A Research Proposal

On

An Exploration Into the Self -development Practices of Secondary Level

Mathematics Teachers in Kathmandu District

Submitted to

Mr.Dr. Hari Updhaya

In the Partial Fulfillment of the course of EDUC 501, Research Methodology

Submitted by

Mahendra Adhikari

M.Ed. in Mathematics

Facultyof Education

Tribhuvan University

16th July, 2008

 Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1Background
1.2Focus of the Study
1.3Research Purpose
1.4Problem Statement
1.5Research objectives
1.6Research questions
1.7Rationale
1.8 Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
1.9Limitations of the Study
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1Philosophical Considerations
3.2Methodological Approach
3.2.1 Population and sampling
3.2.2 Giving the Sampling Plan
3.2.3 Methods of Data Collection
3.2.4 Rationale for Data Collection
3.2.5 Developing the Rigor Criteria
3.2.6 Data Analysis
3.3Ethical Concern
3.4 Designing Chapter Plan
3.5Specifying Time Schedule
References
Appendices

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Development means positive change and growth. It is an indispensable phenomenon which is

essential for all. As professionals, everyone hope for a continuous growth in their

professionalism, be it a layman or a high profile professional. Development in a teaching

professional reaches its impact as far as to the entire world. As such, teacher development has

to be considered in highest terms of priority for the development of a nation. It is only

through good teachers that better and useful citizens are produced who can contribute

towards the nation’s development. This implies that a defective teaching results in the

generation of ineffective knowledge and skill among the learners which consequently

jeopardizes a country’s development as Underhill (in Head and Taylor, 1997) rightly says,

“Development means ….. keeping myself on the same side of the learning fence as my

students. This is the only way I can keep alive a sense of challenge…..and avoid getting in a

rut. If I am in a rut, then so is my teaching, and then so are my students.”

Teacher development is the process of becoming ‘the best kind of teacher I personally can be’

(Underhill, 1986 in Head and Taylor, 1997). Unlike teacher training, which is usually a sort

of compulsion on the part of the teacher, teacher development draws on teacher’s own inner

resource for change and growth. It is centered on ‘personal awareness of the possibilities for

change’ (Head and Taylor, 1997, p.1). Teacher development is self driven continuous thirst

for professional growth to acquire self satisfaction out of teaching profession. It is an intrinsic

drive of a teacher to learn, grow and advance. As Ur (1991) says, “….. the professional

teachers need to develop theories, awareness of options and decision making abilities’; these

3
 are not possible through mere trainings but one needs to be professionally aware by

undergoing a constant developmental process.

There are several approaches which teachers can drive on to develop their professionalism. In

other words, there are tools which teachers can use as instruments for their professional

growth. Some of these tools are: reflective practices, action research, developmental

portfolios, mentoring, peer observation, keeping diaries and maintaining journals and so on

and forth.

From the perspective of Mathematics teaching, teacher development is not lesser a valid

phenomena than any other discipline. English language teachers are, in fact, the pillars for the

success of the other teachers considering the practices of English medium schools. The

private schools, at large, are English medium in Nepal where the contents of other subjects

are taught in English. To impart the concept of the content subjects to the learners, the role of

students’ linguistic proficiency is vital which implies that English language teacher

development holds a pivotal role in the overall education in Nepal. Therefore, based on this

backdrop, the researcher aims to uncover the teacher development processes of the secondary

level private schools’ English language teachers in Nepal drawing relevant information from

the population of Kathmandu district.

1.2 Focus of the study

The general area of this proposed study is to find out the ongoing practices of the secondary

level Mathematics teachers in their professional growth and development. It seeks to evaluate

how well some of the teacher development tools are exploited by the mathematics teachers.

As Myrow (1977) says, if teachers aren’t part of the solution, they may become part of the

problem; this study will be dedicated to uncover the professional strategies of teachers

towards their development, pin point their problems, explore how well they are the ‘part of

4
 the solution’ to the ongoing ELT phenomenology and recommend what can be done to

improve the problematic areas of teacher development processes in the area of this research

study.

