Session Information
99 ERC SES 04 K, Professional Learning and Development
Paper Session
Contribution
Peer observation is observing fellow teachers’ lessons or being observed by them with the purpose of professional growth. It is believed to be an effective tool for both training future teachers (Engin & Priest, 2014) and supporting experienced teachers’ professional development (O’Leary, 2014; Wragg, 2002). If used effectively, peer observation can become “a valuable tool for improving the quality of teaching” (Wragg, 2002, p. VIII).
Nevertheless, despite its positive impact on teacher professional development, peer observation might still cause negative attitudes and resistance among teachers due to several reasons such as negative feedback that teachers might receive after being observed (Dos Santos, 2016) or poor organization of this process at school (Engin & Priest, 2014; Gosling, 2002). Engin and Priest (2014) state that “teachers who have experienced such contexts may not see the learning value of peer observation” (p. 2). Although peer observation is an important part of teaching practice in many schools around the world including Kazakhstan, it is often imposed on teachers (Gosling, 2002), which is another reason why they do not view it as a tool for professional growth. Therefore, studying teachers’ perceptions of this process and their experiences in peer observation can help better organize this process at schools and make it a valuable tool for continuous development.
This study aims to investigate school teachers' perceptions regarding peer observation and their experiences of peer observation at one school in South Kazakhstan. To achieve this purpose, the study analyses teachers' viewpoints on peer observation, both from the perspective of observing their colleagues and being observed themselves. Furthermore, it delves into an examination of their experiences and practices in the context of peer observation, as well as the impact of these experiences on their professional development.
The following research questions were identified to guide this study:
1. What are the schoolteachers’ perceptions of peer observation?
2. What are their experiences in peer observation?
3. How does peer observation affect teachers’ professional development?
Teacher professional development should happen in collaboration with others and be ongoing (Darling-Hammond & Richardson, 2009; Garet et al., 2006). Bandura’s social learning theory and the professional learning community offered by Darling-Hammond and Richardson (2009) as a new paradigm might help to explain this need for collaboration and the importance of consistent teacher learning. These theories also support the importance of peer observation for teacher professional development.
Method
Since the purpose of this study is to explore the teachers’ perceptions and experiences of peer observation, the qualitative research study was chosen as the most appropriate method for this research. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted to answer the research questions and learn about teachers’ perceptions and experiences of peer observation. As stated by Merriam and Tisdell (2016), certain fields like education or health employ a research design called ‘basic qualitative study’. The basic qualitative study aims to understand how people “make sense of their life and experiences” (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016, p. 24), while the other types of research design in qualitative research have additional purposes. In addition, Merriam and Tisdell (2016) state that based on this design “researchers simply describe their study as a “qualitative research study” without declaring a particular type of qualitative study” (p. 23). The current study employed this design due to the necessity to understand people’s experiences and perceptions. Drawing on empirical evidence and related literature, this interview-based study aimed to discover the perceptions and experiences of teachers in peer observation. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted to answer the research questions of this study. This helped to learn the individual experiences and perceptions of the participants in-depth. Five interviews were conducted face to face as “the interaction produced when the researcher and participants meet in the shared space produces humane and sensitive data that reflects the interest of both parties” (Kamarudin, 2015, p. 14). One participant asked for an online interview as it was more convenient for them in terms of time. Document analysis was used as an additional instrument. The school has an online system that is used during the lesson observations and analyzing this system assisted in understanding teachers’ perspectives and experiences of peer observation at this school.
Expected Outcomes
From the data obtained, it can be concluded that the participants consider peer observation to be an important part of the teaching profession and understand how crucial it is for teachers’ professional development and collaboration. It can also be concluded that the teachers at this school are willing to observe and be observed, although one participant mentioned that there is a small number of teachers who avoid this practice (Participant 2). As there is no clear division between peer observation and lesson observation, the participants do not differentiate between these two terms and use them interchangeably. The school culture of peer observation which highlights its importance for professional development, the fact that peer observation is used as support for younger and new teachers as well as the frequent observations by various visitors can be the reasons why teachers have such a positive attitude to peer observation at this school. Additionally, the participants stated that they feel more comfortable when peer observation happens within their subject departments. Unconstructive and negative feedback was mentioned by most participants as a reason for some stress during peer observations.
References
Darling-Hammond, L., & Richardson, N. (2009). Research review/teacher learning: What matters. Educational leadership, 66(5), 46-53. Dos Santos, L. M. (2016). How do teachers make sense of peer observation professional development in an Urban School. International Education Studies, 10(1), 255. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v10n1p255 Engin, M. (2014). Observing teaching: A lens for self-reflection. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.14297/jpaap.v2i2.90 Garet, M. S., Porter, A. C., Desimone, L., Birman, B. F., & Yoon, K. S. (2001). What makes professional development effective? Results from a national sample of teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 38(4), 915–945. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312038004915 Gosling, D. (2002). Models of peer observation of teaching. Kamarudin, D. (2015). Comparing online and traditional interview techniques: A qualitative study of the experiences of researchers and participants in the Malaysian context (dissertation). Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass. O'Leary, M. (2014). Classroom observation: A guide to the effective observation of teaching and learning. Routledge. Wragg, E. C. (2002). An introduction to classroom observation. Taylor & Francis e-Library.
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