Observations
The Bok Center encourages teachers at all levels of experience to learn more about teaching while reflecting on their own approaches. Watching yourself teach, observing other teachers, and inviting others to observe you are all helpful ways to gain knowledge and confidence about your teaching, expand your teaching techniques, and be more aware of how students are engaging with the materials, with you as the teacher, and with each other.
There are different ways to observe, record, and reflect on your teaching. This page will provide an overview of ways you can observe and reflect on your own, with peers, and with support from the Bok Center. Taking the time to notice, observe, and reflect on your choices in the classroom, either alone or with others, can be incredibly beneficial for your growth as an educator.
Video Observations
Recording a video of yourself teaching is a particularly effective way to put yourself in the shoes of your students and reflect on the act of teaching. Watching a video of your teaching, especially one that captures how students are interacting with you and with each other, can let you experience an outside perspective that helps you see what you are doing well and how your students are reacting in the moment.
Self Video Observation
Tips on How to Record Yourself
Watching the video will allow you to notice choices that may have been invisible to you at the time. Does what you see on video match your own perceptions of your teaching? Can you brainstorm other ways of approaching the material or strategies to use with the students?
Video Consultation
If you would like feedback on your teaching from a Bok Graduate Fellow, you can request a video consultation. The conversation will give you the chance to notice and discuss your choices in the classroom, through engaging in a reflective conversation with an outside observer about your teaching choices.
Shadowing and Peer Observation
Shadowing is when one instructor observes another instructor to learn about a class or get ideas. Peer observation is when peers or colleagues watch each other teach and debrief. Both styles provide opportunities for you --and your peers -- to develop and reflect on teaching. The main difference between shadowing and peer observation is that reciprocity is not expected with shadowing while it is with peer observation.
Shadowing
Shadowing is a way for both new and experienced teachers to learn more about teaching. First, ask another instructor if you can observe their class, lab, or section. If you can, try to join in a way that allows you to observe both the teaching and the student interactions in a way that does not disrupt the regular style of the class.
This is helpful for new TFs who are new to sections at Harvard or who want an example of what a section they might teach looks like in practice. More experienced teachers can use shadowing to expand their repertoire of ideas for classroom activities and ways to interact with students.
Here are some useful prompts to guide your observation:
- What were the goals of the class or section?
- What kind of students were in the group? How many students were there? How many participated and how did they participate?
- What surprised you?
- What did you observe that might inform your own teaching?
Peer Observation
Peer observation is a reciprocal agreement for two or more people to observe each others’ teaching and then discuss the observations with each other. This can be particularly helpful if you are on a teaching team that offers multiple sections.
Effective peer observation of classroom teaching usually includes
- a pre-observation meeting, conducted sometime in the week prior to the observation to discuss key areas to notice
- the classroom observation,
- a post-observation debriefing, usually shortly after the observation.
You should identify 2–3 aspects of your classroom environment or your teaching that you would like to discuss or that you would appreciate receiving feedback on. When selecting criteria, it is good to think about the norms and expectations of the discipline.
Download our Peer Observation Worksheet
Email bokcenter@fas.harvard.edu for additional advice about setting up a peer observation structure or shadowing group in your department or program.
Teaching Consultation
You can request a Bok Graduate Fellow to review a video recording of you teaching a section. The Bok Center will provide you with a camera to record your teaching, and then a trained observer will review the video and debrief with you about your teaching. You can let the Bok Center staff know in advance which areas you would like feedback and guidance on.