Self-development through classroom observation: changing perceptions in China Qun Wang and Nicola Seth

In China, classroom observation can be a discouraging experience, often giving rise to resentment. Research was jointly carried out by a British lecturer and her Chinese counterpart at the Language Centre, Qingdao University, in the hope of turning classroom observation into an effective means for teacher development by employing a more collaborative approach. The results were positive and encouraging.

Introduction

In China, classroom observation has acquired a bad reputation in the ELT profession because of its subjective, judgmental, and impressionistic nature. Many teachers resent being observed at short notice by important people who judge their performance according to their own, not necessarily appropriate criteria, and make unwelcome suggestions for change. It seems as if these observers have the last word on whether their work is good or bad, right or wrong. The one-sided nature of this relationship goes some way towards accounting for the strong resistance to observation among some teachers. In order to change the negative image of classroom observation, and to promote it as a powerful, effective means of improving the quality of English teaching and teachers self-development, some research was done in the Sino-British Council Project, Language Centre, Qingdao University between October and December 1994. The research method was drawn from the self-development approach developed in the Masters dissertation of one of the Chinese counterparts on the project (Wang 1993). The overall aim of using this approach was to help teachers adopt a more developmental attitude towards classroom observation by providing opportunities for self-development through self-assessment. The usual power relationship patterns between observers and teachers was dramatically changed by giving the teachers the opportunity to decide what they would like to do throughout the classroom observation process. This meant, for instance, that they could choose who they would like to invite to their classrooms, which aspects of their teaching would be observed, what was going to be discussed in the feedback discussion, etc. It also meant that they no longer worried about being evaluated by an outsider, because they were their own evaluators. In this way, the teachers came to welcome classroom observation as a practical aid to their self-development.
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The selfdevelopment approach

Largely drawn from Edges (1992) idea of co-operative development, the self-development approach was adapted by the British lecturer and her Chinese counterpart. It was designed to give teachers the inner motivation to work on something important to them through a process of awareness-raising. The use of self-development in classroom observation had four main aims: - to help the teachers understand that they have a responsibility for their own development; - to help the teachers have a clearer understanding of their own classroom experiences; - to introduce the teachers to a more developmental approach to teacher training; - to help the teachers build a more supportive and trusting relationship with their colleagues, and to realize the mutual benefits that would accrue from this.

Relationship patterns and roles of the participants

The participants were in three categories: the British lecturer, the Chinese counterpart, and the Chinese teachers, which led to four patterns of relationship: British lecturer-counterpart, British lecturerteacher, counterpart-teacher, and teacher-teacher. The British lecturer and the Chinese counterpart worked closely together in a compatible, supportive partnership with shared responsibilities, making the best of each others strengths. This was important, since extensive negotiation needed to be carried out before the programme could be implemented. The partnership needed to explore ways of taking coherent, pre-agreed action to make classroom observation as effective as possible. In the second relationship, the British lecturer had to learn to adjust her behaviour to ensure that she was accepted not only as an expert, but also as an insider. In the third relationship, which tended to be the most crucial, the Chinese counterpart was required to act as a link between the British lecturer and the Chinese teachers. This demanded particularly careful handling, given the need to maintain a good working relationship with the peer teachers in order to avoid being isolated by the working community. The fourth relationship was a peer partnership. This was generally found to be the least problematic, since the partner was chosen by the teacher him or herself. In the initial design, the participants were assigned two roles, as both Speaker and Understander (Edge 1992). The Speaker was the teacher who worked on his or her development during a given session. This person decided on the issues that would be focused on and discussed. The Understander was expected to help the Speaker develop his or her ideas by clarifying them and following their development. More importantly, the Understander had to interact in a more disciplined way than in everyday conversation by being a good listener rather than giving opinions or assessments. Whoever was in this role therefore needed to possess good interactive skills, and training was needed to

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help the Understander to be fully effective. For this reason special seminars on relevant topics (e.g. introducing the self-development approach, the notion of classroom observation, listening skills, receiving and giving feedback) were given by the British lecturer and the counterpart before the classroom observation. The role of the Understander was originally intended to be played by the British lecturer and the Chinese counterpart, but as the programme developed it was also taken by the teacher/Speaker in the form of crossobservation. This involved the teacher/Speaker observing the observer/ Understander, a role reversal which altered the power relationship. It should be pointed out that the British lecturer and the counterpart were in no way seeking to present model lessons, and in fact, this change of roles provided a good opportunity for the observers to develop firsthand experience, and gain a close insight into problems that the teachers had spoken of during the feedback. How was the selfdevelopment approach carried out in classroom observation?

