1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ PHƯƠNG THÚY BEGINNING TEACHERS’ OBSERVATIONS OF PEERS – THE VALUES, LIMITATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE INSIDERS GIÁ TRỊ, HẠN CHẾ, VÀ GỢI Ý CHO VIỆC DỰ GIỜ LẪN NHAU CỦA GIÁO VIÊN MỚI VÀO NGHỀ M.A Combined Programme Thesis English Methodology Code: 60 14 10 HANOI – 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ PHƯƠNG THÚY BEGINNING TEACHERS’ OBSERVATIONS OF PEERS – THE VALUES, LIMITATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE INSIDERS (GIÁ TRỊ, HẠN CHẾ, VÀ GỢI Ý CHO VIỆC DỰ GIỜ LẪN NHAU CỦA GIÁO VIÊN MỚI VÀO NGHỀ) M.A Combined Programme Thesis Major: English Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Lê Văn Canh, PhD HANOI – 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration i Acknowledgement ii Abstract .iii Table of contents iv PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Background information and rationale for the study 1.1 Peer observation, a reflective approach to teacher development 1.2 The current situation of peer observation .2 Purposes of the study 3 Research questions .3 Significance of the study Methodology 5.1 Participants .4 5.2 Procedures .4 5.3 Data collection and analysis Organization of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT .6 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of peer observation .6 1.1.1 Classroom observation 1.1.2 Peer observation 1.2 Peer observation as a tool for professional development 11 1.2.1 Teacher professional development 11 1.2.2 Peer observation as a tool for professional development 14 1.3 Procedures for peer observation 19 1.3.1 Feel the need for action .19 1.3.2 Choose a peer to work with 19 1.3.3 Conduct the three-step peer observation .20 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 30 2.1 The participants 30 2.2 Research method .31 2.3 Methods of data collection .32 2.3.1 The on-going combination of data collection methods 32 2.3.2 Data collection instruments 33 2.4 Method of data analysis and presentation 35 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 36 3.1 Benefits of peer observation to professional development 36 3.1.1 Benefits of peer observation in comparison with related concepts 36 3.1.2 Benefits of peer observation in promoting self-awareness 38 3.1.2 Benefits of peer observation in assisting the sharing of teaching principles, teaching ideas, and teaching experiences 44 3.1.3 Benefits of peer observation in triggering discussion about teaching contexts including the students, the curricula, and the classroom facilities 48 3.1.4 Benefits of peer observation in promoting job satisfaction in the participants 51 3.1.5 Benefits of peer observation in encouraging future change 54 3.1.6 Benefits of peer observation in networking the teachers in the same institution 55 3.1.7 Benefits of peer observation in introducing new ways of researching into classrooms 56 3.2 Limitations of peer observation .57 3.2.1 Limitation of peer observation as a result of time 57 3.2.2 Limitation of peer observation as a result of its effects on the observed teachers .58 3.2.3 Limitation of peer observation as a result of the difficulty in finding a suitable peer 60 3.2.4 Limitation of peer observation as a result of the way to give and receive feedback .60 3.3 Suggestions for the use of peer observation as a tool for professional development .61 3.3.1 Suggestions on factors that initiate the application of peer observation 61 3.3.2 Suggestions on factors that determine a peer to work with 63 3.3.3 Suggestions on the tasks for three stages of peer observation 64 PART III: CONCLUSION .70 Conclusions 70 Recommendations 71 2.1 For teachers 71 2.2 For the educators, and managers 73 Limitations and suggestions for further study 74 REFERENCES 75 APPENDIX I PART I: INTRODUCTION Background information and rationale for the study 1.1 Peer observation, a reflective approach to teacher development For teachers, “who dares to teach never ceases to learn” (Dana cited in Chang, 2006: 700) However, concerning the nonstop process of knowledge acquisition, the question has been what to learn and where to get it According to Wallace (1991), knowledge can come to teachers in two types: “received knowledge” or “research-based knowledge” and “experiential knowledge” The former is acquired through teacher training with the knowledge and experience handed out from teacher educators as transmitters of knowledge, or from reading books about teaching theories while the later is derived from two phenomena “knowing-in-action” and “reflection”, which is from real teaching and self-evaluation Since “teaching styles and methods are very