Classroom observation

Until my research changed in focus, my main source of data was to be classroom

observations of teachers. These were undertaken as part of my normal duties as

Teacher Trainer. There were 3 main types of observations in the school:

1) Formal observations

2) Informal observations

3) ‘Drop-ins’

These were decided on within the Professional Development Team, which consisted

of the Principal, Deputy-Principal (Academic), Professional Development

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once or twice a year, the second being contingent on the outcome of the first, that is,

less experienced or proficient teachers or those whose first observation had not gone

well were to be observed a second time. Formal observations would require a lesson

plan and all materials for the lesson to be submitted to the observer 24 hours in

advance. They would last an hour and the teacher would be required to fill in a

reflection form with his or her impressions of the lesson. A face-to-face feedback

session would take place one to three days later in which the emphasis would be on

the teacher reflecting on his or her lesson with the observer guiding him or her with

questions, and finally pointing out strengths and weaknesses of the lesson. After the

meeting, the formal observation report form would be completed and filed. The

report form was a combination of tick box and comments with space for the

teacher’s comments at the end.

Teachers were told at the beginning of term the week in which their formal

observation would take place and could usually choose the day, time and class of

their observation. Informal observations usually took place before a teacher’s first

formal observation in order for them to get acquainted with the process before the

more onerous formal observation. The approach to feedback was less rigid with

most teachers being given brief written comments as well as oral feedback though

they could request to have just one or the other. No lesson plan was required. An

informal observation could also take place on the teacher’s request or if there was

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‘Drop ins’ are a rather controversial topic. I was in principle not in favour of

coming into a teacher’s classroom unannounced. Having worked for most of my

career at British Council Colombo, where such intrusions were considered almost

unethical, it was one of the Team’s decisions I found hard to accept. I cannot deny,

however, that from a researcher’s point of view, I saw it as a delightful opportunity

to see what was really going on in the school.

While these were the accepted methods of observing and recording data on

classroom teaching in the school, I also had to consider how to approach

observations for research purposes. The main issue was an ethical one. While I had

free access to the classrooms of 52 teachers, I could only use data from those who

had signed permission forms. I also had to be careful not to spend more time with

those who had signed than with those who hadn’t. There was a very thin line

between my work-related duties and my data collection as a researcher at this point.

There were teachers who had not signed who were interesting from a research

perspective, and I had to be careful to avoid pressurising them. I deliberately spoke

very little about my research at work, although it was always foremost in my mind.

When I initially gave my permission forms to the teachers, I handed them over

personally and explained my purposes. I always gave them time to read the form

and consider whether or not they were willing to sign. Interestingly, all the foreign

(British and French) teachers signed immediately, as did a few of the Sri Lankans.

After giving the others a few days, I approached them again and often found that the

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without asking questions. The difficulty lay in those who asked, at that point, for a

few more days. Culturally, Sri Lankans are unlikely to give an outright refusal to a

request, so it was unclear whether they were unwilling to sign or actually wanted

more time. I was reluctant to ask more than once more for fear of being seen as

intrusive.

Overall I collected 43 formal observation reports, – informal observation reports

and reports on drop ins. In the end, these did not play a significant role in my

research, though the observation reports on one teacher were used in Vignette One.

3.14 Analysis

According to Coffey, ‘analysis is not about adhering to any one correct approach or

set of right techniques: it is imaginative, artful, flexible and reflexive. It should also be methodical, scholarly and intellectually rigorous’ (1996:10). Undertaking analysis of one’s data, then, is arguably the most challenging part of the project. Ely

(1991:87) feels that it is like a ‘simultaneous left-brain right-brain exercise’ in that it

is both creative and methodical.

Although analysis can be seen as a distinct stage in the research process, it is also

something that is happening, in one form or another, throughout the whole research

process’ (Richards, 2003: 268). As soon as data has been collected we naturally

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writing and strategies of representation’ (1996:23). This very much mirrored my own experience.