Observation Journal and Report for TESL Practicum.
Part 1: Observation Journal:
Observation Journal Report General Information
Dates: October 21 to Nov 2, 2020
Times: Monday to Thursday 1-3 PM
Course: LINC
Level: CLB 3/4/5
Lesson Topics: Living in our Community (Part 1: Invitations; Part 2 Housing)
Learning Outcomes:
1) Accepting or declining a personal invitation in conversation following Canadian cultural norms
2) Find housing that would be appropriate for their family and circumstances.
Learning Objectives:
Students are able to:
1) use accepted phrases for accepting and declining invitations in a casual conversation
2) understand Canadian cultural norms for invitations.
3) distinguish different types of housing and housing situations
4) understand how housing differs from their home country.
5) make decisions on what their needs were for housing.
6) choose housing that would be appropriate for their family based on needs.
Length of the Lessons: Synchronous online (1 ½ hours), Asynchronous (1/2 hour)
Number of Students: 18
Seating Arrangement: not applicable (online)
Spotlight on the Learners
What patterns of attention can you observe?
The students often get interrupted by small children and distracted with phones ringing or other things going on as all classes are online (Zoom). Being online for 1.5 hours can be tiring with no break, and concentration sometimes is lost with some of the students by the end of the class.
What types of questions do learners ask?
Learners usually ask clarification questions, questions about assignments. Sometimes they ask specific information questions. There are some students who never ask questions, and some students that always ask questions.
What participation patterns can you observe?
There are some students who actively participate in the class, some who occasionally participate, and a few who seldom participate unless they are asked. Those that are more comfortable with speaking English are those that participate more. There is a chat box on Zoom which the students can also post questions and answers, and this is used by students sometimes.
Additional observations:
Some students are quite hesitant to speak and ask questions, although over the weeks of observation, more students seem to be feeling comfortable about asking questions and participating. One student doesn’t use the video feature and doesn’t participate due to special circumstances.
Spotlight on the Teacher
What is the balance of teacher-centered and student-centered activities?
There seems to be about ½ and ½ teacher vs student centered. The teacher uses presentations, breakout sessions for discussion, large group discussion, questions/answers, and various other activities in the class. Some of these are on Avenue.ca, the new learning management system for ESL in Canada. The last 30 minutes of the class is always student centered with students completing an exercise asynchronously.
How does the teacher confirm student comprehension?
The teacher uses questioning to confirm comprehension. Sometimes this is done with a general question and sometimes it is directed to a specific student. She asks for students to repeat instructions, or repeat the information, or use the information correctly.
How does the teacher adapt their speech to the level of the learners?
Sometimes when the teacher is introducing new material, she speaks a bit slower than her normal speed, but usually she speaks at a normal speed. She will often repeat what she says, to ensure the students are understanding, and she will repeat with different words, in case there is a vocabulary issue. She always repeats things in full sentences.
How does the teacher encourage student participation?
Participation is encouraged by using a show of hands (which is really necessary when using Zoom), and then call on individuals. Some students tend to dominate the conversation, so she makes an effort to call on those that are less responsive. She is also very positive about participation, and really encourages students when they do participate. She always takes time to answer all questions.
Additional observations:
If one student isn’t understanding something, she will allow another student to explain in the learner’s L1 for clarification. The teacher has told me that she is constantly updating and changing class material to fit the specific class. Every class is different.
During assessments there was much explanation needed for some of the students to understand what the details of the assessment. The teacher repeated instructions until the student understood.
With online learning is new to most of the class (including the teacher), the teacher is very patient and very encouraging with technology issues. Many times the class stops to wait for one student, and help is always offered by the teacher and fellow students.
Spotlight on Error Correction
What is the balance between activities that focus on fluency and accuracy?
There is about a 50/50 balance of activities that focus on fluency and accuracy. The fluency activities are usually small group discussions, and accuracy activities are generally written activities.
How often are errors corrected?
There is less correction of errors during discussion/questions and more emphasis on encouraging students to speak, especially shy students. If someone cannot think of the correct word during discussions/questions, the teacher will offer it. Sometimes the fellow students will help as well. If there are general errors in written assignments, the teacher will go over these with the whole class.
