1 / 24

Let’s Listen to the Classroom

This presentation explores the importance of classroom observation as a tool for professional development. It discusses different types of observations and provides practical tasks to help teachers reflect on their own teaching practices.

ursulaj
Download Presentation

Let’s Listen to the Classroom

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Let’s Listen to the Classroom Amanda Caplan ETAI Summer Conference July 2013 אב תשע"ג

  2. “Continuing professional development seeks to formalise what most professionals are already doing, enabling development to be structured in a way that meets both their own needs and the requirements of their employer”. Chartered Insurance Institute

  3. ObservationOn the one hand….. How do you feel about being observed? • Love it • Tolerate it • Neutral • Slightly uncomfortable about it • Hate it, dread it

  4. ObservationOn the other hand….. How do you feel about observing other teachers? • Love it • Tolerate it • Neutral • Slightly uncomfortable about it • Hate it, dread it

  5. What’s the point of observations? • Higher teaching standards • Quality assurance • Professional development

  6. Types of Observations • Management observation (QA) • Peer observation (2-way) • Self-observation (camera)

  7. Why have an observation task? • Focuses in one or two aspects of the lesson • Lends objectivity to the observation

  8. Reflective teacher “Here I am with my lens to look at you and your actions. But as I look at you with my lens, I consider you a mirror. I hope to see myself in you and through my teaching. When I see myself, I find it hard to get distance for my teaching. I hear my voice, see my face and clothes, and fail to see my teaching. Seeing you allows me to see myself differently and to explore the variables we both use.” Fanselow 1990

  9. Task 1 Questions During the lesson • write down about 20 questions that the teacher asks, what answer you expect and the subsequent exchange • categorise the questions according to expected response • classroom management questions • yes / no • retrieval questions • open-ended questions • imaginative questions

  10. Task 1 Questions After the lesson • What pattern(s) do you see from the categorisation? • Rank the questions according to difficulty for the student. • Is there any correlation between type of question and complexity of response? What lessons can you learn about your own use of questions in the classroom?

  11. Thinking about this task • Would you use this task to observe a teacher? • Would you like to be observed using this task?

  12. Task 2 Feedback / Error Correction Prepare a number of charts like this:

  13. Task 2 Feedback After the lesson Did the teacher provide: • explicit information about error? • information for learner to self-correct? • information to increase learner’s understanding? Was the information given: • supported with non-verbal media? • appropriate or over-loaded? Was the teacher encouraging or discouraging? How did this affect the learner’s motivation?

  14. Thinking about this task • Would you use this task to observe a teacher? • Would you like to be observed using this task? What lessons can you learn about your own methods of feedback in the classroom?

  15. Task 3 Openings and Closures Prepare the following chart:

  16. Task 3 Openings and ClosuresAfter the lesson • Are there differences between T-S, T-SS or T-C? • How much natural language is used? • Are previous and future lessons linked to this lesson? Does this matter? • Is there a review of the past lesson? Does this matter? • Does the teacher tell the students what will happen today? Does she recap at the end?

  17. Thinking about this task • Would you use this task to observe a teacher? • Would you like to be observed using this task? What lessons can you learn about your own class openings and closures?

  18. Task 4 Lesson Breakdowns • Lesson interruptions • Deviation from lesson plan • Students don’t understand task i.e. anything that stops smooth flow of lesson as planned • Why did breakdown occur? • How was it resolved? • By whom was it resolved? • What language was used to resolve it?

  19. Task 4 Breakdown Chart

  20. Task 4 BreakdownsAfter the lesson • Could the breakdown have been avoided? • What type of language was used to repair it? • Could it have been repaired more efficiently to minimalise the effect of the interruption?

  21. Thinking about this task • Would you use this task to observe a teacher? • Would you like to be observed using this task? What lessons can you learn about how you deal with breakdowns in your class?

  22. Observations on this Presentation!

  23. General Reflection on Observation In this lesson I found what I….. • already knew, and have now confirmed it • suspected but hadn’t really considered • had not considered before • would like to pursue further

  24. Useful Sites / Bibliography • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-abWqXlkFY&list=PL30F220400C97CD58 • Waynryb, R. (1992) Classroom Observation Tasks. CUP

More Related