ABSTRACT
Student teachers have much to learn from observing you and your colleagues, but it seems that the more skilful the teaching, the easier everything looks, and the more difficult it is for observers to appreciate the complexities of classroom life and understand how success is achieved. They may, indeed, misunderstand what is going on if they are not thinking about the class and the teaching in the same way the teacher is. Student teachers can, however, achieve a much fuller understanding of a particular lesson, if, following observation, they have an opportunity to discuss the lesson with the teacher. The teacher then has the opportunity to talk about the kinds of pupil activities and progress he or she was aiming to promote, the actions taken to bring these about and the conditions impinging on the teaching which had to be taken into account when deciding what to do. One of the most valuable ways in which you can help student teachers to understand the complexities of classroom teaching and to learn more about teachers’ skill, strategies and achievements in the classroom is through observation with follow-up discussion.
