Views of Teachers Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language on Developmental Classroom Observation

Abstract

The professional development in foreign/second language teaching is gradually evolving from a top-down to a bottom-up approach where the process is initiated by the teachers themselves. This approach has also influenced classroom observation as one of the professional development opportunities, and developmental classroom observations have become one of the most frequently used professional development practices, particularly in the context of English language teaching. However, the literature indicates that studies on classroom observation in English language teaching are rather limited. No relevant studies were identified in the field of teaching Turkish as a foreign language. In this regard, the present study was carried out with 7 (seven) teachers working at TÖMER in a state university in Türkiye and aimed to explore the views of teachers of Turkish as a foreign language concerning classroom observation before the observation process and after its implementation. This study used a basic qualitative research approach to examine participants’ views on classroom observation. The data collection process involved semi-structured interviews, and the data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings of the study showed that most participants experienced an unsystematic observation process and had never previously experienced a developmental classroom observation. Furthermore, the findings revealed that although classroom observation led to negative emotions such as tension and anxiety among participants, most participants had a positive attitude towards the process and valued the contributions of classroom observation more. Finally, the findings indicated that developmental classroom observation contributed to fostering reflective thinking and learning, improving classroom practices, and alleviating negative emotions, and that a large majority of participants wanted to use developmental classroom observation in their future professional development. The study concludes with recommendations for future research as well as for the institution where the study was conducted and for other institutions in similar contexts.