Page 303 - Beyond Methods

Monitoring teaching acts 291
sures self-monitoring and self-evaluation on the part of teachers. They are better placed than anybody to provide descriptions of their work, their thinking behind it, and their interpretations of it.
The emphasis on learner perspective envisages an important role for learners in the process of evaluating teaching acts. As interested participants, they are best suited to comment critically on various aspects of classroom discourse. By virtue of the fact that they are the stake-holders of the classroom enterprise, they can bring a unique interpretation of the usefulness of teaching.
The emphasis on observer perspective enables collaboration among colleagues. That is, working together, colleagues can create a conducive atmosphere where teamwork is encouraged, and where they help each other improve both the work environment and their own teaching performance. A purposeful and periodical dialogue with an observing—and observant—colleague gives an opportunity for teachers to examine their philosophical orientation and analyze their instructional performance. Such a collegial, collaborative pro- cess can produce valuable and valued insights into pedagogic pro- cesses, greatly facilitating teachers’ attempts to construct their own theory of practice.
Reflective task 13.1
Do you agree that several individuals can observe the same classroom event and come out with different perceptions of what happened? Can you think of any specific classroom episode, either while you were teaching or while you were attending a class, that led to multiple, conflicting per- spectives?
In the context of classroom learning and teaching, the three per- spectives—those of the teacher, the learner, and the observer—are easily identifiable and analyzable. An understanding of all three perspectives is indispensable if we are serious about a meaningful assessment of teaching effectiveness in the classroom, for, as in the case of the proverbial six blind men and the elephant, each of the participants may touch upon one aspect of the classroom event that forms part of a whole. To be aware of multiple perspectives also means to be aware of potential mismatches between intentions and