The process of self-development was carried out through interaction, In other words, the participants discussed relevant issues within a structured framework. The interaction often went through stages of understanding, reflecting, focusing, disclosing, and planning (Edge 1992). However, this was not a fixed sequence, since situations varied, as can be seen in the extracts below, which were transcribed from conversations which took place during the project (S = Speaker, U = Understander). Understanding tended stander tried to stay experience, understand the teacher feel listened S: to be the most important stage. The Underwith the teachers framework of classroom what the teacher said, and in general to make to, for example:

U:

I like to have my students work in pairs, not in groups, when doing this kind of activity, because in this way the weaker students could have more opportunity to speak. Oh, yeah, I see your point.

During the reflecting stage, the Understander either acted as a warm and human mirror, a thoughtful and selective tape-recorder, or a supportive comprehension checker of the Speakers ideas (Edge 1992: 29-30). The aim was to help the teacher gain a clearer view of what actually happened during the observed lesson. Reflecting had the added function of projecting the Speakers attitude and emotion. The Understanders function was to provide opportunities for reflection, rather than to provide evaluative comments, thus leaving the teacher to explore and discover fresh insights. The following example shows that teachers did not have to accept everything the Understander said if they thought that their intentions had not been understood: U: I saw that it took almost 20 minutes to do the vocab exercise. What do you feel about it, I mean, the pace of the lesson, was it a bit slow or just OK?
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S:
U:

S:

Well, I dont think it was too slow. Actually, Im just not sure if you really understand what I mean by doing so. Do you think its necessary to look up all the vocab? I think sometimes its important. They should know the words.

Focusing generally followed understanding and reflecting, so that the discussion with the Speaker could rise above a superficial level. The Understander could return to previous comments made by the teacher in order to develop his or her ideas, and think about possible solutions to particular problems. The Understander could also help the teacher to work on his or her understanding of classroom experience in two other ways: by guiding comments to elicit a focus, and by providing possible direction to the feedback. U: Just now you said much. Why do you S: Im not really sure. U: Do you get a better that the students dont like pair work very think this is? Maybe Ive used pair work too often. response from them if they work in groups?

In disclosing, the Understander only disclosed his or her own experience to the extent that it might be useful to clarify what the teacher was trying to say, by serving as a comparison or contrast to the teachers experience. Disclosing was perhaps the most difficult stage to handle, so it was vital for the Understander to remain within strict limits, and to offer the teacher a perspective rather than a prescription. The challenging initiated by the Understander should be creative destructive (Stevick 1980: 106) or a constructive exchange (Freeman 1982: 25), for example: S: U: I was worried during the vocabulary contest that not all the students were speaking. Yeah, I think I understand what you mean. If I had that sort of contest in class, I wouldnt be able to predict how theyll perform, but I know some weaker students will probably just sit there.

Planning implied the action-taking process. It was essential for the teacher to prioriritize long or short-term goals, and in most cases it would be better to start with a narrow goal than an ambitious, broadly conceived one, since it was easier for the teacher to implement it in full and evaluate it (Edge 1992: 67). The Understander then made sure that the teacher understood what his or her future priorities were by talking through the process step-by-step. The following example shows how one Speaker set her future agenda after the observer had made her aware of a lack of eye contact: S: I never realized before that I had so little eye contact with individual students. I think maybe I should try to look at the weaker students more often, so they might pay more attention to my instructions. Yeah. Its certainly worth trying.

