School experience within South African Schools
Journal day 1 – Tuesday 9th April 2013.
Curveball; I’ve been placed in a grade 7 class. Feeling like I’m out of my depth in terms of my maths ability. Need to email Di and get a grade 7 maths text book. The classroom is beautiful, located on the top landing of the hall opposite the computer centre and library. The room is well-lit with wrap around windows allowing light to fill the entire space. The classroom overlooks the original school building on the right, and the landmark “big The room’s walls are covered with posters, maps, and general classroom information such as: PC and art groups, netball and hockey fixtures, reminders about homework and assignments. The classroom is well resourced, with many books, a smart board and a P.C on the teacher’s desk. All learner’s have their own desk, and desks are grouped together to form groups of 3-4 learners. At the front of the room, two learners are seated outside of groups, and are placed near the teacher’s desk. (Will find out why).
Classroom size; small. 25 learners per class. One class per grade.
Resources on walls
History posters made by the learners
Xhosa posters made by learners
Clocks – showing time zones
Huge world map
Assembly: informal, lots of signing of hymns. Teachers make use of the piano. Learners make announcements concerning sport, art competitions, fundraises etc. There is complete slience during assembly.
The school building and grounds are immaculate! Neat and beautiful.
Bev. Lee, my class teacher, is also the deputy principle (has been for 10 years now) has been very helpful and accommodating. She has arranged to meet with me later today to discuss the following:
1. The curriculum.
2. My teaching times.
3. And my supervisor visits.
First lesson of the day, English, taught by Karin Peter’s. (All learner’s address all teachers on their last names) The girls are reading a book called: “Love, David”, they are about 20 pages in right now. After reading a few more pages more, Mrs Peter’s discusses “character sketches”. She poses the following: what is a character sketch? The learners respond, and she builds on their answers. She then divides them into groups, placing stronger learners with weaker ones. They are given a piece of newsprint and 1-3 characters from the book to develop a character sketch of. They are then told that every bit of the poster needs show evidence from within the text. (Not sure if I agree with the way the groups have been divided, uncertain if I will apply this same technique in my classroom.)
The girls then split off into their groups and are given 20 minutes to start the task. (The posters are a continual activity, which the learner’s will be working on for a few weeks) some groups remain in the classroom, while others go off into the library, or sit outside and start their work. They are given this independence, but Mrs. Peter’s walks around and makes sure all groups are comfortable with the task and that all learners are participating within their groups.
I have also signed up as an assistant coach for the u14 netball (these will be the girls that are in my class, and because there is only one class per grade, this should give me some time to get to know the girls outside of the classroom)
Sandi, the sports director, has also informed me that I will be teaching this P.E Thursday.
I’ve decided that I would get stuck into the teaching and am also teaching drama on Wednesday.
To add to this I am going to do my English assignment (reading aloud) with the girls tomorrow, as this coincides well with the English timetable (English is not taught by the class teacher, so there is less room to play with in this subject)
Teaching strategies seen so far:
Group work – English.
Pairs work – Afrikaans.
Even though they are in grade 7, they still need constant instruction, and require guidance throughout the lesson. They ask many questions, some relevant, other questions: “where do I underline?”, “does this go into my general file?”, “can I draw a boarder?” Etc. Some learners
Teachers use this often – peer learning, seen in maths, Afrikaans and English.
The staff has been extremely helpful at this point. The teachers have provided me with many textbooks, worksheets, notes, and DVD’s.
Day 2 Wednesday April 10th
I read aloud to my class today, I felt confident all the way through, although I did practice many times. While recording my reading for my English assignment, my cell-phone ran out of phone onboard phone memory. I should checked this beforehand but I was so focused on not stumbling over works or reading too fast that the thought of memory did not cross my mind. However I will definitely be checking all technology before teaching from now on, so big learning moment so far.
English teacher feedback on my reading aloud:
Kept good pace
Kept learners engaged
Remained calm during “technical difficulty”
Provided good tension
Self-criticism before watching the recording : I felt I read too fast. Messed up a few words. I feel I read too fast, as I read more I began feeling more at ease. I tried my best to create different moods as the text required a shift in tension and pace.
Self –criticism after watching the video: The book I read aloud to my grade 7 class was chosen by the English teacher, ‘Love, David’ is the second book the class is studying this year with a new book studied each term. I would have liked to select my own book to read to the class, but as English is not taught by the class teacher, but by a specialist teacher, contact time with the class is structured and she is not very flexible with her time.
I would have liked to have read the entire book before doing my reading to the class, but I was told the day before the doing actual reading, and did not have enough time to do so. I did however have the time to catch up to the chapter that the girls had reached. I tend to read too fast, and stumble over words because of this, so I practiced read chapter 23 many times making sure I was aware of where to pause, where to change my tone of voice to enhance the story. I wanted to do this as not to make my reading comical or silly, as the content of the book touched on serious topics such as child and substance abuse.
The class seemed receptive, however a few of them were distracted by the camera moving around the classroom, many of them followed along in their books while others listened. While reading I felt confident, and I wanted to ensure that my pace and volume were appropriate. While recording Thandi realised that my phone had run out of memory, but she managed to record half of my reading on her phone. This caused a break in the reading; I stopped and informed the class of the technical difficulty, and proceeded. I worried that is break would make the class restless. To ensure that all learners where still following I reread the last few lines. The girls focused throughout but I’m uncertain if they enjoyed my reading, which was my goal, as they are not read to by the teacher, but rather take turns in reading aloud to the class, while doing this the teacher marks them, these marks are then recorded as a “reading aloud” mark, which forms part of their English term mark.
The teacher said that despite the failure in technology, I did not seem at all frazzled. She did however say that tone and volume are important, however so are pauses. I will have to practice. I also felt that my stance was not very relaxed, by standing in the front of the class I made the process feel far more formal than it was which made me more nervous than I probably should have been.
What I learned: In future I will definitely remember to check all “technology”.
Communicate your aims to the class during the lesson/ before the lesson. This is important as it provides you with a lesson “goal”, but more importantly, makes the learners aware of your expectations and therefore what is expected of them.
Why peer learning works in this class: the class sizes are so small (25 learners) and the learners exercise self-discipline, which is needed for this type of exercise.
Observed a brilliant geography lesson; taught by the class teacher Mrs Lee. She incorporated geography and English and history skills into one assignment. I like this type of teaching/learning, where the content is fluid between subject disciplines. I find that if subjects are too rigid they act as tiny pockets of knowledge which can only be applied to certain context. Mrs Lee asked the learners to research a natural disaster that has occurred in the past 50 years. The second part of the task asked the learners to act as journalists, and compile a font page of a newspaper, reporting the event that has just occurred. Learners then discussed newspapers, there layout, content, purpose etc. followed by a brief discussion on maintaining an authentic history. Learners suggested that if your natural disaster occurred in 1954, your front page would not contain adverts for cell-phones or computers.
Maths lesson; started off feeling like gr7 is daunting and difficult. However since then I have made up my mind that this is a challenge and the perfect time for me to a) catch up all maths work. b) become somewhat of an expert in gr7 mathematics. So today I revise all decimals, and email Di for grade 7 work.
Day 3, 12 April 2013
Meeting with Bev (class teacher) to discuss lesson planning for next week.
