Erasmus+ Project „Lesson Observation by Colleagues:

an Effective Way to Enhance Teachers’ Competence”

01.06.2015 – 31.05.2017

An educational project for teachers entitled Lesson Observation by Colleagues: an Effective Way to Enhance Teachers’ Competence was prepared and carried out as a job shadowing project. Its goal was to give the teachers from IX Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace in Cracow an opportunity to broaden their professional competence (methods of teaching, new didactic techniques, teaching organisation, teaching of learning techniques particularly in science subjects, cooperation with students doing sport on a professional level, use of the Moodle platform, student motivation). Teachers who took part in the project have become better teachers for their students. They understand the concept of multiculturalism  better and they are more open-minded, they encourage their students to take part in international projects. The teachers developed their foreign language skills. The school strengthened its cooperation skills in Europe and it perfected the cooperation with its present partners from Germany and Italy. The participants of the project are highly motivated and have a greater job satisfaction.

The project had two stages: preparation stage (September 2015 – May 2016) when the Polish teachers hosted the German group and had their lessons observed (October 2015), and the foreign mobility stage (June 2016).

Six teachers  took part in the June mobility: maths, physics and chemistry teachers accompanied by English, French and German teachers. Those were the teachers who are interested in international cooperation and help with international exchange project at school (English and French teachers) they were also eager to develop their skills and key competences, the math teachers were looking for effective methods of student motivation.

Preparing for the foreign mobility, the teachers took part in a language and multicultural courses, and a workshop devoted to practical uses of colleague lesson observation. The foreign mobility took place from Monday 27.06.2016 to Friday 01.07.2016. The teachers observed 3-4 lessons and discussed 1-2 lessons with the observed teacher in accordance with the rules of colleague lesson observation. The teachers observed preparations for the lesson, analysed homework, short tests, tests, learned how to use the Moodle platform, observed school life and took part in it, talked with the German teachers, and at the end of each day evaluated it and prepared a report. In the afternoons, the project participants got to know the heritage of Middle Rhine in informal tourist situations that facilitated the development of language skills and interpersonal competence.

Methodology used for the preparation and realisation of the project: analysis of needs, definition of goals, setting the rules of realisation and formulating the expected results, project management (choosing the coordinator and persons in charge), determining the schedule: (language courses, multicultural course, lesson observation workshop, foreign mobility), budget estimation, organizational matters (air travel, food and accommodation, transport), quantitative and qualitative evaluation.

The participants of the project developed their language skills, broadened their knowledge of effective  teaching methods, especially in science subjects, acquired better skills in modern multimedia techniques (use of interactive boards and their software), improved the quality of their lessons, (better planning, better use of time) perfected their skills in student motivation, they also improved their skills in lesson observation – they learnt how to give, receive and implement feedback acquired in the course of colleague lesson observation to change the quality of their lessons, they raised their multicultural awareness, which resulted in their greater tolerance and empathy towards different cultures. Students have teachers who are better educated and more motivated.

The participants of the project, the applicant and the partner school strengthened their cooperation with other countries, they are more involved in European problems, more aware of value differences and more willing to accept them, the teachers improved their key competences and skills in project planning and its realisation. The schools gained recognition in the local communities.

Aleksandra Pagacz-Pociask, translated by Barbara Stanek

Cracow, 07.07.2017