A Survey On The Effect Of Traditional Classroom Observation And Assessment On Senior High School Novice English Teachers’ Professional Development

Classroom observation and assessment plays a very important role in promoting senior high school novice English teachers’ professional development. It may be something that novice English teachers always encounter in the process of the English teaching. Cui Yunhuo et al point out that traditional classroom observation and assessment still prevail. Non-professional practice such as simple treatment, task-oriented attitude and ineffective cooperation are general. These problems to some extent impede novice English teachers’ professional development. The school management personnel’s, experienced English teachers’ and teaching and research groups’ observation and assessment are the three main types of classroom observation and assessment in senior high schools. Researchers point out that novice teachers’ professional development is mainly reflected in the promotion of their professional ability. Teachers’ professional ability is mainly composed of the teaching design ability, teaching operation ability and teaching assessment ability. Inspired by the above ideas, this thesis aims to study the effect of the three kinds of classroom observation and assessment which are implemented in senior high schools on novice English teachers’ professional development. Therefore, we put forward the following research questions.1. Which type of observation and assessment can effectively promote novice English teachers’ professional development? Which type of observation and assessment can not effectively promote novice English teachers’ professional development?2. What are the reasons for the effectiveness of certain type of observation and assessment? What are the reasons for the ineffectiveness of other types of observation and assessment?3. How to improve the efficiency of certain types of observation and assessment in order to better promote novice English teachers’ professional development? 79novice English teachers,46school management personnel,47experienced English teachers, and65teaching and research group members from five senior high schools in Yinchuan participated the survey. Questionnaire was mainly used in this survey. Besides, the interview with certain subjects and some teaching and research groups’ observation and assessment meetings were recorded and studied based on the research purpose.Through correlation analysis of the assessment effect, we found that experienced English teachers’ observation and assessment to some extent could effectively promote novice English teachers’ development. However, the management personnel’s and teaching and research groups’observation and assessment could not effectively promote senior high school novice English teachers’ professional development. In order to explore the reasons, we made a comparison of the assessment objectives, the assessment ways, the implementation process, the assessment focus, the professional quality of the observers of the three types of observation and assessment and found that there were several problems in the management personnel’s and teaching and research groups’ observation and assessment. On the one hand, the assessment objective of the management personnel was simple. There were not any specific regulations or documents to ensure its implementation. The professional quality of some management personnel was not satisfying. On the other hand, some teaching and research group teachers’ assessment aimed at evaluation and selection. There were not any specific regulations or documents to ensure its implementation. Most teachers lacked scientific knowledge and theoretical understanding on classroom observation and assessment, etc.. Based on the analysis, we summarized the reasons for the effectiveness of experienced English teachers’observation and assessment and the ineffectiveness of the management personnel’s and teaching and research groups’observation and assessment. They are as follows:There are mainly three reasons to explain the effectiveness of experienced English teachers’classroom observation and assessment. First, the assessment objective is development-oriented. Second, the content and standards have been ensured by certain regulations and documents. Third, the professional quality of the observer has been effectively ensured.There are mainly four reasons to explain the ineffectiveness of the management personnel’s observation and assessment. First, the assessment objective is simple and imbalanced. Second, the Halo effect has influenced the justice of certain regulations. Third, the content and standards of management personnel’s observation and assessment are not ensured by certain regulations and documents. Fourth, some observers’ professional quality needed in classroom observation and assessment is not satisfying.There are mainly three reasons to explain the ineffectiveness of teaching and research groups’ observation and assessment. First, some open classes are just for show, which can not effectively stimulate novice teachers to improve their teaching. Second, the content and standards of teaching and research groups’ observation and assessment are not ensured by certain regulations and documents. Third, most teachers lack the specific training on classroom observation and assessment skills and the professional quality of the observer can not be effectively ensured.Based on the above findings, we proposed some measures to promote the efficiency of school management personnel’s and teaching and research groups’ observation and assessment. First, we need to enrich the simple evaluative objectives of school management personnel’s observation and assessment. Second, we need to establish specific content and standards for the relevant classroom observation and assessment. Third, we need to strengthen the interscholastic teaching research and to set up effective incentive mechanism. Fourth, we need to complete the training systems and hardware facilities.