Observation Tasks

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Appendix Observation tasks

Wb.at helPs PeoPle learn?

Options and decisionsClassroorn interactionStagingObiectivesThe learnersFeedback to learnersErrors and correctionThoughts and questions

Stolen goods

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This append.ix is a collection of lesson observation tasks. I include them because I

strongly believe that observation of other teachers (or of other trainees on a course) is

an excellent w"y orn.lping oneself to become more aware of options and possibilities'

Doing tasks like t}ese can help an observer to focus more clearly on what is happening

in a lesson. They may pronia. usefui information or insights for personal reflection or

for a post-lerron air.rrision with the teacher. This does not imply that'evaluation' or

'criticism' is requrred. Observation and discussion are learning tools for the observer

and the teacher. In the right environment, where both people are respectfi"rl and

supporrive of each other]and where there is a clear agleement to be honest, tJren a

p*i-t.rro.t discussion can be invaluable as a way of moving forward'

Using the tasks

You could:

o observe a more experienced teacher's lessonl

o observe a coileague's lesson;o agree to observe each other's lessons'

o observe a trainee teacher's lessonlo ask someone to observe your own lessonl

o think back to a lesson you have already seen;

o ttrink back to a lesson you have already taught'

You could:

o discuss the lesson before it happens;o discuss it afterwards;. not discuss it at all;o fill in the task during the lesson;. not filI in the task, but use it to focus your thoughts;

o give the filled-in task to the teacher;o keep the filled-in task for yourself;

o discuss the frlled-in task.

You could, of course, also:

o invent your own tasklo aglee a new task with the teacher'

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OBSERVATIOT\ TASK 1 What helps people learn?

$fhat is there about ttre classroom, the activities, the teacher and the studentshat helps to create conciirions for effective iearning? \x4rat things do you observehat seem to play a part in hinderinglearning?

Ttre cl-assrocrnMake notes on seating, sigrht-rines, space/ ai-r, warmth, J-ight, whiteboard,equipment, etc

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The actiwiti_esMake notes on t.he kind ofbalance of students doinq

acti-vi_tj_es used, t.he nature of studentthings and teacher doing things, etc

i n l z a I r z o m a n l -w v 4 ! r v r I L ,

Itre teacherwhat personal quarit ies does the teacher have (i-e not teaching technj-gues?) whatkind of rapport does this teacher have? what is the personal psychol_ogicalatmosphere qenerated by this teacher? what is it l ike to be a st.udent ln thrsc l -assroom?

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Itre learnersHow motivated are thern thei r own l_earn i noework for them?

learners? Why?To what extent

To what extent, are they takingrare they expecting the teacher

an actl_ve partto do the

@ Jim Scrivener 1994. This page may be photocopied

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OBSERVATION TASK 2 Options and decisions

The term 'classtoom management' refers to the monlent-by-moment decisionsrnade and actions takenby the teacher in class, eg writing on the whiteboard,giving instructions, organizing the class into pairs, etc.For every decision made there will have been other options that the teacher didnot choose.

For each of the following headings:

a Note one example of a classroom situation in the lesson you are observing.What does the teacher do?

b Note one or two orher options that the teacher had at that point in the lesson,but did not choose.

Examy>7e Deal.ing with une:q>ected problems

Si tuat ion: A s tudenL arr ived t .welve minutes la te for theI e s s o n

Ac t ion : Teacher sa id ' he l l o ' po l i t e i y . (The s tuden t t hensat down quiet ly and found out what was going onfrorn h is ne igrhbour . )

n + l r ^ r n n l . ^ - S : T e a c h e r C o u l d h a v e a s k e d w h y t h e s t u d e n t w a s, L r l c r L ' o , u r u r l

r a t e .

' - t u r r q v e q r r \ e u

Teacher cou ld have po in ted ou t the t ime to thes t u d e n t .

Student participation in lessonS i t u a t i o n :

Ac t i on :

O J - l r o r n n l - i n n q .

Grouping of students; arrangement of seatingS i t u a t i o n :

A c t i o n :

f ) f h a r n n j - i n n q .

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OBSERVATION TASK 3 Classroorn interaction

This observation task might make -vou more aware of some pafterns ofinteraction within the classroom. $7ho talks? \&ho do the-v talk to? Who gets left

out? By recording information objectively over a short period of time, it may bepossible to notice some factors that make an important contribution to theworking environment.

Main task: Draw a rough sketch map of the classroom, marking each seatingposition and the place where the teacher is standing or sitting.

Choose a two-minute period near the start of the lesson and simply put a mark(eg a tick or a line) next to each person who says something. Repeat this task atone or two other points in the lesson.

