FL 694, Practicum in Second or Foreign languages Spring 2016, Brewer Summary Paper
Observation of other teachers is a way of allowing the observer to take the focus off of the delivery of the lesson and merely observe their colleague and their delivery of the lesson. The observer has the opportunity to watch the students to see if they look like they understand, seem distracted, or seem confused. As an observer I also had the opportunity to view the details of the teaching, to reflect during and after the delivery of the lesson about the effectiveness of the lesson and to learn new tips and methodologies from my colleagues. By observing one can rest in the delivery of the lesson and see from a “bird’s eye” view of what is occurring in the language classroom. I observed, for the general observation task: nine high school classrooms, three civic classes, one elementary and two university classrooms. Three of the classrooms were teaching Spanish Two but I tried to observe a range of ESL classes. I was not able to see more than one elementary classroom and that classroom was testing, not teaching. I wanted to also view the other end of the spectrum because I usually teach and observe high school and above classrooms. One type of classroom that was new to me was the Adult beginning and intermediate level, which are not associated with a school but in the community. The observations I completed with a particular focus were from five university classes, two high school classes and one civic group. I wanted to focus on issues I feel I have experienced in the classroom and want more training in managing. The topics I selected included: the language of questions, grammar as lesson, presenting, lesson breakdowns, attending to the learner, eliciting prompts, checking learning and managing error. The task I feel is the most important, attending to the learner, examines both verbal and non-verbal signals to the learner. I feel like every other task could include attending to the learner. Lesson breakdowns are almost the antithesis of attending. Managing error and checking for learning are similar in the concept of ensuring the student is grasping the lesson. Eliciting prompts, presenting, and managing error are the teacher’s skills and strategies used. Grammar as the lesson is necessary, at times but must be presented in an interesting way. Firstly, I indicated I think the most important thing a teacher needs to do is being attending to the learner. Smiling is one way for the teacher to indicate that they are interested in the students’ well-being and in their learning. Everyone has heard the expression that teachers who love teaching will have students who love learning. The teacher should confirm approval to the student in their learning by affirmative gestures, i.e. nods, smiles and eye contact. Affirming comments can also be a resource such as calling the student by name, and giving affirming feedback. Some of the teachers did not commit to their lesson being the teaching of English, which would show attentiveness. They might have corrected to confirm that English is what we are learning. The teacher can explicitly confirm instead of reprimand for off –task behaviors such as talking out of turn. The teacher I observed for attending behaviors seemed very natural at using positive affirming attending behaviors. I am more aware of how I appear to students now than before. I believe I can be very oriented toward getting through the lesson and miss the point that the students need to understand the lesson and sometimes the teacher’s demeanor inhibits that from occurring. As an observer I was more motivated to listen to the teachers that were positive and uplifting and interested in the students. I think that attending strategies can be improved, just as we can improve teaching skill. I have already, as a substitute, greeted students with “Good morning” and asked them how they are doing. I have always moved around the room but perhaps the students won’t be “scared” of me as I approach their desk when I appear friendlier. Lesson breakdown occur when there is an interruption in a lesson. Some breakdowns occur when external sources interrupt such as a student being called to the office. Breakdowns occur also because there is an unnecessary interruption in the classroom. Careful lesson planning can remove most lesson interruptions in conjunction with a clearly formulated plan for classroom behavior. The best most efficient lessons can be interrupted and it is the teacher’s responsibility to rectify the situation. I had an emergency of a student having an asthma attack once. It is good to plan ahead to select two students that are reliable and tell them that they are the contact for substitutes or emergencies. They like the responsibility and prior selection clears the confusion in an emergency of deciding which student to select. I called on my selected student to run to the office and get the principal and I cleared the class to the hallway. I decided this course of action before and had my own drill planned. A clearly outlined descriptive procedure for the class can be a deterrent to many breakdowns. In the classes I observed, without being privy to syllabi, it seems that some teachers had clearly outlined a procedure for the classroom and the behavior in the classroom. Procedures for throwing away garbage, sharpening pencils, bell work, turning in papers, getting the attention of the teacher, and emergencies are necessary to discuss in classrooms especially in high school and below. I have handed out classroom behavior plans which even include, “you may run to the restroom if you feel sick!” I observed a class with a non-existent or weakly enforced discipline procedure. The class seemed to have continuous breakdowns, literally one breakdown followed by another. Clear instruction on tests and what is expected of the learner is critical. The teacher I observed in lesson breakdowns had no instructions on the quiz. Some other teachers had trouble with unclear directions on an assignment. I have allowed another teacher to review and critique my writing on an exam, quiz, or homework. Sometimes another person can see something you are missing. If the students interrupt (which I hope is early in the school year) with unnecessary questions just to see if they can distract, I usually ask if they want to meet after school or at lunch. They don’t seem to ever show up. Mistakes should be corrected in advance, for example, if the test was already copied and the teacher does not want to waste paper. If you allow students to continually unnecessarily