Informal drop-in observations are the way forward. Well, they’re the norm in many places. But where they’re not, they should be.

Why invest all that time in recruitment, have teachers go through round after round of interview, sometimes do demo lessons… Then demonstrate as a school that you don’t actually trust your teachers by scheduling formal observations in the first term? Or at all…

Okay, sure. There’s sometimes a place for formal observations. I can’t deny that the (er…?) positive tension of having to ‘perform’ in the classroom gave me confidence, shaped/influenced my teaching, kept me experimenting, and helped me build productive relationships with mentors. I think back to my time at the British Council – the importance given to observations, the line managers I had. Ones I feared, ones I highly respected… They were people I wanted to prove / demonstrate my skills to (for varied reasons). I took it seriously, and when things did go okay, our dynamic changed – often that formality decreased a bit.

That’s the truth, but it reads horribly, doesn’t it? The bonds I built with my line managers didn’t start with trust – I had to earn it. That wasn’t down to the individuals though, it was the culture. That’s why the performative elements of the role never drove a wedge between me and my line managers.

In my later years in the job, my annual bonus became dependent on a strong formal observation. That changed everything. It was the single worst decision the BC in Thailand ever made. I was never going to hang around for that phase. Neither did the guy who introduced performance-related pay in our centre – he got a promotion…

I spent my last couple of years in that role trying to promote a kind of ‘open doors policy’ to observations. Informal, building trust. My subtle revolt in a tiny satellite branch of BC had no impact whatsoever. Maybe I should have linked it to the annual bonus somehow.

Anyway, getting sidetracked. Honestly, I did value formal observations more back then. Reassurance maybe? Self-gratification? Oooh look at me with my meticulous lesson plans and thorough language analysis! Really, it was just that feeling of, look – when I actually have time to think about this, I guess I do kinda know what I’m doing. Kinda. In the eyes of people who expect certain approaches to lessons and formal, orderly learning.

WHEN I ACTUALLY HAVE TIME!? WHO EVER HAS TIME FOR THOSE FORMAL PLANS? That’s not teaching…

My current school go about observations a lot differently to the Council. They ditch the formality, and avoid distancing staff from seniors. Informal drop-in observations – any time. You don’t know when. OR DO YOU?! Sometimes, someone says they’re popping in. Sometimes, they just rock up. Informal though, that’s the thing – and it really does feel like it. Noone’s setting up a chair in the corner or scribbling on a clipboard. They’re just in and around things.

Walkarounds (Walkabouts?!) too. The senior teachers just have a stroll around, pop in, see what’s going on for a minute or so. Apart from one time when a member of the senior leadership entered through the door at the back of the room, marched straight through the middle of the classroom with purpose a bit like Darth Vader in the opening part of A New Hope, then disappeared out of another door, I haven’t felt intimidated at all.

Actually, I’ve just felt like I can be me. My teaching is in one of those ‘rated 6.88/10 for the season on Championship Manager’ type phases. It has its moments, but it’s inconsistent. I’ll get there – it’s been a year. Despite that, I’m not fearing anyone seeing the bad bits.

People just seem supportive, and I actually want some of them to come in. There’s one member of SLT that I’m like ‘*that’s* who I want some feedback from’. I really like their whole vibe. Last week they announced they’d be dropping into lessons at some point in the week and I was like ‘oh pick me pick me!’ Secretly, I mean. I don’t want to seem too keen.

It feels like, after all these years, I’m kind of getting to see what that ‘open doors’ thing I wanted at the Council would have been like – in a place of trust, that is. In that BC context, it felt quite bold, and the idea was shackled. ‘Ooh, setting up an informal observation scheme would be a good way to meet the teaching and learning target for the centre!’, my superiors would say. In my current context it’s just embedded.

And what’s better – I’m a Head of Department too. I get to do some of the walking around. I’m a Middle Leader who can unintentionally act like Darth Vader if I want. And I have. I can rock up to see 20 mins of skilled teachers and language coaches going about their work. A whole lesson if I want. Noone would be fussed – they’re doing what they do anyway. Performing their jobs, not performing for the observer. The informality makes me focus on the learners more too (as I should!), as I don’t feel as inclined to treat the teacher as the focal point.

I can see how informal observations could help me identify teacher development targets for the department – I do have to think about that too. But they’ll also showcase genuine strengths of my colleagues as reactive, ‘off the plan/page/board’ teachers – equally as important.

Image by VIVIANE M. from Pixabay

Categories: General, reflections

Tags: British Council, eal, elt, ESL, international school, observations, teaching