1.3 Research purpose

The purpose of this research is academic. It will be done as a part of partial fulfillment of the

course of M.Ed in mahematics education degree from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. As a

novice in the field of research, the researcher will benefit from this academic task with

opportunities to groom some concepts and knowledge about carrying out researches.

1.4 Problem statement

The statement of the problem is “An Exploration into the self Development practices of

mathematics Teachers.” My study will explore the strategies used by the Secondary level

matematics teachers in Kathmandu district.

1.5 Research Objectives

The study has the following objectives:

a) To uncover the insights and attitudes of teachers towards their professional

development

b) To find out the teachers’ perception towards the use of teacher development tools.

c) To find out the extent to which the tools of teacher development are being exploited

by the teachers.

d) To uncover the areas of weaknesses and strengths of teachers as teaching

professionals.

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1.6 Research Question

Research questions need to meet a number of requirements (Bryman, 2001; Holloway and

Wheeler, 1996; Marshall and Rossman, 1999; Morse, 1994; Pole and Lampard, 2002).They

need to be:

a) Clear, intelligible and unambiguous

b) Focused, but not too narrow

c) Capable of being researched through data collection : not too abstract, or question

which require the application of philosophy rather than of data

d) Relevant and useful, whether to policy, practice or the development of social

theory

e) Informed by and connected to existing research or theory, but with the potential to

f) make an original contribution or to fill a gap

g) Feasible, given the resources available

h) Of at least some interest to the researcher.

The main study question of this study of mine will be as follows:

• To what extent are the tools of teacher development used by Secondary level

mathematics teachers in Kathmandu for their professional development?

Sub questions will be as follows:

a) What insights do the teachers have about their professional growth?

6
 b) What strengths and weaknesses do the teachers have as teaching

professionals?

c) To what extent is the various tools of teacher development are being exploited

by the teachers?

d) What are the perceptions of teachers towards these tools of development?

1.7 Rationale

It is expected that the findings of this study will benefit many different stakeholders of

education. It will directly benefit the teachers because they will be able to conceptualize some

of the strategies that they can adopt in their everyday pedagogical practices. The teacher

educators will also equally be benefited as this study will help them to determine the areas

where the teachers are lacking. In other words, the teacher educators will be able to analyze

the need of the teaching practitioners and help them to design appropriate training materials.

Further, the school managers will also get an insight into the problems their teachers might

have in their schools in developing their profession and thus they will be able to incorporate

appropriate training materials for their teachers’ trainings.

1.8 Conceptual/Theoretical Framework

A research study should be grounded on an appropriate theoretical and conceptual frame

which is referred as theoretical and conceptual framework. Kumar (2006) says that

theoretical framework consists of the theories or issues in which our study is embedded and

the conceptual framework describes the aspects we select from the theoretical framework to

become the basis of our inquiry. The conceptual framework of this study is as follows:

7
 STRENGTHS/WEAKNES ATTITUDES AND INSIGHTS
SES AS PROFESSIONAL FOR PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS’

DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES PERCEPTIONS
TOWARDS THESE

Peer
Observation

TOOLS FOR TEACHER

DEVELOPMENT Action Research

Journal/Diary Developmental Portfolio

Reflective
Practices

1.9 Delimitations of the Study

a) The study will mainly be concentrated on the sample

population from Kathmandu Valley only.

b) The sample population may not be sufficient to represent

all the mathematics teachers throughout the country.

c) No considerations of the variables such as age, sex,

ethnicity is made in the selection of sample.

d) Only five tools of teacher development are taken into

consideration while evaluating the strategies of teacher

development used by the teachers.