subjective, and … so far there has been no proof that any one method or style of teaching is significantly more successful than others” (Ellis, cited in Cosh, 1999), “experiential knowledge” has been convinced to be more important Such a shift in teachers‟ sources of knowledge concords with the change in the focus of teacher education In this field, more has been discussed in favor of teacher development than teacher training No longer can one become a teacher just by receiving the knowledge from the educator In fact, she/he has to be self-initiated, selfdirected, and self-evaluated with her own development, and what the educator can for her/him then is to support, promote and further that development Together with the emphasis on “reflection” and “teacher development”, peer observation, “a reflective approach to teacher development” (Vacilotto & Cumming, 2007:153), “is gaining popularity in the field of education” (Munson, 1998:108) Peer observation will be more clearly understood when compared with the traditional evaluative classroom observation The common feature of the two approaches is the three stages with which they are organized, namely pre-observation, observation and post-observation However, differences can be found in all the stages and they can be 10 categorized into the participants, the purposes, and the outcome (Cosh, 1999; Munson 1998; William, 1989; Pham Viet Ha, 2004; Anderson et al, 2005) Traditionally, classroom observation has been carried out by either the supervisors or the administrators, who choose to sit at the back of some classes, silently observing and checking in the evaluation sheet as a judgmental move to decide on „good teaching‟ and „bad teaching‟ (William, 1989) The post-observation, if there is, is full of negative feedback The observed teachers “often receive some sort of rating checklist that tends to be overly general, highly subjective, and vague in its analysis” (Munson, 1998:108) Therefore, teachers don‟t like it “It … [is] threatening, frightening, and regarded as an ordeal” (William, 1989) In contrast, peer observation engages two or more “teachers of equal status” in “a process of mutual collaboration and interpersonal support, assisting one another in reflecting on their own practices on a regular basis” (Gottesman, Showers & Joyce cited in Vacilotto & Cumming, 2007:154) Unlike evaluative classroom observation, “peer observation is not carried out in order to judge the teaching of others, but to encourage self-reflection and self-awareness about our own teaching” (Cosh, 1999: 25) It offers the teachers with opportunity to “share their professional experiences, doubts, insecurities, successes, and failure, free from fear of being evaluated” (Vacilotto & Cummings, 2007:153) A numbers of studies have been done on the benefits of peer observation in both preservice and in-service teachers‟ teaching practices and their attitudes towards the activity (Anderson et al, 2005; Munson, 1998; and Vacilotto & Cummings, 2007, and so on) The findings confirmed that peer observation fosters development of teaching skills and that teachers feel very comfortable participating 1.2 The current situation of peer observation in the researcher’s working context In Vietnam, it seemed to the researcher that peer observation was a new concept, or sometimes mistaken to traditional evaluative classroom observation Moreover, with her own experience in teaching in Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, she recognized that reflecting on one‟s own teaching was not a very common practice 11 among teachers here Moreover if they reflected on their teaching, peer observation was barely used The situations drove the researcher to a study on “Novice Teachers’ Observations of Peers – The Values, Limitations, and Suggestions from the Perspectives of the Insiders” Purposes of the study This study was carried out with the purposes to  examine the extent to which the participants benefited from peer observation  examine the difficulties the participants might have in implementing peer observation  propose some recommendations for the implementation of the practice Research questions In order to achieve the abovementioned purposes, the study was conducted to answer the following research questions:  What are the benefits of peer observation to professional development as perceived by the teachers?  What are the limitations of peer observation to professional development as perceived by the teachers?  