All teachers (English, Technology, and Social-Science) stress the importance of backing up sources with evidence from the text. This is also linked to “habits of mind”.
My challenge so far – thinking of interesting links/ hooks to start my lessons with. As most teachers here start their lessons off in a very traditional format: “okay class today we will be studying fractions, take out your “Maths is fun” and turn to page 67” this is NOT the way I ever want to teach, I find it so incredibly boring and lazy.
Karin has given me my topic for my crit. lesson on the 24th (Masa Moosa and the advent of Islam in West Africa) – must start planning.
The teachers have been extremely helpful, the P.E teacher has given me a DVD for my dance practical, and has instructed me to plan movement lessons for the next two weeks ( has she hates teaching dance and movement) I am very keen to start planning lessons, I have so many ideas.
Day 4 Friday, 13 April
I have collected resources for my lesson (SS Geography) decided that for my 1st crit. Lesson I will definitely be teaching history, I’m very pleased with this as am very comfortable with this subject. Need to collect information from Mrs Peters. Who is teaching this section for the first time this year and is also in the process of researching this topic. As Micklefield is an independent school, teachers have free reign in designing and implementing a curriculum. This seems like a ton of work, but far more interesting than just following the CAPS document. PLAN PLAN PLAN for the 24th.
In terms of classroom management and discipline:
When asking the girls to be seated or to be quiet; I was faced with this from one learner: “why are you asking me, but not them?” I have responded to this in the following manner:
I have spoken to X.
After thinking about this I decided that this is not the correct approach as the learner should not question my methods of discipline. Next time I will respond with “X I am talking to you, therefore you should listen to me” or “X when I am talking to you, do not question me about other learners”. Definitely having an issue with on opposition learner, who I probably just testing me.
It seems that I need to take on a more authoritative role. As of now I have been the stranger who sits at the back of the classroom taking notes. My first lesson is on Monday, need to think about how I am going establish myself as “teacher”. I found that when I am alone with them in the classroom they walk around as they please, talk as loud as they want to, but when a teacher walks into the room there is a hush. I’m not sure if they are just scared of their teachers and the silence the teachers receive is perhaps not based upon respect but fear. I would never want learners to fear me.
Perhaps stating ground rules? Will think about this over the weekend while planning lessons! Could not be more excited about this?
Starting to realise that teaching is made up of many hours of planning, only to have things change 5 minutes before a lesson.
Classroom dynamics:
Girls are constantly “fighting” teachers on their instruction. For example the teacher divides the class into groups, they try to swap group members. Then when the task is stated, the groups argue and become increasingly chatty. The work ethic is then affected, whereby some girls do not work, and others beg for them to keep quiet and do the required work.
The size of the classroom:
The size of the room is small, and the desks are really close together, learners are on top of each other. The room itself is very well resourced;
O.H projector
Smartboard
T has P.C on her desk
Ceiling fans
Each learner has their own locker
The library and computer lab is right next door iPads photocopy machine girls chat about: books, Justin Bieber, netball, hockey, inter-house duties and high school, and pass notes to each other constantly.
In English: “can you back that up?”; “show me the evidence”. – when discussing the book (Love, David) learners present proof of character sketches, some learners struggle with task of presenting text as proof.
Peer learning and marking; (in Mathematics)
Learners make fun of teacher behind her back, while she is writing on the board. Is she out of touch? Or is this just normal 12-13 year old behaviour, which I rate it is. However it is evidence of disrespect.
Are they bored?
Monday, week 2 15th April.
FIRST LESSON TODAY! (graphs in SS)
Very excited but also very nervous. I have designed a work sheet, and planned, planned, planned a lesson to perfection. Bev. Seems happy with the content and the slideshow too. Lesson was supposed to be 30 minutes. Mine lasted 25 , which Bev said is “ok”, however I planned for 30 minutes so therefore I either miscalculated with my time, or perhaps rushed over the content.
What I have learned, always plan an additional “something”, a puzzle, a question, an activity etc. although I was very nervous I feel like by setting my one golden rule: respect. The girls saw me within my teacher capacity. The class was responsive, and discussed content readily, they also participated well within their groups. Because I planned for responses to questions I felt prepared. They seemed to enjoy the lesson, but I know I could so this lesson better! They loved the “imagine” part of the lesson, more so than anything else. I feel like this served as a very good lead in/ hook.
I LOVED IT. The experience was incredible, cannot wait to do better.
Felt confident while teaching
Answered questions with ease
Too static, need to use the entire room when I teach
The content needed more high order questions to make the lesson more of a challenge
Because I started the lesson off by stating my golden rule, the learners were well behaved and responsive. Furthermore, they saw me as a teacher and not a note-taker.
Enjoyed it so much, I approached the life skills teacher and asked her if I could teach the lesson at the end of the day (which I planned for over the weekend)
Life skills “creative problem solving”
I thoroughly enjoyed teaching this lesson; the girls seemed to truly enjoy participating too. I did however forget to play a slideshow that I had planned for them, its content was not critical to the lesson. Very good experience as I got to see the girls work together in groups which I placed them into and work effectively! And produce creatively designed products. They also understood the task and could link it to the content. I was not nervous at all!
Despite forgetting to show the girls the slideshow, the lesson was a success.
I do feel like I could have included more content
And not rush over the content that I did prepare
Perhaps by including a worksheet of sorts, with scenarios to which the learners would problem solve using creative techniques.
Tuesday 16th April
I decided to focus on two subjects today namely mathematics and natural science. I will be teaching maths in the last week.
Questions asked by learners and teachers in maths lessons:
How many of you have been to the Waterfront? – Blank stares, a few raise their hands. And how many of you have been to Signal Hill? Same response. Well then why have you answered that the distance between the Waterfront and Signal Hill is 21880km? Does this make any sense? Girls stare blankly at Mrs Lee, a few giggle. This is very interesting to me; as the girls have not made the connection that the Waterfront and the Signal Hill in the maths text book, is the same Waterfront and Signal Hill in Cape Town. The knowledge within the text book is seen as abstract, and far removed from the physical location of these places, and most importantly, they have not linked their social knowledge to the school knowledge. – research this!
History:
By learners; “may I read aloud?”
By learners; “can I write this note in colour?”
By teacher; “why are you not writing this in your book?”
Learner; “I was going to stick it in afterward”
Teacher; “just write it in your book”
Teacher; “what evidence do you have to substantiate that?” Teaching drama:
Did not set the tone; need to remind them of the golden rule; as this really helped within the geography and life skills lesson.
Teaching a drama lesson is very different to teaching a “classroom” based lesson
Learners expect a certain care-free attitude from the teacher; I was not comfortable teaching drama so I maintained my normal classroom composure.
Drama teacher allow learners to control the lesson, weak discipline in enforced, she also does not know all the learners names. This is shocking. The girls take advantage of this, which affects the way she teaches and the way the lessons are received.
I could have explained my aims more clearly, so they are also more aware of my expectations of them.
I also could have explained the rules of the game more explicitly
I should always give equal amount of positive feedback, felt that some learners (one group in particular) perhaps did not receive enough positive feedback- feeling rather guilty about that.
Subject: creative thinking.
Girls are discussing possible fund raiser ideas. Girls brainstorm in groups.
