Observation Sheet Questioning

(Please complete this form for both primary and secondary professional experiences and
place in your ePortfolio)

Graduate Standards - AITSL
Professional Knowledge: 1. Know students and how they learn
Professional Practice: 2. Plan and implement effective teaching and learning

Question Type


Do you feel your
questions were clearly
structured and readily
understood by the
students?
Yes, I felt they were well thought out and straight forward. If I felt at
any point my question wasnt clearly structured I would restructure it
to make it easier to understand.

Did you use a variety
of question types?
I varied between direct and open questions and those that provided
straight forward answers. The questions were balanced in order to
provide students with the opportunity to share their answers as easily
and as detailed as possible. Other questions were used to prompt
students and encourage them to develop their answers.

What balance was there
between the various
questions types?
I tried to balance the questions accordingly in order to engage and
encourage students as much as possible while still allowing them to
find the answers within themselves and develop an understanding of
the context of the discussion. The balance allowed for a better flow of
discussion and built upon prior knowledge.

Consider both why and
when you made use of
the different question
types?
I used different types of questions to get students thinking and
reflecting on their learning. When I felt the students needed some
help with the discussion or answering the question I would either
word the question differently or take a different stance.

Distributing and Directing Questions


Did you recognise any
pattern in the distribution
of your questions
amongst the students?
Consider reasons for this
pattern?
At first I directed questions at and accepted answers from the more
confident sounding students who werent afraid to speak up. I would
say I did this because I was otherwise afraid that I wouldnt receive an
answer at all. As I became more confident with the students I began
to distribute my questions a lot more evenly and was not afraid of the
students and they were not afraid of me.

How have you
directed questions to
the group?
I directed them so anyone could answer them and encouraged a
response from all students. I spread out and broke up questions to
provide more opportunity for other students to answer or finishing
answering my question.

Have you used wait
time?
I did. I used wait time to allow for students to really think about
their answers and not feel pressured.

Did you make eye
contact with the group
as you directed your
questions?
Yes, I tried to make it as friendly as possible and not intimidating.
Instead I tried to use to eye contact to encourage students and
confirm their answers or questions.

Reactions to Students Responses


How do you deal with
correct responses? Do
you qualify any praise
given?
I tried to praise children when required without over doing it.
Sometimes I would simply agree with the correct response because
otherwise I would feel as though I was repeating myself a lot, and at
times I felt as though praise wasnt overly necessary.
How do you deal with
incorrect responses?
How do you deal with
students who stumble
and grope for an answer?
If a child responds incorrectly I try a different question or approach
with them in an attempt to give them an opportunity to re think their
answer/s. If a child stumbles or struggles I try to encourage them and
possibly prompt them.









Do you keep eye contact
with the students until
they have completed an
answer? Do you cut
students off and go onto
the next point before they
have finished
responding?
If I feel as though my eye contact is making the student/s
uncomfortable or putting pressure on them I revert it a bit or break
off eye contact completely. I believe it depends on the child as to how
much eye contact is appropriate and/or appreciated. I have never cut
a child off when they are speaking unless they are saying something
totally inappropriate on purpose to test the boundaries.


What use do you make of
the students responses
to develop the teaching
point? Have you
redirected any questions
in order to add to an
initial response?
I made use of divergent responses in the sense that I used them to
develop a connection to other relative content/lessons. I encouraged
the connections made my students to other content or subject areas
as I feel they are very important when students are developing ideas
and questions around the teaching point.

Are you the only
evaluator of the
students answers?
When taking a class or group of students the teacher would not
interrupt my lesson while it was running or I was speaking but instead
comment on students answers after the lesson. They would then
reflect on their responses to my questions once my lesson was
completed.


Overall Comments

The group lesson I conducted definitely gave me the opportunity to get to know each student
better and see how they learn and interact with other students. I feel as though I was able to
connect with each student through my use of questioning and they were able to see what I
had to offer as a teacher. My mentor teacher had two of the same lessons set up for two
different classes (one after another), so he asked us to run our group lessons twice so each
class got to work with us. During the first lesson I worked with a group of girls and during the
second lesson I worked with a group of boys. It was interesting to have the same gender in
each group because I hadnt worked like that before. Once again I really enjoyed delivering
both my group lesson and my whole class lesson. It was definitely a great feeling when I could
see each student had met my lesson outcomes and actually got something out of their time
with me.






