Classrooms are a wonderful space where new knowledge is ready to be absorbed and where the journey of learning unfolds in different ways. The ultimate goal of a teacher here, at a classroom, is quite simple. It is to ensure that what happens inside the room leads to real, measurable student success. However, what happens inside a classroom is far more complex and dynamic.
When teaching students, it can be difficult to understand what is working and what is not. Even the best international schools struggle to have a clear picture of how the blackboard lesson impacts the students in real life. However, with strategic classroom observations, things can get easier. Strategic observation allows teachers to create teaching techniques and strategies that help boost student performance. In this blog, we will dive into how observing a teacher in the classroom and then observing the classroom is essential for student success.
What Should Teachers Observe in the Classroom?
Your lesson plan can be the best explanation of a concept in the world, but is it producing the effect you want it to? Are your students having a good learning experience? Teachers teaching the IB Curriculum should be especially vigilant to ensure students absorb what’s being taught. Here is what you should observe to ensure a positive experience for students that enhances their performance.
- Cognitive Effort – It is important to observe who is taking the onus to simplify and break down complex problems. Are students trying to work through the problem, or are teachers feeding them answers? It is important to observe and consider whether adequate support is offered to students.
- Participation – the next thing to pay attention to is participation patterns. Are students proactively taking part in the discussions happening in the class? Is there a certain group that tends to participate more than others? These are important questions that can help improve the learning outcomes of a class.
- Accessibility & Inclusivity – Observe the physical environment of the classroom. Do the books and other learning materials reflect the diversity of the student body? What are the student interactions like? Are certain groups or genders being excluded? Observe these patterns to understand how comfortable students are in the classroom.
Teaching Techniques and Strategies for Better Student Performance
A strategic observation moves beyond simply noting whether the teacher met the lesson objective. It is also highly intentional. Teachers should focus on turning their observations into actionable insights to create teaching techniques and strategies that truly benefit the students. Here are some examples that are known to produce positive results.
- Encourage Active Learning – In a traditional setup, students are often the passive recipients of information. Teachers should encourage them to become active learners by organising group problem-solving, debates, hands-on experiments, etc. For a highly engaged classroom, students should be doing much of the talking and thinking.
- Making Learning Relevant – Students should feel connected to the learning material. Teachers should focus on creating techniques that connect study material to the real world. This helps students understand why they are studying something and how it is relevant to them.
- Build Trust and Confidence – One of the most effective teaching techniques and strategies includes building trust and confidence with the students. Teachers should engage actively with students and address their problem areas to offer comfort and build a rapport with them. This tends to increase student engagement and performance in a class.
- Gathering Data, Not Judgments – It is important for teachers to act neutrally and not judge. Teachers should focus on being as objective as possible with students to ensure no biases. This helps students be more confident when sharing their opinions and perspectives in class.
- Offer Constructive Feedback – Teachers should provide feedback to students as often as possible with actionable tips to improve their performance. More involvement from teachers has often resulted in better academic performance from the students.
To Sum Up
Strategic observation is taken seriously in most good schools in Bangalore. At OWIS India, we ensure our teachers are adequately trained to help students feel their best in the classroom. We focus on building a healthy relationship between students and learning to ensure holistic personal and academic development. To know more about our teaching strategies and techniques, get in touch with us today!
