1、 外文翻译 Designing a system for observation of teaching Material Source: http:/ Author: Peter Washer Introduction Across the university sector, the practice of lecturers observing and giving feedback on each others teaching is patchy. Lecturers often do not like being observed while teaching and find t
2、he process threatening, time-consuming and often see it as a paper exercise simply carried out for Quality review purposes. Yet if handled sensitively, the time invested in the process of observing teaching and being observed can help improve the students experience; share best practice; build acade
3、mic links and foster innovation. These benefits apply both to new and experienced academics. The feedback given is confidential, but can potentially be used by the participant for promotion purposes or to build a professional portfolio for recognition of lecturing skills. This paper reviews the lite
4、rature and outlines the issues around observation of teaching in higher education, and proposes a model of good practice which can be used and adapted across the sector. Why do observation of teaching? Most lecturers can remember good (and bad) teaching they themselves had as students, without being
5、 necessarily able to recall precisely what made one experience more enjoyable or educationally worthwhile than another. Teachers in other sectors usually have been observed or have observed other teachers as part of their initial teacher training. In fact, evaluation of teacher training courses freq
6、uently rate feedback from teaching observations as the most valuable aspect (Fullerton, 1999). However, in the university sector, because of a system which generally appoints and promotes staff on the basis of their research rather than on their ability to teach, teaching is sometimes felt to have l
7、ess status. In some cases, university lecturers, therefore, might never have had the opportunity to have been observed or to have observed others teaching. (Cosh, 1998) Thus university lecturers teaching skills have frequently evolved as coping mechanisms. For example, some lecturers may be reluctan
8、t to seek advice from colleagues when they are faced with disruptive students in lectures. (Washer, 2003) How they deal with such challenging situations may be a matter of trial and error. Another common pitfall is that academics immersed in their subject (particularly those new to teaching) often e
9、quate good teaching with good content. Another common misconception is for lecturers to see their role as “knowledge transmitters” (Martin and Double, 1998). No matter how experienced a lecturer is, there will always be the potential to learn valuable lessons from both observing others practice (goo
10、d and bad) and from getting feedback from being observed. Despite the potential of direct observation of teaching as a method of evaluating effectiveness of lecturers, adoption of systems to introduce and maintain it are patchy across departments, institutions and the whole higher education sector.
11、Arguably,students evaluations of teaching have been prioritised over other methods of evaluation by extra institutional quality assurance agencies such as the Quality Assurance Agency in the UK (Bingham and Ottewill, 2001). But students may not have the necessary overview of a course or the necessar
12、y skills to evaluate the teaching they receive. Some commentators argue that students are not an appropriate or effective source of teacher evaluation because for many reasons students are simply not in a position to evaluate their teachers performance. For example, student motivation or expected gr
