Describe the types of classroom observation.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Ans: Answer would ideally include: Classroom observations can range from highly structured to semistructured to unstructured. Structured observations typically require the observer to do nothing but observe, looking usually for specific behaviors, reactions, or interactions. Because so many things are going on in a given classroom when observations are being made, it is often difficult to conduct structured observation. Unstructured or semistructured observations allow the researcher the flexibility to attend to other events or activities occurring simultaneously in the classroom or to engage in brief, but intense, periods of observation and note taking. In addition, unstructured observations are more typical of qualitative data collection, since they are “free flowing,” allowing the researcher to shift focus from one event to another as new--and perhaps more interesting--events occur.