A MORE STANDARDIZED CLASSROOM OBSERVATION

ZENY G. ROBLES

There is a crucial need to upgrade the assessment tools for teachers, as everyone – from the parents, students, stakeholders, even school officials – is banking on teacher qual i t y.

This can be overwhelming, in light of the already numerous responsibilities of teachers, but this should be taken in a positive and rewarding light.

The Department of Education (DepEd) recognizes that teachers play a crucial role in upgrading the quality of teaching and learning process.

It is in this regard that improving their performance through different parameters is vital in achieving quality education.

The classroom observation mandated in the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers – Results-Based Performance Management System (PPST-RPMS) has become more objective and standardized, and is used for mentoring, coaching, performance review and evaluation which supports the teachers’ on-going professional development. It has pre-determined indicators that have been agreed upon by the teachers themselves and the observers, ensuring the teachers’preparedness as they know exactly what to prepare and what teaching behaviors are expected from them in the observation.

It is also worthy to note that the classroom observation raters are the Head Teacher, Master Teacher, and principal. Observations at the Schools Division Office (SDO) level shall not be given direct weight in the performance review of a teacher.

Teachers who attended the recent series of orientations and trainings on RPMS conducted by DepEd, through its Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development (BHROD), in partnership with the Philippine National Research Center for Teacher Quality, see the PPST as a simplified way to meet the basic needs of teachers for professional growth and a structured tool to measure teachers’performance fairly and squarely.

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The author is Teacher III at CAFÉ Elementary School, Concepcion, Tarlac