What suggestions these teachers make for the use of peer observation as a tool of professional development so that its maximal benefits can be achieved? Significance of the study This study would be of interest to teachers at Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi because peer observation, believed to be beneficial for teachers‟ professional development by such reputational scholars as Wallace (1998), Richards & Farrell (2005) and Vacilotto & Cummings (2007), was investigated with the participants teaching in the same context They would be excited to find out the similarities and differences between their own situations and the one described in the study so as to decide on the applicability of the activity 12 This study would draw the attention of educators, managers of Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi to one of the approaches in developing their trainees and employees The outcome of the study was hoped to lead to some changes in the Faculty‟s teacher development policies This study would also be of certain benefits to those who were involved in the field of education training in Vietnam since it provided an experience of peer observation All aspects such as the assessment of strengths and weaknesses, and its implementation were thoroughly discussed so that pedagogical implications could be withdrawn for future reference and research The study was hoped to contribute also to the system of research on teacher peer observation, professional development and support worldwide Methodology 5.1 Participants The study involved novice teachers in Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, whose teaching experience ranged from year to years These five were divided into pairs with one being in two pairs It would be ideal if the number of the teachers participating could be more than However, five seemed to be suitable considering the feasibility and controllability of the study 5.2 Procedures First, the participants were interviewed individually The interviews aimed to investigate the participants‟ belief of and experience with peer observation At the end of the interviews, the researcher provided the interviewees with brief instruction on the procedures of observation and feedback giving Then they were set for the observations Even though, the observations done and analyzed in the study were merely for the purpose of researching, they were arranged to follow the guidance that researchers like Munson (1998), Richards (1998), etc suggested so as for peer observation to be an effective tool for teacher professional development The observations went through three steps: pre-observation, observation, 13 and post observation The post-observation conferences were followed by brief interviews between the researcher and both participants for further explanation and clarification of the points made during the conferences Also, in these interviews, the participants were asked for their fresh feelings and comments on the benefits and limitations of the observation they had just done The conferences and the interviews were audio-recorded for data analysis Findings from the post-observation conferences and the follow-up interviews would be of great value since they demonstrated genuinely the extent to which peer observation benefited the participants After each observation, the participants freely described what they had done and how they felt about the activity in their journals What the journals came up with provided further evidences of the benefits of peer observation, the difficulties the participants encountered, and their suggestions for the application of the activity 5.3 Data collection and analysis The instruments for data collection were  the preliminary interviews  the post-observation conferences and the follow-up interviews  the reflective journals The transcription was segmented and coded according to pre-determined categories With these categories, the findings were then presented and discussed in accordance with the research questions Organization of the study The research includes three parts as followed: Part I provides a brief introduction to the issue and an overview of the paper Part II includes three chapters, namely Literature Review (Chapter 1), Research Methodology (Chapter 2) and Data Analysis and Discussion (Chapter 3) In details, Chapter reviews theoretical backgrounds to peer observation Chapter describes the methods used to carry out the study Chapter presents and analyzes the data collected from the interviews, the peer conferences, and the journals Part III summarizes the main findings, and some suggestions for the effective application of peer observation, the limitations of the research and suggestions for further studies Following the chapters are the references and appendices 80 teaching schedules, their teaching context, etc However, the more ways a