interrupt they discover your weakness and it makes it difficult to finish your lesson plan. There is value in posting classroom rules. I did not comment on this but I observed no one with classroom rules posted. The classroom rule chart is a posting of a desired set of behaviors in the class and writing it down is authoritative. If traffic laws were never written we would defy them or question our reason for being stopped. “I love doing lesson plans,” said no teacher ever. In spite of being forced to submit weekly lesson plans I now enjoy the results. Lesson plans actually prevent the failure of the lesson by the teacher when she knows what is supposed to happen and decide how to make the objective possible. The teachers I observed that had objectives on the board and bell work posted seemed to have a clearer direction of the lesson. Also, through observing questioning I came to believe that the teacher might even plan the questions to ensure more use of open-ended questioning and more retrieval imaginative questions and fewer yes/no and short answer questions which don’t allow for students to make judgements and make opinions. The planning of questions to be used in the lesson also will allow for more “wait time” by the teacher. I observed little “wait time” and some of this is due to the questioning not being formulated in advance. The drive to finish the lesson and the material to be covered is driven sometimes by testing needs so planned questioning could help the teacher not be flustered in finding questions to ask that are beyond the simple answer and factual informational variety. The new guidelines for ESL and foreign language teaching by the ACTFL have provided guidance in support of the paradigm shift in instructional planning. The “old” way used to focus on the textbook as the guidebook and the teacher as the guide. The teacher lectured which made the student a note taker and a passive learner. The skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing are processed and taught individually with the old method. The current instruction focuses on what the learner should know and be able to do. The current trend is proficiency based. Lecturing does little to aid students in the retention of material. When I learned this fact I shied away from the traditional lecture and usually use Tuesday for any explicit explanation. The student is active in his own learning engaging strategies and engages with others in the language. Many of the teachers I observed used paired or group work and had students converse and practice the elements such as the vocabulary. I have used the textbook as a guide to view topics for instruction. I have used movies, projects, authentic magazines, short stories; particularly folklore, tape recordings, videos (that would be DVD’s now) and realia for resources to enhance the lesson. I was not aware these years that I have been teaching, about fifteen total, that I was really using the postmethod method. I also use a variety of texts to build my lesson. I have found that certain texts are excellent in doing a certain exercise and not others. I select what works best. I have blackline masters and internet resources available now to use. Assessments also use more open ended questions like the questioning format during the lesson. I saw a few exams that were much like the “grammar translation” method. I saw a few in the university classes and one in the Spanish class. The textbooks are still offering ancillaries of preprinted texts with grammar tests. Certain Spanish textbooks that are written now with the new standards offer more work in line with the new standards and modes of teaching. I observed a very lively discussion on grammar. The National Graphic textbooks used in the university have explicit instruction of grammar. Although some theorists say grammar instruction does not have impact on writing I still think it is necessary. I recall my own learning of Spanish and I believe that students need some grammar instruction. I try to use an approach that has grammar in context which is remembered better. I used my “lunch’ lesson to teach plurals and masculine and feminine. I became dramatic and said let’s go to Taco Bell. We need el burrito. I used it for indefinite articles and definite articles and singular and plural of both. The students said they were hungry when we got through. The teacher I observed used authentic language and examples by using various movie stars and current concerns of the students. One section of the university classes was entitled: reading/writing. They were using novels to develop reading and vocabulary skills. We had a teacher development at a school I taught at which showed the value of prior knowledge of the topic and background information in aiding comprehension. I saw some of the students struggle with certain concepts: even whether the moose in the story is a male or a female. Prior knowledge, such as covering the concepts that will be encountered will aid the student in comprehension. There were times I went home to type my observation and looked for how I would do the lesson better first. I would have enhanced the “moose”. There are computers for images of moose; male and female moose. I would have explored at minimum their size and what region of the planet they are from. Each university classroom has internet connections for the teachers to use. Finally, checking learning is critical to the student’s success. It is important to ask questions that inquire enough to discern if the students are “getting it”. Checking learning was done masterfully by a teacher at the university who moved the students from one tense to the other tense. If the teacher has an exercise in going from present to past, for example, this can reveal if the students understand. I remember that the students did not understand part of the reflexive and one time I just erased the parts they did not understand to help them grasp the basic concept first. Eliciting prompts is connected with checking learning because the teacher can steer and guide the lesson for accuracy and move the lesson forward as well. Most of the questions in the eliciting prompts example were authentic examples covering being sick, doctors, medicine and the pharmacy. Observations are a good way to evaluate your own responses to students and methods of teaching. Teaching, no doubt is challenging but it still is incumbent on the teacher to be the best teacher and seek out the best way to teach the language. There is no shortage of material and advice so it is important to investigate better methods to help the student.