Name: Aysha Alzaabi

ID: H0036048

EPC 1403
Practicum 1a
Observation Task 1-5

Observation Task 1: Introduction to the learning environment.

How did you feel on the first day?

What did you do to show that you are a professional?

1) I was feeling nervous but excited at the same time. I thought I will have difficulty to interact with
students and the teacher, but the students were so sweet and kind. I introduced myself to them and to
my teacher and they showed me love and respect from the first time, the teacher is so friendly and
helpful.

2) First, I tried my best to be on time and not to arrive late so my teacher and principle dont take a bad
first impression of me and also to prepare myself mentally for the day ahead. I brought my booklet and
my notebook to go through it and take note of every and each important thing I saw during the class. I
forced myself to be passionate, positive, and enthusiastic about my work. I showed and treated my
teacher with respect.

Observation Task 2 - Roles and responsibilities of the teacher.

Write a summary of what you believe the main roles and responsibilities of a teacher are.

What surprised you?

What shocked you?
What delighted you?

1. I believe that teacher has so many rules in her classroom that students have to follow them and
responsibilities and duties she has to do them before, during and after the class. Some of the main
rules of the classroom that students have to show her the good setting, be quiet, hand in their labs.
Also, show respect to the teacher and their partners, ask the teacher before leaving the classroom &
raise your hands before you speak. Moving to teaching responsibilities, first before the class the
teacher has to prepare for the lesson and put a plan for each class because this will help her to keep
organized and she won't forget any important thing that she has to do during the lesson. She also has
to provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore. During the class, the teacher
must take the attendance before she starts the lesson also maintaining discipline in the classroom and
motivate the students before the actual delivery of the lesson to encourage them and develop their
ability and aspiration to learn.
2. What really surprised me that I thought it's hard to manage a classroom that has 25+ students and
make them all love and respect you and follow your rules and directions. But while observing I noticed
that they like to follow rules and listen to their teacher only few who deviates sometimes but they
follow their teacher at the end. I got shocked about how smart and mindful are some students.
3. And I was happy about how strong is the relationship between the students and their teacher and how
they treat her like their mother and also how is the classroom organized.
 Observation Task 3: Mapping the Learning Environment

Based on your observations and discussions, summarize what you have observed.
Think about:

1. The idea of learners being active learners. Discuss how the classroom organization
facilitates activities for the learners. Give examples of activities you observed and
the way in which the classroom organization makes these activities accessible.
Consider ease of movement within the learning environment.
2. How and where are materials stored in the classroom? Do the children/learners
need to be able to get and put materials away?
3. Where does the teacher have her table/papers/materials?
4. Are there areas that encourage independent learning? Give some examples. Why are
these areas important?

1. The classroom has 5 tables each have 5 to 6 chairs and so many drawers each drawer has a container
that includes specific things such as glues, succories, papers, markers and etc. and each container is
labeled with what is inside and a small sticker.
2. This organization made it easier for the students to find things and it also keeps the classroom clean
because they dont have to walk around a lot to find things a throwing thing away.
3. Children can find the material easily because it is in their highest not too high nor too low and also,
they can put the materials back when theyre done.
4. Teachers table is located near to the carpet where children mostly set and her papers are stored in her
drawers. I see that these areas encourage independent learning somehow because each student will
set alone in the table and work alone and at the same time he/she can ask their partner for help or see
what does the partner do.
 Observation Task 4: Planning and preparation for learning

Why is planning and preparation for learning important?

What do you have to think about before you begin to plan for learning?
What stages did the teacher go through in order to be prepared for teaching?

1) Planning and preparing keep the teacher and the student-organized all the time, therefor Preparation
and planning boost student performance and achievement it also benefits the students. Planning
makes the day go by fast when teacher plan enough students remain engaged, the day goes by
quicker, and ultimately student learning is maximized. In addition to Preparation and planning
minimize classroom discipline issues because Teachers who develop and present engaging lessons on a
daily basis rarely have classroom discipline issues. Students enjoy going to these classes because
learning is fun.

2) There are some points every teacher has to think about before beginning to plan for learning. Firstly,
outlining learning objectives and determine what she wants students to learn and be able to do at the
end of class. Secondly, Develop the introduction for example design the specific activities the teacher
will use to get students to understand and apply what they have learned and develop a creative
introduction to the topic to stimulate interest and encourage thinking. Thirdly plan the specific learning
activities Prepare several different ways of explaining the material to catch the attention of more
students and appeal to different learning styles. The fourth point is making a Plan to check for
understanding the teacher can think about specific questions you can ask students in order to check
for understanding.

3) First get students ready to learn for example take a minute or two to create that focus. You should
make clear what the goals and expectations are for that particular meeting. Second present new
material and let students engage material then debrief that engagement and at the end prepare for
the next section give the student an idea of what to expect in the next section and distribute any
materials they might need
 Observation Task 5: Record sheet- A day in the life of a lower level learner

What have you noticed about learners from this observation?

What did you notice that relates to the theories we have been discussing?
What interested or surprised you?