Debate skills
Public speaking skills
Group work skills
All learners take turns in reporting back, and answering questions. T calls on learners to respond, when a learner answers a question T remarks and uses a peer learning method to revise.
Wednesday 17th April
Teaching an art lesson:
Far less formal than the classroom environment, this should be obvious, but I just did not think about this before teaching. This does however impact on behaviour of the girls.
Need to strike a balance in creating an expressive environment, and a disciplined one, which seems contradictory.
Walk around, build self-esteem of the learners
Focus on the task, keep reminding them of the end product goal
Don’t not focus on the time, as learners work at different paces
Be relaxed
I was lucky enough to re-teach this same lesson the following day, and I felt like it was a MUCH better lesson, I reworked the handout, ad included a colour-wheel, and more examples of lettering
I also found some really interesting alternative acoustic music, and played this while the girls were getting on with their work, this changed the entire atmosphere of the room, and the girls were so focused while working. Would love to test this in normal lessons, playing soft back ground music while they get on with their work.
Thursday, 18th April
Teaching drama today:
Planned a lesson for 30 minutes.
Exercise body percussion:
I feel like I still do not give clear instruction. Or perhaps do not remind them of my expectations while they are participating in group work.
Order the instructions in a clear fashion so that it is logical
Do not bring any notes along to crit. Lessons- I agree, they make me nervous and I become so obsessed with time, and sticking to the time frame I set for each section of my lesson.
Therefore: know the structure of the lesson so that I am confident, and do not forget to do anything that I have planned ( like I did with the life skills lesson)
Today’s question: what kind of resources are used within the classroom/ teaching?
Textbooks: used in all lessons as the primary resource. Teacher uses her knowledge, and the knowledge of the textbook, and teaches in a lecture style. I find this very boring for both the teacher and the learners.
Smart board: used as a white board, the teachers do not use this tool effectively. No interactive activities, one or two videos have been shown. I use the board more than the teacher does.
Started planning my art lesson. Decided that the classroom needs more of the girls work on display, therefore I’m thinking that they should design name tags for their lockers.
Friday, 19th April
All girls school, with an all female staff. Chatted to Bev about this, and she says that they rarely receive male applicants.
The girls are having a few social issues: spreading rumours, talking behind friends backs, inviting friends to parties, and being controlling. Mrs Lee had received a phone call from one of the girls parents, which prompted this lecture, which she deemed a “motherly talk”. The girls seemed like they didn’t really know what she was talking about, so the entire talk seemed like a waste of time, it would have been far more helpful if this topic was discussed in a life skills lesson, whereby the learners provide the stimulus for debate and discussion, as no girls spoke or offered any reasons why and how things like this effect people, a more interactive approach may have served as a better means of conveying her message.
Observed a life skills lesson today on peer mediation- NO VIDEOS PREDATING THEIR BIRTH. They have zero interest, and show no connection to the characters in these clips. I questioned them as to why they did not like them and one response was that they feel too old, and scripted. The slag and fashion were out dated, and for this particular group of girls, popular culture reigns high on their spectrum of interest.
Taught dance today as my first crit. Lesson:
Thought lesson was a great success, girls worked well in groups and produced creative and original work
Trish provided me with great feedback, which I will evaluate and put into practice for my next lesson
My instructions were clear
My music was a disaster, but luckily I brought along back-up music which was not as appropriate as my first choice but served its purpose. Trish agreed with this point.
Week 3, Monday 21st April
Teachers conduct and plan lessons in a traditional format and style.
Some assign work, but learners remain seated throughout the lesson, I don’t like this, and feel like that lessons should differ in format and pedagogy.
Some learners ask questions but these are often low order
Teachers often question learners regarding their behaviour
How are lessons interlinked?
History and geography are taught by two different teachers, I find this very silly as these two disciplines are interlinked and can be taught in far more interesting ways.
Learners could study culture and history of a time and link this to a place, then build on this knowledge.
The same could be said for technology and Natural science to develop creative and critical thinking. I read something which said something to the effect of “your child’s future job has not been invented yet”, surely then schools and subject disciplines should encourage creative and innovative thinking, a linking of subjects, so that school does not feel like a far removed concept from the real world.
As a side note it is evident that some subjects are seen as vital whereas others are viewed as “wishy washy”, this is evident in the attitudes of the girls. Maths is important, but Xhosa and life skills are mere “fillers” in the timetable.
Tuesday 22nd April
Teaching geography: planned an entire lesson; made informative/ interactive slideshows, downloaded the perfect videos ONLY to have my hard drive crash 10 minutes before my lesson. But I managed to teach the lesson despite this failure in technology!
The girls still seemed to enjoy the lesson
As a precaution I’m going to email ALL my lesson resources to myself.
I will try and work in the content of this lesson at a later stage.
How do teachers enforce control?
Talking
Shouting
Demits
Singling out learner; and reprimanding them individually
Walking around the room while learners are getting on with work
Nothing
Rewarding them with early break
Perhaps a group point system should be introduced, this system was used in my primary school and is useful in controlling behaviour, keeping the classroom neat and clean (something these girls struggle with) by assigning weekly tasks to each group, awarding groups for participation in class activities.
Teaching methods
Conventional – lecture style, rather formal and authoritative
Interactive
Group and pairs – allowing the learners to teach themselves, student centred
Thursday 23rd April
Studying the habits of mind: the following are posters found on the classroom walls, the teachers make reference to these in classroom, assembly and on the sports field. It is however clear to me that the teachers do not model these habits of mind for the learners to see, furthermore they are referenced but not applied as readily as they should be.
Taking responsible risks – I have not seen this habit of mind referenced in any lessons.
Applying knowledge to new situations – this one is called upon by the T in group work scenarios, but the learners are not aware of how to apply this habit.
Listening and understanding with empathy – this is one that could have been brought into a life skills lesson regarding peer mediation, and even the talk that Mrs Lee had with the girls on friendships, and what is means to be a good friend.
Thinking about thinking – metacognition, referenced often, but again I feel as if these habits are very far removed from the girls in a practical sense.
Finding humour – not seen at all.
Questioning and posing problems – evidence found in Maths and Natural science whereby the teacher guides the thinking but does not teach to convey facts. I feel that this is a very useful habit in building learner confidence.
Responding with wonderment and awe – seen evidence of this in my own lessons on natural disasters
Remaining open to continuous learning – teachers exercise this habit very readily
Creative, imagining and innovating – no evidence of this
Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
Persisting
Thinking flexibly
Managing impulsivity
Friday 24th April
Self-crit. History lesson:
My lead in was a success, I grappled with whether or not I should tell the girls to be respectful as the topic of discussion is one of a deeply personal nature (religion) and we need to be respectful of this. While driving to school I decided that this would be necessary as just the day before the girls watched a video on praise singers, and the giggled all the way through. I did not want to offend anyone in the class, thus the disclaimer.
Clare questioned this, and seemed happy with this decision. I certainly feel like I made the right decision.
I need to work on my on my lesson timing, perhaps running through a lesson before teaching it, this doesn’t seem all too practical.
I needed to change things within the lesson plan as I battled with keeping to the time frame I paced for.