Here is a map I made during one teacher's class:

Variations on the task: you could easily extend this idea of 'mapping' theclassroom to take other factors into account. For example, you couid includearrows to indicate who was being spoken to.Or you could record the movements of the teacher over a short period of thelesson. For example:

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Setting up activj.ties; instructions

Si tuat ion:

Ac t i on :

A f h a r n n f i n n q 'v u r r v !

Board,' classroom equipment; visual aids

S i t u a t i o n :

A c t i o n :

A 1 - ] . r a r n n l - i n n q 'v u r r v !

Dealing with unoq>ected ProblemsS i tua t i on :

Actron:

Other opt ions:

Teacher's role and ParticiPationS i t u a t i o n :

Ac t ron :

Af har ^n . i . i a \n q 'v u r r e !

Other notes about the lesson:

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OBSERVATIOT\ TASK 5 Objectives

This task is appropriate if -vou are observing a class and -rzou have not had achance to discuss the lesson with the teacher before you observe.

$0'ithin the first fi.ve minutes, write a sentence that reflects your perception of thelikely student achievements within the lesson.

B y t h e e n d o f t h i s f e s s o n t h e s t u d e n l s w i T f b e b e t t e r a b l - e t o . . .

Bv the end o f th is - lesson the s tudents w i l -L have . . .

!7ork on this sentence as the lesson proceeds. Adjust, edit, delete, rewrite it. Orleave it. By the end of the lesson, have a sentence that reflects what the studentsactuaily seem to have achieved.

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Also consider: Do you think that the teacher had pre-planned objectives? Didthe objectives evolve as the lesson progressed? \7as it hard to work out what wasachieved?

After the lesson (if possible) have a brief chat with the teacher and find out whathe/she considers' had been achieved.


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OBSERVATION TASK 6 The learners

Jhis task may help you to see a lesson from a student's point of view.

Task: As you arrive in the classroom, choose (privatelyl) one student to focus onin your observation. lfatch this student tJrroughout the lesson and. make notesunder the headines belor.v.

AChoose a random two-minute per iod . Wr i te a nar ra t i ve descr ip t ion o fwhat he lshe is do inq

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pe r iod . Wr i t e a na r ra t i ve desc r ip t i on o ff h i n i < i n r r / f a a l ' i, - - - - - n g .

cT o w a r d s t h e e n d o f t h e l e s s o n w r i t e t h e s t u d e n t ' s o w n d e s c r i p t i o n o fwhat has happened in the lesson. Have you en joyed i t? Have youlearned someth ing? what he lped you? what wou l_d you have pre fer red?what wor r ied you, annoyed you, h indered you? How are you fee l ing?

@ Jim Scrivener 1994. Thii page may be photocopied

OBSERVATION TASK 7 Feedback to learners

How does the teacher give feedback to studentr? Note some specific examples.What did the student do or say? What did &e teacher do or say? Comment ontlre intentions or attitudes you thbk might underlie the teacher's response.

Consider: Facial expressionl gestue; movemeng noises; iistening (reallylistening?); answering (really answering?); correcting; ignoring; encouraginggroup to respond rather than herself; etc. For example:

Student : The student sa id a sentence about her weekend t r ip to the^ A r r n f r \ /

Teacher : The teacher nodded ra ther au tomat ica l l y . He d idn ' t . seem\ . r A r \ , 2 i n f c r c s f e d . H e s a i d M t n m t h a t ' s i n t e r e . s f i n o a n d i h c n r e n e a 1 - c r ls r r u u f r v r t ! u I / L q u E u

i - h o o r r o q J - i o n h o h : , - i : s k o r l r r r a r r i n r r q l r z

Conunentary : I fe l - t the teacher wasn ' t rea l Iy in te res ted in what thes t u d e n t w a n t . e d t o s a y b e c a u s e h e w a s t r y i n g t o e l i c i t a s e n t e n c e, , ^ i ^ ^ f 1 - . ^ * - ^ ^ ^ ^ F ^ . i - ^ 1 ^U D ! 1 I U L 1 1 g V ! E J E I I L J I 1 I L U T E .

@ Jim Scdvener 1994. This page may be photocopied

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OBSERVATION TASK 8 Errors and correction

This task focuses on learner errors in oral production and on wavs that theteacher or leamers deal with them.

Task: Note down some student errors. Categorize each error (eg wrong tenseJwrong phoneme, meaning unclear). Describe in detail what happened next. Forexamole:

Er ror : I am aqree.Type o f e r ro r : unnecessary wordfnd ic i t ion /cor rec t ion : The teacher he ld up th ree f ingers ( tor e p r e s e n t t h e t h r e e w o r d s o f t . h e s e n t e n c e ) a n d t h e n ' p i c k e d o u t ' a n d' t h r e w a w a y ' t h e m i d d l - e f i n g e r . T h e s t u d e n t l - o o k e d p u z z l e d , t h e nsa id the sentence aqa in w i thout the midd l -e word . The teacheracknowledged th is cor rec t sen tence w i th a smi le and sa id g rood. Thes tudent seemed to no t qu i te be l ieve tha t th ls was now a cor rec ts e n t e n c e . H e r e p e a t e d ' f a g r e e ' .