teacher applies to him/herself, the nearer he/she to his/her development  Peer observation is one good choice among the ways to professional development It has been proved to be very beneficial for teacher‟s professional development However, for professional development, the consent from a colleague is crucial since it can not be done individually  Peer observation should consist of all three steps: pre-observation meeting, observation, and post-observation conference  Before the observation, the most important point to be agreed on is the scheme for observation It is usually advised to design the observation scheme in accordance with the focus of the observation when peer observation is a problem-posing method However, peer observation is totally feasible and effective without a focus when peer observation is carried out for other purposes, for examples, to have a more critical view of one‟s own teaching, or to learn from other teachers, etc  When it comes to the observation, the brief introduction about the observer and the purpose for his/her visit at the beginning of the lesson is of great importance to the students of the visited class so as to minimize the influence of the observer on their behavior When observing, one should search for clues in all aspects of a lesson, not only the teacher It can be the students, the facilities, the background noise, etc which provides precious evidence for the feedback at the post-observation conference  The post-observation conference has proved to be the most beneficial for both sides However, in the conference, the way to give feedback plays a decisive role in the success of peer observation For both the feedback giver and the receiver, it is essential to look at feedback as contribution, not judgment or assessment Besides, it requires skills and techniques to give and receive feedback in an effective way  Writing reflective journals is also a good way to professional development It is quite simple since it can be done individually However, this can also counterproductive if one does not have his/her own motivation 81 2.2 For the educators, and managers  Teachers should be encouraged to initiate their own development They should be made aware of the need for so doing as early as in the initial training at the university and other training institutions where they are students educated to be teachers in the future  During the training period, pre-service teachers should be made familiar with some ways to professional development The introduction of the way gives the teachers the first idea of how they will develop themselves However, they should also be guided to carry these ways out to their best benefit  For in-service teachers, training still plays an important role in developing the staff However, in the training courses, teachers should still be introduced about different ways in which they can pursue their own development by themselves  Whereas teachers initiate their own development, and achieve it either individually or cooperatively, there are a number of other activities that can be done at a larger scale, which needs the support and encouragement from the management  While teachers are supported and encouraged to perceive their own development, their activities should be monitored carefully It is important then to have official encouraging and punishing policies to manage the teacher development in different situations  Among the ways to carry out at department scale, peer observation can be a good choice then  Since peer observation can be effectively used in the micro-teaching at the teacher-educating universities as well as in the practicum at the end of the training course, it should be introduced at the early stage for pre-service teachers They should be made aware of the benefits of the activity so as for them to feel interested Moreover, they should be carefully trained to carry out the activity, which will be the base knowledge for the future use when they actually work as in-service teachers 82 Limitations and suggestions for further study Despite the effort and time spent on doing the current study, the researcher felt that she could have done better The limit of time and words were partially reasons for the some limitations of the study, the avoidance of which would be also the suggestions for further research Firstly, it would have been possible to generalize the findings if the number of participants were bigger than five However, involving more teachers in such a timeconsuming and rather demanding project as which had been done in the study was admittedly not an easy task to perform The researcher needed to be patient and convincing and the