Defining Success in Job Shadowing
TOP Teacher Observation Pedagogy/ Together Observing Peers
The TOP Training Course in Job Shadowing Principals at Atlantic Centre of Education held from 10-14 March 2025 kicked off a two-year Erasmus Plus KA2 project, a collaboration between four institutions. Teachers and staff at Atlantic Centre of Education were proud to welcome participants from partner institutions EOI Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Spain, CPIA, Milan, Italy, and Univerzum Ljubljana, Slovenia. The core objective of the week was for participants to get to know each other, introduce their institutions, define their goals, and collaborate in creating an initial job shadowing framework. The first course day focused on defining success in job shadowing.
After arriving at Dublin Airport and travelling to Galway City on Saturday, the 12 course participants met for the first time for dinner that evening at the Connacht Hotel in Galway City. On Monday morning, Atlantic Centre of Education’s Academic Director, Aoife Tamura, welcomed them before introducing them to Course Instructor Purva Srivastava in the classroom.
True to style, Purva wasted no time introducing engaging icebreaker activities to help everyone settle in, get to know each other, and lay a good foundation for the week’s intense collaboration. Purva formed three mixed-institution groups for the week’s group projects. Each organisation’s presentation on their institution, prepared in the run-up to course commencement, further added to group cohesion and mutual understanding.
Day 1 focus of TOP at Atlantic was defining ‘success’ in job shadowing. Purva delivered an insightful introduction, providing much food for thought and discussion. The participants discovered and concluded that setting clear goals and objectives before engaging in any job shadowing activity is paramount.
The goals must not only benefit the observer but also the observee, meaning both teachers grow professionally.
Job Shadowing Success Indicators
Whilst exploring job shadowing success indicators, participants became conscious of several new aspects. To begin with, job shadowing is about developing new and improving existing teaching skills. The job shadowing process delivers new teaching strategies and a fresh awareness not only of the teacher’s but also of the pupils’ classroom experience.
Job shadowing is at its most fruitful when observers and observees collaborate, collect feedback, and discuss their respective job shadowing experiences openly, respectfully, and honestly.
Much of the success of structured job shadowing hinges on the existence of job shadowing tools and a clearly defined roadmap.
From the outset, teachers completing job shadowing projects must first understand its function, goals, and execution. Here is the definition Purva provided:
During discussions and group work, participants recognised that success in job shadowing equals in-depth learning and skills development. Success in job shadowing means that teachers hone their class management, expand on their techniques, and master student engagement as material delivery.
The Importance of Exceptional Job Shadowing Tools
At the end of the morning’s work and discourse, participants embraced the week’s objective, i.e. to lay the foundation for an openly available job shadowing tool for educators across Europe, even more.
In her reflective journal, Chiara Pirola put her experience very succinctly:
What is your experience of Job Shadowing? How do you feel about being observed?
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