We asked one of our Primary Teachers to give us her take on a lesson observation. Here’s her honest opinion and we hope that it will encourage you to make the most of this fantastic opportunity to boost your confidence in the classroom.
“Being observed in the classroom can rattle any teacher’s nerves. It was just the same with me.
Even though I was trying to convince myself that a lesson observation wouldn’t do me any damage, I was pretty anxious.
But who wouldn’t be?
Firstly, an ex-head teacher with lots and lots of experience was going to observe my lesson.
Secondly, it was a SUPPLY teacher’s lesson. If you work on a supply basis you know that it can be very tough sometimes with or without having a lesson observation.
Taking all these things into consideration, no wonder that I couldn’t stop panicking!
Luckily the panic didn’t last for more than a few minutes. Cheryl was trying to do everything a person possibly could do so I wouldn’t feel the pressure of an actual classroom observation. She was so kind and patient and tried to get involved into my lesson (e.g. she was helping lower abilities to catch up with multiplication using the grid method).
Indeed I was compl
etely wrong when I thought that this lesson observation would be linked to my classroom practice and Cheryl would only criticize my teaching.
Quite the contrary, all her feedback was closely related to my professional development that could improve both my teaching practice and student performance.
The whole feedback session was simply heart-warming as she made me realize that all what I was doing was just right.
I really felt appreciated, trusted and encouraged and it definitely helped me to boost my confidence in teaching.
Also, I had an opportunity to engage in a reflective dialogue about my teaching practice and had a chance to feel the comfort of knowing that someone was available to help, explain and assist. Clearly these were the most positive benefits of being observed.”
