ESL Classroom Observations # 1 & 2
Kimberly Moreno
New Jersey City University: MCC 611/612
Observation #1
On February 20, 2013, I observed a sophomore advanced bilingual US History 1 class. The class is composed of 8 boys and 3 girls. The classroom is set up with 24 desks arranged in rows with an area in the back with tables that seems to be used for group work.
The class begins with the teacher returning a test that they had just taken and then he continues to wrap up previous class discussion. There is no SWBAT, objective or anything of this sort on the board. The teacher provides the students with a synopsis of a movie that they will be watching during the period. The movie is about John Adam’s travels to France and his purpose of going to France. The movie is in English with Spanish subtitles. The teacher pauses the movie at certain points and explains the clip and asks the students questions based on what they just viewed. He also has an open discussion with students on the differences between hospitals and hygiene in that time and today. He continues with the movie until the bell rings.
During the 40-minute period the atmosphere of the classroom felt relaxed. The students were able to move their desks to a position of comfort and the teacher did not seem to mind. The teacher did know all of the students by name and the students referred to the teacher by the infamous “Mister.”
The class I observed did make use of technology but it was not what I expected. The teacher was using the smart board and video, but the end result was just a movie on the topic. The movie did help students understand the topic being discussed. The teacher stopped the movie a couple times to discuss a specific clip, but this was not an active part of their learning, because the students were just listening to the teacher and not having an active discussion. There was no assessment or reflection to prove