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My Classroom Observation

During the course of the semester, I had the opportunity to observe a seasoned instructor at ESL services here at UT. The course that I observed was an Intermediate Reading and Discussion class. I felt very fortunate to have been able to observe this class. The instructor created an environment that was conducive to learning in which all the students appeared to feel at ease due to her warm, friendly personality and also because she was approachable and appeared to possess a genuine interest in hearing her students' opinions. One thing that I learned from this instructor related to planning and adapting those plans to fit the students' needs. The teacher was very organized and planned all of her activities ahead of time. Another thing that she did well related to task-based learning through group work. She broke the class up into groups on two separate occasions. In this way she provides communicative activities, which allow the students to practice their language skills. It also allows for a more learner-centered classroom. The instructor made good use of authentic materials. The idea of using Craig's List as an authentic source of reading material had never occurred to me. In fact I may have to copy her and use Craig's List later in my own teaching! Another thing that I really liked about her class was the fact that she incorporates a little bit of strategies training into every lesson in order to promote learner autonomy. The thing that I learned most from this classroom observation experience was to watch how she elicits information from the students. She appeared to be extremely patient and waited for the students to come up with their responses. I believe this instructor to be highly effective and someone to whom I can use as a model. She incorporated many things that I liked into only a twohour lesson, including proper planning, providing authentic and interesting materials, promoting learner autonomy through strategies training, allowing group work, employing a communicative approach to learning, creating a learner-centered environment, and using integrated focus on form. Click here to view my Classroom Observaion in its entirety

Report on Classroom Observation and Discussion with Students [professor], [course], [date], [observers]
You asked us to observe a sample segment of your upper level biology class, in which you are applying a combination of collaborative (team-based) learning, problem-solving approaches, discussions on "what-if" scenarios and student-teaching. Our assessment task was open-ended. elow you will find a general overview of the class, a crude analysis of reasons for various successes and problems (that may apply to using this approach elsewhere), and finally a more detailed analysis of things to address in this particular class.

Overview
!he class atmosphere was congenial and the students were actively engaged in discussion. You have clearly developed a format where students participate in"authentic" discussion and understand theiraccountability to that discussion and to their peers. !he learning environment is impressive for an upper level course of this si"e (#$%). &tudents themselves give the class overwhelmingly high marks. 'early all the students are working harder in this course than in any other. 'early all find the

approach interests them more in the material, and roughly two-thirds feel they are learning morematerial, learning it more deeply, and learning better communication skills in the process.

What's Working, What's Not--and Why


&tudents very much appreciate the chance to be engaged in "real" problems and analysis of comple( situations and "what-if" scenarios that challenge them to think. &ome of this seems to be enthusiasm for an upper level course, but much of it also seems to draw on your free-wheeling style (versus pre-planned lecture) that e(plores each situation opportunistically. )oughly half the students feel the course can succeed mostly because of what they have learned earlier in other classes* in this class they develop a deeper appreciation of the conte(t and connections of concepts they+ve already learned, while also ac,uiring a deeper conceptual understanding. &ome students wanted to encounter this approach from the outset of college, but others felt the need to have something to build on first. Your specific style in this class may thus be tailored only to upper level classes. - suspect (from the cross-section of comments) that stronger students respond more favorably, while those less e(perienced in organi"ing information want.need a bit more structure. &tudents en/oy being able to ask questions (and feel the freedom to do so). 0hile students take substantial notes from the reading and in preparing material in small groups, during class discussion they learn more from the

dialogue itself and from recurring e(amples. !here is an important "learn-by-doing" component--suggesting that what is learned (if learned) will be more permanent. &tudents report that they invest considerable time in the course--probably the ma/or reason they are learning more material. &o motivation is key. -t appears that the most significant factor is intra-group accountability. !hey respond to "peer pressure" and to the system of rewards that promote contributions to other members of the group and coming to class prepared. !hey readily admit to responding to the point-system. 1lmost all acknowledge the increased level of pressure on them, yet they seem to find the pressure good, not stifling or oppressive. Our estimate was that about one- ,uarter of the students have learned to engage in the material "professionally," while performance for the other three-,uarters depends mostly on this motivation.reward system. 2ence, there are some potential tensions still to be resolved between short- term class goals and long-term learning goals. Your written survey.,uestionaire focused mostly on the content. 'ote, however, that #3%4 of students would add that they are learning communication and presentation skills, while developing confidence in such group situations through practice. !his is another valuable dimension of learning that ought not to be overlooked--and perhaps incorporated into the class reward.grading structure.

y not following a strict ("lecture"-driven) tra/ectory, you seem to be able to identify what students do not understand well. !hey appreciate being able to revisit material and having multiple opportunities to learn. !his is especially important where students rely on other students who may not be fully prepared or skilled at presenting material. &tudents also recogni"e your keen ability for posing ,uestions that e(pose their uncertainties and the unfinished edges of their learning. 'ote that you often become involved with specific individuals, virtually e(cluding the rest of the class. 1t one level, you are modeling an interaction for all to observe (and many do watch)--but you do not draw e(plicit attention to this, or always e(pand the focus to include the whole class. You simply might want to try being more aware of individual versus whole-group focus and how this affects classroom dynamics.

