Observation Sheet Questioning

(Please complete this form for both primary and secondary professional experiences and place in your
ePortfolio)
Graduate Standards - AITSL
Professional Knowledge:
Professional Practice:

1. Know students and how they learn

2. Plan and implement effective teaching and learning

Question Type

Do you feel your questions

were clearly structured and
readily understood by the
students?

Did you use a variety of

question types?

Yes, we had some questions in the small group lesson and large group
lesson that the students did very well in. I made sure that I was very clear
on the questions with the students

Yes, in the large group lesson there was a variety of questions from the
behind the news segment that the students watched. There was

There was a few more simple questions that I had left for the students
that struggled more than others or didnt have much confidence in
What balances was there
between the various questions answering questions.
types?

Consider both why and when

you made use of the different
question types?

When there was students that had already answered many questions and
I wanted to give some of the other students ago, I would ask them the
more simple questions, and help them get there by maybe starting the
answer for them or mouthing the start of the answer.

Distributing and Directing Questions

Did you recognise any pattern

in the distribution of your
questions amongst the
students? Consider reasons
for this pattern?

How have you directed

questions to the group?

Have you used wait time?

Did you make eye contact with

the group as you directed your
questions?

I am not aware of a pattern in the distribution of my questions to the

students. I did however, make sure that each question was as clear as
possible and that I really went into detail when giving instructions.

I made sure I was clear so all of the students understood the lesson.
However, I do think I could have been louder than I was, not wanting it
to seem like I was yelling at them so I didnt want to raise my voice so I
found it was hard for some of them to hear me. I think I need to learn
how to keep my voice at a good level, however to not make it seem like I
am yelling.
No I didnt have to use wait time with these students. They were all very
well behaved and there was no time when I had to stand and wait for
them to be silent.

Yes I made sure to make eye contact with each student throughout the
lesson to make sure that they were all paying attention and not getting
distracted.

Reactions to Students Responses

I would always make sure I responded with; well done, great answer!
or yes, awesome answer, especially with those that had elaborated
How do you deal with correct
responses? Do you qualify any more on their responses without being prompted.
praise given?

How do you deal with incorrect

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

I would say yes if it was close be being correct but prompt them to
elaborate and give them hints towards the correct answer so they werent
wrong.

When a student would answer with a long answer and elaborate on their
answer instead of a short answer, I would make sure to give a lot of
What use do you make of the
students responses to develop praise for the answer and say, Thats the type of answer we are looking
the teaching point? Have you for so the students know what type of response we are looking for.
If the students did answer with a short answer I would try to get them to
redirected any questions in
elaborate on their answer more by asking why, or how did this happen,
order to add to an initial

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response?

or why do you think that.

Are you the only evaluator of

the students answers?

No, mainly our mentor teacher was the evaluator of the students
answers, unless we were teaching our lesson then I was the only
evaluator of the questions.

Overall Comments

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Observation Sheet Management

(Please complete this form for both primary and secondary professional experiences and place in your
e portfolio)
Graduate Standards AITSL
Professional Practice:
1. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
2. Planning for Effective Management

Was your lesson plan effective Yes, the kids had done this activity before so they knew exactly what was
expected from them. I found the lesson went smoothly and the students
for managing the class?
reacted well, except for I had made a mistake with the answer to one of
the questions, which I had quickly corrected myself and apologised for.
e.g. How did the students
Before I started the small group lesson, I played a game with the kids to
react to your lesson overall
and to your planned activities? get them engaged before the activity. The activity was on Edward scissor
hands. I had never seen the move so I asked them each to say their
favourite part of the movie, when they put their hand up they could only
Did anything unexpected
speak when I passed them the ball. They responded really well to that
happen?
because it was a bit of fun before the lesson.
I think the timing went quiet well in the small group lesson, however I
Did you provide a variety of
kept losing track of time in the big group lesson and may have gone over
activities?
about 5-10 minutes extra.
I was very happy with both lessons with the students, they were all very
Were you satisfied with your
timing, particularly for the end well behaved and responded extremely well, the only thing I could have
done better was the volume of my voice, and double checking the
of the lesson?
answers to the questions to make sure I hadnt made any mistakes.
Did you feel you were able to
change things if needed?

Were you aware of classroom

procedures and school
disciplinary policy? How
much did you know about
your students?
How did your mentor teacher
maintain a safe learning
environment?
What strategies did your
observe your mentor teacher
using to maintain this?

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Yes, there was two verbal warnings and after that it was outside the
classroom on the bench or if it was more serious, to the office and a
detention.
I learnt a lot about my students in the week I was in the primary school.
Our teacher told us who the students where that had learning difficulties
so we could help them more, the students that had behaviour problems
that we shouldnt deal with if they are behaving badly. Our teacher also
mentioned about some of their home lives, which is the reason for some
of their misbehaviour.
There was a certain student who had been very aggressive in the past and
had also brought a knife to school with him one day. Our teacher let us
know what had went on and said that she doesnt make him to his school
work for the fact that he will not listen and it is better that he chooses to
do it himself rather than an outburst that could put us or the other
students in danger.

