Most of the recent educational innovations have been poorly understood in the schools, and were therefore delayed and deformed in their implementation. When a new program is adopted, it is usually handed to the teachers for implementation, with only s...
Most of the recent educational innovations have been poorly understood in the schools, and were therefore delayed and deformed in their implementation. When a new program is adopted, it is usually handed to the teachers for implementation, with only subminimal resources and training to support them in their efforts. Dissemination works best when accompanied by the support necessary to help teachers fulfill the new roles and functions they are to learn and implement. The support must be provided in the schools and classrooms. The tasks of disseminating and implementing new practices and improving the teacher's performance constitute precisely the domain of clinical supervision.
The profound underestimation of the difficulties teachers face in learning how to teach and in improving their reaching on the job is at the root of some of the major problems in the preservice and inservice education of teachers. Teacher preparation programs do not offer much real help to student teachers. So, too, many supervising teachers are well meaning but unskilled. Others are indifferent. One of the reasons for the inadequacies of the teachers preservice program is the lack of an expertly supervised induction into teaching. The inadequacies often increase after the teacher takes the teaching job, because clinical supervision is even less available at that point than it was in the preservice phase of his teaching career.
A central objective of clinical supervision is the development of a professionally responsible teacher who is analytical of his own performance and open to help from others. The teacher needs a sustained, expert program to help him relinquish his existing classroom behavior in favor of new behavior. Such a program most focus on in-class supervision, clinical supervision.
In the interest of focusing attention anew on classroom supervision, some have attempted to distinguish between general supervision and clinical supervision. General supervision refers to the attention and concern supervisory leaders give to organizational factors such as healthy climate and supportive relationship. Clinical supervision, by contrast, refers to face-to -face encounters with teachers about teaching, with the intent of professional development and improvement of instruction.
General and clinical supervision are, of course, interdependent. Meaningful classroom interventions are built upon healthy organizational climates, facilitated by credible leadership and premised on a reasoned educational program. Though general supervision is an important and necessary component of effective supervision, without clinical supervision it is not sufficient.
Upon the review of literature on clinical supervision, the cycle of a peer clinical supervision model might be suggested as follows:
1. Preparing a principal. He or she should understand the concept of clinical supervision and create a supportive climate for it.
2. Starting with very few teachers: about two volunteers for one supervision teacher.
3. Make clear to these pilot teachers not only the concept of clinical supervision, but also that their help in assessing an refining the process will be greatly appreciated.
4. Planning a lesson. The pilot teachers together plan a lesson. The lesson is planned in terms of the objectives for the students and the teacher. A plan commonly includes specification of outcomes, anticipated problems of instruction, materials and strategies of teaching processes of learning, provisions for evaluation.
5. Observing instruction. The supervising teacher observes the instruction in person or by way of other observers and other techniques for recording classroom events.
6. Analyzing the teaching-learning processes. Following the observation, the teacher and the teacher analyze the events of the class.
7. The conference. The conference participants are generally the supervising teacher and the teacher. Other participants may join them.
8. Asking the pilot teachers to candidly evaluate the pilot program as a professional resource, preferably in a faculty meeting so that all can hear.
9. Encouraging other teachers to try it out.