Observation SheetQuestioning

(Please complete this form for both primary and secondary professional experiences and place in your
e-Portfolio)

Graduate Standards-AITSL
Professional Knowledge: 1.Knowstudentsandhowtheylearn
Professional Practice: 2.Planandimplementeffectiveteachingandlearning

Question Type


Do you feel you r questions
were clearly structured and
readily understood by the
students?

Initially my questions were not in the correct format. My teacher
helped me re-write the structure of the questions so that the students
would be able to understand what was being asked of them eg. What
is a recount? was changed to Can anyone tell me what the structure
of a recount is?


Did you use a variety of
question types?

I did use a variety of questions including comprehension questions
and recall. Asking the students if anyone can tell me the structure of a
recount. The teacher had told me the students had knowledge of the
structure of a recount and understood the different genre of writing.

What balances was there
between the various s
questions types?

The balance between the various questions was fairly equal. I was able
to start with recall questions, and then comprehension to confirm the
students had and understanding of the answer they gave me. Once I
had read the book to the students I was able to go back through the
pages and use analyse questions to help them identify where
elements of a recount were found in the story.

Consider both why and when
you made use of the different
question types?

I used recall questions first as I was investigating what the children
could recall or the facts that they already knew. Once I had
established that I was able to use comprehension question to make
sure they understood the answers they had given, finally at the end I
could use analyse question and evaluate questions.









Distributing and Directing Questions


Did you recognize any pattern
in the distribution of your
questions amongst the
students? Consider reasons
for this pattern?

I did notice a pattern in the questioning, I found I used recall
questions initially to gage what the children knew, I would then use
comprehension questioning to clarify they understood the
answers/topic we were discussing. I believe there is a pattern as this
is the process that learning takes.

How have you directed
questions to the group?

I asked recall question like Can anyone tell me? or Who can tell
me? Remembering to share the answers around the children,
keeping eye contact with the child that is answering the question.

Have you used wait time?

I always used wait time when a child was answering a question
keeping eye contact with them at all times. I found the children more
than happy to put their hand up and have a go.

Did you make eye contact
with the group as you directed
your questions?

Made sweeping eye contact will all the children on the mat, nodding
and acknowledging them while they were having a go to answer the
question. I used small verbal cues to indicate I was listening uh - uh
Encouraging the speaker to continue.

Reactions to Students Responses


How do you deal with correct
responses? Do you qualify any
praise given?

For correct responses, I was happy to say excellent answer or well
done, good answer. I also paraphrased some of the answers the
student gave to make sure I understood what they were saying this
also confirmed to them I was listening.

How do you deal with
incorrect responses? How do
you deal with students who
stumble and grope for an
answer?

For incorrect answers, I was still happy to say Good try. I did try to
avoid questions that required correct answers. I would wait
patiently for children that were struggling to get their thoughts
together, always smiling with encouragement. I would clarify some
answers with the children if the answers were a bit muddled.








Do you keep eye contact with
the student s until they have
completed an answer? Do you
cut students off and go onto
the next point before they
have finished responding?

I would always keep eye contact with the students, until they had
finished answering, smiling to encourage them to continue. I clarified
some answers the students gave by paraphrasing their answer to
confirm I was listening and understood what they were saying, I
found this helpful with students that got their ideas or thoughts a
little muddled when answering a question or having input.

I would always make sure the students had finished having input
prior to moving on to the next point for discussion. I would make sure
the students stayed on task and didnt get too far off track.

What use do you make of the
students responses to
develop the teaching point?
Have you redirected any
questions in order to add to
an initial response?

I was able to make use of the responses from the students to develop
the lesson plan. By using open questions that required longer
answers and providing opportunities for students to elaborate on
answers by involving other students with Can you tell me
something else about or What else can you tell me about that
way students are able to express what they are thinking.

I redirected some question to clarify the lesson and keep the lesson
on track so I could accomplish the objective.

Are you the only evaluator of
the students answers?

I was the main evaluator of the answers the children gave as the
mentor teacher gave me full control of the class. However I made
sure all the children listened attentively to each others answers and
feel they fed off this as well by adding their own little bits of
information.


Overall Comments


My observations overall were the classroom I was assigned to with Nadine Chaytor was a fun
and exciting environment, however it was well structured and the children knew what the
expectations were. Nadine was working on helping the children becoming more independent,
by organizing their own books, readers and homework folders. She made them responsible for
collecting their homework for the weekend and also for handing it back to her. Nadine used
open questions when discussing learning aspects, she also demonstrated low level behavior
management by calling students names that were not listening or walking up to students. She
involved the students in their own learning by involving them by asking them to come up to
the board to write an answer when going through the mental math answers. Children were
very enthusiastic to provide answers, students mark each others mental math, Nadine goes
around the room after to check and add stickers.