13、ades may influence their evaluations, as may stereotypical associations associated with a lecturers age or physical appearance (Moore and Kuol, 2005). On the other hand, some may argue that as an evaluative approach, direct observation lacks methodological rigour, given that it has no sampling proce
14、dure, that there would be over-generous comments from colleagues, that there would be an observer effect and so on. However, having acknowledged those concerns, the advantage of obtaining fellow academics professional judgements and views of teaching practice is that it can provide a useful counterp
15、oint or contrast to the students evaluations, with all the potential problems or deficiencies that the students feedback may have, as outlined above. Whilst observing what goes on in a lecture theatre, a seminar room or a laboratory may only provide a snapshot, it can be a useful means to triangulat
16、e other quality measures of a particular course or department such as student evaluative questionnaires, assessment results and external examiner reports etc. (Observing individual lessons only addresses issues of specific lessons or specific individuals. Other wider quality issues such as course de
17、sign, assessment etc. will have to be addressed by other means.) Academics often feel uncertain as to the purpose of peer observation and may feel threatened by the judgement this implies. This is ironic as the same academics would feel comfortable with peer review of their research, yet still feel
18、threatened by having a peer in the classroom (Martin and Double, 1998; Jarzabkowski and Bone, 1998). Some may feel it an infringement of their autonomy or professionalism. (Hodgkinson, 1994) Even if academics do not feel threatened by being observed, they may just feel that this is one more thing to
19、 have to do when they are busy enough already. Implementing such a system properly will, of course, involve devoting time to the process and that in itself has cost implications. But the time invested in observation of teaching is small in respect of the returns to be gained in terms of sharing of i
20、deas and best practice, or of leading to greater openness, promoting innovation, fostering team-building and building academic links (Martin and Double, 1998). If handled sensitively, a system of regular observation of teaching and feedback could build the self-confidence of new lecturers and improv
21、e the skills of their more experienced colleagues. What will be done with the information? The fundamental purpose of implementing a system of observation of teaching is to enhance the quality of teaching practice and thereby improve students learning. Therefore the process, discussion and documenta
22、tion would usually remain confidential between the observer and the lecturer involved. Some departments simply keep a record that the process has been undertaken; others also keep a record of the feedback given. At most universities in the United Kingdom, attendance and successful completion on a (u
23、sually in-house) teaching qualification is a requirement for many new staff as part of their probationary period, although exceptions are usually made for lecturers who already have a teaching qualification or those who can evidence substantial teaching experience. Usual practice is for new lecturer
24、s (probationers) to be given mentors and they must produce evidence of being observed and observing others as part of the assessment for these courses, often in the form of teaching portfolios. Outside the framework of a teaching qualification, individual academics could use their written record of
