Effective Observers

One of the events at the POD conference discussed Faculty/Student evaluations of teaching. One of the discussions looked at ways of being an effective observer. Much can be learned from observation in the classroom (or through the campus for that matter). However, often observations are skewed by our vantage point or by the fact that individuals change behaviors when they know that they are being observed. Below is a list of characteristics of an effective observer which may increase the value of observations in the classroom.

• Observation must be focused
• Distinguish descriptive from judgmental
• Get to class early; position self for best observation (back of room, for instance)
• Note environment, physical layout of class, atmosphere of class, mood of students
• Take notes on process, not content
• Quantify as much as possible
• Note facial expressions, body language of faculty and students
• Watch how class disperses – what do they do? (rush out, crowd around faculty to talk, talk in groups)
• Offer some positive reinforcement to faculty at end
• Make appointment to go over observations later in detail
• Be aware of own biases and limitations
• Know if field has distinct ways of teaching
• Know something about students (all majors, mixed, etc.)
  

(Information posted through the sharing of notes and discussions with other POD members. We all took notes and continue to share our experience at the conference via e-mail. Thanks to those willingly to continue to share the conference after the lectures have ceased.)

POD Website; (http://www.podnetwork.org/)

Effective classroom interaction: Learning from the Lilly Conference

This February I attended the Lilly Conference which was held in Greensboro, NC. Among the sessions I attended I was particularly interested in the session Sparking and Sustaining Classroom Discussion presented by Kimberly Cuny and Sarah M. Wilde. I would like to share a little what I learned from this session and beyond with my fellow colleagues.

Teaching is a multiside processing which is involving in both teacher and students, therefore effective interaction with students in classroom is critical for the classroom success. The session and my conversations with the presenters after session help me in improving my classroom communication skills, those are something I ignored before in my classrooms. Also I would love to recommendate two articles anthored by the presenters, linked via http://speakingcenter.uncg.edu/resources/immediacypapers/plepart1.html and http://speakingcenter.uncg.edu/resources/immediacypapers/plepart2.html.

Lei Zhang