Sunday, February 1, 2015

What To Expect From Classroom Walkthroughs

By Janine Hughes


Different students can have their own preferred mode of learning. Some learn best while in groups while others can perform best on their own. Placing them all in one class can be a challenge to the teachers who have to select a certain mode of teaching at a time. This is one of the reasons why observation from the higher ups are done from time to time.

Through their random visits, they get an idea on how well the class is doing and if they are reacting well to the type of teaching that their mentors employ. Classroom walkthroughs are good avenues for them to examine that status of education in their institutions and whether or not their faculty is adhering to the standards that they have set. Below are the things that heads of the departments note down.

Classroom behavior. This refers to how behave the students are in the presence of their teacher. A good mentor knows how to handle the class well, get them disciplined without resorting to threats and start the lesson with everyones attention on board. This factor speaks a lot about the teacher and his impact to the participants.

Lesson content. Institution head feel the need to know about the content of the lesson that their faculty delivers. This does not only include the information found on textbooks but more like its application to the current industry as well. The mentors level of awareness to the things that are happening in his field is a good factor that he can share to his students through the daily lessons.

Motivational practices. Setting the right mood for the class can matter a lot in the long run. This will determine whether or not the facilitator can retain the attention of the students. His personal level of energy and the methods he employes to encourage participation are important things to note down.

Level of comprehension. It is also a vital thing to see how well the students understand the lesson. No matter how an expert a mentor is, if he does not know how to convey them to the rest, it will still not work. Those who are doing the walkthroughs are careful in noting down how well the information is conveyed to the participants.

Feedback mechanism. A teacher needs to be open to questions and should ask his students from time to time whether they have certain clarification. If there are, then he should be ready to address them. This fosters healthy interaction from both sides and participants will be more encouraged to ask if they know that their mentor is open to questions.

Professionalism. Expertise is one, the attitude is another thing. As the facilitator of the class, teachers need to have the right set of attitude in conducting their lessons. They should come in on time and should observe proper decorum. Participants will respect and trust them if they show a good example and couple their knowledge with character.

Despite the popularity of walkthroughs, there are various institutions that do not employ this method. There is nothing wrong with that. This mode is done as means to gather data and to know the areas of teaching that need to be improved. Those who manage to devise a different way in getting these information may do away with this procedure.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment