Observation Report Template

Number: __4___ Date: ____4/13/2011_____ Name: _Deniz Sen___ Name of School/Institution: Carlos Rosario International Charter School Class Information Number of students_ 24__ Level__low intermediate__ Age Average (estimate)__30’s-40’s___ Observation

What is the focus of the class (what do you think the objective is?)

The main focus of the class was helping students acquire English for ‘life skills’. Nearly all of the students were South American immigrants who needed to learn English to live and work in the U.S. The aim of the class was to give students the tools to manage the requirements of daily life in English. The teacher explained that most of the students had low literacy levels in their native language and a few of them were actually illiterate on arrival. The teacher wrote the objectives of that day’s lesson on the board before class and went over them with the students. The specific objectives of that lesson were: using keywords to search for information on the internet; asking and answering questions using the past tense of ‘to be’; identifying important information on utility bills and being able to pay them.

How does the teacher address that objective? (Are there activities? Lead-ins? Pair/group work? What does the teacher do or set up?)

The first hour of the two and a half hour class was spent in the computer lab. The teacher explained to the students the tasks they would complete in the lab. The main activity was finding answers to a variety of questions (i.e. When is Michelle Obama’s birthday? What is the capital of Portugal? What is the phone number of the National Zoo? What is the temperature in Dallas today? The students were asked to identify and use the key words in each question to search for the answers. After they completed the task, students were asked to retake the online grammar test they had corrected with the teacher. Once finished, they were free to use the Quia program on their computers to practice weaker skill areas. There was pair work during dialogs and role play.

What is the balance of teacher talking time to student talking time?

The teacher was leading the class and explaining everything the students needed to complete the tasks but the general classroom atmosphere was very communicative and there was a lot of interaction both among students and between the teacher and the students. She elicited information as much as possible. Does the teacher engage the students? Equally? Fairly?

The teacher was very skilled in engaging the students. Students were constantly busy, there was hardly any downtime. The teacher engaged the students equally, giving each one a chance to answer questions. She made it a point to get the silent students more involved, but only suggested that they participate so as not to make them feel pressured. .

Do the students seem comfortable with the teacher’s instructions? Why or why not?

The teacher’s instructions were clear and precise. It was obvious that she was a very experienced teacher and knew exactly how to provide instructions so that they were easily comprehendible. She made use of ‘teacher talk’.

Does the teacher give feedback to the students? If so, in what form?

The class had taken a midterm exam the previous day and the teacher had gone over the questions with the students, providing feedback. She then asked them to retake the same test online at the computer lab. She wanted to see if the feedback session would help students score better on the second exam. Also, she made sure to walk around the classroom during exercises to provide feedback and give help to those who needed it. When it was time for students to practice their weaker skills, the teacher knew what each person needed to work on.

Post lesson

What do you think the students can do now that they could not do before this class?

The students were now able to use search engines more efficiently to look for information. They were able to read and decipher utility bills. They were able to use the past tense of the verb ‘to be’ a little better than before.

What do you think the students liked/disliked about the lesson?

There was a very warm and relaxed environment in the classroom. Students were enthusiastic about the work they were doing. It seemed like the students were happy with the dialogue they had established with the teacher and amongst themselves. They felt comfortable with the teacher and were very cooperative. There were even times when the whole class was laughing out loud. I don’t believe they disliked anything. The teacher explained that since these students needed to learn English to survive, they were highly motivated and appreciative of everything the teacher taught them.

What did YOU like/dislike about the lesson?

I liked the general atmosphere the teacher had created in the classroom. There was a genuine feel of cooperation between students and teacher. I liked the fact that the class emphasized the learning of life skills and most of the work done in class was very applicable to authentic, real life experiences. They used the extra 10 minutes added to class time by the school for free reading. The teacher explained that students were unable to spend time on extensive reading due to family and work obligations.

What would you have done differently with this group of students, if anything?

There was really nothing I would have done differently; it was the most successful class I’ve observed so far. If I had to do something differently, I probably would have corrected sudents’ pronunciation (using recasts) during class because there were times when some students could not be understood due to mispronunciations.

Did you have a chance to speak with the teacher after or before the lesson?

I spoke with the teacher before and after the lesson and also during break. She gave me background information about the group and the varied curriculum that they have at the school. She explained that a lot of work was done on the computer since students had to develop general computer skills. She showed me journals and portfolios that students had created.