U:
A procedural framework 208

As already mentioned, the whole process of classroom observation was either decided in full by the individual teacher or through negotiation
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between the teacher/Speaker and the observer/Understander as to what to do, who was to be involved, for how long, etc. A typical procedure was: 1 2 Pre-classroom observation questionnaire Classroom observation process a. pre-observation discussion b. classroom visit(s) c. post-observation discussion Post-classroom observation questionnaire

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Pre- and postclassroom observation questionnaires

The pre- and post-classroom observation questionnaires aimed to compare teachers past experience of observation with their impressions of the current programme, discover if their perception of the usefulness of classroom observation had changed as a result, find out what they had gained from the programme, and elicit comments on the framework and approach adopted. Aspects of teaching raised by the teacher could be discussed in advance of the classroom observation. The lesson plan and observation tasks (Wajnryb 1992) could also be given to observers, and the self-assessment worksheets (Williams 1989: 88-90) to the teacher at the same time. The most important thing about the pre-classroom observation session was that the teachers got a clear idea about what was going to happen during and after the observation, and thus felt more secure. The postobservation discussions were also much appreciated by the teachers, who were excited by the new experience of seeing themselves through other peoples eyes, and discovering things they had never realized before. All those who took part in the programme agreed that they had benefited considerably in terms of their self-development. The participants feedback (especially from the post-classroom observation questionnaire) was a rich source of information about their personal experience in the collaborative activity. Some of the key issues which emerged from their feedback were: Classroom observation through the self-development approach was a very effective aid to teacher self-development. 2 The post-classroom observation feedback session was the most useful and enjoyable part. 3 The atmosphere was relaxed, personal, and informal, and the observers were friendly, and sincerely interested in helping. 4 The participants were listened to, and while the changes in the subsequent teaching were made with the help of the observers feedback, the decisions were taken by the participants alone. 5 The feedback from the observers was relevant, constructive, and supportive.
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Pre- and postclassroom observation discussion

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The participants began to view classroom observation as a positive tool to help improve their teaching rather than as a means of judgement. 7 Classroom observation was not only an educational and pleasant experience but also a collaborative learning opportunity which enabled teachers and observers to learn from each other.

The following quotes from the post-classroom observation questionnaires further illuminate these points. Let us first hear what the Chinese teachers felt about the classroom observation they were involved in: I didnt expect to benefit so much from it. I got to know things which I thought were insignificant but were actually important in teaching. It made me realize the value of classroom observation, which is a way to help you help yourself. I enjoyed the post-lesson discussions most. They were most valuable because through these discussion and feedback sessions I was brought in front of a mirror to look at myself carefully and thoroughly. The observers helped me find out the problems and bring up suggestions and advice which are very constructive for future teaching. I wish more teachers would get involved in future classroom observation. Classroom observation helps me get to know my weaknesses from other people, which is sometimes difficult for me to find by myself. I picked up the feeling of being a student again, learning more about how to be a thoughtful teacher who motivates and organises classes well. Classroom observation is an effective way in improving teachers work. It is very useful and helpful to my work and it lets me know where I am. Classroom observation is quite useful for some young teachers, for they seldom learn how to teach, why to teach, and how to organize the class, and they need experienced teachers help. They need observations to find out how well they can teach and in which way they can improve. I want to have more classroom observation, I never felt such an urgent need before as I do now. The atmosphere throughout the whole session was friendly, informal, and personal, giving each other a kind of relaxation and feeling free to state and venture any opinion . . . All this makes the teachers learn from each other, especially young teachers like me learn from experienced ones; and they also prompt us to make self-improvement in our future teaching. This beneficial experience was also shared by some American teachers who took part in the classroom observation activity. The idea of involving them was based on the fact that quite a number of native speakers come to teach in China with little teaching background. Therefore, it was hoped that participation in classroom observation would benefit them as well, which proved to be the case:
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I feel it is useful to pick up on subconscious habits and find ways to improve . . . It made me think about what I do in the lesson. Beforehand, I lost my motivation to plan lessons, but gained it back by doing classroom observation. I also enjoyed seeing the style of my coteachers and taking things I like from them. This is an opportunity to get to know some feedback on my teaching as well as learn new techniques from others. The post-lesson feedback was helpful for both encouragement and to bring to light possible problem areas and how to improve them. The attitude of the observers was very friendly. Overall, very positive feedback was given which gives the teachers encouragement and confidence. Critical comments were given in a supportive/contemplative rather than a judgmental manner. I think the observers can suggest what areas might be helpful for teachers to focus on for future observations. It would be up to the teachers to follow the suggestions or not. These positive comments do not tell the whole story. Observing the performance of the native-speaker teachers in China, where they are often regarded as the authority on the target language, needed great sensitivity, and at times training them seemed a rather daring endeavour. Some difficulty was found in providing them with feedback. Quite why this was so was difficult to determine, since they had asked for criticism of their lessons, but the feedback had to be handled with even greater care than before to avoid confrontation. This could be accounted for by cultural differences, or the fact that the British lecturer was a friend of the American teachers, which altered the power relationship, or perhaps by the fact that some people are naturally more defensive than others. It could also be that because the two American teachers were relatively inexperienced, they were more defensive. We feel that this area needs further exploration. Although the participants gave overwhelmingly positive feedback of the classroom observation experience, they had some criticisms of both classroom observation and the self-development approach. One problem was the time taken up by the post-classroom observation feedback sessions, another the fact that observers tended not to focus on particular teachers needs. They also made many valuable suggestions for further improvement of the classroom observation approach and the classroom observation procedures, such as recommmending that classroom observation should be carried out on a regular basis, and that more teachers should be involved.
Conclusion

