ENGLISH PEDAGOGY

STUDENT TEACHING PRACTICE

OBSERVATION STAGE

Task 1: The School and Learning Environment

Name of student: Gonzalo Frez Arlegui

Name of School : Escuela Joaquin Edwards Bello
Number of students: 25
Date: 19/05/2010. Class: 3° Básico A

Briefly describe the following aspects:

1. The school:

Describe the general background of the school including the physical

location, organisation, student population, philosophy and educational and
behavioural policies.

It's Located in Av. Rodelillo, In C° Barón. It has around 700 students,

since it's elementary only. Its philosophy is mainly “Integration”; There are
several students with disabilities (both physical and psychological), and
they're all treated equally. There's also an Integration program in which
mentally impaired students receive special lessons to level them up with the
other students. Their behavioural policies are not as strict as other schools
I've been to, but the students behave fairly well, so there is not that much
need for it.

2. The classroom

Describe the atmosphere of the room and the levels of engagement in the room.
Make notes on seating, sight lines, space, air, light, whiteboard, equipment, etc

The classrooms are big enough for courses of 45 students, but the
courses consist of only around 30 students, so there is plenty of space for
the students. Since there aren't that many students, the teachers can perform
better, ensuring that each student receives the attention they need.
The students are seated in couples, in 3 rows of 8 students, and some
students have special seats due to their behaviour or learning necessities.
There aren't any obstacles which obstruct sight in the classroom, and it has
windows on both sides, so there is plenty of light in the room. Usually, the
windows are open so there is more ventilation in the classroom. The
whiteboard covers most of the front wall, so it's big enough for both the
students and the teacher.
There are 2 lockers in the classroom, and they store the equipment for
both the teacher (whiteboard markers, guide books, and such) and the
students (books, spare pencils and erasers, dictionaries, etc.)

3. The activities & resources

a) Make notes on the kind of activities used, the nature of student involvement,
balance of student doing things and teacher doing things

b) Describe the resources used and the materials available within the school.
How are the resources used in the classroom?

There are text readings and dictations on every class, and since the
books are stored in the classroom, all the students have to do the activities.
Sometimes the teacher prepares presentations on power point, which are
shown using a projector on the whiteboard. That makes the class more
interactive and fun for the students. They are interrogated frequently, and
they're called to the whiteboard.
There is a locker in the back of the room filled with books for the
students, spare pencils, the first aid kit, cleaning products and an earth
globe. There is another locker in the front of the room for the teacher, for the
storage of markers, pens and pencils, dictionaries, toilet paper and books.
Each classroom has its own broom, and it's perfectly clean upon the
students' arrival.

Task 2: Student´s learning

In this second observation task, you should focus on the things that help to create
conditions for effective learning and on the aspects that play a part in preventing
learning.

1. The learners
How motivated are the learners? Why? To what extent are they taking part
in their own learning? To what extent are they expecting the teacher to do
the work for them?

The teacher makes sure that she checks every activity done during
class, so everyone has the right answer. She also checks individually
for progress and completion of activities; She usually checks students
one by one and explains them why they're wrong . Since the presence
of an assistant teacher (me), the kids come up to me when in doubt,
 and I explain individually when I feel they haven't understood
completely.
The issues that affect the most at preventing learning are the
students themselves. They have a surprisingly short attention span,
so they distract easily. Other than that, there aren't any difficulties for
the students.

2. Behaviour during classroom activities

Describe the ways students are encouraged to participate in activities. Are
there any particular strategies for managing issues and motivating students?
Are there any students with special needs?

As far as behaviour, the students often delay the activities because

they start talking and don't focus on working. So far, I haven't
witnessed any fights, and their overall behaviour is good.

3. Discuss the learning styles and levels of English in the classroom.

The English classes consist mostly of vocabulary learning, helped by

images. Because of the course being a 3rd grade, the level of English is
fairly basic, and they have only learned simple present so far.