8
 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

For the purpose of this study, I went through the researches already done which are

relevant from the perspective of my research. I went through “Attitude of Public and Private

School Teachers towards Teaching Profession” an M. Phil dissertation of Mr. Bishwa Balla

Thapa published in 2001. In this work Mr. Thapa has uncovered some of the attutudinal

aspects of private school teachers. This dissertation has given me an insight into the

attitudinal dimension of teachers towards teaching professionalism in Nepal and has been

helpful to direct my own study. Similarly, I also went through “Transfer of Teacher Training

Skills in the Classroom Situation” an M. Phil thesis by Girman Thapa published in 2007. This

has been helpful in determining the various ongoing teacher training programmes in Nepal

and their impact towards the development of teachers. In the same way, I also got hold of

“Teacher Professional Development in Higher Education: A Case of TU” from the

Kathmandu University library which was written by Mr. Tak Bahadur Galami in 2004 for his

M. Phil dissertation. This work gave me some ideas about the professional development

practices prevalent in higher education level and I have been able to draw some useful tips for

the purpose of my study. In the same way, “Teachers Perception and Practices of

Motivational Techniques in Teaching mathemdtics in Schools of Kathmandu District” written

for his M. Phil thesis by Shiv Ram Pandey in 2007 did trigger my insights into the teachers

techniques in motivating language learners. This has rendered me the capacity to estimate the

level of teachers’ awareness in language teaching and their professional development. Last

but no the least, an M. Ed dissertation written in 2008 by Ganesh Prasad Phuyal entitled “A

Study on Teacher Development Through Reflective Teaching: Perceptions and Practices of

mathematics Language Teachers” was an eye opener for me because it saved me from getting

my work redundant as one of the tools, that is reflective practices, of teacher development has

9
already been explored through this research. The conclusions and findings of this research

gave me the idea as regards to what I could further explore. Mr. Phuyal concludes about

reflective practices – “very deplorable condition of the use of reflective practices in our

mathematics teaching situation”. He uncovers some of the problems of practicing reflective

practices such as blaming trend, attitude problems of teachers, lack of interest, and

unsupportive school administration. This has triggered my attention to research on the other

tools of teacher development and look at how the situations are like.

To serve the purpose of guiding me in deciding the frame of my research work, I have

gone through the book “Research Methodology: A Step by Step Guide for Beginners” by

Ranjit Kumar published by Pearson Education Australia. This book gives an insight into what

a research work is and how it is to be carried out. I find it very friendly and comprehensible

resource for novice researchers like me. This would be one of the major sources of guidelines

for me during the entire process of this research work. Since my research is going to be a

qualitative one, “Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods

Approaches” by John W. Creswell from Sage Publications, Inc will help me in the

determining the design of my research. “Teachers’ Perspective on Self-regulated Learning:

An exploratory study in secondary and university education” a research work carried out in

the context of Dutch Interuniversity Center for Educational Research by Leiden University

will be resourceful for me to know exactly what a research work looks like and how to write

the report of a research. Keith Richard’s “Qualitative Inquiry in TESOL” will be another

important source of information for this qualitative study of mine besides the others which

will be referred if the situations demand me to have further references to fulfill the purpose of

my research.

As for the other sources, literatures related to mathematics education teacher

development will be vital from which I will be drawing theoretical concepts for the

10
development of my research work. Up to this level of completing my proposal, I have been

able to draw the some concepts from the review of various literatures to help me develop a

picture of what I will be doing throughout this research.

Reimers (2003) provides an insight into what professional development is all about.

According to him, “professional development, in a broad sense, refers to the development of

a person in his or her professional role.” This implies that teacher development is the growth

of a teacher as a teacher. Teacher development does not only have impact on the teacher

himself or herself but on the whole learners’ learning process, on the success of educational

reform. Teachers are lifelong researchers who will be researching till he or she quits teaching.

Getting into the teaching profession is vastly different from getting into any other profession.

The beginning teacher should know “the school structure, culture of teaching and appropriate

teacher role” (Ed. Smyth, 1987, p.82).

A teacher should be well acquainted with the resources available to his her access. He

or she must be able to exploit the tools for teacher development such as reflective practices,

action research, and role of portfolios and so on. Most importantly a teacher should be a

reflective practitioner. “Tutor and students must be able to relate to each other within a

particular paradigm…… whether they are aware of it or not” (Bolton, 2001, p. 24). This

speaks of the vitality of reflection between a teacher and a learner. Mathematics teachers need

to be professionally aware of the accurate tool to fit a particular purpose of language teaching

activity as Hammond and Bransford (2005, p. 158) says teachers must remember that

language is an act of identity, which means that even with their good faith, efforts and

supportive environment in which to develop additional varieties of language, students may

not automatically incorporate new school varieties of language into their linguistic

repertoires. This implies that mere trainings are insufficient but a lifelong developmental

process is highly demanding to tackle various problems emerging from the classroom.

