Classroom Observation

Joseph Pacheco
Niño M. Imperial
Anjeneth Aves
Aims
To introduce you to what real
classroom observation is
To get you aware of effective
English language teaching
To get you aware of reasons for
your classroom observation
To get you to recall your previous
English language classroom
situation
1. Preliminary questions
1. What is classroom observation?
2. What are the types of
observations?
3. What are the stages of
observation?
4. What tools are commonly used
for observation?
5. What areas do you look for
when you observe a teacher
teaching English?
2. Awareness of Effective
English Language Teaching
 Arethe statements below true or
false?
1. Teacher is well organized.
2. Students learn what they expect
from each lesson.
3. Teacher is enthusiastic about the
subject and know a lot about the
subject matter.
4. Lessons are presented in logical
steps which make learners easy to
understand them.
7. Teachers make lessons
interesting and fun.
8. Teachers encourage students to
ask questions.
9. Teachers give clear answers to
students’ questions.
10. Teachers give students time to
think about new information and
to connect to students’ own
experience.
11. Teachers use good techniques to
check students’ understanding.
12. There are a variety of practice
activities for individual work, pair
work and group work, and as
whole class discussions.
13. Teachers spend too much time
lecturing on new lessons and
rarely let students practice.
14. Teachers know well what
students have learned and what
15. Teachers treat students fairly
enough.
16. Students feel comfortable with
teacher’s leadership and are well
motivated to them.
17. Both teacher and students trust
each other.
18. Teacher uses relevant teaching
materials to make students
understand lessons.
19. Teacher gives a useful summary
of the main points of each lesson.
Reasons for real classroom
observation.
 Why should you observe a real
English language classroom?
Answer:
To understand what life is like in
the real classroom settings.
To develop awareness of effective
English language teaching.
To appreciate diversity.
To understand complexities.
To handle a variety of
circumstances, expectations,
students’ abilities, and subject
matter.
To gain adequate teaching skills.
Observation topics:
1. Lesson preparation
2. The teacher
3. Teaching and learning
4. Teaching materials
5. Classroom management
6. The students
7. Student learning assessment
Observation tool:
Checklist
 Name of Trainees:
 Name of School:
 Name of Supervisor:
 Name of Associate Teacher:
 Date:
 Class:
 Time:
 Textbook:
 Chapter/Unit:
 Aim of Lesson:
Lesson Plan And Teaching
Materials/Aids:
Clarity and usefulness of the
written plan
The teacher has prepared the lesson
plan well by himself/herself, and
understands it clearly.
The aim of the lesson plan is plain and
the objectives are specific and
achievable.
A variety of language skills are
expected to be practiced in the lesson
plan.
The time on the plan is realistic.
The teacher has stated clearly how to
Teaching and materials
adaptation
 Any teaching aids are clear, relevant and
helpful to the students.
 The teacher will use different but relevant
activities from other materials apart from
the textbook they are using.
Anticipation of problems
The teacher has thought about possible
difficulties in the lesson. E.g. What
grammatical problems the students might ask
about, what other vocabulary the students will
need, or if the students find the activities
difficult, what should the teacher do?
 DURING THE LESSON
Teaching the lesson
 There is a clear, positive start to the lesson.
 The teacher tries to elicit ideas from the students.
 The teacher uses different kinds of questions, not
just yes/no questions.
 The teacher uses the textbook as well as extra
materials prepared by him/herself appropriately
and meaningfully.
 The teacher understands about different types of
mistakes and knows how and when to correct
them.
 The pace of the lesson is right: not too fast, not too
slow.
 The teacher uses the lesson plan well.
 The teacher moves clearly from one stage to
another in the lesson.
 The objectives of the lesson are achieved.
Management and control of class
 The teacher’s voice is loud and clear. All the
students can hear him/her.
 The teacher does not waste time on meaningless
activities like drilling the date.
 The teacher organizes the board well.
 The teacher checks that the students understand
the instructions.
 The lesson is well managed, with the teacher
adopting different teaching roles appropriately
(organizer, monitor, facilitator, helper, etc.)
 The teacher gives clear instructions.
 The teacher is enthusiastic and smiles at students.
 The teacher uses students’ names.
 The teacher treats students with respect.
 The teacher listens carefully to what the students
say and responds appropriately.
 The teacher involves all the students in the class
during whole class work.
 The teacher encourages students with lots of praise.
 The teacher uses a range of resources
appropriately, effectively and economically.
 The teacher remains patient if the students
behave badly or do not understand the lesson.
 The teacher remains eye-contact with the
students.
 The teacher knows well about when to use
English, and to use Khmer appropriately.
 The teacher moves around the class and stands
in different places, not just in the front of the
class.
 The teacher is flexible in a way s/he conducts the
lesson. S/he solves problems and deals well with
unexpected events in the class.
 The teacher and students work in a relaxing
atmosphere during the lesson.
Student learning and
involvement
 The students are active, involved and
interested in all the activities in the class.
 The class is interesting and fun with
varied activities.
 The teacher gives students plenty of
activities to practice what they are
learning.
 All the students in the class get a chance
to contribute actively in the lesson.
 The students speak more than the
teacher.
Teacher’s English
 The teacher has planned her/his own
language well, and uses simple language
appropriate to the level of the class.
 The teacher speaks English through out
the lesson.
 Instructions for activities and for general
classroom management are given in
clear and simple English.
 The teacher uses English spontaneously
for unexpected events, answers to
students’ questions, comments, praise,
etc. when the teacher does not have time
to think and prepare.
 The teacher speaks English accurately.
Overall Comments:
Session 3: classroom
observation assignment
Aims:
◦ To get you ready for classroom
observations
◦ To create principles for conducting
the classroom observations
◦ To prepare some more classroom
observation sheets/ tasks
◦ To give some guidance for
observation tasks and report writing
after the observation assignment.
Principles for conducting
classroom observations
 Readthe statements on page 63
and say if they are true or false.
a. The observers must meet the
home-room teacher at least once
before the classroom observations
take place. (T)
b. …
How to write a report on
classroom observations
 Putthe headings of the report
below in a logical order.
1. During the observation……
2. Introduction ……
3. Objectives ……
4. After the observations ……
5. Recommendation ……
6. Before the observations ……
7. Conclusion ……
8. Your own evaluations ……
Qs & As