Classroom ObservationsLearning Support Unit (LSU)

19th Sept – 8th Oct 2016

INTRODUCTION:Learning Support Unit (LSU)-SEF was involved in the implementation of “Classroom

Observations-2016” activity for the selected 200 schools of SAS/SSS. The activity was carried

out in the 20 districts of Sindh namely; Badin, Dadu, Ghotki, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Kambar.

SDK, Karachi, Khairpur, Larkana, Matiari, Mirpurkhas, Mithi, Nausheroferoz, Sanghar,

Shaheed. BAB, Shikarpur, Sukkur, Thatta, Tando Muhammad Khan & Umerkot.

This activity was implemented for 18 days with 40 team members taking part in it and making a

total of 20 teams altogether.

Objectives & Purpose of Classroom Observations:The very basic objective of this activity was to actually observe the pedagogies for the different

subjects (English, Math & Science) adopted by the teachers in the schools with regards to the

capacity building sessions provided by the LSU team over the recent years. However, in general

it was very much favorable by the team members to observe teachers from both categories i.e.

Trained and Untrained teachers.

Apart from only observing the classrooms, subject based assessment was also made a mandatory

part of the activity. The prime focus of which was to assess a teacher’s content knowledge with

regards to the specific subject they are teaching in schools, as both teaching and content

knowledge are inter connected with one another on the basis of which sound teaching-learning

tactics can be executed by any teacher.

The core findings from this activity will enable the management to locate the key areas where

capacity building sessions may be customized according to the needs and identified gaps.

Activity Implementation Procedure:It was noted that each school took an average time of 4-5 Hours each for the classroom

observations followed by an interview with the head teacher(s) and subject based assessment.

The activity was mainly applied in the following steps;

Step 01:

Meeting with the Head Teacher and other teachers in order to introduce the purpose of

classroom observation.

Step 02:

General visit of the school and taking pictures of the infrastructure, different classes, drinking

water facility, academic records etc.

Step 03:

Observing the classes for the subjects; English, Math and Science (Both trained and untrained

teachers).

Step 04:

Conducting subject based assessment for the teachers observed.

Step 05:

Meeting with the head teacher, teachers in order to give the feedback related to the classrooms

observed.

Suggestions It is highly recommended that a comprehensive teachers training is required for better

results and especially for head teachers as they can manage quality education in their school

It was mainly suggested by the teachers of the schools to arrange academic visits like these on regular basis by the LSU team as it helps them to know the missing portion in their teachings and ways to improve themselves

School owners must focus on the key areas; Poor classroom management in the schools Non-Availability of required subject based learning material/resources in each

school Non-Availability of required stationary Timely provision of books, stationary and worksheets to each and every child

Good and qualified teachers should be hired by the school operators Teachers need academic capacity building sessions; they possess fair content knowledge

but lack teaching skills