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 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Philosophical considerations

According to Snape and Spencer (2003), “Indeed, how researchers carry it out

depends upon a range of factors including: their beliefs about the nature of the social world

and what can be known about it (ontology), the nature of knowledge and how it can be

acquired (epistemology) the purposes s and goals of the researcher, the finders of the

research, and the position and environment of the researchers themselves” (p.1)

Ontology

According to Snape and Spencer (2003 ‘ontology’ is concerned with beliefs about

what there is to know about the words .Within social research, ontological questions concern:

whether or not social reality exits independently of human conceptions ands

interpretations”(p.11). Ontology is a specification of a conceptualization .That is, ontology is

a description (like a formal specification of a program) of the concepts and relationships that

can exist for an agent or a community of agents. And it is certainly a different sense of word

than its use in philosophy. So, ontology is a specification used for making ontological

commitments. Practically, an ontological commitment is an agreement to use a vocabulary

(i.e., ask queries and make assertions) in a way that is consistent with respect to the theory

specified by an ontology. It has explained the nature of reality as subjective, multiple, and

personal, instead of referring to an entity, refers to a collection of mental events experienced

by a person; and society refers to a collection of persons with shared characteristics, and

geometry deals to a collection of a specific kind of intellectual activity. Any ontology must

give account of which words refer to.

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Epistemology

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies knowledge .It attempts to

answer the basic questions: what distinguishes true knowledge from false knowledge?

Practically, this question translates into issues of scientific mythology. It also forms one of he

pillars of the sciences of cognition, which, which developed from the information processing

approach to psychology.

When we look at the history of epistemology, we can discern a clear trend, in spite of

the confusion of many seemingly contradictory positions. The first theories of knowledge

stressed its absolute, permanent character, whereas the latter theories put the emphasis on its

relativity or situation –dependence, its continuous development or evolution, and its active

interfere with the world and its subjects and objects. The whole trend moves from a Plato’s

view, knowledge is merely an awareness of absolute, universal ideas or forms, existing

independent of any subject trying apprehended to them. Further epistemology analyze the

standards of justification for knowledge claims, that is, he grounds on which one can claim to

know a particular fact and subscribes the nature of knowledge as soft , tangible ,spiritual,

subjective ,and so on. And the knowledge is constructed with the share information, which

follows the multiple forms of constructivism. Knowledge id generated through interaction. In

the classroom setting, teachers and students are the co-constructor of the knowledge. So as

they also create the classroom culture as they are actively building up the rapport between

them for the interaction, co-operation, and collaboration.

Axiology

Axiology is the science of human values which, enables us to identify the internal

valuing systems that influence our perceptions, decisions and actions – to clearly understand

regarding what there is to know about the world or why what we do. The value is dynamic,

13
social, and individual. The social values and norm are generated with the meaning

negotiation among the people, which is relative to interaction, relation cooperation. So they

are dynamic and they are continuously been changing with the interaction.

3.2 Methodological Approach

Methodology is a process to discover new facts and information about a particular

subject matter. In order to explore the strategies used by secondary level mathematics

Teachers for their development, I will present the experience of the samples of my target

group from secondary level mathematics teachers from Kathmandu district.

Cohen et al (2000) said, “By method……..range of approach used in educational

research to gather data which are to be used as a basis for inference and interpretation and

prediction (p44), so method is used mainly for data gathering that incorporates technique and

procedure to collect data.” Since my study is descriptive one, it will embrace qualitative

method of research.