teachers should be really cooperative and helpful; otherwise their business was very likely to make them to refuse Moreover, like in the study, the participants‟ initial agreement to help did not ensure their commitment till the end of the project, which was somehow understandable taking the teachers‟ busy schedule into account In that situation were Li and Ka, who found it too hard to squeeze the reflective journals to their overscheduled timetable Moreover, any increase in the number of participants would possibly lead to an addition to the amount of precious yet hard-toanalyze data, which also meant more challenges and more work for the researchers Secondly, all the observations done in this study were arranged by the researcher with the agreement of the participants for the purpose of researching, which meant that the participants themselves did not involve in the activity voluntarily As it has been analyzed in the previous part, the lack of voluntariness might result in peer observation not as beneficial to the participants as it should be For this reason, the benefits, the limitations, and suggestions found in the current study, even though they were all right, were not sufficient This should be taken into consideration in any other study on peer observation Moreover, with the transcription of preliminary interviews, peer conferences, and journals, the researcher thought that her analysis and presentation of findings could have been more in-depth and insightful if she had had more training in making sense of qualitative data, or more experience in so doing 83 There could have been more room for improvement In identifying the limitations of her study, the researcher hoped that many better studies would be done on the worthy topic of peer observation 84 REFERENCES Anderson N.A., Barksdale M.A., Hite C.E (2006), Preservice Teachers‟ Observations of Cooperating Teachers and Peers While Participating in an Early Field Experience, Teacher Education Quarterly, 32 (4), pp 97-117 Babbie E (1983), The practice of social research (3rd ed.), Belmont, CA, Wadsworth.Burns A (1999), Collaborative Action Research for English Language Teachers, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK Bartlett L (1998), Teacher development through reflective teaching, in Richards J.C., Nunan D (ed.), Second Language Teacher Education, pp 202-14, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK The Center for Teaching Effectiveness – The University of Texas at Austin, Preparing for Peer Observation – A guidebook, Retrieved December 16 2010 from www.utexas.edu/academic/ctl/teaching/enhancing_t_e/PeerObserve.pdf Chang L (2006), Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, Gnosophia Publishers, Washington, USA Coffey A., Atkinson P (1996), Making Sense of Qualitative Data – Complementary Research Strategies, Sage Publications, Inc., USA Cosh J (1999), Peer observation: a reflective model, ELT Journal, 63(1), pp.22-27 Davies P., Pearse E (2000), Success in English Teaching, Oxford University Express, Oxford New York, USA Donnelly R (2007), Perceived Impact of Peer Observation of Teaching in Higher Education, International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 19(2), pp.117-29 10 Wallace M (1998), Action Research for Language Teachers, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 11 Fletcher S (2000), Mentoring in schools – a handbook for good practice Kogan Page Limited, UK 12 Frankel J.R., Wallen N.E (1996), How to design and evaluate research in education McGraw-Hill, New York 85 13 Gebhard J.G., Oprandy R (1999), Language Teaching Awareness – A guide to exploring beliefs and practices, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 14 Gotham R E (1945), Personality and Teaching Efficiency, The Journal of Experimental Education, 14(2), pp157-165 15 Head K (1997), Readers in Teacher Development Macmillan Publisher Ltd., Oxford UK 16 James P (2001), Teachers in Action – Tasks for in-service language teacher education and development, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 17 Munson B.R (1998), Peers observing peers: the better way to observe teachers, Contemporary Education, 69 (2), pp.108-10 18 Murphy J.M (2001), Reflective Teaching in ELT, in Celle-Murcia M (ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd ed.) pp 499-614, Heinle & Heinle, USA 19 Nunan D (1992), Research Methods in Language Learning, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 20 Orabah S.S.B (2009), Teachers‟ Beliefs about Peer Observation, in Borg S (ed.) Researching English Language Teaching and Teacher Development in Oman, pp70-80, retrieved December 16, 2010, from http://www.moe.gov.om/Portal/sitebuilder/Sites/EPS/Arabic/IPS/Importa/tesol/6 /contents.pdf 21 Peer Observation Scheme: 2003 - Newman University College Retrieved December 16 2001, from www.newman.ac.uk/info/FOI/files/Peer%20Observation%20Scheme.pdf 22 Pham Viet Ha (2004), Classroom Observation as a tool for Professional Growth, Teacher‟s Edition, 14, pp.26 – 34 23 ProDAIT – Professional Development for Academics Involved in Teaching, How to Do Peer Observation Retrieved December 16, 2010, from www.prodait.org/approaches/doing_observation/ 86 24 Race P et al (2009), Using peer observation to enhance teaching, retrieved December 16, 2010, from www.leedsmet.ac.uk/09060636477_PeerObsTeaching_LoRes.pdf 25 Reed A.J.S., Bergemnann V.E (2006), A Guide to Observation, Participation, and Reflection in the Classroom, McGraw-Hill, New York USA 26 Richard R.D (1990), Teacher Observation in Second Language Teacher Education, in Richards J.C., Nunan D (ed.), Second Language Teacher Education, pp 43 61, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 27 Richards J.C (1991), Reflective Teaching in TESOL Teacher Education, in Sadtono E (ed.), Issues in Language Teacher Education, pp.1-19, SEAMEO Regional Language Centre, Singapore 28 Richards J.C (1998), Beyond Training – Perspectives on Language Teacher Education, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 29 Richards J.C, Farrell T.S.C (2006), Professional Development for Language Teachers – Strategies for Teacher Learning, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 30 Richards J.C., Nunan D., Second Language Teacher Education, pp 202-14, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 31 Sadtono E (1991), Issues in Language Teacher Education, SEAMEO Regional Language Centre, Singapore 32 Sheal P (1989), Classroom observation: training the observers, ELT journal, 43 (2), pp92 – 103 33 Swan J (1993), Metaphor in action: the observation schedule in a reflective approach to teacher education, ELT Journal, 47 (3), pp 242-47 34 Vacilotto S & Cummings R (2007), Peer coaching in TEFL/TESL Programmes, ELT Journal, 61 (2), pp.163 – 160 35 Wajnryb R (1992), Classroom Observation Tasks – A resource book for language teachers and trainers, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge USA 36 Wallace M.J (1991), Training Foreign Language Teacher - A reflective Approach, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 87 37 Wallace M.J (1998), Action Research for Language Teachers, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 38 Weimer, M (2008), Classroom observation: Guidelines, The Teaching Professor, 22(5), pp3, 39 Williams M (1989), A developmental view of classroom observation, ELT journal, 43 (2), pp86-91 40 Witty P (1947), An Analysis of the Personality Traits of the Effective Teacher, The Journal of Educational Research, 40(9), pp662 – 671 88 APENDIX Sample of preliminary interview extract (…) Researcher (R): Thế theo Li peer observation mentoring khác đầu ra? Li: Đúng! Thực mục đích cuối giống nhau, nghĩa bạn cố gắng improve cho người bạn observe Thế có điểm khác với hoạt động thực trường thơi R: Ừ Li: Đấy tiêu chuẩn bắt buộc nghĩa feedback không ổn, hội họ lại trường khơng cao Hoặc chí leader khơng nhận người trường hợp feedback không OK R: Ừ Li: Nghĩa chuyện feedback để phát triển gọi professional development thành vấn đề có survive hay khơng Cái khác hẳn R: Ừ Li: Nó lại khơng thoải mái Họ ln ln care nhiều thứ Cứ lo lắng feedback khơng ổn R: Đúng Li: Có thể nói chuyện nội với khơng sao, feedback thành form người đưa feedback lại khơng lỡ làm căng thẳng R: Tớ thấy mơ hình mentor mentee giống với hồi mà học cấp khí có administrator vào lớp … Li: Ừ ừ R: Thì giáo viên lại chuẩn bị kĩ lưỡng Li: Đúng rồi R: … Li: Cái cuồi ý để evaluate Evaluate làm nhiều người ta overreact R: Đúng Li: Nhiều không cần thiết phải Nên khơng thực chất Đấy điều mà tớ khơng thích R: Đúng Li: Chính mà tớ nghĩ peer observation hay hẳn Bởi thứ người equal Và người tham gia với tinh thần gọi đóng góp xây dựng Thế nên thoải mái R: Lớp học natural Li: Ừ Lớp học natural với chất mà vốn có Chẳng hạn Thanh nói ngày trước Thanh với chị Phương dự đội mentee chuẩn bị đầy đủ Handout Xong lại thơi có làm đâu R: Ừ Li: Rất không thực chất R: Đúng Li: Thế nên tớ nghĩ nói độ phản ánh thực chất peer observation tốt R: Nghĩa benefits peer observation độ phản ánh Li: Nó xác thực 89 R: Li: (…) Điều thứ hai Li nói với tớ observer compare tiết học với đồng nghiệp Đúng Tức đối chiếu Tức có nhiều cách tiếp cận khác với học sinh, mà đối tượng lớp đa dạng nên học cách linh hoạt Nói chung dịp tốt để trao đổi chun mơn cách thoải mái Vì có base chung 90 APPENDIX Sample follow-up interview extract (…) R: Ma: R: