Secondary Teachers' and Their Supervisors' Perceptions of Current and Desired Observation Practices

Authors

  • Vincent Anthony Romano St. John's University

Keywords:

classroom observation, teacher observation, supervision practices, instructional improvement, evaluation of teaching, professional trust, reflective thinking

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to provide insight on how to improve current classroom observation practices in order to meet the needs of teachers, promote professional growth, and develop effective supervision practices.
This study built upon previous research which identified four key components of a classroom observation process that promotes instructional growth and development: instructional improvement practice, purpose of observation, professional trust, and reflective thinking (Ginsberg, 2003; Card 2006). These dimensions were used in this study and results were analyzed by teacher, by supervisor, and then compared by teacher and supervisor.
The participants in this study consisted of 263 faculty from one junior-senior high school district in Nassau County, New York grades 7-12. Subjects were asked to respond to a 38 question survey, which asked teachers and supervisors to respond to how frequently they experienced a specific behavior, and how desirable or important they believed that behavior was as an action that would help improve teacher performance.
The research showed that teachers and supervisors agreed on important practices that promote instructional improvement of teachers, but they disagreed on the extent to which it existed in their current process. Supervisors demonstrated higher scores for existence of practice when compared to teachers. Professional trust represented the largest mean change score for existing practice.

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Published

2014-09-01

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 3 (2014)

Section

Articles

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