Recommendations
5ew students feel that they know how they+re doing in the course. 1lmost 166 want more feedback in terms of grades, points from group evaluations, or how they "measure up" against course e(pectations. 1t the same time, nearly all feel that they can articulate clearly e(actly what they+ve learned. Intra-group accountability is working well. 7eep it (but note peer pressure above.)

y contrast, inter-group accountability seems to falter significantly. &tudents do not like (8resent9) having to teach what has been taught to them when initially taught by a group weaker than themselves--with no opportunity to accommodate the other group+s weaknesses. )elative level of satisfaction is significantly lower here. &tudents would like to know who will teach them in advance, so that they can prepare against it if needed(:), O) be given a one-class turn-around time between being taught and teaching the same material. ;onsider even eliminatingsecond-order group teaching (keeping "plain" group presentations). -f - gauge the situation correctly, thepeer accountability feedback loops are working well in small groups, but not at the intragroup level. <y unvalidated impression is that most students /ust go back and learn it on their own afterwards--defeating the purpose of the group interaction. -f you continue this type of interaction, you may need to increase the amount of commentary. feedback (or degree of point-accountability) for each group. &elf-selected groups, however, may stratify the class and make uniform performance (even through accountability) difficult. <any persons found the inter-group teaching to slow things down. &till, most acknowledged that when they went over the material a second or third time, you introduced more e(amples that deepened the discussion. 'ote that only half agreed fully that your approach allows them to learn the material more ,uickly (any increased

rate may well be due to other basic motivational factors, not group processing). &urvey responses and comments offer the perpetually cryptic contradiction that the pace is both too fast and too slow at the same time. ;learer review or periodic retrospective synopses may help clarify where the pace really is. &tudents are keenly aware that your approach keeps them on top of material and prepared for each class (good), but that this also puts a premium on preparation. !hey would like more advance schedulingso that they can accommodate the work to their schedules -- especially when groups have to coordinate outside class. You have a very competitive group(:). -s it clear how each person has an opportunity to receive a good mark based on some known grading standard or set of e(plicit e(pectations9 (-t seemed that intra-group processing led to ranking, rather than absolute achievement -- some student an(iety here.) 'ot all students are enamored of this approach. 2ence, you may need to consider, more than usual, how toaccommodate the minority. ;onsider the approriateness of stating more e(plicit or more organi"ed instructional goals at the outset. (=o not rely e(clusively on lists of problems and working through them. -dentify the structure or conceptual scaffolding9) -+m guessing occasional recaps that identify

what was learned in the past (day9 week9 > weeks9) might also help. (?ost review "maps" on web9) &tudies nationally indicate that students don+t mind e(tra work if it is worthwhile. &till, you might want to monitor workload to ensure that students do not feel undue sacrifice relative to other classes--and that the workload is indeed commensurate with the credit hours received. You might remind students of your own work for.time commitment to the course--often less visible in this format. ()emind students how you are not merely avoiding your /ob by shifting the burden of "teaching" to them.) e attentive to noise and voice levels. 1 loud fan in the room does not help, of course. - found - could not hear many students--and noticed that many other students "tuned out" on occasions where they could not hear* they did not ask their peers to speak more loudly. You might consider how you set an e(ample, by asking each person to speak loudly and clearly (in a sense, honoring their contribution for all), and inviting others to feel free to re,uest the same on their own. &ome students apparently want more visuals -animation or handouts. &ome of this may be insecurity, but it is also easily remedied. &ome of it may be related to the advanced level you e(pect, which could be clarified by additional visual information.

1rticulate more clearly the relationship between lab and "lecture," and perhaps give stronger or clearer /ustification for lab grade being @%4. Your openness to ,uestions in "lecture" seems not to be paralleled by an e,ual openness in lab9 Overall, - hope this summary means that things are generally working well. !he intra- group work is probably the strongest element, with the open-ended "what-if" discussions in class ranking second. =evelopment of communication skills is another valuable dimension worth highlighting. 'eed for more (grade) feedback and attention to second-order teaching dynamics seem to be the two elements most needing some attention. 1dvanced schedules and more e(plicit course e(pectations would additionally help smooth things, especially for the weaker students.

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