Feedback from Luján
- 1. Práctica Educativa II. Residencia en Escuela Primaria Facultad de Ciencias Humanas. Depto. Lenguas Extranjeras. Unlpam Docente Regular a Cargo: Prof. Adjunto E.N.Braun. Ayudantes Interinas: Prof. Vanesa Cabral. Prof. Lis María Luján Ramos. EAT: M.A. John Brakke Año Académico / Ciclo Lectivo: 2017 Observation Feedback Report Trainees: Ana Valentina Monge– Ana Belén Morán School: Escuela Nº 4 Mentor Teacher: Prof. Romina Cheme Arriaga Class observed by: Prof. Lis María Luján Ramos Number of class: Class number 6, (lesson plan 3) Class delivered by : Both Trainees (both grades were together, because it was a rainy day and many students from both grades were absent) Date: August, Mon.28th. Grade: 6th. grade ( Division C & D ) Number of Students on the Lessonobserved: -Around 30-
- 2. I would like to start by pointing out what I liked most about the class I observed; and that is your teacher´s stance. I think that you both have developed an appropriate teacher´s stance. You displayed a good control of the class. Students were monitoring and assisted by you both at every time. There was a relaxed, confident atmosphere. There was no tension among you and your class. You used English most of time. You followed a set of routines in a logical and practical way: you greeted students, you wrote the date on the board – something students, especially little ones, always expect for - , etc. It is a good idea to provide instructions in English first, then check understanding and finally resource to Spanish if you think instructions are still unclear. Regarding the use of English, I think that by starting the class speaking in English, as you did, it may help students to finally get the idea that the break is over and that they need to set in motion for the English lesson of the day. Another helpful idea that you put into practice was the search of other resources, beyond the use of language in English or Spanish, whenever you realized that students were not able to understand an English word, phrase/chunk or instructions for activities. Concerning the pacing and grading of activities and language contents, I believe that you did a great job regarding that area. You should keep paying attention to these issues and keep them always in mind when preparing and delivering classes. Another important aspect regarding classroom management that you handled effectively was the change of activity as you noticed that students were not prepared to provide answers since they had not been able to do the activity required for that; –
- 3. in particularly referring to the activities related to the videos dealing with children´s rights - . The use of pair work when dealing with the activity on the blog they had with the mentor teacher was a good one, since it may foster cooperation, solidarity and integration among students; particularly taking into account that many students who worked together belonged to different divisions of grades. Although your development along the class was very good, I would like to make some suggestions to you both, in order to optimize your performance regarding ELT. I think that as English teachers, we should pay special attention to some aspects concerning use of language and pronunciation. Particularly in your case, Valentina you mispronounced some words, showed some problems in the area of phonetics and phonology ( such as linking problems, addition of some phonemes, etc). The English teacher is the model for students, many times, we are the only model they have concerning English, so we should try to be as accurate as possible when using the language and when pronouncing. It is a useful and helpful idea to monitor our use of language all the time in class and also to check pronunciation and grammar beforehand when in doubt. Another aspect that we should take into account, especially when dealing with large classes is students that might be trying to participate but are disregarded by the teacher, because they are sitting far from the front of the classroom. At some point during the class, one student provided the correct answer to the question asked by the teacher, but he was not heard by the trainee Valentina.
- 4. There were minor instances of misbehaviour in the class you both taught, but you should take this issue into account, especially when checking answers to written activities, because it may hinder proper understanding on part of students. In the case of Ana, I think that the model you provided to students concerning lexis, grammar and pronunciation was appropriate, but I think you should monitor the use of gestures, when for instance attempting to provide the meaning of an action verb by relying on body language, so as not to create confusion on the students in relation to the word you are trying to show. For instance, when trying to show the meaning of the word “throwing” to one student, you used gestures that actually showed the meaning of the word “kicking”. Another issue that you must consider carefully when planning your classes is pacing and time devoted to activities. You included use of technology in your lesson plan, through the inclusion of one activity inserted in the blog the mentor teacher created. I think that this was a good point in your lesson, but that you devoted too much time of the class for an activity that seemed quite simple. You could have tried to include more activities, more complex activities or maybe you could have included other type of activities involving the practising of more skills or activities including TPR. Another issue that you can take into account when planning activities in your class are different kind of intelligences and diversity regarding learning styles. The activities planned were fine but you could have included more engaging, motivating and creative tasks for the learners. In order not to create lack of involvement and motivation on part of students it is important to take into account some practical aspects of the activities when planning your classes. For instance, when dealing with the word puzzle, you pasted a version
- 5. of it on the board. I think that it was not big enough so as to be seen for each and every student of your class. This might seem as a tiny, minor detail, but eventually, it might be something that could create a feeling of uneasiness or discomfort on some of the pupils, that might be feel left out or behind. As trainee teachers you should try to be in charge of the class and limit intervention from the mentor teacher as much as possible. You must remember that it is your class, therefore you should be in charge of explanation of instructions, control of behaviour and everything concerning the lesson should be your responsibility, not the mentor´s one. Finally, I think that you are resourceful teachers doing a great job in your practices. I believe you can improve even more your work by taking into account the suggestions made by the teachers assisting you during your practicum.