Observation Report

Observer: Hala Sun Date of observation: February 17, 2012 Observation Number: 1 Time of Observation: 6:45pm7:15pm Location of Observation: (New) Hot Hula Dance Class, Monterey Sports Center (MSC) Name of Teacher: Mae Ruiz Ignacio Type and Focus of Observation: Wajnryb: Attending to Learner (1.1); Checking Learning (3.2) Description of the course: This Hot Hula class is a new fitness group exercise at MSC. Description of students present: There were 22 female students. 4 students seemed to be in their 40s; six students in their 30s; and 12 students in their 20s. Among these 22 students, only 5 of them were not white Caucasian in ethnicity. Method(s) of data collection: Field notes taken as a non-participant observer. Observation/Lesson Description Teacher Teaching Observation The teacher, who seemed to be in her late 30s and from a Southeast Asian country, entered the classroom. Hi! My name is Mae! How many of you had the Hot Hula before? the teacher introduced herself with a cheerleader tone. She waited to see how many students raise their hands and then explained what the class is about. This class is similar to zumba but it has more crumping and hip moving moves. Suddenly, a student entered the classroom; she was late for about four minutes. The teacher acknowledged the late student and told her to take her time but to hurry up. The students giggled at her joke and the teacher smiled. She then turned around to face the mirror and said with more enthusiasm, Now lets review some of the steps. And lets SMILE. She gave a big smile as she moved her hips slowly to the left and to the right. The students followed her movements carefully and she continued to show different movements. Now this is a BIG O and this is a small O, the teacher said while moving her hips. She moved her hips around as if she was drawing a circle (a big circle first and then a small circle). She also said the word big with a deeper and louder voice than when she said

Observation Report

small. After showing the big O and the small O three or four times, she turned away from the mirror to face the students. She made an eye contact with few students in the middle row. She checked everyones movements as she complimented the students by saying, Great job. Lets stop right here. This is going fun! Here we go! she said with a cheerful, highpitched voice as she ran towards the CD player. She played a music with a medium tempo drum beats (there were no musical notes or tonal sounds). Along with the music, she repeatedly moved her hips to the left and to the right and then made circles; students followed her moves concurrently. If this feels weird, its OK! Its normal! When I first learned this, I wasnt so good, she assured. This is a spicy dance because we have a spicy group tonight! she added. Students laughed at her remark. The Hula music that everyone danced to did not have varying tones. However, the teacher filled the drum beats with different pitches of her voice and with words. She was rhythmic and repetitive and she used figurative words to explain the movements. She used ripples and waves to indicate hula hand movements. Student Learning Observation Students, who showed competence in this Hot Hula class, stood in the front and second row next to the teacher. Two students in the front row danced with a straight face during the whole class session; they did not smile even though the teacher asked students to smile and laugh. However, these two students followed all the movements similar to what the teacher showed; they danced with full strength and their movements were clean and precise. In the middle row, there was a woman in her 40s who was doing the moves slower than the

Observation Report

rest. She had her mouth open as she watched and followed the teacher. She watched the teachers waist, then her feet, arms, and hands. When the movements became a little more complex (for instance, turning around, instead of just going left and right), she turned the wrong way but then she looked at the students in front of her (the more competent students) or looked at the mirror and self-corrected herself by turning to the right direction. This is when the teacher made a comment on how she was not so good when she first learned it. In the last two rows, there were students in their 20s and 30s. The students in their 20s kept giggling when the teacher made comments, such as This is a spicy group. These students were also competent in their moves (as they danced in the same steps and speed with the teacher). However, unlike the students in first row, they danced with a smile as the teacher instructed. Whenever the drum beats became faster, the teacher yelled, hut, hut, happy warrior! As a response, some students yelled Uh huh! as they were feeling the beat. Whenever it was time for the warrior movement, the students seemed to be excited; they did their motions bigger than usual and with more confidence (with a more relaxed face rather than being tensed). Everyone danced in coordination. Observers Commentary Attending to Learner: Teacher Sensitivity All throughout the session, I noticed that the teacher was sensitive and responsive to all the students. In the beginning of the class, the teacher checked the students level by asking them if they have taken the class before. Upon knowing that only few had taken the class before, she explained what the dance is by comparing it with a dance that is more familiar to the students (zumba). Another instance when she showed sensitivity to students is when she acknowledged the entrance of a late student and made a light joke, which was possibly to show that she saw her

Observation Report

and to lighten up the atmosphere. In addition, when the teacher saw the middle row woman pausing and struggling with a certain move, it was admirable how the teacher mentioned that she was not so good at this dance when she first learned it. She showed sensitivity to students affective learning by sharing her own experience to her students. Attending to Learner: Creating a Positive Learning Environment Overall, the teacher never ceased to create a positive learning environment for students. She constantly asked the students to smile and to laugh, not because she wanted them to take the class less seriously but I believe that she wanted to create a fun, comfortable learning environment. Furthermore, she encouraged her students by complimenting them and relating with them, especially when they are struggling. Finally, she used figurative words, such as ripples and waves when describing certain motions, which helped the students understand the dance more. Checking Learning: Student Correction & Helping Students Learn One of the interesting observations was when the middle row woman continued to selfcorrect herself during class. It was interesting because instead of watching the teacher to correct herself, she tried to learn by looking at her classmates in front of her who were doing well or by looking at the mirror. When she looked at the mirror, she seemed to compare and check her motions with her classmates motions. This shows that not only teachers check students learning but students also check their own learning and performance by comparing themselves with their peers. Teachers encouragement and positive energy also seemed to help students enthusiastically learn the dance moves; some smiled, some yelled uh huh, and some danced with more intensity. Furthermore, by turning around to make an eye contact and to check everyones

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motions, the teacher showed sensitivity to students learning pace. In addition, she complimented students that were struggling with the dance moves, which increased their confidence as their faces became more relaxed. The teacher used various strategies to accommodate students variation in learning. Reflections & Applications In her book Classroom Observation Tasks, Wajnryb (1992) mentions that we cannot teach a language but instead, we should create the right learning environment, which involves how the teacher relates to or attends to the learners (p. 28). Furthermore, Drnyei and Murphey (2003) point out that the success of classroom learning is dependent on various factors, which include classroom environment and the roles the teachers and learners. By observing the dance teachers teaching methods, I feel empowered to create an environment where learning could occur dynamically and organically. Wajnryb (1992) also reminds us the importance of checking learning and how students do not always learn what the teacher teaches or what the teacher wants them to learn; instead, learners learn in different ways and at different rate. Wajnrybs reminder is important for language teachers because we often lose patience when we do not see the desired outcome in students performance. As Wajnryb emphasizes, we ought to develop strategies to ensure that students are indeed learning or has learned what we teach or have taught.

References Drnyei, Z., & Murphey, T. (2003). Group dynamics in the language classroom. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Wajnryb, R. (1992). Classroom observation tasks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.