The concept of teacher development in China today is new to many Chinese teachers, and for most of them traditional classroom observation still prevails. Within this context, what was done in this project was a successful attempt to make classroom observation a workable means for teachers self-development. The perception of classroom observation had been altered within the department, and a valuable contribution had
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been made to the teacher-training programme at Qingdao University. It was also found that teachers in the department had become more willing to admit strangers into the classroom, and that more observations were being carried out independently. The result was a greater sharing of ideas and debate concerning classroom issues, which could only be positive. Moreover, the use of the observation tasks had enabled teachers to develop their classroom observation skills, and work independently of the programme. A large collection of self-access training materials was created, from which teachers may select the task they wish to do, and then observe their colleagues. Perhaps more importantly, the programme has fostered an atmosphere of greater enquiry generated from the teachers themselves, and improved the interpersonal relationships among the classroom observation participants. The eventual aim is to expand the programme so that more teachers can benefit, to fine-tune the self-development approach, and to adapt the observation tasks to suit particular teaching situations. In the meantime, the teachers are encouraged to continue to observe and create their own observation worksheets as and when the need arises. The final note of this article is one of warning. Despite the encouraging results from the programme discussed above, some difficulties will always arise in teacher development. Two things, at least, are necessary for potential success and sustainability. One is the support of the administrators, the other is the enthusiasm and devotion of the people in charge of the programme, together with the understanding and commitment of the majority of teachers. Without these two basic premises, teacher development is in danger of becoming an expensive leisure activity, or in Sunderlands words doing what Romans dont do (1990: 241). H owever, there are reasons to be cheerful. Although collaborative observation/feedback and the broader notion of teacher development are quite alien in the Chinese context, the success of this project could be seen as an indicator that teacher development will gradually take root in China. In the meantime, it is hoped, it will help to illuminate similar situations outside China where more traditional observation practices still prevail.
Received July 1997

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References

Edge, J. 1992. Co-operative Development. Harlow: Longman. Freeman, D. 1982. Observing teachers: three approaches for in-service training and development. TESOL Quarterly 16/1: 21-8. Stevick, E. W. 1980. Learning Languages: A Way and Ways. Rowley, MA: Newbury House. Sunderland, J. 1990. Doing what the Romans dont do: advanced teacher training course in China in Y.E. Dzau (eds.). 1990. English in China. Hong Kong: APL Press. Wajnryb, R. 1992. Classroom Observation Tasks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wang. Q. 1993. Adding one more ingredient: teacher development in an ESP project in the Peoples Republic of China. Unpublished MA thesis, Aston University.

Williams, M. A. 1989. A developmental view of classroom observations. ELT Journal 43/2: 85-91.
The authors

Qun Wang is an associate professor at the Language Centre, Qingdao University, Peoples Republic of China. She was a counterpart in the ESP project jointed conducted by the British Council and Qingdao University (1991-95). She has an MSc in TESP from Aston University, and is currently studying for her PhD at the University College of St Mark and St John. Her research interests involve teacher training and development. E-mail: <99intqwa@mis.marjon.ac.uk> Nicola Seth was the British lecturer on the ESP project at Qingdao University (1994-5) and is currently working in the Peoples Republic of China.

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