25、peer observation data (both as observers and observed) as part of a teaching portfolio which may be used for a variety of purposes, including applications for promotion. In some institutions and in some departments a system for observation of teaching feeds into management appraisal and monitoring s
26、ystems, although use of direct observation of teaching by management for appraisal or promotion purposes can lead to hostility and resistance (Lam, 2001). However, if the academic owns their (written) feedback from the observation, they may want to use it (if it was praiseworthy) as evidence in thei
27、r staff appraisal of their abilities in the classroom or for their professional portfolio or for the purposes of promotion. Of course, apart from professional and internal institutional and management imperatives to implement systems such as observation of teaching, there are also external pressures
28、 for accountability, namely from extra-institutional bodies such as the United Kingdoms Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) which requires a system of observation of teaching to be in place in an institution as part of the institutions quality monitoring system. Quality monitoring in Higher Education has
29、 (in the UK) over the past few years seen a change towards a so-called “lighter touch”. Whatever changes the future holds (and there will surely be more change,) institutions and subject areas in all universities will continue to need to demonstrate a commitment to evaluation of the quality of teach
30、ing and learning. Good practice in observation of teaching Once the decision to start a process of observation of teaching has been made, then the practicalities of how to go about it need to be addressed. The most important decision is who to choose as an observation partner. In the case of new lec
31、turers, this choice would be made for them as their mentor will be observing them, and the relationship between mentor and probationer would rightly not be that of peers. In general however, a free choice of partner/peer will lead to more co-operation with the scheme, particularly when such a scheme
32、 is new or where perhaps its introduction is being met with some resistance. However, set against this, such freedom may militate against academic rigour in the long term. Where there is a free choice of a partner/peer, it is best for lecturers to choose someone who they trust and respect. If new, o
33、r relatively new to teaching, then someone with a (greater) interest or expertise in learning and teaching may be a suitable choice. If more experienced, then a partner with the same level of experience, a true “peer”, may be appropriate. It may be useful to choose an observation partner with knowle
34、dge of the particular subject area. However, partners need not necessarily even be from the same discipline, as someone from a different discipline may give a different perspective and will not present a problem so long as they have an interest in learning and teaching. Alternatively the most approp
35、riate partner may be someone who can give feedback on the content of the session, as well as on the process of learning and teaching. Observers may require some training to maximise the learning potential of the process (Brown and Colling, 1993). They need to remember that observing someone else tea