3.2.1 Population and sampling

There are two main methods of sampling (Cohen and Holliday, 1979, 1982, 1996:

Schofield, 1996). The research must decide whether to opt for a random sampling or

purposive sampling. As I am going to conduct a research on the strategy used by secondary

level mathematics teachers in Kathmandu district, it is quite difficult to collect data from all

the secondary level teachers in Kathmandu district .Therefore, I am going to collect data from

total forty secondary level mathematics language teachers. Among them I will select fifteen

teachers from the country side that is to represent the rural areas in Kathmandu and twenty

five teachers from the urban areas. Thus I will adopt random sampling for this purpose.

3.2.2 Giving the sampling plan

14
 For each group I will select sufficient people and the sample will be selected

randomly from each group e.g. rural areas and urban areas. I will not be considering the

gender bases.

3.2.3 Methods of data collection

According to Legard, Keegan and Ward, “In-depth unstructured interviews are one of

the main methods of data collection used in qualitative research.” Classic ethnographers such

as Malinowski stressed the importance of talking to people to grasp their point of view

(Burgess, 1982), and personal accounts are seen as having central importance in social

research because the power of language to illuminate meaning.

For my study, I will prepare questionnaire, and interview questions. I will conduct

interview, group discussion, and group interview. For interview the respondents will be

requested for their time. They will be directly interviewed and their answers will be either

recorded or noted down. In case if the respondents cannot give time they will be given a

questionnaire and they will answer the questions listed their in the questionnaire.

3.2.4 Rationale for data collection

As stated above, this study is descriptive one so qualitative methodology of research

will be undertaken. Hence, interview, and questionnaire will be the powerful data tools for

this research.

3.2.5 Developing the rigor criteria (validity and reliability)

15
 It is not possible to investigate the entire secondary level mathematics teachers from

Kathmandu. Thus to maintain validity in this research I will be conscious enough to select

scientific number of population. I will select total forty respondents: fifteen teachers from the

country side that is to represent the rural areas in Kathmandu and twenty five teachers from

the urban areas. As we know there are many secondary level schools, it won’t be reliable to

collect the data from the limited schools. Therefore I will select the respondents for data

collection from different schools. To make the findings reliable the information provided by

the respondents through questionnaire and interview will be checked, compared and analyzed

consciously.

3.2.6 Data Analysis

After interview and questionnaire each issue will be thematized and they will be given

certain headings and a conclusion will be drawn from each topic. It will be an interpretational

data analysis.

3.3 Ethical Concerns

Since this study is an descriptive one the participants/interviewee’s name will not be

mentioned. Even if they disclose their identity in questionnaire, their identity will be kept

confidential. Besides, the interview will be recorded only with prior permission.

3.4 Describing chapter plan

The chapter plans of the study are as follows:

Chapter 1: Introduction (Background, problem statement, objectives research questions,

rationale etc.)

Chapter 2: Literature Review (review of books, articles and other related journals etc.)

16
 Chapter 3: Research Methodology (Philosophical consideration, population and sampling,

sampling procedure, process of data collection etc.)

Chapter 4: Analysis and Interpretation of the data

Chapter 5: Findings and recommendation (conclusions, recommendations and pedagogical

implication etc)

3.5 Specifying Time Schedule

The tentative time for my study is about 10 weeks and the schedule is as follows:

1st week: proposal submission

2nd week: the respondent will be visited at different time as per their

convenience and date for interview will be fixed

3rd week: the respondents will be asked to fill the questionnaire with their answer

4th & 5th week: the data will be analyzed

6th-8th week: the report will be prepared

9th-10th week: the report will be submitted.

17
References

1. Snape and Spencer, L. (2003). The Foundations of qualitative research. In J. Ritchie

and J.

2. Hammond, L. D. & Bransford, J. (2005). Preparing Teachers for a Changing World.

Jossey-Bass. United States of America.

3. McIntyre. D.J & Byrd, D.M. (1996). Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers: The Field

Experience. Library of Congress. United States of America.

4. Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed

Methods Approaches. Sage Publications. New Delhi. India.

5. Kumar, R. (2005). Research Methodology: A Step by Step Guide for Beginners.

Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi. India.

6. Head & Taylor. (1997). Readings in Teacher Development. Katie Head and Pauline

Taylor. Great Britain.

7. Bolton, G. (2001). Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development. Paul

Chapman Publishing Ltd. London.

