Observation visit form

Unit 1 requires candidates to observe an experienced practitioner teaching a lesson, accompanied by

their mentor. They should then discuss with their mentor the key features of an effective lesson.

Teacher name Date of

S 6th March 2017
(Certificate candidate) observation

Mentor name M

Experienced
K
practitioner name

Highlights of the I observed a Grade 2 class where the unit being taught was ‘States of Matter’,
lesson – as observed as the Unit of Inquiry, by Ms. M.
by the teacher As per my observation, the interaction of the Experienced Practitioner (EP) with
the learners was partly formal wherein an authority was exercised whenever
Give an account of the necessary. The teacher arrived on time and effectively managed the classroom
teaching and learning to help the learners settle down and created a comfortable and conducive
activities the learning environment. The latecomers were reminded about the class rules.
experienced practitioner Continuous movement around the class by the teacher helped to maintain a
healthy discipline in the class and the flow of interaction remained uninterrupted.
used and how effective
I also noticed that the EP had put on display, related information articles that the
they were. learners had been asked to collect prior to the session. This helped to improve
student engagement.
The EP used the Inquiry method of learning to introduce the concept. Learners
were encouraged to explore for various things around them like the content in
their water bottle, chairs, sponge mats etc. and were asked to discuss with each
other and think collaboratively. They were asked to come up with a single term
to describe them. The EP used open ended questions to lead the learners to the
concept from their prior knowledge. The focus was on developing the learners’
thinking and getting them to arrive at the concept by themselves. The EP noted
and collated the relevant ideas from the learners in the form of an advance
organiser, so that they had a visual representation of their thought process.
The EP used the above mentioned activity to explain the learning outcome to
the learners. The intended learning outcome for the session was to realise that
there are various states of matter existing all around us and that these can be
differentiated by their properties.The EP wrote it down on the board so that it
was visible to the class through out the session.
The EP introduced the various properties of matter by getting the learners to do
a hands-on activity in groups. Three exploration centres were set up in the
classroom - one each for solid, liquid and gas.The learners were given an
observation sheet in which they had to make notes of what they see and feel.
Rules, instructions and a time limit pertaining to the activity was set by the EP,
before the activity began.This activity induced their curiosity about how the
various states of matter differ from one another and they realised the properties
through experience and questions which came out of their curiosity. This forms
the basis of Inquiry based learning which is a constructivist approach. The EP
moved around the class observing learners’ work. The EP provided scaffolding
to ensure student learning by asking leading questions, clearing misconceptions
and providing assistance when required.
The learning progressed onto the next level, when the term ‘molecule’ was
introduced and Monica explained how the molecular arrangement differs in the
different states of matter. She brought out examples from the information
articles that the students had brought to the class. These examples, activities
 and resources helped to get the learners engaged in their learning, as the EP
took them through a coherent and structured lesson.
The EP set stage for Inquiry based learning through the simple water cycle
observation experiment in a bag. The learners were motivated to think and find
answers for themselves through this experiment.
In the last ten minutes of the class, the EP assessed the learners for learning by
giving them a worksheet where they had to reflect on their learning individually.
The questions in the worksheet tested the lower order thinking skills like recall of
facts. Further, the EP posed some questions which calls for higher order
thinking skills and analysis and prediction of uses of an object depending on its
state of matter and properties. These questions were posed for whole class
discussion, which enabled collaborative learning. This ensured that learners of
all abilities were able to experience success in their own way and ensured
differentiation.

Key features of an What teaching methods and learning activities engage and motivate learners?
effective lesson – from How is assessment used in the learning process?
discussion between What makes a lesson effective?
teacher and mentor

The identified key After the observation of the EP’s lesson, I realised that the disposition and prior
features should link to planning that a teacher brings plays an important role to create a conducive
the observation of the learning environment for the learners. I observed that the learners were made to
experienced practitioner feel responsible for their learning when they saw that their information articles
on various solids, liquids and gases were displayed in the classroom, prior to the
start of the session.
I had a discussion with my mentor, about the various learning strategies that she
used during the session to make learning effective. From this discussion I learnt
that explaining the lesson’s aim and learning objectives in the beginning of the
lesson gives a sense of direction to the learners of what they are going to learn
and equips them for learning. I also learnt that frequent reference to these
learning outcomes at relevant intervals helped the learners to remain on track.
I also noticed that using open ended questions which relate to real life scenarios
helps learners understand the relevance of the topic. The enthusiasm with which
the learners responded to these questions was a proof of deep student
engagement. Supplementing this with hands on activities helps in effective
learning and retention of information. The hands on activities at the exploration
centres also kept the interest levels of the learners high through the lesson.
When I saw the worksheet that the EP had given to the learners, I realised that
they had questions which consolidated their learning for the session apart from
testing the lower order thinking skills. Formative assessment was used by the
teacher to understand the level of learning achieved by the student and also
consolidate the session’s learning. This helped her to modify her teaching
strategies and gave her valuable insight into how to group the learners better
next time.
We also discussed about my observation of how the EP used open ended
questions and experiments as a platform for the learners to start thinking
analytically thus encouraging higher order thinking skills. This kept all the
learners motivated as they could experience success in their own way and
therefore ensured inclusive learning.
Whole class discussions encouraged peer learning as they discussed the
concepts collaboratively, before arriving at an answer. This teaching method
used by the EP ensured inclusive education.
The lesson was effective because the EP drew a connection between the prior
knowledge of the learners to develop understanding of the new concept and
therefore took them through the zone of proximal development. The open-ended
questions and the guiding questions helped develop the learners’ curiosity. At
the same time, the learners were challenged to come up with properties of the
matter through experiential learning activitiy that the learners did in small
groups. The teacher modelled the learning which helped the learners
understand what kind of answers and the level of description expected while
filling in the observation sheet. By discussing in groups and listening to their
peers’ description of the states of matter, collaborative learning was facilitated,
as they learnt about the other states of matter from their peers. The lesson also
progressed from simple to complex concepts which gave a coherent structure to
the lesson. As a result, the learners got engaged in the learning process and
developed new skills and understanding. This became evident in the formative
assessments.