Classroom Observations - Essay Example

Activity 3 Classroom observations The class that I observed consists of twenty students and I discussed the syllabus of the class with their teacher. The interaction between the student and the teacher is the most important thing during the lesson. Their teacher tried to explain them the lesson with different aides and also the volunteers came up and contributed in the lesson. These volunteers further assist their teachers in activities and also helped their fellows to understand the topic. The purpose of my observing a classroom was to see how teachers deal with their students and how the students of this particular grade work in their classes and how they respond to their teachers. The relation between the student and teacher is complex in a sense that it is a “one-to-many relationship”, each student needs special attention and he or she deserves the attention of their teacher.1 A teacher needs to know the classroom dynamics and he or she should know the ways to implement them in their classrooms. As I observed the class, few things which I decided in the beginning were that I will keep a log of my observation and while writing down all the events of the day, I used the brainstorming technique and each of my observation includes my personal way of observing thing and my mindset. I focused on the whole day routine of the classroom, from the very beginning of the first lesson, at that time, students came with the fresh minds and they were active to learn new things. And the best thing I observed is that their first lesson was of Mathematics and students studied it well. Mathematics is a subject who demands the full active mind and students should understand each and every concept at the time. If not, it will be very difficult to understand it further. The general reaction of students was quiet good unexpectedly and they paid their attention to the subject. Most of them were keen to learn and there were of course few distracters in the classroom, who were trying their best to distract the teacher with their careless attitude and gestures, few of them were trying to involve other students in their conversations and activities but with the strict behavior of the teacher, it was difficult for them to continue with their distracting activities. Teacher keeps on asking different questions from the students which help them in keeping them involve during the lesson. The reaction of students towards the questions was good and they were answering after thoroughly understanding the questions and teacher also encouraged the brainstorming of the students afterwards. I observed the reaction of students during the whole day and their reaction was different in every class and with every teacher. The class environment was friendly but it became tense after an incident. The incident occurs when the one group of the class passed a remark on the other group. Apparently the class was divided into two groups and both of them seemed to be against each other due to the usual teenager attitude. Though it was not a serious remark but I was astonished to see the reaction of students over this. Their reaction was very serious and quiet dangerous but it seems that teachers are used to of this attitude of both of the sides, so they did not pay much attention to it and carried on with their lecture. Arts class was the most interesting in the whole day. Teacher divided them into groups and these groups were made according to the interest of the students and they were definitely enjoying it. One reason for enjoying was the artwork they were doing and the second reason was to work together with their friends and they were chitchatting with them at the same time. Groups play an important role in student’s grooming and gave them a chance to develop good relations with their classmates. A group consists of different types of individuals and these individuals interact with each other and work together despite their differences. And a successful group is the one when people interact with each other and succeed in achieving their goal. Most of the groups completed their tasks within the period but two of them could not do it. The reason of one group not completed it was their laziness and dumbness. They could not understand the instructions and neither did they manage their time for their work. The other group with incomplete work was the one who spent their whole time chitchatting with their friends and they never paid attention to the constant warnings given by their instructor. Both of them were given punishment with extra work and were told to shown their work with punishment in their next class. I took the observations outside the class the class too and asked different questions from the students and they answered me honestly about their class work and their instructors. I observed their attitude and their reaction to different teachers and subjects. The main thing, which I decided in the beginning, was the confidentiality and I maintained it the whole day in the school. I ensured it to the principal, instructors and the students too, that their views and my observation will remain confidential and will never be disclosed under any circumstances. The learning time given by each instructor was reasonable and most of them stick to their subject during the whole learning time. Effective learning time plays an important role in the effective learning.2 The other thing affecting the teachers and the students are the monitoring of the student’s progress during the whole lesson, and also asking for their feedback. An instructor made use of different teaching strategies and like this he involved the students who were not paying attention in the beginning. And the last thing is that most of the instructors also completed their tasks, which were pre-decided, and they achieved it within the mean time. This shows their good planning and their complete knowledge about their students. Over all, my observation in the classroom helped me a lot in the teaching of students and I will use my observations in my teacher career too. References C. Edward Lawrence (2003), The Marginal Teacher: A Step-by-Step Guide To Fair Procedures, Guilford Press Peg Dawson, Richard Guare (2003), Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Practical Guide, Corwin Press Read More