The Importance of Teachers Observing Other Teachers Teach

I've been in administration now for 9 years and in that time I have done over 300 formal classroom observations and well over 4,000 informal walkthroughs. What I have learned from all of this time in the classroom observing other people teach is that I wish I was back in the classroom teaching so I could try some of the strategies I have seen in action.

My contention is that the best professional development anyone can get is observing others in action. Other professions do it regularly, but why has this somehow skipped over the field of education? My guess is that it has something to do with teachers not having enough time, but I would challenge that if it was presented to me as a barrier. Time is finite and there will never be enough of it. How time is utilized is a choice that we all get to make and I would encourage teachers to use some of their time each week to go and watch others in the classroom. Here are four reasons why this would be well worth your time:

You might just learn a thing or two

Before administration, I was a high school English and Physical Education teacher (weird combination, right?). I made the mistake of not taking time to get in to my colleague's classrooms, so in reality, I practiced my craft in isolation. When I entered the field of administration, I finally saw what I was missing out on. I regularly observe teaching strategies that I know would be applicable in any classroom and I get to see classroom management strategies that would help curb all types of behavior in the classroom. Additionally, I sometimes get so engaged in a lesson being taught that I get to brush up on my own skills in subjects that I may not be too strong in.

Relevancy

Nothing makes curriculum more relevant than teachers coming together to collaborate. This is strengthened by visiting other classrooms to see what is going on and then infusing that content in to your own instruction. Curriculum does not live in silos. Making cross-curricular connections strengthens what you do in the classroom and makes it relevant to students.

Watching others teach is invigorating

Whenever I am having a particularly rough day or one that is so long it feels like it is never going to end, I drop what I am doing and get in a classroom. Being around students and not having to be prepared with a lesson plan is really enjoyable. Watching a colleague get all jazzed up and engaging a classroom full of kids is a bucket filler. We all need this from time to time.

Post Observation Conferences with administrators become more of a conversation

I can honestly say that the best post observation conferences I have had with teachers are the ones in which the teacher tells me about what they have learned by watching others. In almost every evaluation model I have seen, there is always a component dealing with personal and professional practices. I love hearing teachers talking about what they have learned from their colleagues by visiting their classrooms. It is definitely apparent that they are engaged in their profession and that they have become better teachers by putting strategies they learned in to practice in their own classrooms.

Teaching is a profession where we commit ourselves to life-long learning. This learning doesn't have to always happen in a graduate program or canned professional development in-services put on by your school districts. In fact, I would argue that the best professional development you could get might be happening next door. My challenge to you is to take 10-minutes a week and go watch someone else teach. You owe it to yourself and your students. If doctors do this (and they do), shouldn't teachers do it as well? I should certainly hope so.