Error: Gj-ve me that pen .Tlpe of error: rudefndication/correction: not cornrnented on or dealt with

Error :

Tlpe of error:

f ndi cat ion/ correct ion :

Error :

Tlpe of error:

Indicat ion/ correct ion :

(Some considerations: Did anyone notice that there was an error? $7ho? Did theteacher do anyttring? Did the student do anything? Did the other students doanyttring? $7ho? Did anyone indicate that there was an error? \(ho? Did anyonecorrect the error? \7ho? How was it corrected?)

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OBSERVATION TASK 9 Thoughts and questions

Thisformma-vhelpyourecallr,vhathappenedinalessonandremindyouofyour own thoughts ui rh. ,i-.. This ma.v be especially useful for post-lesson

d.iscussions.,vith the teacher you rvatched'

Foreachbox,notedownaspeci |rcthingthatyouobserveintheiessonandthenrecord your own thoughts or Questions o- suggesdons'

During the lesson:

I n o t i c e d . - -

and I thought

I noticed

and I wondered

I not iced . - .

and I wanted to ask You

f n o t i c e d . . .

and I wanted to saY to You

@ Jim Scrivener 1994' This page may be photocopied

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ETUnit 5, Task 2 Do as l say

Class

Level

Ob s erv ati on table : In stru ction -giving s ki I ls

Number of learners Age of learners Length of lesson

Observer Teacher observed

Aims of the lesson

Materials used

lnstruction-giving skills Circle appropriate number Comments

signalling of beginningof activity

clear 4-3-zl9 rySl:g T did not tell Ls ,",thenacliuilg began

stating of aims clettr 4-3-Z-l unclear

volce clear 4-3-2-l unclesr

eliciting information from learners clear 1-3-2-I ttnclear

use of examoles clear 4-3-2-l unclear

eye movement to hoid attention clear +-3-2-L unclear

mime, gesture or otherbody language

clear 4-3-2-I unclear

repeating instructions in adifferent way

cleor 1-3-2-\ wtclear

asking questions to checkunderstanding

cleor 1-3-2-l wtclear

use of simple language clear 4-3-2-1 ttnclear

management and organisationof the class

clear 4-3-2-1. unclear

use of visual aids (e.g. board,role cards, worksheets, pictures,real oblects)

clectr 1-3-2-7. unclear

signalling of end of activity clear 1-3-2-1 unclectr

other (write here) clesr 4-3-2-1 unclear

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OBSERI-ATION TASK 10 Stolen goods

As you obsen'e the lesson, note dowl several things that you would like to 'steal'

fr.om *ris teacher and the lesson in order to make them part of your ownteaching. This may include personal qualities, teaching skills and techniques,actiltties, classroom atrnosphere, etc. Include notes to help you remember anyimportant details. You may also want to record why you felt good about thestolen goods. Finaily, choose somettring you feel you would like to give thisteacher in return for vourmanv thefts.

Stolen iten 1:

Desc-iption of item:

f stole this because:

Stolen itern 2:

Descriptj-on of item:

I stole this because:

Stolen item

Description

f stole this

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of item:

because:

Stol-en item 4:

Description of item:


Stolen item 5:

Description of item:


I 'd l ike to give you:

I think you'd l ike this because:

@ Jim Scdvener 1994. This page may be photocopied

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Unit 2, Task 6

Class

Level

Telescopic or microscopic viewing?

Class observation table BUse of transitions

No. of Iearners Age of learners Length of iesson

Observer Teacher observed

Aims of the lesson

Materials used

Aims of the Observation Task

. To observe how a teacher makes transitions betrryeen one point in the lesson and the next task

or activity rvhich is different

. To reflect on how a teacher's marking transitions affects learners' ability to follow the lesson

and see connections between the parts of the lesson

InstructionsWhen a teacher moves from one task or activity to the next, she often marks this point with a

word, such as OK, Now, or a phrase or sentence, as in I am going to ask you some questions'

or And /or my next point.In your observation, examine a 45-50 minute lesson and look for the

following points. As you obslrve, put a tick (rz) in the appropriate boxes in the left-hand column.

If you have time, write down in the right-hand colurnn the word(s) used for the transitions.

One example is provided'

Add up the results: For each of the above categories, what was the total? Write this number in

each btx and circle it. How many transitions were there in the entire lesson?