Strategies for slide shows: need to find ways to make slideshows more interactive and less like a lecture; as this doesn’t work for kids of this age, who need to be more involved in a lesson, as they do not like concentrating over long periods of time.
Week 4, Monday 29th April
For this week I will be teaching Maths for my crit. lesson. Last week I set a goal for myself to “teach maths confidently”. This has been a struggle for me up to this point because I have such a negative attitude towards the subject. Maths has never been my strongest point, and I carry a lot of insecurity regarding the teaching of this discipline, because to a large extent I feel inadequate in my content knowledge. I have been working very hard over the past two weeks, studying and doing may worksheets on fractions ad integers, and so I feel like I can teach these sections and feel more comfortable. Not sure if I have taken on too much by teaching a maths lesson as a crit. Lesson, but I feel like it is necessary to tackle this problem.
Tuesday 30th (My birthday)
The girls have been so wonderful, and up to now I have not mentioned how much I am truly enjoying this experience. I have learned so much in terms of teaching, and feel like I’ve found my passion, as this NEVER feels like work! A few girls bought and made gifts for me, I’m completely overwhelmed by their kindness.
Teaching Drama:
Felt like the lesson went well, however I made a few errors in my warm-up
Thought my instructions to the girls were clear as they produced “verbal dynamics” which were to my satisfaction
Liz seemed pleased too, and offered a lot of feedback concerning the technical side of drama
But did not offer much in terms of HOW I taught the lesson, which would have been very helpful at this point
Wednesday 1st PUBLIC HOLIDAY
Thursday 2nd May teaching a Maths lesson:
T instructs learners to take out lined paper, and take out their textbooks
In pairs – multiplication with three numbers; mixed numbers, the scrap paper is a “board” teach your partner step by step. Demonstrating and explaining every step of the way
Exchange this with another pair and mark this
I have noticed that when T reads out the answers, but offers no explanation
Learners do not ask any questions
Some mark their work, others don’t do anything at all
“Why are you not underlining your answers?”
No CAPS = very flexible with time
CAPS is too prescriptive
Ask too much of learners
Too little time to structure learning
Teachers are assessing each other for the next week, sitting in on lessons, and revising lesson plans. This is done every term.
Very useful; teachers are critiqued on their teaching style, use of technology, actual lesson plan. Refreshing to see.
Friday 3rd May
Comparing two teachers
Subject : Technology
Subject: Drama
Gender of teacher: Female
Gender of teacher: Female
One period a week for 60 minutes
One period a week for 60 minutes
Teaching style: Authoritative
Teaching style: relaxed
Girls seem to fear her, but despite this “fear”, they do not complete homework assignments
Girls take over this lesson, the teacher struggles to maintain order, and give instructions. The learners control the pace of this lesson and do not listen to her when she disciplines them.
Learners are responsive in class, and get on with their tasks. The teacher offers no feedback, and seems highly critical of them. Awards demits readily.
Learners do not view this as a learning experience, they play around. It seems as if in this space all “normal” school rules fall away. T is not consistent I.T.O punishment, and does not use the school convention of the demit system.
Pros and cons:
Pro – learners respect the teacher while she is addressing them
Con- not certain is this respect is based upon fear
Con- learners do not complete homework tasks
Con/pro undecided: teacher assigns pairs activities, and places one strong learner with a weaker learner. I am sceptical if this works as the stronger learner often ends up doing the bulk of the work and the weaker one receives the same grade.
Peer assessment sheets may remedy this process.
Pros and cons:
Pro- learners seem to enjoy the lessons
Con- they do not view this subject as important, despite the evidence of talented learners
Pro- learners use expressive language
Con- they do not like separating from their cliques, and therefore do not grow as individuals, it seems that they find safety in being with their friends
Con- they are allowed to judge others based on their dramatic expression, this is terrible when groups of friends band together and do not offer and constructive feedback to other groups which are made up of girls who are not in their “cliques”
Monday 6th May
Computers:
Learners work alone
T pops in to class on occasion
Learners all seem to work at steady pace
And seem to get all work done in available time frame
WHY?
Does this have something to do with them working on the P.Cs ?
After chatting to Miss Wizz, the computer teacher, she has given me some feedback on the girls progress, they are lazy, and produce work of a grade 4-5 standard, some other teachers add to this with more negative feedback on the grade 7 class. In all honesty, I have not experienced this from the girls, who consistently impress me with their answers and work ethic, there are a few learners who work at a slower pace, but they are willing to put in the extra effort. Emily has asked me to help her with maths during break times, and I have scheduled this for second break. I feel like branding a certain class as “weak” or “lazy” is terrible, and to be frank there is evidence of lazy teaching which certainly impacts the way in which the girl learn.
Tuesday 7th May
“Portfolio meetings”
I decided that I’d journal about the portfolio meetings which the girls conduct independently within their houses namely; Kingfishers, Robins and Swallows. Learners design many of the extra events the school offers such as;
Movie nights
Charity fund raisers (each class supports a particular charity)
Newsletters
Magazines
House events
Presentations in assembly
Game days
Peer-mediation
Girls communicate, design, debate, develop events for the school. Incredible to see such maturity from 12-13 year olds. They are so confident! They are left alone in the classroom while they conduct their meetings. The noise level remains at an acceptable level, and they remain focused on the task at hand. After discussion, they report back to the other groups, where they debate whether or not they will plan and implement the event.
Why does this work? These girls have been trained from a very young age that they need to work independently.
Wednesday 8th May “BIEBER FEVER”
Literally all the girls are talking about. This concert has consumed them.
They are so excited, discipline is an issue of the day
Concentration levels are LOW, feels like a Friday at 12pm
Can’t imagine what tomorrow will be like, about 80 % of the class is attending the concert
Many of the girls are planning on giving Thursday a complete miss – teachers are aware of this
I had to be consistent with my punishment, due to the poor behaviour today I took away 5 minutes free time I had promised them. They seemed more upset with the learners in the class who had let them down, than with me. Happy to see that they do not take this out on me, but realise that they have caused this, by giving them the power to decide their fate they feel like they hold some control within the classroom. This technique has proved very successful in my discipline methods.
Testing:
The girls are writing a test I prepared for them (as I have taught the entire unit 2 section of geography, Mrs Lee thought it would be fitting that I prepare the assessment for this unit) I have thoroughly enjoyed this process of drawing up an assessment for them. I found it relatively easy to set the test as I had taught this entire section, I had become very familiar with the content and thus could gauge the standard at which I should set the test with ease. The other factor I had to take into account was the fact that the girls were writing the test the day before my final day, so I would have to mark the test and return it to them before the end of the 9th. Thus I set multiple choice, fill in the blanks, with only two longer questions. I feel like the test paper caters to high and low order thinking in a balanced way. I have attached the test to this document.
Thursday 9th May LAST DAY
EMILY: the one child that I thought would cause me endless grief has surprised me and made this experience so rewarding! After marking their unit two test, Emily scored 75% (her first test score – 35%) I could not be more proud of her achievement, I bought her a chocolate and made mention of her achievement in class during my test feedback session. In this session I discussed where they went wrong, which sections they need to revise. One of the learners did very poorly, scoring 16/45, I have printed out a new test, and attached a memorandum to this copy, I have given her instruction to redo this test in her own time. If was the class teacher I would recommend the following:
Ensure all homework is done
To write down all things she is uncertain of then go over this list with me
To make use of multiple study methods
I feel like I did my duty as a teacher, but I also feel like I have failed this learner.
