it is a report containing the aspect that affect the learning process.

1. PROYECTO PEDAGOGICO
PSICOLOGICAL IMPACT OF OBSERVATION IN TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
DAVID RIVERA SOLANO
TUTOR:
LIC. ELIUD BEDOLLA
UNIVERSIDAD DE CORDOBA
FACULTAD DE EDUCACION
LICECIATURA EN EDUCACION BASICA CONE NFASIS EN HUMANIDADES E
INGLES
IV SEMESTRE
MONTERIA
2010

2. PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT
To understand the psychological effects on the observed teacher, we need to
take into account the power relationships among the different parties involved.
When the observation is carried out as part of a teacher preparation course, the
participants are the observed teacher and the observer or examiner. When the
observation is part of an ongoing in-house development programme, we usually
need to add the head teacher or director of studies. For the purposes of this
article we can treat learners as a constant, as
one of the aims of observations is to establish how teachers cope with diverse
groups.
We also have to consider the attitudes towards learning, development and
authority of the people involved. It is the interaction of those attitudes and
relationships that make or break an observation.
Here is a list of preconceptions that, in different combinations, can lead to an
observation becoming a traumatic experience, or an exercise in conformity.
• Learning is an input-output system.
• Learning has specific and uniform goals.
• Learning stops at the acquisition of a certificate of some description.
• There are specific ingredients that a good lesson absolutely must have.
• There are specific models for good lessons.
• Mistakes make you lose face and must be avoided.
• Anything new is either suspect, or an improvement on the old.
• Authority should be accommodated and appeased at all costs.
We may also need to consider the following possibilities:
• Teachers having received contradictory feedback, or conflicting recipes and
lists of dos/don’ts from different trainers or observers.
• Teachers having had experience of observers who were more than happy to
tick off (mental or actual) boxes next to perceived ‘essential ingredients’ of a
lesson; that is, observers who could not tell the difference between actual
teaching/learning procedures and going through the motions, or could not be
bothered to try.
• Teachers being aware that the observer’s negative comments may lead to
their failing the lesson/course, or not being rehired the following year. As a
result, we may well be presented with the following teacher behaviours:

3. • Avoiding experimentation.
• Uncritically adopting what are perceived as tried-and-tested, correct, authority-
approved procedures, or whatever teaching practices are in vogue at the time.
• Giving observers what they want, or what the teacher thinks they want.
• Going back to a default style of teaching when unobserved.
Since the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of teachers, observers, and directors
of studies have not been formed in a vacuum, all observationrelated problems
are interconnected with problems at higher-level contexts (i.e. social and
educational). For example, sometimes the true aim of observations is neither
learning nor development. Student-teachers may attend courses with the sole
aim of getting a teaching certificate, rather than actually learning to teach. In
such cases they will tend to do the bare minimum and go through the (not
infrequently prescribed) motions. Schools may organise seminars and
observations merely for appearances’ sake. In this case, teachers are unlikely
to teach ‘regular’ lessons, that is, lessons that include elements of risk,
exploration and experimentation. Having said that, there are instances when
observed lessons are as close as possible to unobserved ones. It is when
colleagues who value and trust each other agree to swap observations for their
own development (e.g. Norrish, 1996). Unfortunately, as far as I know,
observations conducted in such a non-hreatening context are not the norm. Of
course, peer observations are also carried out as part of teacher preparation
courses or staff development programmes. Although stress levels may be lower
in these cases, these observations are compulsory and, therefore, cannot be
entirely stress-free (e.g. Cosh, 2004). Does this mean that observations by an
outsider are necessarily futile? I think not. Observers can find out quite a lot
about teachers’ strengths and limitations, as well as their perceptions and
beliefs.
MEASUREMENT AND OBSERVER EFFECTS
In observational research, results can be changed or biased by the act of
measurement itself. This is called a measurement effect .
What are measurement effects? What is an observer effect? How can it distort
observational data?
One type of measurement effect is called an observer effect. It occurs when
subjects alter their behavior because an observer is present. For example, a
developmental psychology student might decide to study parent/child
interactions by bringing video equipment into homes and recording the behavior
of parents and children. The presence of an observer is likely to change the
behavior of both parents and children. Similar problems affect every television

4. documentary about particular societies or cultures: it is always possible that the
presence of a camera changes behavior.
What are unobtrusive measures, and why are they used?
One way to avoid observer effects is to use unobtrusive measures (Webb,
Campbell, Stanley & Sechrest, 1966) in which the subject is not aware of being
observed or tested. An unobtrusive study of parent/child interactions in a
department store might use video records from security cameras. Unobtrusive
measures are used to prevent the observer effects that may occur when a
person knows he or she is being observed.
Webb, Campbell, Stanley, and Sechrest told how a museum wanted to
measure which of its exhibits was attracting the most interest from visitors, but
they did not want to bother visitors with a questionnaire. They came up with a
clever unobtrusive measure: they examined the amount of wear on the floor
tiles by each exhibit. When the tiles in front of an exhibit showed more wear and
tear, they could assume more people were stopping there to look at the exhibit.
What unobtrusive measure was used in a museum?
The German researcher Eibl-Eibesfeldt used a form of unobtrusive measure in
his studies of native cultures. During some of his movie making, Eibl-Eibesfeldt
put a mirror in front of the lens of his camera. In that case, the camera
photographed everything off to the side rather than things in front of it. Eibl-
Eibesfeldt would obtain permission from a family to film their everyday
behaviors. Then he would point his camera away from them and start the
camera running.
How did Eibl-Eibesfeldt minimize observer effects with a "somewhat sneaky"
technique?
The people knew enough about cameras to assume he was not photographing
them if the camera was pointed a different direction, so they "acted natural" and
Eibl-Eibesfeldt was able to photograph them interacting in natural ways while
they thought they were off-camera. This was somewhat sneaky but probably
essential for getting an accurate record of un-self-conscious behavior and
avoiding observer effects.

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 www. gabrielatos.com
 http://www.psywww.com/intropsych/ch01_psychology_and_science/mea
surement_and_observer_effects.html