TOTAL NUMBER:

Post-observ ation questions

r Whtch \irrd ot'$rarrsirior-r did{he*eu*wu$ nos{$httl

2Did' theteacheruseonetransit ionmarkerseveral t imes. i

3 Which transitions seemed the clearest to vou?

4 Choose two of the transitionS. lVrite an alternative transition for each one'

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Transitions markers Actual words used bY the teacher

a word

a phrase/sentence

r'Now lel's do some reading, 0K?

oause/silence

other (write here):

OBSERVA'I'ION'[ASK 6 How carr ateacherinfluence the learning environment?

The table ljsts some ways a teacher can influence tlte environment in whichstudents learn. Choose a few of these headings (four or five is probably enough).Observe and make detailed notes about what the teacher does/doesn't do to helplearning. Where possible, note specific concrete examples of techniques, e.g.rvhat precisely does the teachcr do to hclp crcatc a wrrnr classt'oout lttntospltcrc?

Aspects of thelearning environment

The teacher 's role

Classroom a tmosphere T h e t e a c h e r c a n h e l p e s t a b l i s h a n d m a i n t a i n a n a p p r o p r i a t e , w a r m ,focused work ing a tmosphere .

Organisation The teacher can take an act ive ro le in organis ing how t ime, space,mater ia ls , e tc . are used.

Encouragement andsuppor t ; promot ingpar t ic ipat ion

The teacher can prov ide posi t ive, rea l is t ic suppor t andencouragement to take an act ive ro le .

Promot ing guideddiscovery

The teacher can e l ic i t answers, const ruct quest ions, o f fer par t ia lexamples, encourage hypotheses, e tc . that lead the s tuc lents towork out answers for themselves.

Presenting contentinformation

The teacher can expla in, lecture, answer quest ions, e tc . on areasof the learning content.

Provision of samplesof language

nstruct ions, comr l tents , quest ions, s l .or ies,anguage prov ide language exposure for the

etc. in thc targ;elearne rs .

Mater ia ls and tasks The teacher can propose, suggest o r se lec t w l ta t work i s t lone inc lass and the tex ts and o ther mater ia ls used.

Moni tor ing T h e t e a c h e r c a n m o n i t o r w h a t i s h a p p e n i n g i n c l a s s .

lnformative feedback The teache r can off er objective inf ormation that may help thelea rn ing p rocess ; f o r exan tp le , i n fo r rna t i on abou l c r ro rs n r i t dc ,in format ion about how language is formed or used, in fornrat ionabout how a task was per formed, suggest ions for fu ture work, e tc .The teacher can notice and help to draw attention to progr ess madeproblems encountered, e tc .

Habi t o f learn ing As par t o f a regular t imed lesson, the teac l rer can l te lp prc tv ide asense of form, regular i ty and concreteness to an otherwise moreformless learn ing process.

Selec t ing , packag ingand grad ing

The teacher can p lan tha t new tna ter ia l i s t re t and worked w i th i t tways tha t s tudents r ray f ind more n tanageab le than i f they had todea l w i th the en t i re language in one go .

Structur ing andsequenc ing

The teacher can suggest or he lp se lect what to s tudy and l tow toorganise the prograrnme of learn ing and the shape of ind iv iduall essons . _l _ry

t t t r r t l r c l ) l r ( ) r ( ) ( ' ( ) t ) i c ( l l i ' r t t s c i t r c l . r s s ,

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Author i ty The teacher can use her author i ty where appropr ia te, e .g ' to makeclec is ions. to c lose act iv i t ies or d iscuss ions, to requi re cer ta inact ions f rom ind iv iduals , e tc .

R a i s i n g a w a r e l t e s s The teacher can as [< ques t ions , g ive in fo rmat ion or do o ther th ings

tha t he lp learners to no t ice areas they may o therw ise no t have been

aware of.These may be to do w i th the sub jec t be ing s tud ied or about o ther

th ings , fo r example , about themse lves and the i r way o f learn ing , the i r

re la t ionsh ips w i th o ther s tudents o r the i r behav iour '

G u i d a n c e a n d d i r e c t i o n The teacher can use her knowledge and exper ience where appropr ia teto counse l , gu ide and d i rec t i nd i v idua ls .

[ -earner t ra in ing

Democracy andpersonal responsib i l i tY

The teacher can raise learners ' awareness about their own process oflearning and can suggest ways they could become more ef f ic ient andeffective learners.

The teacher can help ensure that al l students are equal ly respectedand their v iews ancl working sty les equal ly valued and catered for.The tearcher can make efforts to al low students to stay at the centreof the i r own learn ing and not res ign ownership to the teacher or o thernrembers of the c lass.

Natura l mot ivat ion The teacher can work to a l low natura l mot iva t ion to f lower - and

espec ia l l y take care no t to ge t in i t s way or o therw ise prevent i t !

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Areas chosen The teacher's role - comments

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Observation Tasks

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