What is the problem we are addressing?
There is a very large number of classroom observations for teachers that are carried out by the concerned visitors in each school (coordinator - academic vice - school principal - mentor) in order to follow up teachers performance and create professional development plans to provide support and improve performance, and this requires filling out the class observation form that includes the main axes of teacher work, and each axis includes several elements for evaluating performance, and each element must have a description of the evidence that applies according to observation, and this recommendations must be written to the teacher about some of the elements in which his performance was inappropriate and needs improvement, and these recommendations are specified in special guide instructive by the Educational Supervision Administration. The problem is that filling out this form, including its many elements, requires big time and effort from the visitor to do it, and need from visitor to memorize the many recommendations formulas, or refer to the guide to obtain them. On the other hand, visitors are required to analyze the data of the classroom observations forms that they do to know the needs of teachers, and the strengths and weaknesses of the department, school, or schools, and this process also needs experience in analyzing data, in addition to a great time and effort to do it, not to mention the errors that can occur during the collection or analysis of this huge data.
What is our solution?
Creating an easy application using MS Excel, which includes school, class, teacher, and visitor data that is entered once, and also includes the approved observation form, so that the data entry process depends mostly on choosing from a pre-existing list (grades - teachers - possible recommendations for each item of evaluation (recommendations for each item range between 2 and 7) or use mouse click to select a description of evidence. It also includes command buttons to do the following:
- Sending a ready-made message via e-mail to the teacher and other parties to be identified (the message can be modified) attached to it an observation form in PDF format. A copy of this form is also kept in a special folder on the user's computer.
- A button to export observation data to a special record to be processed automatically and immediately and exported to several reports.
- button to retrieve, edit and re-export it.
- Delete observation button.
- A button to show or hide the statistical reading of the data.
The application also includes a number of reports that are produced automatically once the classroom observation data are exported, which form an analysis with graphs of this data in the form of information that helps in making decisions. Including reports of performance comparison at the teacher, department, departments or schools level.
An overview of our impact
Facilitate work, save effort and time, ensure the quality and accuracy of the entered data, and provide a database of teachers 'needs to develop and improve their performance, which will positively affect students' performance and achievement. In addition to obtaining analyzes and reports that help in making appropriate decisions at the performance level of each teacher, department, school or schools by analyzing and processing the entered data in real time.
Examples of implementation
For example: an academic vice in a school that includes 70 teachers, and he averages two observation per teacher per month over a period of approximately eight months, and he is asked to fill out a class observation form for every observation visit he makes, and each observation includes nearly 20 evaluation items, not to mention other data On the form. If he does this manually and is content with writing the form in his own handwriting or even printing it through Word, we can express that in a simple calculation 70 x 2 x 20 x 8 = 22,400 data elements that result from his observations and it need to collect, analyze and convert to information and then make decisions, all this will require a lot of time and effort, not to mention the mistakes that can happen during it. With the use of this this application, it will save more than 90% of the time and effort in the process of entering, collecting and analyzing data, and it will obtain results, analyzes and reports that are largely accurate that are automatically updated with each data entry process, which will help him whenever he wants to make decisions in a suitable good time. This will certainly contribute to improving the performance of teachers by providing feedback, support and assistance, which will be reflected in the achievement and performance of students.
What are our future goals?
- Largest possible number of those involved in implementing classroom observations benefit from this app.
- Create an added value for work, and a positive impact on developing and improving the performance of teachers which make reflection on student achievement and performance.
- Look to others to contribute in development this app (mechanism of action - content - outputs ... etc.)
- Improving the performance of the application through the current environment (MS Excel) or any other environment (mobile application - application programmed in one of the programming languages)
Note: There is a future plan to do this in cooperation with colleagues in the school to convert it into a programmed application using the available programming languages that help increase its flexibility, and link the stakeholders to each other at the school, schools and ministry levels.
How can someone else implement it? What do they need?
The application is easy and simple, and it can be run on any computer that has the Microsoft Excel application available, and it will not require more than enabling the macro in Excel and then entering some data once, then starting to use.
