Observation & Conferencing Techniques

• Observation is the process of both watching and listening to an event, group or individual. Observation is an important part of the educational discipline. Instructors must observe students in order to evaluate them, and those aspiring to be educators must observe classrooms as a way to learn how educators conduct a classroom.

Observing Student Skills

• Instructors often use observation to determine what students need. Students do not always know what they need, so asking them will not always be effective. Instructors instead observe their students to determine where the students need help, according to Slide Share. Normally, observation occurs in a participatory way, with the instructor in the room with the students and influencing student behavior.

Recording Observations

• When performing an observation, the observer will need recording devices, such as a notebook or clipboard, that will help her keep track of specific data, according to Audience Dialogue. In other cases, the observation can be recorded with a video camera.

Conferencing Goals

• Conferencing is commonly used by teachers to discuss educational matters with students, especially in writing classes. With conferences, students bring their ideas and sometimes the written paper draft to the educator and they discuss it. The educator can ask the student questions with the hope of encouraging the student to generate original ideas. The instructor can give the student constructive feedback on either the mechanical aspects of the writing or on the overall rhetoric of the writing. Conferencing is helpful because the educator can answer the student's questions.

Video Conferences

• Video conferencing is an option when the instructor is not able to meet with the student in person. The video conferencing often occurs through a webcam, and the video created by the webcam is transmitted between the student and the educator over the Internet. Video conferences allow the educator to point to specific parts of the essay to provide constructive feedback. Video conferencing works better than telephone or email conferencing because students can see the body language of the educator, which can give the student added feedback, according to South Dakota State University.