REFLECTION:
Outcome 1:
Identify and interpret student interests, varying learning styles and developmental needs, and use this in understanding planning- I feel like my use of the smart board excited the learners and engaged them in a way that differed from their other lessons. Bar the Xhosa teacher, who used the smart board in an interactive way for one of her lessons, the other teachers rely on a traditional means of using the smart board (i.e. using it as a white board) and conducting lessons. I made use of music, games, interactive white board activities, arts and crafts, and imagination exercises. I feel like during my week of observation I saw learners who needed to be given more “power” within their classroom, to have more say during lessons. I do not favour the style of teaching which requires the teacher to act as the sole resource within a lesson, I feel like the learners should guide the way a lesson is conducted. I tested this theory in a few of my lessons where I opened up with an image or a clip of music, the learners would then engage in an informal discussion with me and the rest of the class, this discussion would then spring board the lesson. I tried to strike a balance between the creative side of the lesson and the “academic content” (i.e. what needed to be covered in terms of curricula needs) by incorporating games, music, videos, group work activities, slide shows and worksheets into my lessons. I became more aware of the developmental needs of each learner as my lessons progressed, I tried the following method to ensure all individuals were receiving a learning style best suited for them. I understand that this is something that can be a achieved within a classroom environment, but due to my time constraints (my visit only being a month long) I still feel like I did not meet the needs of each learner as an individual.
One on one tutoring at break times (I did this with one learner who expressed the desire to meet with me to revise some mathematical concepts)
Calling on learners I knew struggled with either the concepts or to concentrate in class.
Conducting oral spot tests (this they really enjoyed as I would catch them off guard with a question pertaining to something we had studied the previous day)
Use available resources to teach with conviction:
I made use of the smart board, news print, library books, textbooks; I also made use of tennis balls, and physical and mental games. In retrospect, I could have made my lessons more interactive, I found that it is very easy to fall into the habit of preparing a lesson on a slide show, and then teach in a lecture style. Although this style of teaching is effective, it can become rather monotonous. While teaching I felt incredibly happy, and I feel this reflected in my teaching style, and the overall mood of the classroom, however I did wonder if the learners perhaps took advantage of my relaxed nature within the classroom.
Outcome 2:
Relate to and communicate with sensitively and appropriately
I did not shy away from sensitive issues surrounding gender and religion, in one particular lesson we discussed the life of a woman in the 14th century, and how different life for women was, I feel like this really opened up paths to other platforms of discussion surrounding religion. I did however make it clear to the learners that when discussing such topics as religion we need to be respectful and sensitive to the beliefs of others. I felt that this type of action really helped set the tone of “serious” discussions. Motivate students to want to learn: The most rewarding experience from the entire T.P was when a learner I initially thought would give me endless grief in terms of behavioural issues, did incredibly well on a section of work I taught. She told me she had studied so hard, and her hard work was reflected in her test results. When I informed the class teacher of her success, she congratulated me, which I found bizarre. It felt like this learner had just been categorised as a “weak” learner with “behavioural issues”, but when challenged she produced outstanding results.
Outcome 3: Conduct lesson confidently on the basis of knowledge;
I mostly relied on the “zone of proximity” theory when designing lessons; for example: I started a lesson about natural disasters off in the following way: “imagine a hurricane rips through the school…” I chose this method as prior to this lesson, the grade 7s had not studied natural disasters within the geography curriculum, but they did possess social knowledge of natural disasters. They were able to discuss many of the points I had planned such as; disaster management plans, impact on 1st and 3rd world countries. From this simple activity I branched off and managed to ask many high level questions. During my stay at Micklefield, I taught the following subjects; History, Geography, Drama, Dance, Physical Education, English, Natural Science, Life Skill, Art and Mathematics. While teaching I was very happy to have teachers step in to add opinion and additional information, I made sure that my content was correct by using multiple sources, and then revising my lesson plan with the teacher concerned. If learners challenged me in the classroom regarding the validity of my content, at first I felt inadequate, but thereafter I said; “that’s a fair point, let’s look that up”, the classroom was equipped with a computer and internet, so this made more an easy way for both the class and myself to do some on the spot research.
Outcome 4: “assess own individual growth as teachers”
Teaching practice one has been an incredibly enriching process. I started off being very unsure of myself as a teacher, largely because I thought I knew what it meant to be a teacher. I thought there was a set code of behaviour, personality. I thought there were certain ways to treat a class which made them respect and listen. I soon found out that a class is made up of many individuals, and in learning to teach individual is such a reward.
While teaching I needed to make many on the spot decisions, some of these were while teaching lessons, and some when learners would ask questions. At first I found this nerve-wracking, and intimidating, but after I realised that this is much of a learning experience for them as it is for me, I reminded myself of this. I do realise that this school is a highly resourced one, and that there are very few schools like this in South Africa. My aim is not to teach at a school like this in the future, but the experience has definitely cemented my confidence in teaching as the chosen career for me.
SIDE BAR:
How are lessons introduced?
07/04- “Today we are looking at the apostrophe, now this is an important life lesson…”
09/04- “Take out your social science books, turn to page 48”
11/04- “Last week was an absolute disaster, has everyone completed the homework…”
12/04- “Today Grade 7s, we are going to watch a video on peer mediation…”
15/04- “So Mrs Peter’s is ill so we will continue with Maths…”
16/04- “SIT DOWN GRADE 7S AND TAKE OUT YOUR EMS CARDS…”
19/04- “ ok take out your On track with maths books and turn to page 64”
20/04- “Alright grade 7s who has bothered to bring their projects to school?”
22/04- “MY GOODNESS grade 7s, your behaviour is shocking!, take out your blue work books!”
23/04- “Why are your ‘Love, David” books not out, this is English, is it not?”
27/04- “Last week we discussed the growth of bread mould, what are those spores known as?”
29/04- “who is up to date on this worksheet?”
30/04- “ I am going to go through the work we did yesterday… is everyone up to date?”
Curveball; I’ve been placed in a grade 7 class. Feeling like I’m out of my depth in terms of my maths ability. Need to email Di and get a grade 7 maths text book. The classroom is beautiful, located on the top landing of the hall opposite the computer centre and library. The room is well-lit with wrap around windows allowing light to fill the entire space. The classroom overlooks the original school building on the right, and the landmark “big The room’s walls are covered with posters, maps, and general classroom information such as: PC and art groups, netball and hockey fixtures, reminders about homework and assignments. The classroom is well resourced, with many books, a smart board and a P.C on the teacher’s desk. All learner’s have their own desk, and desks are grouped together to form groups of 3-4 learners. At the front of the room, two learners are seated outside of groups, and are placed near the teacher’s desk. (Will find out why).
Classroom size; small. 25 learners per class. One class per grade.
Resources on walls
History posters made by the learners
Xhosa posters made by learners
Clocks – showing time zones
Huge world map
Assembly: informal, lots of signing of hymns. Teachers make use of the piano. Learners make announcements concerning sport, art competitions, fundraises etc. There is complete slience during assembly.
The school building and grounds are immaculate! Neat and beautiful.
