Week 5 Reflections (Jopescu)

Over the past weeks, I got the valuable opportunity to conduct several lessons for the 8^th-grade English classes I was observing, namely 8C and 8D. I was given 4 periods of lesson time (a total of 3 hours, divided into 2 45-minute lessons and 1 1.5-hour lesson) with 8C and 2 periods (1 1.5-hour lesson) with 8D, where I presented on Singapore and different aspects of life in Singapore.

In the case of 8C, the students were more inquisitive and took greater interest in asking questions. In general, I allocated time during each lesson for questions to be asked by the students, which helped to provide a break in the lesson delivery, transitioning between lecture-style and interactive-style lesson segments. While there were questions being asked during the first lesson, they were less than expected. This might have been owing to the content coverage of the first lesson, which was mainly an introduction and brief history of Singapore. In addition, when discussing the lesson with my CT post-delivery, my CT pointed out that some of the terms used in the presentation might have been somewhat difficult for some of the students to follow and understand. As a result, for the subsequent lessons, before the lesson started, I made it a point to reiterate to the students that if there was anything that required additional explanation during the lesson, they could raise their hands as an indication. I also made sure to review the content and simplify the explanations when needed. In general, I feel that the first lesson went quite smoothly, with students being largely interested.

The second lesson went relatively according to plan as well, although I felt that better time management on my part could have helped more, especially when the questions from the students took more time to answer than expected. The first two topics took up more time than expected, especially with the mid-lesson question segment. Nonetheless, it was good that the students were interested and asking questions, as it indicated that they were engaged in the lesson, which was an important factor to be considered in lesson delivery. Also, it is important to remember to have flexibility during lesson time and to adapt to the circumstances. Hence, I felt this was a key learning point for me to take away from this second lesson, as I had to adjust the subsequent lesson to allow for the added content from this lesson.

The third lesson, being two periods, provided me with more insight not only into the students and their learning styles, but also into my teaching style and the strengths and weaknesses within my teaching. A positive observation from this lesson was that students were more forthcoming with questions and more responsive to the interactive segments I included. However, one key observation I took away from this lesson was the importance of keeping student energy levels up, especially for a 2-period lesson. A lecture-style lesson was not ideal for such a situation as the students would start to lose interest. When discussing with my CT after the lesson, she suggested that I could have included a more hands-on activity like a game or group work towards the end of the lesson to get them to be more involved and engaged, as towards the end, I observed that some students started to become disengaged and sleepy. While I included participative segments during the lesson, which included opportunities for students to interact and be active, such as trying to read aloud the Singlish terms shown in the presentation and getting the students to share about their own life to serve as comparison, there could have been more especially at the end of the lesson. In addition, while the videos I included helped to provide a change in the content, I could have shown short snippets, especially for the song-sharing, as having continuous video screenings undermined the novelty of the multimedia approach for the students, losing its effectiveness in engaging the students. Nonetheless, during the question-and-answer segment at the end of the lesson, the students asked several interesting questions that gave the opportunity to revive the class interest levels. Rina and I had an impromptu conversation on a suggested topic chosen by a student, which my CT felt was something memorable. Hence, upon reflecting on this lesson, I learnt the importance of varying activities in class and being flexible to adjust lesson delivery to fit the students’ needs, especially in the case where students begin to lose interest in the lesson. Also, as I discussed with my CT, I do not need to plan elaborate activities to keep them interested. It could be something as simple as getting students to take turns reading aloud the poem or text I was sharing to their classmates, or giving them the opportunity to discuss something related to the subject matter of the text, which in this case was wedding proposals. Nonetheless, my time management was better in this lesson and while there was still room for improvement regarding lesson activities, there was still greater and more active student participation, which I felt was something positive that I could take away from this lesson.