What types of error correction are used?
For written work, the teacher will correct specific errors (eg. spelling, punctuation). Sometimes she will give general feedback to the class and ask the students to re-check their work for the errors. In speaking, the teacher will sometimes offer correction eg. subject verb conjugation, verb tense. She will also use group error correction to go over common problems. She tells the students “Don’t worry about errors- they are part of the learning”.
Spotlight on Classroom Management
What techniques does the teacher use to build rapport with the students?
The teacher often has small talk with the students before class. She gives very positive comments all the time and is very encouraging with difficulties. There is always lots of help with technology issues. She is very encouraging with assessments, as most students really dislike them and are scared of them. She tries to make them less overwhelming for students.
How do students interact with each other?
Students generally interact very well. There is some small talk before the class starts. During the class they are very helpful to each other. Some will help others in their L1 if they aren’t understanding. They have become more comfortable with each other over the few weeks and will often offer comment on what another student says. They are very open to small group discussions. Students must put up their hands for answer questions, and often the teacher has to remind them of this.
Are there any interruptions to the learning and teaching?
Interruptions are very common with online learning. Many of the learners have small children at home with them, as well as older children and other family members and background noise is common. Sometimes if there are students who won’t comply with muting, the teacher will mute everyone. And most of them are in apartments which doesn’t allow for them to find a quiet space. There are also routine technical difficulties which will often stop the class until it’s worked out.
How are interruptions handled?
The teacher will ask all learners to turn their microphone on mute, unless they are speaking. This usually helps with background noise. For technical difficulties, the teacher will offer patient explanations, and other learners will often help as well.
Additional observations:
The teacher is open to giving additional time for some assignments. However, there are some students who will push the limit, and she has to remind them all the time of when their homework is due. This is usually by 3 PM because they are supposed to allow for 30 min of asynchronous class time.
Spotlight on Teaching Methods and Techniques
What warm-up activities are used?
Warm-up activities are often conversation on the specific topic of the day. Sometimes the teacher will use an interesting video.
What review activities are used?
Review is usually a short discussion about the previous days work. Sometimes she will use a Powerpoint to review the material. If there are common problems evident on their homework, she will use this time to address it.
How is new material presented?
New material is usually presented with a video, a Powerpoint presentation or a short reading using Google classroom. These are done on a shared screen.
How is new material practiced?
Material is practiced in a variety of ways. The teacher will usually do a question/answer discussion. Gap-fill exercises and true and false worksheets and multiple choice are common. Jigsaw activities are also a favorite. The teacher will often use the chat box for students to post answers. Students also answer questions from a video or reading. Students also practice speaking in small groups in breakout rooms. Avenue exercises and reading are also used with multiple choice questions.
How is the lesson concluded?
The students are usually assigned the homework for the asynchronous part of the class. Sometimes there is a quick summary of the day with focus on the important aspects. The teacher will be available to answer questions about the assignment by email and sometimes on Zoom.
What fillers are used?
The teacher doesn’t usually need fillers, as I think she is very experienced with time management and know how long activities will take. She has shown some videos to the class with discussion questions as one filler activity. She also will sometimes have small discussion groups with questions to fill time.
Focus on Resources and Technology
What learning materials do learners have?
Since the class is all online (Zoom.com), all materials are accessed through either Google Classroom or through the learning management system (Avenue). The teacher will also use Powerpoint, videos, and readings on Zoom.
What resources are used during the lesson?
The teacher uses Powerpoint slides to introduce new material, readings and worksheets are created or adapted by the teacher from various sources, and Youtube and Vimeo videos. Avenue is also used for some activities.
What technology is available in the classroom?
The class is all online with students at home, so the students use what is available to them (smart phone, tablet or a computer). The teacher has a computer. Zoom is used as the main web-based communication with the teacher also using Avenue for readings and exercises. The teacher often used the chat box for giving and receiving information from the students. Google Classroom is used for assigned homework as the students can easily send the completed work back to the teacher with it. (While I’m teaching, I won’t have use of Avenue and the students won’t be able to return work to me via Google Classroom, so I will have to use a group email).