Bev. Lee, my class teacher, is also the deputy principle (has been for 10 years now) has been very helpful and accommodating. She has arranged to meet with me later today to discuss the following:
1. The curriculum.
2. My teaching times.
3. And my supervisor visits.
First lesson of the day, English, taught by Karin Peter’s. (All learner’s address all teachers on their last names) The girls are reading a book called: “Love, David”, they are about 20 pages in right now. After reading a few more pages more, Mrs Peter’s discusses “character sketches”. She poses the following: what is a character sketch? The learners respond, and she builds on their answers. She then divides them into groups, placing stronger learners with weaker ones. They are given a piece of newsprint and 1-3 characters from the book to develop a character sketch of. They are then told that every bit of the poster needs show evidence from within the text. (Not sure if I agree with the way the groups have been divided, uncertain if I will apply this same technique in my classroom.)
The girls then split off into their groups and are given 20 minutes to start the task. (The posters are a continual activity, which the learner’s will be working on for a few weeks) some groups remain in the classroom, while others go off into the library, or sit outside and start their work. They are given this independence, but Mrs. Peter’s walks around and makes sure all groups are comfortable with the task and that all learners are participating within their groups.
I have also signed up as an assistant coach for the u14 netball (these will be the girls that are in my class, and because there is only one class per grade, this should give me some time to get to know the girls outside of the classroom)
Sandi, the sports director, has also informed me that I will be teaching this P.E Thursday.
I’ve decided that I would get stuck into the teaching and am also teaching drama on Wednesday.
To add to this I am going to do my English assignment (reading aloud) with the girls tomorrow, as this coincides well with the English timetable (English is not taught by the class teacher, so there is less room to play with in this subject)
Teaching strategies seen so far:
Group work – English.
Pairs work – Afrikaans.
Even though they are in grade 7, they still need constant instruction, and require guidance throughout the lesson. They ask many questions, some relevant, other questions: “where do I underline?”, “does this go into my general file?”, “can I draw a boarder?” Etc. Some learners
Teachers use this often – peer learning, seen in maths, Afrikaans and English.
The staff has been extremely helpful at this point. The teachers have provided me with many textbooks, worksheets, notes, and DVD’s.
Day 2 Wednesday April 10th
I read aloud to my class today, I felt confident all the way through, although I did practice many times. While recording my reading for my English assignment, my cell-phone ran out of phone onboard phone memory. I should checked this beforehand but I was so focused on not stumbling over works or reading too fast that the thought of memory did not cross my mind. However I will definitely be checking all technology before teaching from now on, so big learning moment so far.
English teacher feedback on my reading aloud:
Kept good pace
Kept learners engaged
Remained calm during “technical difficulty”
Provided good tension
Self-criticism before watching the recording : I felt I read too fast. Messed up a few words. I feel I read too fast, as I read more I began feeling more at ease. I tried my best to create different moods as the text required a shift in tension and pace.
Self –criticism after watching the video: The book I read aloud to my grade 7 class was chosen by the English teacher, ‘Love, David’ is the second book the class is studying this year with a new book studied each term. I would have liked to select my own book to read to the class, but as English is not taught by the class teacher, but by a specialist teacher, contact time with the class is structured and she is not very flexible with her time.
I would have liked to have read the entire book before doing my reading to the class, but I was told the day before the doing actual reading, and did not have enough time to do so. I did however have the time to catch up to the chapter that the girls had reached. I tend to read too fast, and stumble over words because of this, so I practiced read chapter 23 many times making sure I was aware of where to pause, where to change my tone of voice to enhance the story. I wanted to do this as not to make my reading comical or silly, as the content of the book touched on serious topics such as child and substance abuse.
The class seemed receptive, however a few of them were distracted by the camera moving around the classroom, many of them followed along in their books while others listened. While reading I felt confident, and I wanted to ensure that my pace and volume were appropriate. While recording Thandi realised that my phone had run out of memory, but she managed to record half of my reading on her phone. This caused a break in the reading; I stopped and informed the class of the technical difficulty, and proceeded. I worried that is break would make the class restless. To ensure that all learners where still following I reread the last few lines. The girls focused throughout but I’m uncertain if they enjoyed my reading, which was my goal, as they are not read to by the teacher, but rather take turns in reading aloud to the class, while doing this the teacher marks them, these marks are then recorded as a “reading aloud” mark, which forms part of their English term mark.
The teacher said that despite the failure in technology, I did not seem at all frazzled. She did however say that tone and volume are important, however so are pauses. I will have to practice. I also felt that my stance was not very relaxed, by standing in the front of the class I made the process feel far more formal than it was which made me more nervous than I probably should have been.
What I learned: In future I will definitely remember to check all “technology”.
Communicate your aims to the class during the lesson/ before the lesson. This is important as it provides you with a lesson “goal”, but more importantly, makes the learners aware of your expectations and therefore what is expected of them.
Why peer learning works in this class: the class sizes are so small (25 learners) and the learners exercise self-discipline, which is needed for this type of exercise.
Observed a brilliant geography lesson; taught by the class teacher Mrs Lee. She incorporated geography and English and history skills into one assignment. I like this type of teaching/learning, where the content is fluid between subject disciplines. I find that if subjects are too rigid they act as tiny pockets of knowledge which can only be applied to certain context. Mrs Lee asked the learners to research a natural disaster that has occurred in the past 50 years. The second part of the task asked the learners to act as journalists, and compile a font page of a newspaper, reporting the event that has just occurred. Learners then discussed newspapers, there layout, content, purpose etc. followed by a brief discussion on maintaining an authentic history. Learners suggested that if your natural disaster occurred in 1954, your front page would not contain adverts for cell-phones or computers.
Maths lesson; started off feeling like gr7 is daunting and difficult. However since then I have made up my mind that this is a challenge and the perfect time for me to a) catch up all maths work. b) become somewhat of an expert in gr7 mathematics. So today I revise all decimals, and email Di for grade 7 work.
Day 3, 12 April 2013
Meeting with Bev (class teacher) to discuss lesson planning for next week.
All teachers (English, Technology, and Social-Science) stress the importance of backing up sources with evidence from the text. This is also linked to “habits of mind”.
My challenge so far – thinking of interesting links/ hooks to start my lessons with. As most teachers here start their lessons off in a very traditional format: “okay class today we will be studying fractions, take out your “Maths is fun” and turn to page 67” this is NOT the way I ever want to teach, I find it so incredibly boring and lazy.
Karin has given me my topic for my crit. lesson on the 24th (Masa Moosa and the advent of Islam in West Africa) – must start planning.
The teachers have been extremely helpful, the P.E teacher has given me a DVD for my dance practical, and has instructed me to plan movement lessons for the next two weeks ( has she hates teaching dance and movement) I am very keen to start planning lessons, I have so many ideas.
Day 4 Friday, 13 April
I have collected resources for my lesson (SS Geography) decided that for my 1st crit. Lesson I will definitely be teaching history, I’m very pleased with this as am very comfortable with this subject. Need to collect information from Mrs Peters. Who is teaching this section for the first time this year and is also in the process of researching this topic. As Micklefield is an independent school, teachers have free reign in designing and implementing a curriculum. This seems like a ton of work, but far more interesting than just following the CAPS document. PLAN PLAN PLAN for the 24th.