8. Smyth, J. (1987). Educating Teachers: Changing the Nature of Pedagogical

Knowledge. Taylor and Francis (Printers) Ltd. Great Britain.

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 9. Reimers, E.V. (2003). Teacher professional Development: an international review of

literature. International Institute for Educational Planning. Paris. France.

Appendices

Questionnaire

Dear Respondents,

My name is Mahendra Adhikari and I am a student of M.ED in Mathematics

Edication Department in Tribhuvan University. I need to carry out this research and prepare
the report in order to complete my course of M.Ed in mathematics education from Tribhuvan
University. The topic of my study is An Exploration into the Self-development Practices of
Secondary Level mathematics Teachers in Kathmandu District. This research is for the
purpose of my study and I assure you that the information you provide me will not be used
for any other purposes other than my study and will not be shared with any other people or
organizations.

Here are some of the questions or the statements that are related to exploring the Self-
development Practices of Secondary Level mathematics Teachers in Kathmandu District.
Please help me by completing the questionnires as honestly as possible because the realiabilty
and validity of this research work is expected not only to fulfill my requirements but it is also
expected to contribute some useful information to our existing mathematics education
scenario. This will certainly pave a new way to look at the problematic areas as well as
inadequacies in teachers’ professional development. I am hopeful that you would honestly
help me in this noble cause.

Respondent’s name (optional): __________________________________________________

School: ___________________________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________

19
Academic Qualification(s): ____________________________________________________

Years of teaching experiance: __________________________________________________

Professional Qualification (if Any): __________________________________________

Questions:

Directions: For each of the following questions, I have provided four options from which you

are requested to tick ( ) the closest and appropriate ONE from your own perspective. You
can draw from your own intuition, your experiences, feelings and opinions to answer the
questions.

1. In which one of the following areas, do you think that you are very good at?

a) Planning my professional development. ___________

b) Giving and receiving feedbacks ___________

c) Leading a professional community ___________

d) Carrying out reflective practices ___________

2. In which of the following areas, do you think you are not very good at?

a) Planning my professional development. ___________

b) Giving and receiving feedbacks ___________

c) Leading a professional community ___________

d) Carrying out reflective practices ___________

3. In your opinion, which one of the following do you think best measures your
development as a teacher?

a) Increment in my salary ___________

b) My promotion to a higher post ___________

20
 c) Getting to participate in a maximum number of trainings _________

d) The level of my performance as a teacher ___________

4. To what extent do you agree to the statement “I have achieved sufficient academic and
professional skills and there are not many things left for me to do in this regard”?

a) Strongly agree ___________

b) Agree ___________

c) Disagree ___________

d) Strongly disagree ___________

Please read the following and respond to the questions through question no. 5 to 7.

Classroom action research is one of the tools for teacher development. It begins with a
question or questions about classroom experiences, issues, or challenges. It is a reflective
process which helps teachers to explore and examine aspects of teaching and learning and
to take action to change and improve.

5. To what extent do you agree that classroom action research will be a useful tool in the
everyday teaching practices in your context?

a) Strongly agree ___________

b) Agree ___________

c) Disagree ___________

d) Strongly disagree ___________

6. How often have you used the tool of classroom action research in your teaching
practices?

a) Very often ___________

b) Often ___________

21
 c) Rarely ___________

d) Never ___________

7. Which one of the following do you think is the most possible hindrance mathematics
teachers, in your context, might have in carrying out classroom action research?

a) Unsupportive administration of the school ___________

b) The existing traditional methods of teaching ___________

c) Lack of knowledge and interest on the part of the teacher_________

d) No hindrance, it is being possible in my context ___________

Please read the following and respond to the questions through question no. 8 to 10.

Reflection is one of the tools for teacher development. It means thinking about and learning
from what happens in your classroom. Reflecting on what you do, why and how you do it,
what the effects on your learners are, helps you to identify and take action on areas for
improvement.