Observation SheetManagement

(Please complete this form for both primary and secondary professional experiences and place in your
eportfolio)

Graduate StandardsAITSL Professional Practice:
Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
Planning for Effective Management


Was your lesson plan
effective for managing the
class?

e.g.Howdidthestudentsreactt
oyourlessonoverallandtoyour
plannedactivities?

Did anything unexpected
happen?




Did you provide a variety of
activities?


Were you satisfied with your
timing, particularly for the
end of the lesson?


Did you feel you were able to
change things if needed?

My lesson plan was effective for the class, I was able to do some
group work on the mat and then get the students to move to their
desk in an orderly way, by asking first the boys then the girls to move
off.

I had several activities planned and was able to demonstrate I was
organized, prepared and ready to deliver my lesson. The children
were positive and excited to hear the story I had planned and all
listened attentively. I was then able to ask some recall questions to
help the children clarify what the story was about and to get them
thinking about the next activity.

Nothing really unexpected happened, I did have to keep the students
on track as they were keen to tell me all kinds of things not really
relevant to the lesson. I had a variety of activities including a story,
brainstorming activity and then a writing activity.

I feel my timing was ok, my lesson did get interrupted as the class had
to go for photos, so I was conscious of that and feel I may have rushed
the reading activity a little bit.

I was able to change things a little, during the writing activity I found
the children struggling with how to begin their recount, so I was able
to start them off with some beginning sentences, I put on the board
which I hadnt originally planned.





Was your organization of
materials and resources
efficient and effective?

e.g. Did you and the students
have everything you needed?

My organization of materials and resources was good, I had the book
to read to the students, whiteboard markers, duster and the students
books were in their desks. However I think I should have used the
little whiteboard near the mat to do down the structure of a recount
as the children recalled them to me. That way when I went back
through the book I would have been more confident in asking the
application questions - Where, Who, Why, When and What happened
in the book, to reinforce the structure of a recount.

Did you plan how and when
you would distribute and
collect materials?

The only material the children needed was their journal books which
were at their desks, just made sure I asked them to get them out after
we had done the brainstorming so they would stay focused.

Were you aware of classroom
procedures and school
disciplinary policy? How much
did you know about your
students?

I was aware of the classroom behavior policy, including name on
board, buddy class and the blue book where issues are recorded
against a students name.

I knew a little about the students as I had spent the first couple days
interacting with them and chatting, so they were quite comfortable
with me. There was one child that had high anxiety and separation
anxiety, however I was able to interact with him and develop a
rapport, prior to my lesson.



Maintaining a Positive Attitude in the Classroom


How did you demonstrate to
the students that you valued
them, and enjoyed learning?

e.g. Tone of voice, facial
expression, sense of humour,
introduction to students and
topic.

I spoke to the children and expressed an interest in their day. I spoke
to them in a friendly tone, encouraging them to converse with me. I
asked them open questions about them and what the task was, what
they were writing about, or what they were reading. Greeting them in
the morning and always saying good afternoon to them. Having a
cheerful and happy disposition when greeting and interacting with
the children. My sense of humor and friendly attitude helped them to
feel comfortable around me.

Which aspects of your
teaching style do you feel
helped you maintain class
attention?

e.g. Variety of activities, class
or group discussion, pace of
lesson, interest at class level.

I feel the variety of activities I had in the lesson was positive and
grabbed the childrens attention. I made sure reading the book was
fun and involved them when it came to recapping the book and the
funny things that happened in the story. For the brainstorming
activity I made sure I wrote all the suggestion they came up with on
the board so the students could refer to it while writing their recount.
During the writing activity, I was able to go around to all the students
and comment on their writing so far and help them with anything
they needed clarification on.

Did the students know what
was expected of them?
The students knew what was expected of them, I was able to explain
the overview of the lesson plan to them before we started the first
activity. Once it was time for the writing activity I clearly let them
know that this was an independent writing activity and if they had
any question to raise their hands. By giving this instruction at the
beginning I was able to remind them of this throughout the lesson.

Were you able to redirect
energies of attention seeking
students? Did the students
have enough to do?

I was able to redirect energies of attention seeking, I was able to tell
them a couple of times hands down and then I could finish giving
instructions. I used low level behavior management strategies, by
saying a students name, or reminding them it was quiet writing time.

Some students did finish their recount early, I was able to get them to
draw a picture to keep them on task and focused.








Dealing with Minor Misbehaviour


Were you aware of what was
happening in all parts of the
classroom? Did you know
what each student was doing?

I was aware of what each student was doing, once the students
started writing I was able to walk around the classroom observing. If I
came across particular student having trouble I was able to help them
out, all the while keeping my eye on the rest of the class. I was able to
use a students name to get them to refocus on the task. I would put
my hand on their desk and check to see how they were going.