Observation Sheet Management

(Please complete this form for both primary and secondary professional experiences and
place in your e portfolio)


Graduate Standards AITSL
Professional Practice:
1. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
2. Planning for Effective Management


Was your lesson plan
effective for managing
the class?

e.g. How did the
students react to your
lesson overall and to
your planned activities?

Did anything
unexpected happen?

Did you provide a variety
of activities?

Were you satisfied with
your timing, particularly
for the end of the
lesson?

Did you feel you were
able to change things if
needed?
I feel that both of the lessons I conducted during my week in a
secondary school were well planned with activities which were
relevant and sufficient for both the content and time restrictions. The
students seemed to thoroughly enjoy both lessons which made me
feel confident and proud. They didnt have any issues with the
activities planned for each activity and completed them willingly with
a positive attitude.
Nothing unexpected happened in any of my lessons, except that my
small group lesson in Science seemed to flow very smoothly
(something which my mentor teacher commented on). I was surprised
because I wasnt feeling overly confident on the topic or lesson for
that matter as Science isnt my strong point.
Yes, I tried to make sure there was more than one activity per lesson
to keep the students interested and engaged.
Surprisingly, both lessons went very well in regards to timing and did
not run over time at all without students feeling rushed or bored.
If things werent working I managed to adapt them slightly to make
things run a bit more smoothly. For example in my Physical Education
class the players in each zone in a particular game were unbalanced in
terms of athletic ability causing the game to be very one sided. To fix
this I simply switched the players around to balance the ends out a bit
more.

Was your organisation
of materials and
resources efficient and
effective?

e.g. Did you and the
students have
everything you
needed?
Yes, everything I listed in my lesson was efficient and effective in the
sense that nothing seemed to be lacking or unorganized. I did double
check all equipment before the commencement of each lesson and
made sure it was organized in a way which was easily accessible.


Did you plan how and
when you would
distribute and collect
materials?
The lessons I conducted required minimal materials. For the Phys Ed
lesson I got out and set up the equipment prior to the students
arriving so it wasnt a distraction to them. The students all helped to
collect the equipment at the end of the lesson and put it away.
Were you aware of
classroom procedures
and school disciplinary
policy? How much did
you know
about your students?
Yes, the teacher provided us with a copy of the class charter at the
start of the week so I was aware of the procedure to follow if
necessary. Fortunately, the students I had were extremely well
behaved and no discipline was necessary. He also made me and the
other student teacher aware of a student with autism.


Maintaining a Positive Attitude in the Classroom

How did you demonstrate
to the students that you
valued them, and enjoyed
l earni ng?

e.g. Tone of voice,
facial expression,
sense of humour,
introduction to
students and topic.
Throughout my lessons and whenever dealing with students I
maintained a positive attitude, tone of voice and posture to
encourage students to open up and show them that I was a friendly
teacher who cares what they have to say. I tried to smile at and with
students as much as possible whenever appropriate. I felt as though
they appreciated the warmth I showed them and it helped them to
see that I do care about their learning and what they have to say.
Which aspects of your
teaching style do you
feel helped you maintain
class attention?

e.g. Variety of activities,
class or group
discussion, pace of
lesson, interest at
class level.
I feel as though the structure of my lessons were definitely my strong
point because they were well planned and allowed me to perform
confidently in front of group and class settings. Therefore the pace of
my lesson was very good and students remained interested and
focused throughout each.

Did the students know
what was expected of
them?
Yes, I feel as though my instructions were clear enough for students
to understand what was expected of them and if they had a query or
question I happily answered them and they continued with the
activity.
Were you able to redirect
energies of attention
seeking students? Did
the students have
enough
to do?
Each lesson definitely had enough in it to keep the students occupied
and working therefore no students appeared to seek attention or
become disruptive. Some students were slightly louder when
answering questions or speaking so I simply reminded them of the
volume level and to keep it down.





Dealing with Minor Misbehaviour


Were you aware of what
was happening in all
parts of the classroom?
Did you know what each
student was doing?
The whole class lesson I took was a Physical Ed lesson so it was not in
a classroom and instead out on the oval. This made it a bit harder to
watch and see everything that was happening but I tried my best and
corrected any minor mishaps. Each student was in an area and
spaced out where I had control and was aware of what they were
doing.