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.

Which aspects of your

teaching style do you feel
helped you maintain class
attention?

I made sure I got to know the students when walking around the room, I
would ask them about their weekend or tell them about myself if they
asked. The students had a music lesson one afternoon, which they were
dancing to the nut bush, I decided to join in and asked them to help me
learn the moves, some of the students really found it entertaining and
liked the fact that I had joined in too and I think that really helped me
gain a better repour with some of them.

I think that a variety of activities especially those that involved them

getting up and moving around, had the kids enjoying the lesson more
because they werent just sitting down answering questions. I think also I
had quite a laid back attitude with the students that helped the students
feel a little more comfortable around me.

e.g. Variety of activities, class

or group discussion, pace of
lesson, interest at class level.

Did the students know what

was expected of them?

Were you able to redirect

energies of attention seeking
students? Did the students
have enough
to do?

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Yes, the students always knew what was expected of them, they always
responded well to task given to them. There was sometimes, students
that didnt want to do any work and chat with their friends but thnat was
dealt with promptly by my mentor teacher.

Yes, there was one student that at times could be quite disruptive,
however was very funny. Whenever he wanted to call out or got off topic,
I would respond or laugh if it was funny, then respond; Remember we
put our hands up when we want to talk.

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?

Majority of the time yes, it was a very small classroom so it was easy to
see what each student was doing without having to get up and walk
around too far. There was rarely any time that the students were not
doing their work, if they werent I would get up and ask them if they
needed help.

Did you take any action when

you observed poor behaviour?
Why? Why not?

Yes, there was times I had asked one student to stop swinging on his
chair, he stopped then continued to swing on his chair a minute later, I
asked him again and said if you do not stop swinging you will have
your chair taken away and be made to stand up.

Did you use non-verbal cues?

e.g. Contact, pause, gesture,
movement toward student/s
concerned.

Yes, there was times if a student was talking I would gain eye contact and
put my finger to my lips to say shh, or once eyecontact was gained I
would shake my head to say no. I felt that many times these silent cues
were not needed, if I student seen me looking towards them, they knew
what they were doing and would instantly stop.

Overall Comments

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Schools as text looking 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 very well presented with nice gardens and a
large oval for the students. They also had a special need centre
on ground. This was fenced off so the special needs students had
that space to themselves, unfortunately I was unable to look
about this part of the school, but I heard many great things and
was impressed with the appearance and resources for those
students.

What were the roles and

responsibilities of the teaching staff
you observed?

The roles and responsibilities I noticed from the teaching staff

were not just to teach the children a lesson and make sure they
were doing the right thing. I found it went further than that. Yes
their role is to teach and make sure the children are behaving but
the wellbeing of the children I found 100% came first for the
teachers. The ways I noticed this was how well my mentor
teacher got to know the children as much as possible and their
parents too. The teacher knew a lot about the students home
lives, all the good and the bad and made sure that the classroom
had a warm welcoming feeling to it. I also saw my mentor teacher
calling home to make sure the children are okay if they are away
from school for more than 3 days.

After discussion with your mentor

teacher describe how policies and
processes of government,
administration and schools have an
affect on the work of the teacher?

An example of policies in schools that effect teachers work is one

student is very uncooperative and violent to the point he had
brought a knife into school. This child was not suspended from
school and still in the class room, where the teacher is told to not
push him to do work because of the fact he may be a danger to
the other students.

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What did you observe non-teaching staff doing to

support teaching and learning in the school?

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At one point the principle of the school had come in

to ask if there was any volunteers to help him with a
task, this was his way of getting a disruptive
student out of the classroom however not making it
obvious to the other students or upsetting the
student.

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

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There were many students at different levels academically.

There was one student who suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic
stress disorder), who had trouble focusing and getting his work
done. The teacher had sat him next to the head girl of the
school, who kept him on track and helped him if he needed.
This girl was also related to him by marriage so he responded
well to her. A lot of the students were split up strategically in this
way to help the struggling students or to stop any misbehaviour.

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

Yes, the students had a NAIDOC day, which they had a variety
of activities throughout the day. They also had performers come
to the school to dance and sing. The performers were well
known to students because they had been to the school many
times before, and some of the choir students had performed at
the Crown Theatre a few weeks prior where these performers
were also performing.

What do you think the function of

school is?

After the two weeks of professional experience in low

socioeconomic school, I found that a school is not just
somewhere for children to learn. It is also having a place for
children to feel safe if their home lives are not great. I found after
these two weeks that teachers and school do not only build
children academically but also help build them as responsible
citizens of society as much as possible.

Reflection think about your

experiences during the week and
describe how your previous
experiences have informed your
view of teachers and schools.
Has anything changed?

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I most definitely have a larger appreciation for teachers and how

much work they do, and how much planning is put into lessons.
I had always wanted to just work in early childhood, being
worried that I might not be able to handle older students but after
being in a year 6 class I am a lot more confident in the fact that I
can handle up to year 6.

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