Report of classroom observation

Introduction
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher
demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. This is one of William Arthur Wards famous
quote and it tells me that you should be a great teacher to inspire all the pupils around the
world. I hope I would be one but I would not be able to prove that for my first phase of
practical but most probably in the future by managing a classroom in a proper way without
creating any threatening situations in the specific setting.
Setting of the context
Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Tamil) Ladang Juru is one of the school which is situated
in the rural area and most of the pupils in the school are from Juru estate. The school do
accommodate 122 pupils and 12 teachers and each class from year one till year six consists
of twenty to thirty students. I was given the chance to do my first phase of practical in that
school for a month. Madam Krishnaveni was my practical counsellor in the school and she
had given me an opportunity to observe her year four class during her English lesson.
According to the Reading/Language Arts Centre (1997), Classroom setting affect
pupils behaviour towards learning and creating such environment could encourage them to
have a sense of belonging and ownership. Throughout my observation in this classroom, I
could conclude that, this classroom is very spacious as the pupils were given the chance to
move around the classroom and engage themselves in total physical response activities.
Madam Krishnaveni had arranged the tables and chairs using the independent nation state
seating chart where the pupils are forcibly separated into small clusters and their desks are
pushed together just to make sure each individual teams are able to face one another easily.
She had also instructed the excellent, average and weak students to be in one group so that
the pupils would have the chance to teach and learn together.
Besides that, the teachers table were placed in front of the classroom to make sure
the teacher keep an eye on all of the pupils. I also did observed that, there are information
boards behind the classroom but it is not fully fill with useful information. In my point of view,
Im impressed with the seating arrangements and also the placement of each range of pupils
in the groups. But information boards were not fully fill with useful information and moreover
teachers could assign this task to the pupils in order to shape their behaviour in keeping their
classroom clean and tidy.
Description of the classroom management.

Classroom management is all about using the provisions and procedures necessary
to maintain a climate in which instruction and learning can occur smoothly.(Dr. Maryellen
Weimer, 2008) I truly agree with this statement because a set of clear rules and class norms
which are developed could establish a proper environment that is responsible to shape a
pupils behaviour. Through my observation in the year four classroom, I found that the
teacher is managing the classroom well but there are some parts where she could make
changes in order to achieve a classroom management goal.
First of all, the facilities in the classroom can be improvised in the manner of having a
study corner at the back of classroom. There was a study corner in the classroom where the
teacher had kept some books on a table but it is not updated as those books are torn and
some of the books were not attractive. I could visualise that, this is the matter why pupils
were not attentive or showing interest in reading books. Besides that, a study corner should
be beautified with colours and pictures around it to attract the pupils attention but in that
classroom the study corner was been placed beside the dustbin and this is the reason why
pupils hate to read books and tend to make noise when the teacher is not in.
The part which attracted me the most was the motivational quotes around the
classroom. Quotes such as You are born with victory, Be the change you want to see in the
world shows that pupils were being encouraged daily. Besides that, I even observed that the
teacher is motivating the pupils by giving motivational bookmarks to the pupils as a reward
whenever they are doing well in the classroom. This shows that the teacher were not
hesitate to use B.F.Skinners positive reinforcement method as this is one of the way to
strengthen or shape an individuals behaviour.
Other than that, I also did found that the teacher had hanged a set of rules in front of
the classroom. There were five rules such as raise your hand before speaking, listen and
follow instructions, keep you classroom clean, respect your friends and talk only English
during English lesson. During my observation, I found that, the pupils were able to follow all
the rules wisely except for one which is speaking in English during English lesson. In some
cases, even the teacher is speaking in Tamil to make them understand the specific word or
even a simple sentence. In my opinion, grammar translation method is a traditional approach
and it should not be used in the classroom as it could only help in strengthening the
accuracy but not the fluency.
Teacher and pupils interaction during the lesson
According to Haim Ginott (1973), Learning is always a personal matter to pupils. I
believed in his statement because 21st century learning is all about student-centred where it

develops independence towards the learners by giving them the responsibility to learn on
their own. From my observation in the year four classroom, I found that, in some cases
teacher is using traditional approach rather than giving the pupils chance to interact with
each other. She instructs the pupils to read a text from the textbook and she explains it to
them rather than asking them what is it all about. This interrupts the communication between
the teacher and the pupils.
During my observation, she uses reading skill as a focussed skill. Thus, she
distributes worksheets to each pupils which content the activity named as sequencing the
event. Teacher asks them to read the sentences and sequence it in order individually. I found
the activity given was interesting but the pupils could involve in the lesson actively when they
do the specific activity in groups. Besides that, the teacher uses magical box activity at the
end of the lesson where the teacher plays music and pass the box around. Whenever the
music stops, pupil who is holding the box should pick up a question and answer it correctly.
From this, I learnt that we teachers should uses the skill of creativity in selecting activities
and from this activity for sure pupils will not make so much of noise and they will eagerly wait
for their turn.
Furthermore, I like the way the teacher controls the classroom as she uses signal
words to manage the classroom. Whenever the teacher says hip hip, the pupils will says
hurray and they will stop making noise. Through my observation, I found that, the teacher is
not using any threatening way in handling the classroom when it is noisy or when the pupils
misbehave. She uses signal words in handling them and through this I could observe that
there is a harmonious relationship between the teacher and the students.
Actions and decision to improve the classroom management.
Madam Krishnaveni had taken several actions to improve the classroom
management. One of the action is using the five golden rules. She had explained the five
golden rules to the pupils and the rules given is being followed by the pupils during the
lesson. She had also given some freedom to the pupils to give her justification for not
following the specific rules sometime. She had also told me that she is trying her best to
minimise the use of mother tongue in explaining the words to the pupils.
Besides that, the teacher is also using motivational bookmarks as her positive
rewards for her pupils. She gives rewards to two pupils who do well in her classroom during
her end of the lesson. She even talks to other pupils on why they are not focussing on the
lesson and helps them to identify their problem. Moreover, this type of reinforcement helps

the pupils to behave well in the classroom and she even told me that she could help some
pupils to shape their behaviour.
The suitability of the decision and actions taken by the teacher in the classroom.
In my opinion, actions taken by the teacher in managing the classroom is suitable for
all the pupils because through that type of actions, teacher could create an atmosphere of
mutual respect where all the pupils would feel safe in sharing their thoughts and feelings.
Choice theory by William Glasser states that teachers cannot directly control the behaviours
of pupils since they choose on how to react to their feelings.
Besides that, through this theory we could find that survival, love and belonging,
power, freedom and fun are the five basic needs that teachers should use in transforming
their classrooms into places where pupils desire to learn, produce quality works and behave
responsibly. Through giving freedom in justifying their points and having an open talk with
the pupils could possibly shape the behaviour of an individual student.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Im grateful for the wonderful opportunity that been given to me by my
teacher to observe the classroom. As a trainee teacher, Im still in the process of learning
more techniques on how to manage a classroom and I hope I could use all the criterias that
been learnt through this first phase of practical in my future classroom.