NEW RECIPE TWISTS FOR OLD INGREDIENTS - OBSERVE, DISCUSS AND ASSESS

NEW RECIPE TWISTS FOR OLD INGREDIENTS - OBSERVE, DISCUSS AND ASSESS

BABIC, Željka

Teaching observation and assessment is sometimes taken for granted. When one randomly looks atEFL methodology syllabi at the tertiary level in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is obvious that mostly there is only one class dedicated to teaching observation (if any at all) and the same amount of time is dedicated to assessment itself. Due to lack of time and especially funds, and sometimes good will on the part of some school authorities, lecturers and students are left to their own devices in trying to establish a systematic approach towards dealing with these basic issues, which are to be in the focus of their future work with students. Still, future teachers and their professors never cease to forget that both effective peer observation and assessment are of immense value to the on-going process, which is known as the practice of foreign language teaching. Farrel and Richards (2008: 85) claim that the mere fact that there is an equation between observation and evaluation results in ever so negative feelings towards observation. This aim of this presentation is to show the results of a small-scale project of raising awareness of necessity of introduction and implementation of more observation and assessment classes at the tertiary level, especially in the second cycle studies in the foreign language departments.The main focus is put on helping teachers to develop their own teacher decision making processes by eliciting the reflections on their own practices and comparing them to both positive and negative aspects emphasized through evaluationfocused observation. Keywords: raising awareness, peer observation, reflection.

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

2014

3566