Did you take any action when
you observed poor behaviour?
Why? Why not?

If I observed poor behavior I would remind them not to be rude as
myself or another class member were trying to talk. I would do my
best to say please and thank you to the children as this encouraged
them to use their manners to, including being quiet and respectfully
listening when someone else was talking.

Did you use non-verbal cues?
e.g. Contact, pause, gesture,
movement toward student/s
concerned.

I did use some non-verbal cues, during my lesson, these included,
walking towards the child misbehaving or saying their name out loud
and reminding them that someone else was taking, or let the rest of
the class we are all waiting on .. then we can move on to the next
activity.


Overall Comments


Classroom management was important, Nadine said at the beginning of the year its very
important to establish boundaries and expectations for the year to run smoothly. Most
behavior I saw was low level behavior management, using childrens names to specifically
target them if they were getting noisy. I could see throughout the week that Nadine had a
positive relationship with all her students and treated each child with respect. Whenever she
asked them to do something it was always with a please and thank you, so the children had
very good manners and I often overheard them using them even with other teachers. The
school has a blue book where teachers can record any unacceptable behavior, such as not
following directions and unacceptable language. If there is a pattern or a recurrence of the
behavior notes will go home to parents and parents can be requested to come in for teacher
meetings.
There is support for teachers with students that have behavioral problems, the front office
staff sometimes monitor students that have been sent up there. The Deputy Principal is also
available as a support if students are being disruptive.




Schools as textlooking at the whole school


Describe the school in terms of its
demographics, appearance and
resources (be general here and do
not name the school).

The school was one of a positive environment. There is lots of
support for the un-cooperative students, or students that have
special needs. The school has an Education Support Centre, for
children with both physical and intellectual needs, these
students where possible are integrated in to main stream
classes, for some lesson periods. The school has good facilities
and resources, such as a library that the classes get to have
allocated sessions in, this is also where teacher resources are
kept. The school has a large play area, play equipment along
with a huge oval used for general physical activity. The school
was broken into twice in the week I was there, one time to
office, this caused disruption to the school as the office was
closed till the police had been and done the forensics.

What were the roles and
responsibilities of the teaching
staff you observed?

The roles of the teaching staff I observed were very diverse.
They ranged from yard duty, group reading, and group
exercise. The week I was at the school it was swimming. They
have this for two weeks it is an activity the whole school
participates in. The students travel by bus to the local
swimming facility.

Timetables were a little bit all over the place, so the teachers
had to be very flexible and be available to take on roles that
might not necessarily have been in their normal duties.



What did you observe non-
teaching staff doing to support
teaching and learning in the
school?


There were a great many non- teaching staff helping out and
being supportive of the teaching staff. The ladies in the front
office were there and on many occasions helping out with un
co-operative students, having them in the office while
arrangements were made to have them moved to another
class for the day or part of the day. The Deputy Principal was
always around, he called in a couple of times to my mentors
teachers class room to check on a particular student, and
make sure all was going well. The lady in the library was very
supportive and flexible arranging time changes for different
classes as swimming lessons were on and the timetable
changed several times. She was also more than happy to help
with resources, or finding books.



Students


You will have observed the diverse
nature of your classes. How was
this diversity supported?





There was diverse range of students in the class both
academically and also socially. I think Nadine was very
supportive of the different academic levels. There were
several different levels of spelling groups and math groups so
that children were all working at their own level. Students in
the classroom supported one-on-one and with group work.
Some children were sent to extension classes with other
grades. IEPs were part of a process to monitor students that
were not quite at the correct level for the year level the
students were in. These were used as tools to evaluate and
assess students so as they move on through the school their
progress is documented.





















Function of Schools


Did you observe the connection of
your schools with the broader
community? How did this happen?

The school has a very good social development plan, where the
children are taught these social skills over the year such as
respect, responsibility, resilience, and reconciliation. It is
something all year levels participate in; awards give out at the
assembly for the different year levels.

During assembly the students discuss self-management the
teachers relate it to tasks the children do at home, for example
it was swimming week so the teachers reminded the students
to self-manage by unpacking their swimming stuff getting it
ready for the next day. Looking after their own belongings
teaching them to be responsible for their own belongings.

What do you think the function of
school is?

The function of the school is to educate the students and help
them to become functioning citizens. Students are taught the
need to understand responsibility, independence and
acceptable behavior. Students need to learn the roles and
duties of the government, so they are able to be active
participants in the world they live in.

Schools help students learn appropriate behavior such as
taking turns and that they are not the centre of the world. Also
learning to listen to others and understand there are different
opinions to yours and others can voice their opinion.