In the case of 8D, I had a 1.5-hour lesson with them to cover different aspects of Singapore, which meant that content I used for 8C had to be adapted and adjusted to fit the shorter duration. This provided me with the opportunity to review my lesson content and to make decisions regarding what to include and what to remove – a skill I feel is important for teachers in lesson planning and adjustment. During the lesson, the students were less responsive at the beginning but became more active as the lesson progressed. As there was a student who used to live in Singapore, I had the opportunity to tap on him to get his opinion, which would then also encourage input from his classmates as well. As the class was not as forward with their opinions and input, I had to adjust my method for eliciting class response, such as changing my questions which made it easier for students to respond. One example I used was getting the students to indicate agreement or disagreement through raising their hands. This helped especially as some students might not have felt confident enough to speak up or voice their opinion. In addition, apart from the student who experienced Singapore life, there were several other students that I noticed were more engaged and more pro-active. Hence, I would then rely on their responses and reactions to further the discussion – so I do not end up initiating the discussions every time. This allows me to discuss things that the students are interested in rather than just presenting things that I find interesting but might not be of much interest to them. Also, as 8D had a smaller class size, it was easier to engage with the class, and to present the different aspects of Singapore life. As this lesson came after my experiences in 8C, I found myself being more aware of student response and indicators of interest, and I then used these to adjust my lesson pacing and activities. Hence, I felt that the lesson for 8D went quite smoothly as well, and while the engagement level through questions and discussions was not as high as observed in 8C, it was still a lesson that I felt was successful in terms of lesson delivery, student engagement, and interest levels.

In conclusion, I found the teaching experience with both 8C and 8D enriching and fun, as working with different student profiles and a different subject matter provided me with the opportunity to think more in-depth when it came to lesson planning. In addition, while there are some similarities between the students here and the students in Singapore, there are still important differences that I had to learn to adapt to and adjust my teaching style accordingly to best fit the students’ needs. I also got to understand some of my strengths and weaknesses better, and throughout the process of planning, delivering, and reviewing, identify areas of improvement that I needed to work on as well.

 

Also, during the last week here, I got to go on museum excursions with my students, and interact with them more through these opportunities. I got to find out more about them as individuals, and some of the things that they do and are planning to do over the summer break. Such opportunities are also important for a teacher to understand their students better, and to be able to connect with them more as well.

On the last day, one of the teachers was nice enough to show me some of the different items he collects and explained how he tries to incorporate the use of physical items and props in his lessons to bring it alive for the students. One tip that he shared was to spread out the use of 'fun and exciting' lessons - so as to keep such lessons fresh, memorable and impactful to the students. While I know that it is important for teachers to keep lessons interesting for students, I also learnt that it is equally important to use such lessons in moderation to maximise their impact.

Week 4 Reflections (Jopescu)

This week, I got to discuss the use of assessment and feedback with my CT and how she used different questioning techniques as well as tests to assess students’ understanding of the topic.

By varying the questioning techniques employed in class, this can help ensure that the students do not get bored or used to one form of questioning. This can range from questions that require individual answers from every student to discussion questions that students think about in groups and have a representative answer on behalf of the group. Hence, a greater number of students can participate, even the students who might be too shy or not confident enough to present to the class by themselves. Also, having a range of questions is important as well, as a mixture of easy and more challenging questions can help encourage more students to speak up in class. It is important to have some questions that are easy enough for the entire class to be able to answer so that every student has a chance to participate and contribute to the class discussion. I also observed that even when students are unable to answer the question, my CT provides support and takes the time to help them get to the correct answer through prompts. Hence, not only are questions used to provide feedback to the teacher regarding student’s understanding, they are also a good way for the teacher to provide relevant and timely feedback and help to the student in addressing their misconceptions or doubts.

However, my CT stressed the importance of not singling out students, especially those who are not confident of themselves, as such a practice might increase the stress on the student and discourage him or her from participating in the future. This links back to the idea of the classroom as a safe space where the students feel comfortable and have the confidence to participate freely. Not only should the students feel safe enough to answer and not be judged when they are incorrect, they should also feel safe by not being pressed for an answer if they are unwilling to answer. Nonetheless, it is important for the teacher to know the students well, and to be able to judge whether the student can participate. In some cases, my CT might call on some students whom she feels know the answers, and through having a conversation and the use of several question prompts, help them to get to the answer which they might already have known but were unsure of. This can help build confidence for the students, but nonetheless, it has to be qualified that such a method can only work effectively if the teacher knows the students well enough, as a misjudgement by the teacher might backfire and cause the student to lose confidence in themselves further.

