Observation in Action Research and Training

Abstract

Observation is often a 'taboo' activity as far as teachers are concerned. Teachers tend not to have the earnest desire to observed at their work. While there are many good reasons for teachers' reticence in this area, observation can be a powerful tool in the area of teacher training and trainer training, and can also be beneficial to inservice programs and self-directed Action Research projects carried out by teachers in their own classrooms. The first part of this article discusses various contexts in which observation can take place, and the second part goes on to consider how observation can help in teacher training, trainer training and further professional development of teachers in their own classrooms. In addition various ways of training teachers for observation are discussed.