Maybe I should have used fewer monkeys...

(This post is typed to the music of Jonathan Coulton, which is currently stuck in my head).

Today saw my first peer observation. I get on very well with the teacher from my department who observed me, and we both agree that in fact, observation by peers is a very good thing. I hold to the fact that a graded observation is different to the kind I had today. You're less nervous because you know that the process is entirely constructive, and that you're not being judged against set criteria in the same way. Although I know that the graded ones are intended to help you develop, the grade hangs over your head like a sword over Damocles. Of course, it would help if I had a permanent contract, to be perfectly honest- there are particular staff incentives for good observation grades which are not available to me, and frankly that makes me feel like, as a temp, I get a stick (a bad observation grade would mean my job here would be in jeopardy, so I work hard to perform well and keep in work- observed AND unobserved) where everyone else gets a carrot (staff employed by the college on permanent contracts get bonuses as part of the college pay initiative if they receive a certain number of good observation grades, and poor performance in the first instance simply means additional support and work going into their development).

Having begun to look at assessment in teacher training, I would consider that the College Observations are the summative ones, and therefore much more nervewracking than the peer observations and other 7407 obs, which are formative.

It helps that the observer knew the class I was teaching, I think, because she knew the different students and their particular issues. In fact, said observer had asked if she could come and watch me with them previously, which was why I was jammy enough to ask her if she'd do it for my 7407 assignment.

Because I knew that this was formative, I felt a lot more relaxed with someone else in the room than I normally do. That said, I did do a few things differently to how I had planned, but I felt that the changes were improvements, and ones I want to keep in mind for the future with that class- for example getting each individual student to read the text they had studied to me while the class carried out a writing exercise. It's something I could only hope to do with a class that size- there are only about 9 on the register, and today I only had 4 students, so I could give each of them more individual attention.

And now, to write my personal reflection...