Thursday 15 October 2009

Class Observation # 1

Here's the first entry on a series of classroom observations. It was done in a 1st year class of a private secondary school. The focus of the observation was 'telescopic', i.e. on a general overview of different aspects of the lesson. My overall impression of this type of observation was that, though comprehensive, it doesn't leave much scope for focusing on other aspects more in detail. However, being this my first observation at a secondary school, it was a good way to start. It allowed me to get a 'first contact' with the realities of teaching teenagers at school. All in all, a very profitable first lesson!

Class Observation # 1

2 comments:

  1. Hi Rodrigo!
    I definitely agree with you that while "telescopic observation" certainly serves the purpose of helping us organise our first impressions of a class, it also makes it really difficult to focus on any aspect and reflect upon how that can contribute to our own teaching development. That is exactly why in our class we encourage the use of "microscopic observation tasks" after this first visit to a class.
    I'll be looking forward to reading more from you when you work on those!
    Fondly,
    Gladys

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  2. Hello again!
    Forgot I had a question to ask you!
    My question is: why do you assume the T aimed at covering more material from the book in this lesson? Did you have the chance to ask the teacher beforehand?

    Though I definitely agree with you that the larger the class, the longer it takes to get through any task, the teacher should know she was having that number of students, shouldn't she?

    Intrigued,
    Gladys

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