Ma: R: Ma: R: Ma: lần trước Ma observe bạn không? Vâng Thế lần em observe bạn em cảm thấy nào? Em thấy bình thường Em thấy La khơng có lớp Em khơng thấy chút … Khơng khơng có áp lực Đấy La nói với chị … Thứ chúng em bạn Thứ hai quen Với thứ ba có bọn em góp ý với thẳng thắn hai đứa open chuyện R: Thế bình thường hai đứa có hay trao đổi việc dạy khơng? La: Có bọn em hay trao đổi sinh viên, với đề thi, hay hỏi xem bạn Ma dạy đến đâu rồi, tớ nên cho tập Ma: cách dạy để phù hợp với lớp R: Thế lần em observe em học từ bạn, thấy điểm mạnh bạn em gì? La: Điểm mạnh bạn Ma bạn Ma có uy lớp Tốt em Em cảm giác Bởi em cảm giác em khơng quen qt sinh viên cịn Ma đâu Good management Ví dụ Sinh viên tên Quang khơng làm tập bạn chỉnh đâu cịn em “Quang khơng làm tập à? Lần sau phải làm nhé!” em nói nhẹ nhàng thơi Cịn Ma khác hẳn Cái powerful hơn, em nghĩ làm sinh viên sợ R: Cịn khơng? La: Em nghĩ phải qua trình học nhiều Cịn hơm thơi R: Cịn em? Ma: Cịn em em observe bạn La một, hai buổi R: Một buổi Ma: Khơng có buổi La dạy K43 La: Lâu Ma: Ừ Nhưng observer Nhưng không formal Informal La: Bạn ngồi đợi em thơi! Ma: Thì lúc lớp em thấy có điểm La em cần học cách nói La hấp dẫn pronunciation hay Nói chung performance La chuyên nghiệp (Both: Cười) Ma: Em cảm thấy em học nhiều R: Em nói thêm độ chuyên nghiệp để bạn La không? La: Em nghĩ bạn Ma bạn chuyên nghiệp em bạn dạy nhiều em đối tượng varied 91 APPENDIX Sample peer conference extract (…) Li: Ka: Li: Ka: Li: Ka: Li: Ka: Li: Ka: Li: Ka: Li: Ka: Li: Ka: Li: Ka: Li: Ka: Li: Thế Ka Bạn thấy bạn bạn enjoy bạn cảm thấy hài lịng? … Ờ nói chung hơm bạn smile nhiều Có nghĩa nhìn mặt tính tốn tớ thì, bạn smile 1/5 tiết học, hai tiết 100 phút Cái tớ nghĩ hoi bạn Ka vốn người nói cười Vậy mà hôm bạn smile rạng rỡ nên tớ thắc mắc bạn happy với thế? Enjoy hơm dạy hết bài, cịn thiếu tí mà đủ Nói chung phần dạy reflection tớ chưa động vào Theo yêu cầu dạy reading, cò phần reflection guide Ka không kịp dạy vào, thực lúc đo dạy qua khơng giải gần hết Sinh viên chẳng nhớ Ừ Thế cịn mà ban thấy bạn làm hơm mà thấy useful cho học sinh khơng? Học sinh hơm responsive Ừ Chăm chỉ, có số điều khơng hài lịng Ví dụ số sinh viên chưa làm câu mà không làm Nhưng số làm Thế cịn điều bạn khơng hài lịng nữa? Nói chung nghĩ nói đấy, Chính xác, xác Một điều khơng hài lịng chung Lớp lớp đơng Thế nên ngồi cách ask questions whole-class reponse khơng nghĩ cách khác Có số lúc tớ hỏi vài sinh viên mà thông thường tớ hỏi vài sinh viên sinh viên quen với whole-class response nên sinh viên nói theo Ừ Vấn đề tớ chưa giải Sao bạn không yêu cầu sinh viên giữ im lặng? Tớ không thoải mái với việc bắt học sinh keep silent mà… Ừ …nó biết Vì chúng biết phải có nhu cầu nói, bạn kiềm chế chúng, thành ức chế sau Chính xác Thế cịn khơng? Bạn có mà bạn come across bạn share Tớ muốn nghe từ phía giáo viên trước Cịn phần lúc đầu, phần câu hỏi industrialization ảnh hưởng đến family structures Vì thực hơm chưa chuẩn bị phần thành hơm chưa đưa câu trả lời Nên khơng thích Ừ Thực hôm tớ dự bị áy náy phần tớ khơng có sách Nhưng may mà tớ dạy phần nên dễ Tuy nhiên thì….Ừ Cịn khơng? 92 Ka: Li: Ka: Ka: Li: (…) Có lẽ điểm yếu lớp tớ interaction học sinh với với thầy yếu phương pháp tớ nói thẳng thiền về… khơng base nhiều vào communicative language teaching Ừ Không phải communicative language teaching mà Nếu mà bảo tớ dạy speaking khó khăn Speaking vốn mạnh tớ Cái mà tớ hài lòng tớ nghĩ tớ tạo cho sinh viên tạo awareness cách đọc Hồi trước sinh viên vào lớp học, chúng làm đọc, chúng giở phần câu hỏi Cái thói quen khơng tốt Chỉ test base thơi Từ hồi tớ dạy tạo thói quen khác Tức đọc xem survey trước Đọc theo kiểu ẹnoy sau làm phía cuối Tớ nghĩ giúp sinh viên học cách happy Công nhận lớp Ka skim title, subtible trước Thực có vấn đề tổ Vì cháu thi test base – tức bọ nghĩ bọn score tốt thi tức việc học chúng helpful Thế mà tổ lại bắt chúng làm reflection portfolio để chúng phải enjoy việc lấy ideas Thế mà để cân việc dễ 93 APPENDIX A sample journal By Ma There are a few things I learned from observing my peer One of those was some teaching techniques I had never noticed before, or had once learned, but rarely put into practice during my lesson, such as eliciting questions from my students, or using both first and second languages in the classroom These I had paid little attention to, or had thought to be quite beyond the level of my students, so I did not apply in my teaching However, after observing my peer, I realised that my students had more ability than I assumed Actually they did better than I thought This meant I was quite subjective when assessing my students, which my peer succeeded in avoiding This was also my mistake my peer helped make me aware of There were a few more, such as using simple instruction and double-checking students‟ understanding The second thing I learned from my peer was their mistakes By observing them, I could sit out and take note of what they failed to put it practice what is suggested or recommended in books and guidelines for teachers Their way of responding or dealing with students‟ attitude was one example When I sat in the class watching them, I could also think of my own solution to their problems Like, „if I were her, I would not this, I would that in such situations.