In the case of tests, one example which we discussed was a German chapter test that was held a week ago in class. My CT shared that she would go through the scope of the test with the class during the lesson prior to the test, letting the students know the exact topics which will be covered by the test. By ensuring that there were no unexpected questions, this allowed students to prepare adequately and do well. My CT expressed that this allowed the students to have the satisfaction of doing well when having done adequate preparations, which she felt was important in encouraging students to revise and study. While we often are reminded to have differentiated segments in assessment to be able to differentiate between students’ ability, the importance of assessment and results as motivation for students cannot be understated as well. In this case, especially as this is the first time the students are taking German, I understood from my CT’s sharing that it was more important to have tests that can help build confidence in the students – while it was not necessarily an easy test, it was still a test that students, having done their work, can do well in. Another important point was the going through of answers for the students after the test was returned. By getting students to take turns to provide the correct answers, this not only ensured that the students would review their test answers again as a form of reinforcement, but also helped the teacher assess whether the students understood their mistakes. When a student has to answer a question that he or she made a mistake on during the test, the teacher will help prompt and guide the students to get the right answers, ensuring that they learn from their errors and are able to understand and work out the right answer. In addition, from such chapter tests, common mistakes made by the class can be identified as well, and the teacher can then adjust lessons accordingly, like putting aside some time in the next lesson to review the mistakes and revise the content with the class if necessary.

One area which I found interesting and different was the use of timed tests in class. I noticed that my CT would give an approximate amount of time for the students to do the test (say, 30 minutes) based on her knowledge of the students’ pace, but in the case of students with special needs, there might be extra time given for them. In ensuring that the students are not penalised unfairly by the time, the test will then be a more accurate reflection of their ability, which can then provide the teacher with important feedback regarding the students’ understanding of the topic. 

Week 3 Reflections (Jopescu)

The conversation I had with my CT provided much insight into how the school worked to create a positive learning environment within the school and the individual classrooms as well. We also discussed some of the classroom management strategies that I have observed over the past few weeks during her lessons.

The school has a comprehensive framework put in place to help support students and help establish a positive school and classroom culture. This includes the presence of trained personnel such as barne-og ungdomsarbeider, which were child-and-youth workers, in the school to help support the students in terms of their social and personal issues. Activities to help students to bond and get to know each other better within the class and within the larger school community were also conducted, such as a class breakfast held at the end of the semester. 

There are also opportunities provided for students to play games with each other and make new friends during their midday break, be it board games in the library or sports in the courtyard. Student surveys are also done during the year to find out how each student is coping with school and how his or her social relations are like with the class. This helps to flag out potential issues such as a student being isolated in class or even bullying of a student, which in turn allows the teachers to take prompt action. In addition, the teaching staff also meet up to discuss students’ progress and their well-being, thus ensuring that all subject teachers are kept in the loop regarding the students’ development, which allows them to have a full picture of how the student is doing in school. From these points that were brought up by my CT, I could see that the school had a comprehensive system put in place involving different levels of staff to ensure a positive school culture, which supported the students and provided adequate coverage to create a safe, positive space for learning in school.

At the classroom level, my CT shared some of her strategies she uses to help foster a positive classroom culture and to manage the students effectively. In terms of handling pupil misbehaviour, for some students who are repeatedly recalcitrant and continually talk to their peers in class, my CT shared that it was often more effective to address the other party and get them to stop talking and to pay attention. With the misbehaving students, constantly addressing them will make them feel as though the teacher was targeting them personally and might also result in them continuing to misbehave and disrupt the class. While it was important to be fair, it was also essential for the teacher to have alternative approaches and be open to using other methods that might be more effective in minimising disruption. While with-it-ness, an aspect of Kounin’s Group Management strategies that we learnt about in our Teaching and Managing Learners module, encompasses the ability to display awareness and being able to address the misbehaving individual directly and accurately, I feel that this example shows a different form of with-it-ness, that of being aware of the relative ineffectiveness directly addressing the main misbehaving student will have, and thus using the approach that, although might seem slightly counter-intuitive, was more effective.

Routines were also established in the class, mainly for starting and ending class. Students had to stand behind their desks and wait for the teacher to greet them before the class starts and before they are dismissed. This ensures that the students are ready for class or dismissal. Also, established rules with the class included the appropriate behaviour for different classroom activities. During lessons which are more lecture-style, there would be no talking or discussion; with lessons that have more discursive activities, a reasonable level of talking/noise would in turn be expected. Such routines help to minimise disruption to the class and can also contribute to the positive class culture established, especially when the teacher is not required to stop the class periodically to remind them of such rules. Also, the teacher uses repeated verbal reminders before escalating to the use of the ‘black mark’ demerit points, ensuring that there is a progressive element to the escalation. This helps prevent students from perceiving the teacher and the reminders/punishment as unfair and arbitrary. Hence, the students are kept aware and understand the rationale behind the teacher’s actions, keeping the classroom predictable and safe, important characteristics that can help ensure a positive classroom culture.