Did you take any
action when you
observed poor
behaviour? Why?
Why not?
Overall the students I encountered this week were so well behaved
that I did not have any problems which needed to be addressed.
Occasionally I did need to wait a little bit for all students full attention
but this was only a minor mishap and I would not say it was poor
behavior as such, rather a result of excitement, chance and
anticipation.

Did you use non-verbal
cues? e.g. Contact,
pause, gesture,
movement toward
student/s concerned.
I learnt in my week in a primary school setting that the use of wait
time is effective in showing students that you will not commence
until you have their full attention. I also used simple hand signals to
signal to be quiet or to stop. Proximity has also been an effective tool
to show and warn students that I am aware of what they are doing.


Overall Comments

I was extremely lucky to be in a very well behaved class/year group. It made my whole
experience in a secondary setting so much more enjoyable. The only time the students
seemed a bit restless was when they were excited and they soon calmed down for their
lesson. My mentor teacher had obviously established clear boundaries with the students from
the beginning and it was evident that the students respected this. In saying that he was also a
friendly and approachable teacher who was able to have a laugh with the students and make
them feel comfortable and appreciated. I respected and admired his teaching style and hope
my experience observing his approach reflects in my classroom in the future.



Schools as text looking at the whole school

Describe the school in terms
of its demographics,
appearance and resources
(be general here and do not
name the school).
The secondary school I attended was a private school with
religious affiliations. The school itself seemed old, in a structure
sense, but all resources were very much up to date. Each
student had an iPad as it is a requirement on their booklist and
each teacher also has an iPad. There was an Interactive
Whiteboard in every classroom which was utilized extremely
well during each lesson I observed. Overall the school was an
extremely warm and welcoming environment in which I felt
very comfortable and respected. It was a fantastic example of
how a school should be.
What were the roles and
responsibilities of the
teaching staff you
observed?
The teachers I observed were very much involved in the school
and the students were definitely their main priority. My
mentor teacher was involved in numerous extra-curricular
activities such as primary chess. Each teacher was responsible
for a form class in which they performed uniform checks (if
necessary), read any daily notices to the students and delivered
a morning devotion to the class before dismissing them for
their first period of the day. As a result of a recent PD/staff
meeting all teaching staff were required to read a book called
How Learning Works and implement strategies from the
book into their lessons in order to better their teaching and
promote reflection of styles of teaching. At the staff meeting
attended by me and my buddy each teacher was given the
chance to share what they have learnt from the book and how
it has helped or has not helped when implemented in their
classrooms. The main role and responsibility of the teaching
staff I observed was to provide an up to date, diverse
education to all students and enforce disciplinary measures
when necessary to ensure productivity from all students and
provide a safe and comfortable learning environment and
school community.




Students







What did you observe non-
teaching staff doing to
support teaching and
learning in the school?
You will have observed the
diverse nature of your
classes. How was this
diversity supported?
The non-teaching staff were responsible for recording
students activities and entering data into school systems,
compiling newsletters, writing emails, organizing
school/community events. They also wrote notes for
things like swimming lessons and provided support for
teaching staff by running simple errands and confirming
information.
The teacher embraced the diversity within the classroom
and treated each child equally. There were many students
from different cultural backgrounds and it was obvious the
teacher respected this. On the Thursday of my week,
during chapel, Machine Gun Preacher was the guest
speaker. His speech was rather raw and confronting, as
was the footage shown throughout the service. The school
had a few Sudanese students who had witnessed some of
the horrific things the Preacher was talking about and as a
result were very distressed and upset by the talk. The
teachers all supported and respected these students as
they relived the horror they were once exposed to. I
believe it was very important that they gave them space
like they did and allowed them to calm down before
getting on with their work. The students definitely
respected the fact they were able to feel the way they did
without pressure from teachers to continue with their day.


Function of Schools

Did you observe the
connection of your schools
with the broader community?
How did this happen?
Yes I observed the connection of the school with the local
church. I was able to witness this through attending a chapel
service
What do you think the
function of school is?
To provide a safe and comfortable learning environment in
which students are provided the opportunity to thrive to their
full potential. Depending on the school, it should teach and
allow students to develop an understanding of a religion,
whereby they also teach respect for others and themselves.
Finally a school should promote and develop a healthy
connection with the surrounding community.