Background: Many education systems internationally expect schools to participate in continuous instructional improvement programmes. One tool used within these processes is the structured, rubric-based classroom observation, focused on the evaluation of teaching. Such observations are a common feature of formative evaluation systems, teacher…

The aim of the article is to provide an analysis of professional passive practice mentoring system for the course of (passive) teaching practice, in the study program 'Teaching for pre-school education' of Albanian HEIs and highlights important areas for improvement to better prepare teacher candidates for the demands of the labour market. The…

An essential feature of many modern teacher observation protocols is their "global" approach to measuring instruction. Global protocols provide a summary evaluation of multiple domains of instruction from observers' overall review of classroom processes. Although these protocols have demonstrated strengths, including their…

An essential feature of many modern teacher observation protocols is their "global" approach to measuring instruction. Global protocols provide a summary evaluation of multiple domains of instruction from observers' overall review of classroom processes. Although these protocols have demonstrated strengths, including their…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore opportunities to develop higher-order thinking for students in social studies, with a focus on teachers' content coverage and support for engaging in social studies analysis. Design/methodology/approach: A video study using naturalistic classroom observations of 80 social studies lessons was conducted…

Although preservice teachers are familiar with classroom life, they are largely unfamiliar with teachers' intentions and reasoning. Those completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) have just one year to acquire new insights into teaching. This article investigates whether their school-based learning can be enhanced by preparing them…

Despite the prevalent use of observational measures in teacher evaluation systems, research has only recently begun to take into account how aspects of the instructional environment and lesson sampling design may interact with teachers' scores on these measures. Instead, one assumption guiding current evaluation systems is that the variation in…

This article looks at the ways in which the semiotics of authority are established and challenged during a secondary school English lesson on "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde". I focus on the utterances of one student and the context of the classroom in which she finds herself as a means to explore the ways in which pedagogic…

Schools are risky places: the risk of a poor Ofsted report, the risk of sliding down league tables, the risk of teachers abusing children, the risk of teachers being falsely accused of abuse. As a result of risk anxiety and the ever-increasing sophistication of technology, the surveillance of teachers has proliferated, becoming a future-oriented…

The paper highlights the context bound nature of giving observation feedback and indicates some of the complexities around fostering a dialogic approach. It focuses on the teacher education feedback dialogue as it occurs on a full time one year PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate) in Post Compulsory Education course at a University. The research is…

Observing teaching with a practiced, professional eye can yield valuable insights into the specific learning opportunities that students are (or are not) provided. However, recent policy initiatives have emphasized using formulaic rubrics and checklists to rate teacher behaviors and evaluate their use of particular instructional moves. Rather than…

Setting tasks plays a key role in geography lessons, as they enable students to engage with the subject content, guide lessons towards predefined learning outcomes, and are therefore important for assessment. At the same time, the use of tasks is complex as numerous aspects regarding the content and the students have to be taken into account.…

Teacher effectiveness, which impacts student attainment even when controlling for student characteristics, is of key importance as a factor in educational effectiveness and improvement. Improving the quality of teaching is thus the primary means by which we can enhance student learning outcomes. Thus there has long been great interest in the…

Once instructional coach Anne Beaton began creating chances for teachers to get into one another's classrooms to observe and learn about different teaching styles, she realized that not only is studying one another's teaching practices as a community essential in serving students, it also lifts teachers up as leaders. Beaton knew she was learning…

Formal class room observation is a very delicate topic in any educational institution. It involves a series of emotions and sentiments that come with the package. In this paper, the researcher will attempt to analyze the factors that affect the process in a relatively significant manner and thereby contribute greatly to the success or failure of…