InTASC STANDARD 3: The teacher works with others to create environments that support

individual and collaborative learning and that encourage positive social interaction, active
engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
Name of Artifact: Observation log/journal
Course: FL 561: Teaching Second Languages: Theory into Practice
Date: Fall 2017
TESOL Standards Addressed: 3b, 3d
Rationale:
The second artifact showcases my ability to work with other teachers to create
environments that are positive places for growth and development in second or foreign language
learning. This artifact is an observation log and a journal in which I recorded pertinent
information regarding the practices of seasoned language teachers and the ways that they
facilitated communicative language teaching and motivated students to participate and be
engaged in the learning process. Throughout the compositions, I make note of specific tasks that
each teacher engages in which or adds to or detracts from second language learning or
acquisition. I worked with French, Spanish, and ESL teachers who agreed to collaborate with me
by allowing me to sit in and observe full sessions of their language classes. Nordmeyer (2008)
advises teachers to form partnerships. He says, “In order to integrate language and content, ESL
and general education teachers can work together to plan, teach, and assess in ways that support
ELLs” (p.38). Of course, the same general principle applies to other foreign/second language
classrooms.
In my log and journal, I looked at details such as the way that students were seated and
how classroom decor contributed to or diverted attention in the classroom. I observed and
analyzed the ways that each teacher redirected off-task students and also took note of other
classroom management skills. I kept track of how each teacher organized their classroom
activities and the overall classroom culture and atmosphere. To illustrate, some teachers created
and solidified classroom culture by recitation of a classroom creed. I explored what made this
practice more than than a mechanical ritual. I thought about similar practices that I could use
within my own classroom to contribute to classroom unity. Though I did not opt for a classroom
creed, I did establish customs that would likewise unify my class and endear my students to me.
My observations allowed me to see firsthand how forging such a unity motivated students to
accept and use what they learned from me. Examples in my own classroom include giving
myself a title that only my current students have used as opposed to past and even future
students. I likewise assign nicknames to students, and we have classroom discourse in Spanish
class that we use when we see each other throughout the day that intrigues other students. I
noticed that once teachers presented objectives, they held the class responsible for knowing class
topics underway. I gathered from this that my class objectives need not be convoluted but rather
simple. The activities that I use to support them also easily help students to keep the objective in
mind. One language teacher’s use of literature reminded me that most vocabulary will be learned
through reading since it is not possible for students to get all the vocabulary they need in class.
This year, I have use bilingual books for the first time, books like Round is a Tortilla, The
Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred, and I Love Saturdays y domingos, to teach my students
Spanish vocabulary.

References
Nordmeyer, J. (2008). Delicate Balance. Journal of Staff Development, 29(1), 34–40.
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