TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook

Observation Report

Name of Observer__Xi Qin______ Observation # ___2___

Date Observation Class Skill/Content Level Teacher

Environment*

11/10/201 Online IEP grammar Beginning Diane

7 course level

*Include the URL if the class was online

WRITE THE OBJECTIVES ACCORDING TO THE OBSERVATION GUIDELINES:

STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE PAST TENSE IN A SENTENCE.

STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO WRITE DOWN THE CORRECT SENTENCE IN A PAST TENSE.
STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH CLASSMATES USING PAST
TENSE.

Notes while observing:

At the beginning of class 0:05/35:00 Warm up
T showed a picture painted by the artist ‘Picasso’ and let Ss discuss about what
they saw. That was a Brain Storm section to set the theme for the lesson.

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Observation Notebook
Teacher asked some students to show their ideas.
Presentation (part 1) 3:00/35:00
T asked Ss “Do you know anything about Picasso?” Some Ss said yes.
Then, teacher gave Ss a short article about Picasso and a test paper. Ss need to
read the article first and then checked correct sentences on the test paper. After Ss
worked individually, teacher did a peer check. It was possible that Ss may use
target language during the discussion.
The purpose of this section was let Ss read some examples of target language and
had a first expression about past tense.
Presentation (part 2) 6:00/35:00
There were several incorrect sentences in the test. Teacher asked someone to
correct the sentence like No.3 and write it down on the blackboard. (He started to
paint when he was 10.) Teacher used of time lines help students have a deeper
understanding about why use past tense in the sentence. Then, she concluded the
form of past tense sentences with Ss together.
Some other sentences showed by teacher.
Then, Teacher turned sentences to the highlighting endings.
At the end of this section, teacher compered different pronunciation of different
words in past tense and let Ss repeat for several times. At this time, all Ss had
already knew the general usage of past tense.
Practice (controlled practice) 23:00/35:00
In this section, Teacher set an activity that allows Ss to test their understanding of
rules. There were some simple tense sentences on the test paper and teacher asked
students to change sentences into Past tense form.
Ss finished exercise and changed paper with classmates.
Teacher checked the answer.
Practice (freer practice) 25:00/35:00
Teacher wrote some sentences on the blackboard like “Yesterday I didn’t… Last
year, I…”
Teacher asked Ss to think about some simple tense verb which they may use to
complete the sentences.

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 TESOL Certificate Programs
Observation Notebook
Then, teacher asked Students to write their own sentences down and then made a
conversation with their partner. Like “What did you do yesterday? I played
computer games.” This practice allowed varied personalized use of the language.
Production 30:00/35:00
In this section, Teacher divided class into two groups. One as a tourist, the other
one as a tour guide. Ss need to use past tense to set up a conversation with their
partner.

What did you learn about teaching or learning from this lesson as it relates to the
theory you have studied in your TESOL classes? Include at least one reference (with
an in-text citation) to support your response. (250-500 words)
In this observation, I focused on the lesson, and specially, the type. There is no
doubt that this lesson is a Learner-Centered lesson, Diane gave us a successful
lesson for us to study.
So, how can I say Diane’s class is successful? According to Richards and Farrell
(2011), A successful lesson makes the learners – rather than the teacher – the
focus of the lesson. First, we can see, in this class, Diane just played the role of
guide, for example, she did not tell students the form of past tense sentences at the
beginning of the class, but wrote sentences on the blackboard and let students
conclude by themselves. In this way, students became the center of a class but not
the teacher.
Then, the activities in the class could also give full expression to the Learner-
Centered Teaching. At the very beginning of the class, Diane Showed a painting
of Picasso instead of telling students the content of the article is about Picasso.
In a class, the tasks should also be sufficiently motivating so that the students are
willing to put in extra effort and sustain their interest in doing the task. (Richards
and Farrell, 2011) The students were drawn into the class by the warm up activity
completely. When it comes to another activity, we can also find it was attractive.
In the practice part, Diane designed the activity as “talk about the things you did
yesterday or last week”. It really related to individuals in the class and it proved
the point of “personalizing your teaching” (Richards and Farrell, 2011) well.

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 TESOL Certificate Programs
Observation Notebook
Last but not the least, Diane set up the Leaner-Centered lesson by creating a
community of learners. According to Richards and Farrell (2011), Effective
teachers build a sense of community in their classroom by using their students’
names and regularly using small- group tasks. That’s exactly what Diane did.
By watching this class, I really learned a lot, especially for the Learner-Centered
Teaching, and this is what I need to practice in the future.

Reference

Richards J. & Farrell T. (2011). Practice Teaching: A reflection Approach. New

York, N.Y. , USA: Cambridge University Press.

Last Updated: 3/25/2018 2:46 AM

 TESOL Certificate Programs
Observation Notebook

Last Updated: 3/25/2018 2:46 AM

 TESOL Certificate Programs
Observation Notebook

Last Updated: 3/25/2018 2:46 AM

 TESOL Certificate Programs
Observation Notebook

Last Updated: 3/25/2018 2:46 AM