1. I choose Mohamed Eissa because I noticed that he does not really do the activities inside the class
or even with the teacher. He barely understands when the teacher talks or ask him to do
something. He also needs time to respond back to the teacher. But on the other hand, I can notice
that he enjoys playing and specifically playing alone.
2. Which I can relate it to Freud's theory that says: Play tells us important things about a childs
inner life. So Mohammed case shows that he is an introvert person. He does not like interact or
communicate with others.
3. Im interested in how the teacher tries her best to keep him aware of what is she doing in the
class and how she cares about him.

Observation Task 6: Different learning styles and differentiation - On a higher-level

learner.

The following question may guide your response:

What was the same or different about the two learners?
What did you notice that relates to the theories we have been discussing?
What interested or surprised you?

1. I noticed that they both like to communicate with their partners while doing the activity but
the difference is that the higher level when he communicates he tells his friends what to do
but the lower level one asks his friends what to do. Also, the higher-level student keeps
answering the teacher even if the teacher didnt ask him to but the lower level he doesn't
answer even if the teacher asked him a question.
2. This relates to Erikson theory states that play allows children to learn about their social world
and try out new skills.
3. What really interested that lower level student tries so hard to practice in class and I think if
the teacher put more effort he will be better in learning.

Observation Task 7: classroom management and teacher talk.

What worked well and why?
What useful tips and strategies did you observe?
What techniques do you think the teacher uses to manage the children and why?
 Are there any children in the class with difficult or unusual behavior? How does the
teacher deal with these children?
Overall, is the teacher more negative or positive when dealing with management
issues? Why?
1. What really worked well when the teacher responded with positive reinforcement, I noticed
that students became more motivated and excited to do more and to be quite an act polite all
the time.
2. The MOST useful I really find it so beneficial when the teacher uses the happy and sad face
strategy. Students really follow their teacher rules and instruction when she starts using this
strategy.
3. The teacher manages her students by counting from 1 to 5 and I noticed that some of the
students enjoy this technique so the hurry up and finish their work quickly or they set down

and be quiet. Another technique is ending the request with thank you or even thank the
student for doing a good thing without asking him/her.
4. There is one student that teacher has difficulty to deal with him. The teacher tries her best to
deal with him. She also acts flexible with him and interacts with him. She also Uses visual or
auditory cues to grab his attention.
5. The teacher is always positive either with this student or with all or her class because her
positive reinforcement makes the students feel more motivated and ready to learn and to be
more interested in the class.

Observation Task 8: Activity types

How long do the children spend on one task?

What kind of tasks do they do individually? In pairs? In groups? As a class?
How does the teacher introduce the task? How are the instructions checked?
Work with a child. Ask him/her about what they enjoy doing at school. The
activities/subjects and why.
Ask a child about the things they are good at and also about what they want to learn
more about.

1. It depends on the level of the student, some of them spend 5 to 7 minutes some of them take
10 to 15 minutes.
2. For individual task teacher usually let them write their names, numbers or play with clay. Until
now teacher didnt give them pairs task but she always does group task with 5 to 6 students
she gives them a worksheet and asks the question and starts to evaluate them.
3. She starts to count what she will do One I will give you. Two you have to. Three when
youre done. Etc..
4. I asked Hamad about what she enjoys doing at school he told me that he like playing at the
playground, play with computers because the things he knows how to play with others and he
teaches them how to play football he also likes when the teacher read a story in the class.
5. Hamad said that he is good in singing, coloring and he loves science so much he also knows
how to write his name in English and he wants to learn how to write it in Arabic.
 Observation Task 9: Activities in ONE specialist class

How often do the children attend this class?

What kind of learning tasks place and why is it considered important?
What special skills/training does the teacher need?
What special equipment/facilities/resources are needed?
Ask a child what they enjoy about this class. Ask them what they learn?
Do you notice any special techniques that the teacher uses?
Does the teacher use strategies which are different from their main teacher?
What did you enjoy about the lesson?

1. Children attend Arabic class every day.

2. The teacher always focuses in group work she chooses 4 to 5 students and do a task with
them and then evaluate them
3. It's important because the teacher can observe the child closely and teacher can choose the
students based on their ability. Also, it benefits the students because they can focus more on
the teacher.
4. The teacher needs large book stories because most of her topics are based on stories. I
noticed that the teacher uses the questioning techniques why do you think? What is this?
Where can we see this.? Etc.
5. I asked a student about what she enjoys the most In Arabic class she told me that she like
when the teacher gives her the play-doh and let her create Arabic letter with it, also she
enjoys when the teacher tells them a story and when she gives him coloring worksheets.
6. I can also say that I enjoy the story part too because its interest and it makes the students
think and brainstorm.
 Observation Task 10: Integrated subject areas

What math or science concept the learners are studying e.g. numbers, addition,
measurement?
Did the students seem to enjoy the lesson? Why or why not?
Were students using the new math or science language in English? In Arabic?

1. In science, the subject teacher is teaching students about weather cloudy, rainy, sunny, snowy
and windy.
2. The students are enjoying the lesson because the teacher sing with them weather song and they
dance with her and within few minutes they already memorized the song and they kept singing it
without the teacher.
3. During the classes, she does so many activities about the weather and I can notice the students
never feel bored of doing those activities and when she asks them questions about the weather
they immediately answer their teacher. They use all the words in English and the can announce
the words very easily.