In terms of classroom management and discipline:
When asking the girls to be seated or to be quiet; I was faced with this from one learner: “why are you asking me, but not them?” I have responded to this in the following manner:
I have spoken to X.
After thinking about this I decided that this is not the correct approach as the learner should not question my methods of discipline. Next time I will respond with “X I am talking to you, therefore you should listen to me” or “X when I am talking to you, do not question me about other learners”. Definitely having an issue with on opposition learner, who I probably just testing me.
It seems that I need to take on a more authoritative role. As of now I have been the stranger who sits at the back of the classroom taking notes. My first lesson is on Monday, need to think about how I am going establish myself as “teacher”. I found that when I am alone with them in the classroom they walk around as they please, talk as loud as they want to, but when a teacher walks into the room there is a hush. I’m not sure if they are just scared of their teachers and the silence the teachers receive is perhaps not based upon respect but fear. I would never want learners to fear me.
Perhaps stating ground rules? Will think about this over the weekend while planning lessons! Could not be more excited about this?
Starting to realise that teaching is made up of many hours of planning, only to have things change 5 minutes before a lesson.
Classroom dynamics:
Girls are constantly “fighting” teachers on their instruction. For example the teacher divides the class into groups, they try to swap group members. Then when the task is stated, the groups argue and become increasingly chatty. The work ethic is then affected, whereby some girls do not work, and others beg for them to keep quiet and do the required work.
The size of the classroom:
The size of the room is small, and the desks are really close together, learners are on top of each other. The room itself is very well resourced;
O.H projector
Smartboard
T has P.C on her desk
Ceiling fans
Each learner has their own locker
The library and computer lab is right next door iPads photocopy machine girls chat about: books, Justin Bieber, netball, hockey, inter-house duties and high school, and pass notes to each other constantly.
In English: “can you back that up?”; “show me the evidence”. – when discussing the book (Love, David) learners present proof of character sketches, some learners struggle with task of presenting text as proof.
Peer learning and marking; (in Mathematics)
Learners make fun of teacher behind her back, while she is writing on the board. Is she out of touch? Or is this just normal 12-13 year old behaviour, which I rate it is. However it is evidence of disrespect.
Are they bored?
Monday, week 2 15th April.
FIRST LESSON TODAY! (graphs in SS)
Very excited but also very nervous. I have designed a work sheet, and planned, planned, planned a lesson to perfection. Bev. Seems happy with the content and the slideshow too. Lesson was supposed to be 30 minutes. Mine lasted 25 , which Bev said is “ok”, however I planned for 30 minutes so therefore I either miscalculated with my time, or perhaps rushed over the content.
What I have learned, always plan an additional “something”, a puzzle, a question, an activity etc. although I was very nervous I feel like by setting my one golden rule: respect. The girls saw me within my teacher capacity. The class was responsive, and discussed content readily, they also participated well within their groups. Because I planned for responses to questions I felt prepared. They seemed to enjoy the lesson, but I know I could so this lesson better! They loved the “imagine” part of the lesson, more so than anything else. I feel like this served as a very good lead in/ hook.
I LOVED IT. The experience was incredible, cannot wait to do better.
Felt confident while teaching
Answered questions with ease
Too static, need to use the entire room when I teach
The content needed more high order questions to make the lesson more of a challenge
Because I started the lesson off by stating my golden rule, the learners were well behaved and responsive. Furthermore, they saw me as a teacher and not a note-taker.
Enjoyed it so much, I approached the life skills teacher and asked her if I could teach the lesson at the end of the day (which I planned for over the weekend)
Life skills “creative problem solving”
I thoroughly enjoyed teaching this lesson; the girls seemed to truly enjoy participating too. I did however forget to play a slideshow that I had planned for them, its content was not critical to the lesson. Very good experience as I got to see the girls work together in groups which I placed them into and work effectively! And produce creatively designed products. They also understood the task and could link it to the content. I was not nervous at all!
Despite forgetting to show the girls the slideshow, the lesson was a success.
I do feel like I could have included more content
And not rush over the content that I did prepare
Perhaps by including a worksheet of sorts, with scenarios to which the learners would problem solve using creative techniques.
Tuesday 16th April
I decided to focus on two subjects today namely mathematics and natural science. I will be teaching maths in the last week.
Questions asked by learners and teachers in maths lessons:
How many of you have been to the Waterfront? – Blank stares, a few raise their hands. And how many of you have been to Signal Hill? Same response. Well then why have you answered that the distance between the Waterfront and Signal Hill is 21880km? Does this make any sense? Girls stare blankly at Mrs Lee, a few giggle. This is very interesting to me; as the girls have not made the connection that the Waterfront and the Signal Hill in the maths text book, is the same Waterfront and Signal Hill in Cape Town. The knowledge within the text book is seen as abstract, and far removed from the physical location of these places, and most importantly, they have not linked their social knowledge to the school knowledge. – research this!
History:
By learners; “may I read aloud?”
By learners; “can I write this note in colour?”
By teacher; “why are you not writing this in your book?”
Learner; “I was going to stick it in afterward”
Teacher; “just write it in your book”
Teacher; “what evidence do you have to substantiate that?” Teaching drama:
Did not set the tone; need to remind them of the golden rule; as this really helped within the geography and life skills lesson.
Teaching a drama lesson is very different to teaching a “classroom” based lesson
Learners expect a certain care-free attitude from the teacher; I was not comfortable teaching drama so I maintained my normal classroom composure.
Drama teacher allow learners to control the lesson, weak discipline in enforced, she also does not know all the learners names. This is shocking. The girls take advantage of this, which affects the way she teaches and the way the lessons are received.
I could have explained my aims more clearly, so they are also more aware of my expectations of them.
I also could have explained the rules of the game more explicitly
I should always give equal amount of positive feedback, felt that some learners (one group in particular) perhaps did not receive enough positive feedback- feeling rather guilty about that.
Subject: creative thinking.
Girls are discussing possible fund raiser ideas. Girls brainstorm in groups.
Debate skills
Public speaking skills
Group work skills
All learners take turns in reporting back, and answering questions. T calls on learners to respond, when a learner answers a question T remarks and uses a peer learning method to revise.
Wednesday 17th April
Teaching an art lesson:
Far less formal than the classroom environment, this should be obvious, but I just did not think about this before teaching. This does however impact on behaviour of the girls.
Need to strike a balance in creating an expressive environment, and a disciplined one, which seems contradictory.
Walk around, build self-esteem of the learners
Focus on the task, keep reminding them of the end product goal
Don’t not focus on the time, as learners work at different paces
Be relaxed
I was lucky enough to re-teach this same lesson the following day, and I felt like it was a MUCH better lesson, I reworked the handout, ad included a colour-wheel, and more examples of lettering
I also found some really interesting alternative acoustic music, and played this while the girls were getting on with their work, this changed the entire atmosphere of the room, and the girls were so focused while working. Would love to test this in normal lessons, playing soft back ground music while they get on with their work.
Thursday, 18th April
Teaching drama today:
Planned a lesson for 30 minutes.
Exercise body percussion:
I feel like I still do not give clear instruction. Or perhaps do not remind them of my expectations while they are participating in group work.
