Recently, I got an opportunity to
observe the classroom teaching of a teacher who was supposed to teach in a
classroom while going through the assessment process for admission in a teacher
education programme at London. As a mentor, I carried out the first observation
of a series of three classroom observations. Pre and post observation
conferences were conducted to discuss about the aspects of classroom teaching.
The teacher started her lesson with
brain storming activity eliciting students’ responses on the topic to explore
their prior learning. Then the teacher briefly explained the topic with the
help a chart. After that a group activity was conducted by the teacher in which
a reading pack was given to students to read and discuss in groups. The teacher
went to each group to support the students. Soon after the group work, students
were given with an opportunity to present their group work in front of the
whole class. After each presentation, students asked questions from the
presenters followed by teacher’s feedback. On completion of all presentations,
teacher asked some questions to assess the students’ learning overall. An
interesting and relevant home work was assigned to students.
The improved areas of the classroom
teaching were; interlinked learning activities, organized group work,
opportunities for students to share their new learning, students’ engagement in
group work and teacher’s way of brief explanations of concepts. However, some
areas were needed improvement such as positive reinforcement through
encouraging words, gender biasness in providing opportunities for students to
share their new learning, use of whiteboard during teaching and teacher’s
questioning skills.
Broadening Horizons