Key developments

I have become more observant and sensitive to what is going on in class, which made me more self-conscious (negative meaning. Maybe u mean aware?) and critical towards my classroom practices. This was due to me trying out different things and becoming more flexible by: decluttering my lessons, making use of silences and subtle signs to make a point or wait for an answer, encouraging more collaborative activities, and creating more space for the learners by stepping back and keeping a low profile.

My main action points in stage 2 were:1. Improvement in giving and checking instructions.2. Meaning clarification and CCQs.

I have done some reading as planned, which highlighted overlooked points and helped me focus, but it didn’t do much to foster implementation of the much needed changes in my lessons. I would say that watching demo lessons on youtube and taking notes was more practical.

The observer worksheets proved effective since they covered all the main points and seemed to work well once the observer familiarized with them. They were rather ?? (though very comprehensive) and some questions were considered repetitive. What I found most useful were our conversations after the lessons.Using the worksheets as reference points helped me get into the practice of carefully thinking through and writing down my instructions and CCQ in my LP which I had not done before.

I had planned to take photos of my boardwork (at different stages of the lesson) and write a log based on 4 guidance questions. However, I have done it on fewer occasions than planned and the evidence was inconclusive, since I failed to compare my work to the one in the students’ notebooks due to lack of time and persistency.

Current weaknesses

My main strengths have been the reduction of TTT and the increase in waiting time after posing a question and asking a student to answer it. I have also introduced more group and pair work activities with my young learners, making them more autonomous and less dependent on the teacher (Read 2007).

The main weakness remains my reluctance in using the ICQ and my lack of skill in phrasing them appropriately. I have also been told that my voice tends to be monotonous and dull and lacks expressiveness. Furthermore there seems to be a mismatch between my words and my body language. Finally I need to further practice my CCQ: they are underused because definitions and synonyms remain

my favored methods of language clarification as well as translations, since my students prefer them.

Action plan

Good quality teacher talk in class is invaluable for learners’ progress, as it ensures the tasks are done effectively and purposefully, which relates to giving proper instructions. The teacher needs to make use of body language as well as words to convey the message. To raise awareness of this issue Tanner and Green (1998) propose observation tasks related to the three aspects of the teacher's use of body: teaching space, eye contact and body language, in addition to well defined and clear instructions as explained by Scrivener (1994).

In order to I intend to When

Further improve instructions and ICQ

Arrange to observe a colleague’s lesson

2nd week in February

Make better use of my voice and improve diction

Practice giving instructions with a colleague (expert in the field of body language and expression)

Observer worksheet

February, March, April

Improve quality of CCQ

Reread Workman’s (2008) book and write CCQ for all the items I anticipate as challenging;

Ask a colleague to prepare CCQ for the same items and compare

February

Improve boardwork Use the personal reflection questions and write more consistently

Check 3 ss notebooks

in the next 3 months

Data collection

I will carry on using the observer worksheets for ICQ and CCQ with slight modifications (Appendices 1 & 2) because they were effective and helped me gather relevant data. I will prepare an observer task worksheet for body language use (Appendix 3), record my instructions while practicing with a colleague and then reflect on them. As suggested by the CT, I will film an observed lesson, watch and evaluate it and during our feedback session will compare notes to see how accurate my self-evaluation had been.

I will ask two colleagues to write CCQ on items I might find challenging or have struggled with in class. I believe that will give me more ideas and help me change my thinking mode.  

I will ensure that I write about the boardwork in my post lesson reflection and check students’ notebooks consistently by choosing 2 or 3 students per lesson rather than wanting to take a look at more notebooks as I had been doing.

Bibliography1. Read. C (2007) ‘500 Activities for the primary classroom’2. Scrivener. J (1994)3. Tanner and Green (1998) ‘Tasks for Teachers Education’

Appendix 1

Appendix 3 

Observation task

1. Teaching space

Please sketch the classroom and draw the teachers movement in the first 6 minutes of the lesson (there is an example below).

2. Eye contact

Draw the classroom again and note the teacher’s eyes contact in the next 3

minutes of the lesson

3. Body language

Fill in this table with what you have noticed (10 min) after focusing on the eye contact

Body language Meaning

e.g. Raises hand Means silence

Post-observation questions (to be answered and then discussed with the teacher)

1. Describe the teaching space and say why you think she has used ite.g. She sat behind her desk because I think she was nervous and not very

confident with this class

2.  a) Which areas of the classroom did she focus on the most? Why?     

b) Which learners do you think she doesn’t make eye contact with? Why?

[ in question 2 above u have a) and b), in the next u use bullet points, maybe u could use the same layout, e.g. only bullet points? Just being picky, but it'd look tidier ;) ]

3. Which types of body language did the teacher use?(e. g. arms, hands, fingers)

How helpful was her body language in conveying the message?

Did her body language correspond to what she was saying?

Did her body language help the students in understanding instructions?

Did her body language convey enthusiasm and involvement and if so in what way?

If not why not?Adapted from Tarner and Green (1998) Teaching Tasks for Teacher Education pg. 107-109