36、ching is a more difficult business than it seems (one common pitfall is to get caught up in the content and forget to observe the teaching). The observer needs to be looking at teaching mode (lecture, workshop etc), session management, leadership skills, questioning techniques and quality of feedbac
37、k, group work skills or any combination of these (Jones, 1993). 译文 教学观察系统的设计 资料来源： http:/ 作者： Peter Washer 引言 在大学领域里，讲师 进行教学观察，并相互给予教学反馈的方式是不完整的。 在教学过程中，讲师们往往不喜欢被人观察。他们会觉得有压力，也觉得是在浪费时间。他们 常常把教学观察看作是一个简单进行的以技术审查为目的的论文课程。然而，如果处理迅速，在教学观察过程中投入时间，被人观察可以帮助提高学生的经验，分享最佳实践，建立学术联系，并促进创新。这些优势同时适用于新的和有经验的学者。教学观
38、察给予的 反馈是保密的 , 它能潜在的被参与者利用于为了晋升的目的或者是去建立讲课技能认可的专业档案 。 本文 结合文献， 概述了围绕在高等教育教学观察的问题，并提出了 一个很好的能够使用并适合整个领域的实践模式。 为什么 做 教学 观察 ? 大多数教师能记住他们自己作为学生 时接受的 好 (坏 )的 教学 ,而未必能够恰好回忆起做了一项更愉快的或从教育方面来说更有价值的体验 。其他部门的教师一般都曾经被观察过，或观察 其他老师 来 作为他们部分的职前教师培训。事实上，来自教学观察的反馈频繁率是作为教师培训课程评价中最有价值的方面（ Fullerton， 1999 年）。然而，在大学领域里，由
39、于一般的委任制度是促进他们的研究基础能力，而不是他们的教学能力，教学有时会被觉得是没什么地位的。 在 有 些情况下 ,大学教 师因此 可能从未有过被观察或观察别人教学的机会。（ Cosh， 1998 年） 因此，大学教师的教学技能，经常演变为应对机制。例如， 在课堂上当他们面临着破坏性的学生 时， 有些讲师可能不愿意寻求同事的意见 。 （ Washer，2003年）他们是如何处理这些挑战性的情况可能是一个不断摸索的问题。一种常见的缺陷是，学者沉浸在他们的学科（特别是那些新的教学）中往往把好的内容等同于良好的教学。另一种常见的误解是，讲师认为他们是起“知识发射机”（ Martin 和 Doubl
40、e， 1998年）的作用。不管是多么富有经验的讲师，总是会有可 能从观察别人的做法（好的和坏的）和被观察而获得的回馈中学习到宝贵的经验教训。 尽管直接教学观察是作为评价讲师效益的可能方法， 但在跨部门 、事业单位和整个高等教育产业 里， 系统 的 引进并维护 采用它是不完整的 。 可以说，学生的教学评价已经优先于特别体制质量保证机构的其他评估方法，例如在英国的质量保证局（ Bingham 和 Ottewill， 2001 年）。但学生可能没有必要的课程概述或必要的技能去评价他们接受的教学。 一些评论家认为学生不 是 适当的或有效的教师评价 的来源， 因为许多原因 ， 学生 不能 简单 的 立即
41、评价教师的表现。例如，学生 的学习动机或预期成绩可能影响评价，因为这老套的可能与讲师的年龄或外貌（ Moore 和 Kuol， 2005 年）相关。另一方面，有些人可能认为，作为一个评价的方法，直接观察的方法缺乏严谨性，因为它没有抽样程序，会有来自同事的过度宽松的意见，也会产生一个观察者效力的问题等。 不过，在认识这些问题，并获取同胞学者的专业判断优势和教学实践的看法是，它可以提供一个有用的对应或对比的学生的评价与学生可能反馈的所有潜在的问题或不足，正如上文所述的。 虽然观察 什么的 都发生在演讲厅 、 会议室或实验室 的 只能提供一个 简单了解的地方 ,但 可以 是一种有效的手段 作三角测量
42、 其他质量措施 在一个 具体的课程或部门 ,如学生评价结果和外部检验报告等。 （ 观察问题仅限于个人教授特定课程或特定的个体。其他更广泛的质量问题 ,如课程设计、评估等必须 通过其他方式 解决 。 ） 学者经常感到没有把握 好 同行观察的目的 , 这意味着可能感觉受到 判决的威胁。 具有讽刺意味的是相同的学者会觉得他们的研究让同行审查会舒服，但仍感到有同行的威胁在教室里（ Martin 和 Double， 1998 年； Jarzabkowski 和Bone， 1998 年）。有些人可能会觉得这是对他们的自主权或专业性的侵犯。（ Hodgkinson， 1994 年）即使不觉得受到学术界被观察
43、的威胁，他们也可能只是觉得这是一件当他们够忙时不得不做的事情。当然，实施这样一个正常的系统，影响 涉及 时间致力于本身的过程 。但在教学观察中投入的时间是小方面在共享方面的想法和最佳做法获得的回报，或导致更大程度的开放，促进创新，促进团队建设和建筑学术联系（ Martin 和 Double， 1998 年）。如果处理迅速，一个普通的教学和反馈观察系统可以建立新的讲师的自信心，提高比他们更有经验的同事的技能。 结合信息将做什么？ 实施一个教学观察系统的根本目的是提高实 践教学质量，从而提高学生的学习质量。因此这个过程中，讨论和文件的内容通常会在观察者和有关讲师之间保密。 一些部门简单地维护一个
44、已经进行的过程的 记录 ， 别人也记录了反馈意见。在很多 英国的 大学里 ， 出勤和成功完成 (通常是内部 )教 学 资格的 ，在 许多新员工的 一部分 试用期 里是必要的 ,虽然例外 的 通常是那些已经有一个教师资格或者那些能证 明有 实质性的教学经验 的教师 。 通常的做法是让新讲师（实习生）得到导师，他们必须出示被观察和观察过别人的教学的文件形式的证明作为对这些课程的一部分评估。 除了教学资格， 个人学者可以用他们同行观察数据（包 括 作为观察员和 被观察的）的 书面记录作为一项可用于各种用途 的 教学内容 ,包括提升 的应用。 虽然为了评估和提升的目的而被管理部门直接使用教学观察系统可
45、能受到敌意和阻力，但在一些机构和部门里，观察系统的教学评价仍反馈到管理和监测系统中（ Lam， 2001 年）。但是，如果拥有自己的学术（书面）观察反馈，他们可能要使用它（如果它是值得称赞）作为在教室里他们的职员评价或为他们的专业资格的能力考绩或晋升时的证据。 当然，除了专业的内部机构和管理部门强迫执行系统，如教学观察系统，也有外部的压力问责制，即从外部制度机构如英国质量 保证局（ QAA），它要求教学观察系统到位，作为机构的质量监测系统的一部分观察。高等教育质量监测工作（在英国）在过去几年里朝着所谓的“轻碰”改变。无论什么改变，未来持有（和肯定会有更多的变化）机构和所有大学学科领域将继续需要
46、表现出对教学和学习质量评价的承诺。 在观察教学中的良好实践 一旦决定开始对教学进行观察，那么需要解决如何去做它的实际问题。最重要的决定是选择谁作为一个观察的合作伙伴。在新讲师的情况下，作为他们的导师会为他们作出这种选择，他们将观察他们，并且导师和实习生之间的关系将不适合成为同行。不过总的来 说，自由选择的合作伙伴 /同行将导致计划更多的合作，特别是当这样的计划是新的，或者可能它的采用遇到了阻力时。然而，与此相反，从长远来看这种自由会影响学术的严谨。 一个伙伴 /同行的自由选择，有利于讲师选择他们信任和尊重的人。如果是新的或比较新的教学，一个合适的选择可能是用一些在学习与教学有（更大）兴趣和专业
47、知识的人。如果是有更多的经验的，可能合适与同一经验水平的伙伴，一个真正的“同行”一起。它可能是有用的，在对于选择一个特定学科领域的知识观察的合作伙伴。然而，合作伙伴甚至不必来自同一学科，因为一个来自不同学科的 可以给予不同的角度，只要他们在学习和教学有兴趣，那将不会出现问题。或者最合适的合作伙伴可能是可以给予本届会议内容反馈，以及学习和教学的过程的人。 观察家可能需要一些学习潜能最大化过程 (Brown 和 Colling,1993 年 )的培训 。 他们必须记住，观察别人的教学是一个比较困难的营商（一个常见的错误是陷入了内容并忘记教学观察）。观察员需要在教学模式（讲座，研讨会等），会议管理，领导技巧，提问技巧和质量信息反馈，小组工作技能或任何这些（ Jones， 1993 年）的组合中寻找。