‟ Learning from others‟ mistakes is one way to prepare myself better And this is one of the most precious lessons I can draw when observing other teachers in their teaching As the one being observed, I think I learned from the feedback my peer gave me after my lesson They pointed out my strengths and encouraged me to keep up my good job They also made me aware of my mistakes and offered me some suggestions from their viewpoint Sometimes our way of solving a problem contradicted, and I had the chance to defend myself I could explain why I came up with my resolution but not something similar to theirs This would often lead to a heated, but unaggressive debate And often we would come to a better conclusion or solution for the situation After the debate, I felt happy because I could learn more about their way of tackling a problem This might not always be an advice I should follow, but it may prove to be another option I can refer back to when I have to face a similar situation Besides learning from my peer‟s performance, I could also learn a lot from my students as well From what I knew, they tend to behave differently when studing with different teachers The way they were motivated or how they liked to be motivated would reveal when they had the chance to study with a variety of teachers By observing my students in lessons different from mine, I could understand more about their likes and dislikes, and what kinds of activities or what kinds of encouragement they would enjoy Understanding more about my students means creating a better link or connection between them and me This will aid me a lot in my teaching, I believe As for observing, what I enjoyed the most was watching my peer‟s performance and learning from their experiences: what they succeeded, and what they did not achieve in 94 their lesson Moreover, when I played the role of an observer, I could see the class I‟m teaching as an outsider In this way, I could observe and notice how differently student behaved, learned and participated in learning activities under the guidance of another teacher This offered me a lot to learn from to improve my teaching methodology However, there was one thing I did not like when I was observing my peer‟s performance During the lesson, I was easily distracted, especially when the atmosphere of the class died down or became dull As for being observed, I enjoyed it when I had my performances „recorded‟ and commented by a peer This also means having a detailed and somewhat objective report of what I did throughout a lesson This is a good chance for me to have a thorough reflection of my performance, because I can‟t always remember all of my gestures, my saying and manner in class In such cases, two brains memorizing a thing is better than one Also, I really appreciated it when I had a chance to experience an interactive reflection This means I can get feedback on my performance, see my mistakes and defend what I thought was a right thing to I believe this to be a better way of working out things to improve Besides the things I enjoyed, there was one thing I disliked Sometimes in my lesson, I could not fully concentrate on the students or the knowledge I had to deliver Rather, I paid more attention to my performance, and kept thinking that „There was someone watching me.‟ Much as I tried to get away from it, this thought still prevented me from being who I am That was the reason why at times my performance or manner or gesture was not natural, or not what I wanted them to be ... UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ PHƯƠNG THÚY BEGINNING TEACHERS? ?? OBSERVATIONS OF PEERS – THE VALUES, LIMITATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FROM THE PERSPECTIVES. .. that from peer observation they would find different perspectives of viewing themselves These perspectives were that of another teacher, of a student, and of the reflective self in each of them... other hand, structured questions in the follow-up interviews sought for the fresh feelings of the observers and observed teachers about the benefits and limitations of the peer observations they