8. To what extent do you agree that reflective practices will be a useful tool in the everyday
teaching practices in your context?

a) Strongly agree ___________

b) Agree ___________

c) Disagree ___________

d) Strongly disagree ___________

9. How often have you used the tool of reflection in your teaching practices?

a) Very often ___________

b) Often ___________

c) Rarely ___________

22
 d) Never ___________

10. Which one of the following do you think is the most possible hindrance mathematics
teachers, in your context, might have in implementing reflective practices?

a) Unsupportive administration of the school ___________

b) The existing traditional methods of teaching ___________

c) Lack of knowledge and interest on the part of the teacher_________

d) No hindrance, it is being possible in my context ___________

Please read the following and respond to the questions through question no. 11 to 13.

Peer observation is a tool to help teachers find out about their own and their colleagues'
classroom practices so that they can take action to change and develop. It can be used
whenever teachers want feedback, for example, on teaching approaches, on learner
behaviour, on classroom management issues, or as part of classroom action research
projects. It involves a teacher sitting in on a lesson given by a teaching colleague and
making notes or completing a form which will be used to give feedback. It is intended to
provide a supportive framework where teachers can explore and share ideas about
teaching and learning. It is a two-way learning process - the teacher and the observer
learn from the experience.

11. To what extent do you agree that peer observation will be a useful tool in the everyday
teaching practices in your context?

a) Strongly agree ___________

b) Agree ___________

c) Disagree ___________

d) Strongly disagree ___________

23
12. How often have you used the tool of peer observation in your teaching practices?

a) Very often ___________

b) Often ___________

c) Rarely ___________

d) Never ___________

13. Which one of the following do you think is the most possible hindrance mathematics
teachers, in your context, might have in implementing peer observation?

a) Unsupportive administration of the school ___________

b) The existing traditional methods of teaching ___________

c) Lack of knowledge and interest on the part of the teacher_________

d) No hindrance, it is being possible in my context ___________

Please read the following and respond to the questions through question no. 14 to 16.

Teacher diary is a bit like a personal diary where you record events, thoughts and
observations. With a teacher diary you write about your experiences as a teacher.
It provides a focus for reflecting on things which happen in your class and why they happen
in the way that they do.

14. To what extent do you agree that teacher diary will be a useful tool in the everyday
teaching practices in your context?

a) Strongly agree ___________

b) Agree ___________

c) Disagree ___________

d) Strongly disagree ___________

24
15. How often do you maintain teacher diary in your teaching practices?

a) Very often ___________

b) Often ___________

c) Rarely ___________

d) Never ___________

16. Which one of the following do you think is the most possible hindrance mathematics
teachers, in your context, might have in implementing peer observation?

a) Attutudinal problem of the teacher ___________

b) The existing traditional methods of teaching ___________

c) Lack of knowledge and interest on the part of the teacher_________

d) No hindrance, it is being possible in my context ___________

Please read the following and respond to the questions through question no. 17 to 19.

A portfolio is a selection of materials which illustrate your professional growth as a

teacher. It could be a collection of your reaching resources, record of the statistics of your
own and your learners’ performance. It is a work in progress and helps you to identify,
focus and reflect on areas of interest to you as a teacher. What goes into it is your decision.
You choose what you feel best represents your knowledge, skills, achievements and
expertise. It enables you to plan, review and assess your professional development. You
decide how you will use it and whether it is for your eyes alone, or whether you will share
it with colleagues, mentors or supervisors.

17. To what extent do you agree that keeping and managing portfolios will be useful in the
everyday teaching practices in your context?

a) Strongly agree ___________

b) Agree ___________

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 c) Disagree ___________

d) Strongly disagree ___________

18. Which one of the following do you think is the most possible hindrance English
language teachers, in your context, might have in implementing peer observation?

a) Attutudinal problem of the teacher ___________

b) The existing traditional methods of teaching ___________

c) Lack of knowledge and interest on the part of the teacher_________

d) No hindrance, it is being possible in my context ___________

Thank you very much for your help. I am greatly pleased for the sincere help and support you
have given me. I know completing all these questions must have been tedious and boring but
this help of yours means a lot to me.

Thank you once again for your valuable time!

Mahendra Adhiakri

Tribhuvan University

Central department of mathematics education

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