole class during transition.

Guidelines for observation

Richards and Lockhart (1996) give the following guidelines for observation by trainee
teachers:
Guidelines for observation by student teachers:
A. Introduction
1. Teachers are busy professionals. Classroom observations are not always a welcome
intrusion for the classroom teachers involved.
2. The observation of classroom teachers is serious business; it should not be
approached casually.
3. Learning how to observe in a manner acceptable to all parties takes time, careful
reflection, personal tact, and creativity.
4. An observer is a guest in the teacher's and the students' classroom. A guest in the
classroom is there thanks to the goodwill of the cooperating teacher.
5. A guest's purpose for visiting is not to judge, evaluate, or criticize the classroom
teacher, or to offer suggestions, but simply to learn through observing.
B. Procedures
1. Visitors should contact the cooperating teacher for a brief orientation to the class.
2. A visitor who is planning to observe a class should arrive in the classroom a few
minutes ahead of time.
3. If something unexpected comes up and the visitor is not able to observe a class at
the agreed-upon time, the visitor needs to notify the classroom teacher as soon as
possible. It is a visitor's responsibility to keep the classroom teacher informed.
4. Once having entered a classroom, the visitor should try to be as unobtrusive as
possible, sitting where directed by the teacher.
5. If a student in the class asks the visitor a direct question (e.g., What are you doing
here? Are you a teacher too?), the visitor should answer as briefly as possible. It is
important to bear in mind that the visitor is not a regular member of the class.
Visitors should not initiate or pursue conversations unnecessarily.
6. A visitor should be appreciative and polite. At the earliest opportunity, the visitor
should thank the classroom teacher for having made possible the opportunity to
visit the classroom.
7. A visitor who is taking written notes or collecting information in some other way
should do this as unobtrusively as possible. The visitor must make sure that the
teacher and students are comfortable with any procedures used for data collection.
C. Post-visitation
1. It is imperative for the visitor to keep impressions of the class private and
confidential.

2. The visitors should explain to the classroom teacher that the teacher's name will not
be used in any discussions with other people. Any direct references to teachers, in
either formal or informal settings, will be anonymous.
3. Any notes or information collected during a classroom visit should be made
accessible to the teacher, if he or she requests.
Guidelines for peer observation
A. General principles
1. Observation should have a focus. The value of observation is increased if the
observer knows what to look for. An observation that concludes with a comment
such as, "Oh, that was a really nice lesson," is not particularly helpful to either
party. On the other hand, giving the observer a task, such as collecting information
on student participation patterns during a lesson, provides a focus for the observer
and collects useful information for the teacher.
2. Observers should use specific procedures. Lessons are complex events with many
different activities occurring simultaneously. If the observer wants to observe
teacher student interaction, for example, a variety of procedures could be used to
make this task more effective.
3. The observer should remain an observer. An observer who is also a participant in
the lesson cannot observe effectively.
B. Suggested procedures
1. Arrange a pre-observation orientation session. Before beginning the observations,
the two teachers meet to discuss the nature of the class observed, the kind of
material being taught, the teacher's approach to teaching, the kinds of students in
the class, typical patterns of interaction and class participation, and so on.
2. Identify a focus for the observation. For example:
Organization of the lesson: the entry, structuring, and closure of the lesson.
Teacher's time management: allotment of time to different activities during the
lesson.
Students' performance on tasks: the strategies, procedures, and interaction
patterns employed by students in completing a task.
Time-on-task: the extent to which students were actively engaged during a task.
Teacher questions and student responses: the types of questions teachers asked
during a lesson and the way students responded.
Students' performance during pair work: the way students completed a pair work
task, the responses they made during the task, and the type of language they
used.
Classroom interaction: teacher-student and student-student interaction patterns
during a lesson.
Group work: students' use of LI versus L2 during group work, students' time-ontask during group work, and the dynamics of group activities.
3. Develop procedures for the observer to use. For example:
Timed samples: the observer notes down specific behaviour displayed at specified
time intervals during a lesson.

 Coding forms: the observer checks the appropriate category on a set of coded
categories of classroom behaviours whenever a behaviour is displayed during
the lesson.
Descriptive narrative (broad): the observer writes a narrative summarizing the
main events that occur during the lesson.
Descriptive narrative (narrow): the observer writes a narrative focusing on a
particular aspect of a lesson. For example, the observer describes what a single
student did and said throughout the lesson.
4. Carry out the observation. The observer visits his or her partner's class and
completes the observation, using the procedures that both parties have agreed on.
5. Arrange a post-observation session. The two teachers meet as soon as possible after
the lesson. The observer reports on the information collected during the lesson and
discusses it with the teacher.

References
Adams, R. S. and Biddle, B. J. (1970) Realities of Teaching, New York: Holt,
Rinehart & Winston.
Richard, J. C. & Lockhart, C. (1996). Reflective teaching in second language
classrooms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ryans, D. G. (1960). Characteristics of Teachers, Washington, DC: American Council
on Education.
Samph, T. (1976). Observer effects on teacher verbal behaviour. Journal of
Educational Psychology 68 (6): 73641.
Walker, R. & Adelman, C. (1975). A guide to classroom observation. London:
Routledge.
Wragg, E. C. (1973). A study of student teachers in the classroom. In G. Chanan,
(ed.) Towards a Science of Teaching, Slough: National Foundation for Educational
Research.
Wragg, E. C. (1991). An introduction to classroom observation. (2nd ed.). London:
Routlegde.