The Reflection
For the last few years, I have always had at least one observer in my class. Usually one of my colleagues from King’s College, Nepal.
This time however there were two, one from King’s and one from another institution.
(I teach Influential and Impactful Communication to MBA students at King’s. It’s a two months course and each class is two hours long from 6.30 to 8.30 in the morning.)
After observing my class for a month, here’s the final reflection by Manchan Tiwari (former Head of the Department and Associate Professor at Kathmandu Engineering College). He has recently joined a private school in Hetauda.
With his permission, I’m sharing what he sent me as is:
Hello dai,
I would genuinely like to apologize for being too late to write a reflection of your class. I actually was confused about what I should be writing as a reflection. It felt good to be in your class. I never felt like an observer, cause in my mind I was always involved as a student, which was a big surprise for me.
Reflecting on that, I now feel it is quite a challenging task to be an observer in your class or in other words to not be a student in your class. In all of my years as a student (at least in my memory), I believe this was the only class where I never wandered off to an imaginary land in my mind and was fully present there for the whole duration. I felt engaged and driven to participate (though you told us not to, sorry for that dai).
But, having said all this, I was actually confused about what my reflection should be. After being in Navodaya for around 2 months, I am beginning to realize what I learned from you. Maybe the realization hit me as soon as I raised my hand to answer your question, even though I had restrained myself from doing it for the previous 3 days of attending. Maybe it's just settling and sinking in now. Or maybe I was too proud to admit it there and then.
To be honest, I always thought that I was a very good teacher due to the fact that I had 12 years of experience in teaching. Also, the confirmation from a few students and accolades from the management would validate my perception.
Being in your class made me realize how wrong I was and how much I had to learn. I now feel that your class was probably the best way to start my journey in education. I truly believe this is the start for me. I am beginning to realize how different teaching and learning are. I was only fixated on my teaching whilst ignoring the major aspects which are associated with teaching. I felt I have yet to learn the complexities as well as the simplicities of teaching and learning.
I remember one sentence that you had written somewhere, learning is a messy process. I am beginning to understand that. And, yes I am beginning to understand that there is still a lot yet to understand. Thank you dai for showing me this.
With Regards,
Manchan Tiwari
Thank you so much Manchan for your honest reflection.
This is probably one of those reflections that made me think about the value of classroom observations - for both observer and observee (me) - even more deeply.
My thoughts after reading his reflection
After reading Manchan’s reflection, first, I am starting to see the differences between Immediate Reflection and Delayed Reflection.
The immediate ones can be superfluous and reflective of the “feelings” at that moment. Like, when he admitted this,
“I actually was confused about what I should be writing as a reflection. It felt good to be in your class. I never felt like an observer, cause in my mind I was always involved as a student, which was a big surprise for me.“
In the past, I used to get slightly disappointed with the reflections shared by observers. Because usually, their reflection focuses more on the “feelings” part rather than on the “thinking” and “learning”.
But I am taking responsibility for my disappointment. I was expecting them to give me quick reflections on their experience right away. I forgot that the meaningful reflection process takes days, sometimes months.
Second, Manchan’s reflection reinforced my belief in continuous and systematic observation. If I could, I would install this type of observation in every educational institution. (Of course, one-shot, unannounced, admin-driven observations have their purpose.)
And third, I liked that he realized learning is a messy process, and how different teaching and learning are. For me, reflections like this are the highest form of feedback.
Teaching is a "thinking” profession and I’m glad that this experience made Manchan reflect on his earlier teaching years and think about how he could implement new insights at his school.
Want to observe my class?
You are welcome to observe my classes. If you are a teacher or trainer or anyone interested in learning what happens in my class, you can come to my class.
However, I have a few conditions too.
It can’t be a one-shot observation for 10 mins or 20 mins. You will have to attend the class for at least a month and stay in the class for the whole 2 hours. And 15 minutes extra for post-observation discussion.
You can not interrupt or participate in the class. You must stay silent, take notes, and keep a record for a month. You may take pics and videos from behind.
You must write/record your reflections on each class and then share them with me. We can also discuss a suitable framework for taking notes.
Finally, you must also share with me a final reflection.
If you are working in and around Kathmandu, and want to join my classes, let me know.