Teacher Development through Classroom Observation in Rural Balochistan: Action Research Study

The aim of this paper is to examine whether structured classroom observation, along with supportive feedback, can support teachers’ development across multiple rural public schools in Balochistan, Pakistan. Action research methodology following Kemmis and McTaggart’s cycle of planning, action, observation, and reflection, was used to collect the data across 2 cycles of planned classroom observations and feedback from 2o teachers across 3 government schools in rural Balochistan. For Cycle One, a comprehensive 10-item observation checklist was used to identify the strengths and the areas where teachers needed support, which was followed by specific feedback to the teachers. The second round of observations was focused on areas that needed further attention such as questioning techniques and use of real-life examples. Findings shows that cycle two scores were higher than cycle one. This study suggests that this low cost context-specific, supportive observation technique can be considered a practical alternative to the generic, imported teacher development programs currently being provided by the Education Department.