What technology is used?
The technology used is the same as what is available (see above).
Are there any challenges observed in regards to resources and technology?
Zoom is slow going back and forth from the breakout rooms and it is difficult for the teacher to monitor them. Taking turns speaking on Zoom if often challenging, and requires using hands up and good cooperation from the students. Loading videos and using the split screen sometimes doesn’t work well and takes a while. Students often have difficulties using Avenue, so they may need help with that. Students on occasion have had difficulties logging into Zoom and have telephoned other students during the class to have access to the teacher’s help. This is quite awkward but it works.
Additional observations:
Many of these students are literacy students with few technology skills, so it’s a steep learning curve for them and has required lots of patience from both student and teacher. Students said “it’s very difficult to have classes online”, but they seem to be getting better at it and more used to it.
Part 2: Observation Report
Class observation is great learning experience. I have volunteered in ESL classrooms for several years and found that it really helped me with the TESL courses. The class that I observed for the practicum was a CLB 4/5 level, but the lessons are currently focused more on CLB 3. All 7 classes that I observed were online with 1.5 hours of online teaching on Zoom.com and Avenue.ca, followed by 0.5 hours of asynchronous class time. The class is made up of 18 women, most of whom are mothers, and many have young children at home with them. About half the class are literacy students. The units being taught focused on invitations and housing. The learning outcomes were 1) being able to accept or decline a personal invitation following Canadian cultural norms and 2) being able to search for housing that would be appropriate for their family. Students learned cultural phrases for accepting and declining invitations, and different types of housing and housing situations, and made decisions on what their needs were.
Technology: This year with a switch to online learning in many classes, there has been a steep learning curve for both teachers and students. Technology and adopting it was really a big focus in the class. Zoom was used as the predominate communication tool for the students, as well as the ESL learning management system Avenue and Google Classroom. Using these three tools the teacher has found very good ways to present material, have discussion groups, do assessments, have useful activities and give assignments.
Student engagement: Maintaining the attention of a class online for 1.5 hours is really a difficult task. The teacher was very good at engaging students by keeping to topics which are very relevant and useful to the students. She also was good at ensuring that there were no lags in the class by changing activities every 10-15 minutes to ensure the students don’t lose focus. The use of videos, Powerpoint presentations, discussions and other activities were well mixed.
Best practices in presenting material: Material was presented is a well-organized method, building the lessons from basic introduction to a more complex use and adoption of language in useful exercises, leading to very practical outcomes. The teacher also challenged the students critical thinking by asking questions which make the students really think about what they are doing and what’s important in the information. She had a very good balance in the types of activities, as well as the time used for teacher and student-centered activities.
Responding to student’s questions: Many of the student’s questions were for clarification, and the teacher demonstrated that patience and respect should really be the focus of answering all questions. Some questions were related to student fears about assessments, homework and technology. Acknowledging the students fears and difficulties and ensuring them that they are all part of the learning process for all of us, was a really important lesson for me.
Classroom management: Managing a class online is very different from in-person classes that I have observed, but in many ways they are also very similar. Both have the problem of ensuring that all students have equal time to ask and answer questions. Both require good organization and time management to ensure the students are engaged. Both require the use of ‘hands up’ to control discussions. Interruptions occur in both but were very common with this group, and the use of ‘mute’ is a very important part of classroom management. Building a rapport with your students is a bit more difficult online, but lots of laughs and smiles, and being open and accepting is still a big part of building rapport with your students. Lots of encouragement and positivity is very important!
Error correction: Error correction was done in many ways. General error correction with the class worked well with assignments. Some error correction during speaking was used to ensure students are learning proper pronunciation, and they are accepting of it. Fluency over accuracy was very important during discussions to get students speaking as much as possible.
I felt very lucky to have this teacher as a mentor. While observing her class, I also learned so much about teaching online and what should work. She is one of those teachers that students really love and love learning from, and really hope that I can someday be up to her standard of teaching.
