Observation is one of the most important skills that every person, who is willing to embark on a career as a teacher in the future, should inculcate. There are a number of advantages that the person can gain from the development of his/her observation skills and utilise them properly during their teaching career for creating a better in-class atmosphere for the students, catering to the development of the overall teaching-learning procedure. In the following lines, we will have a look at how inculcating the observation skills could be beneficial for the future educators, the ones who are currently pursuing the teacher training course.
What are Observational Skills?
Observational skills are most important in terms of empowering the quality of assessment of any person involved in a professional field and teaching is no different from that. These skills can further be categorised in objective and subjective observation. While objective observation deals with the factual intricacies which one is able to see or measure, subjective observation depends on the intangible properties present in a class, which is also important in terms of development of the trainees.
Let’s have a look at the areas in a teacher training course that are affected by the implementation of the observational skills and why it is essential for the ones who are looking to make a career in teaching.
- Creating awareness
Good observation leads to the creation of awareness for the teachers as well as students in a class. So it is important for the future educators to become good observers in order to ensure that they are able to be aware of all the in-class activities. So it is very important for the trainees, who are looking to make a career in the sphere of teaching, to become more observant in order to become aware of the in-class activities and monitor them properly.
- Understand changes
Not every student in a class is the same and a teacher has to be a good observant in order to understand that appropriately. The trainees of a teacher training course should be well aware of this fact which helps in the development of an atmosphere in the classroom conducive for the upgrading of the teaching-learning procedure in a holistic manner. This also helps the educator in maintaining a psychological advantage over his/her students in a classroom as well.
- Documentation
The development of observational skills helps the teacher in making the documents in a proper and a detailed manner. This also puts the person in charge of the in-class activities along with planning for the upcoming fixtures that should be a part of the course curriculum and will cater to the development of the students. This is why it is necessary for a trainee of the teaching course to learn the traits of observation in a detailed way.
- Communication
Observing the students closely helps the teacher to communicate with them in a better and much easier way. Every student has his/her own way of understanding the subject matter in a course and the teacher should help them upgrade their knowledge in the way they prefer it to be. Without proper observation, the whole process of communication might be goofed up and the delivery of the course curriculum to the students might be hampered for a teacher. So it is of utmost necessity for a trainee to be well aware of the observational skills required so that he/she can utilise it in a proper manner when it comes to teaching.
- Curb the wastage of time
The wastage of time is one of the major influences that can slow down the pace of completing a course, eventually affecting the successful completion of the course. However, an observant teacher can help the students by teaching them in their preferable way and thus cater to their holistic development as well. This is why it is very important for the teachers to inculcate observation skills so as to curb the wastage of time and leave no loopholes in the way of the successful completion of the course curriculum within the stipulated time.
To be observant is a virtue for every trainee in a teacher training course as they look to be a part of the elite community of teachers in the future. A future educator needs to inculcate the observational skills in him/her in order to be able to understand the students in a better manner and deliver the subject matter to them in a feasible way and within the stipulated time. This is also very important for a trainee teacher as it helps him/her to increase the amount of patience and focus more on the students under his/her tutelage.