A Review of Technology-Supported Classroom Observation in Teaching Evaluation

Abstract

A variety of classroom observation tools have been designed in recent decades. It is confusing for educational practitioners to choose the appropriate tool in specific teaching contexts. This paper reviews relevant studies on classroom observation nationally and internationally in the past two decades. By comparing the dimensions of classroom observation, this study summarizes the research trends and notices that it is important to be aware of the cultural differences of different classroom observation frameworks. The following issues were then identified: (1) the concept of classroom observation research method is vague and the dimensions of the evaluation system are not sufficient to reflect the real classroom situation; (2) the evaluation method lacks flexibility; (3) evaluators' bias influences the results of analysis; and (4)most studies over-focus on quantitative research and neglect qualitative evaluation. The findings of this study are expected to provide deeper insights on classroom teaching and to guide the design of smart teaching analysis tools in the future.