Celta Written Assignment 1: Self Evaluation

Teaching strengths in different situations:
Planning stage: * Improving lesson planning. Lesson plans are detailed, reflect comprehension of aims, anticipated problems and possible solutions, and where I need to improve. * Use of materials: prepared supplementary worksheets when necessary.
In the classroom: * Evidence of applying what I am learning from input sessions and feedback sessions. * Manner, rapport, response to students. * Eliciting from students during all stages of lesson, from lead in to instruction checking, pre teaching vocabulary, and feedback. * Ratio of TTT to SST is good, as evidenced by use of pair work, small group work and SST in feedback sessions. * Clear instructions, including demonstration (e.g. ice breaker class), and using central example (e.g. reading class). * Instruction checking is evident and improving. * Monitoring is improving, both immediately when task begins to ensure understanding of the task, and during pair/group work to anticipate responses/issues in feedback. * When used, white board work has been clear and an aid to students’ understanding.
Post lesson: * Open and receptive to feedback from tutor and colleagues. * Self-assessment is balanced, reinforcing strengths, as well as examining weaknesses and reflecting on how to improve these.

Teaching weaknesses in different situations:
Planning stage: * Concept checking questions need to be better prepared. * Instruction checking questions need to be better prepared
In the classroom: * Clear, well-checked instructions – need to be more consistent. * Concept checking. Need to be more systematic. * Consistent, effective monitoring: each task needs immediate and then on-going monitoring * Clear, systematic feedback * Maximising students’ contribution, especially during feedback, encouraging students to justify their answers, as well as ensure all students are contributing. * Better use of white board for recording students answers. * Pairing could be more deliberate at times, and changing pairs during a lesson could happen more frequently. * Giving homework.
Post lesson: * More reflection on students understanding, what ability level was in evidence, and what students took away.

Areas of knowledge and skills that need further development and strategies I will use to improve them during the course.
Knowledge
* Language/Grammar. During the course I will continue to prepare well for lessons and deepen my understanding of language by using the library and/or my own resource books. * Understanding the learning process from the students’ perspective. During the course I will continue to learn from the modelling provided by my tutors during input and feedback sessions. I will also continue to consult resources like Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener which reinforce the approach and methods being taught and practised. * Instruction checking, concept checking, monitoring. I will work on all three areas during the preparation of the lesson plan, listing instructing checking questions in my running script, concept checking questions in my vocabulary analysis, and monitoring steps on my running script, until each becomes ingrained. * Giving clear, consistent feedback. In my planning I will better anticipate student responses and prepare the teaching examples and corrections in advance. I will also use the white board more systematically to record students’ answers , as well as encourage students’ to justify their answers, checking for meaning, and providing appropriate teaching examples and corrections.