Order the instructions in a clear fashion so that it is logical
Do not bring any notes along to crit. Lessons- I agree, they make me nervous and I become so obsessed with time, and sticking to the time frame I set for each section of my lesson.
Therefore: know the structure of the lesson so that I am confident, and do not forget to do anything that I have planned ( like I did with the life skills lesson)
Today’s question: what kind of resources are used within the classroom/ teaching?
Textbooks: used in all lessons as the primary resource. Teacher uses her knowledge, and the knowledge of the textbook, and teaches in a lecture style. I find this very boring for both the teacher and the learners.
Smart board: used as a white board, the teachers do not use this tool effectively. No interactive activities, one or two videos have been shown. I use the board more than the teacher does.
Started planning my art lesson. Decided that the classroom needs more of the girls work on display, therefore I’m thinking that they should design name tags for their lockers.
Friday, 19th April
All girls school, with an all female staff. Chatted to Bev about this, and she says that they rarely receive male applicants.
The girls are having a few social issues: spreading rumours, talking behind friends backs, inviting friends to parties, and being controlling. Mrs Lee had received a phone call from one of the girls parents, which prompted this lecture, which she deemed a “motherly talk”. The girls seemed like they didn’t really know what she was talking about, so the entire talk seemed like a waste of time, it would have been far more helpful if this topic was discussed in a life skills lesson, whereby the learners provide the stimulus for debate and discussion, as no girls spoke or offered any reasons why and how things like this effect people, a more interactive approach may have served as a better means of conveying her message.
Observed a life skills lesson today on peer mediation- NO VIDEOS PREDATING THEIR BIRTH. They have zero interest, and show no connection to the characters in these clips. I questioned them as to why they did not like them and one response was that they feel too old, and scripted. The slag and fashion were out dated, and for this particular group of girls, popular culture reigns high on their spectrum of interest.
Taught dance today as my first crit. Lesson:
Thought lesson was a great success, girls worked well in groups and produced creative and original work
Trish provided me with great feedback, which I will evaluate and put into practice for my next lesson
My instructions were clear
My music was a disaster, but luckily I brought along back-up music which was not as appropriate as my first choice but served its purpose. Trish agreed with this point.
Week 3, Monday 21st April
Teachers conduct and plan lessons in a traditional format and style.
Some assign work, but learners remain seated throughout the lesson, I don’t like this, and feel like that lessons should differ in format and pedagogy.
Some learners ask questions but these are often low order
Teachers often question learners regarding their behaviour
How are lessons interlinked?
History and geography are taught by two different teachers, I find this very silly as these two disciplines are interlinked and can be taught in far more interesting ways.
Learners could study culture and history of a time and link this to a place, then build on this knowledge.
The same could be said for technology and Natural science to develop creative and critical thinking. I read something which said something to the effect of “your child’s future job has not been invented yet”, surely then schools and subject disciplines should encourage creative and innovative thinking, a linking of subjects, so that school does not feel like a far removed concept from the real world.
As a side note it is evident that some subjects are seen as vital whereas others are viewed as “wishy washy”, this is evident in the attitudes of the girls. Maths is important, but Xhosa and life skills are mere “fillers” in the timetable.
Tuesday 22nd April
Teaching geography: planned an entire lesson; made informative/ interactive slideshows, downloaded the perfect videos ONLY to have my hard drive crash 10 minutes before my lesson. But I managed to teach the lesson despite this failure in technology!
The girls still seemed to enjoy the lesson
As a precaution I’m going to email ALL my lesson resources to myself.
I will try and work in the content of this lesson at a later stage.
How do teachers enforce control?
Talking
Shouting
Demits
Singling out learner; and reprimanding them individually
Walking around the room while learners are getting on with work
Nothing
Rewarding them with early break
Perhaps a group point system should be introduced, this system was used in my primary school and is useful in controlling behaviour, keeping the classroom neat and clean (something these girls struggle with) by assigning weekly tasks to each group, awarding groups for participation in class activities.
Teaching methods
Conventional – lecture style, rather formal and authoritative
Interactive
Group and pairs – allowing the learners to teach themselves, student centred
Thursday 23rd April
Studying the habits of mind: the following are posters found on the classroom walls, the teachers make reference to these in classroom, assembly and on the sports field. It is however clear to me that the teachers do not model these habits of mind for the learners to see, furthermore they are referenced but not applied as readily as they should be.
Taking responsible risks – I have not seen this habit of mind referenced in any lessons.
Applying knowledge to new situations – this one is called upon by the T in group work scenarios, but the learners are not aware of how to apply this habit.
Listening and understanding with empathy – this is one that could have been brought into a life skills lesson regarding peer mediation, and even the talk that Mrs Lee had with the girls on friendships, and what is means to be a good friend.
Thinking about thinking – metacognition, referenced often, but again I feel as if these habits are very far removed from the girls in a practical sense.
Finding humour – not seen at all.
Questioning and posing problems – evidence found in Maths and Natural science whereby the teacher guides the thinking but does not teach to convey facts. I feel that this is a very useful habit in building learner confidence.
Responding with wonderment and awe – seen evidence of this in my own lessons on natural disasters
Remaining open to continuous learning – teachers exercise this habit very readily
Creative, imagining and innovating – no evidence of this
Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
Persisting
Thinking flexibly
Managing impulsivity
Friday 24th April
Self-crit. History lesson:
My lead in was a success, I grappled with whether or not I should tell the girls to be respectful as the topic of discussion is one of a deeply personal nature (religion) and we need to be respectful of this. While driving to school I decided that this would be necessary as just the day before the girls watched a video on praise singers, and the giggled all the way through. I did not want to offend anyone in the class, thus the disclaimer.
Clare questioned this, and seemed happy with this decision. I certainly feel like I made the right decision.
I need to work on my on my lesson timing, perhaps running through a lesson before teaching it, this doesn’t seem all too practical.
I needed to change things within the lesson plan as I battled with keeping to the time frame I paced for.
Strategies for slide shows: need to find ways to make slideshows more interactive and less like a lecture; as this doesn’t work for kids of this age, who need to be more involved in a lesson, as they do not like concentrating over long periods of time.
Week 4, Monday 29th April
For this week I will be teaching Maths for my crit. lesson. Last week I set a goal for myself to “teach maths confidently”. This has been a struggle for me up to this point because I have such a negative attitude towards the subject. Maths has never been my strongest point, and I carry a lot of insecurity regarding the teaching of this discipline, because to a large extent I feel inadequate in my content knowledge. I have been working very hard over the past two weeks, studying and doing may worksheets on fractions ad integers, and so I feel like I can teach these sections and feel more comfortable. Not sure if I have taken on too much by teaching a maths lesson as a crit. Lesson, but I feel like it is necessary to tackle this problem.
Tuesday 30th (My birthday)
The girls have been so wonderful, and up to now I have not mentioned how much I am truly enjoying this experience. I have learned so much in terms of teaching, and feel like I’ve found my passion, as this NEVER feels like work! A few girls bought and made gifts for me, I’m completely overwhelmed by their kindness.
Teaching Drama:
Felt like the lesson went well, however I made a few errors in my warm-up
Thought my instructions to the girls were clear as they produced “verbal dynamics” which were to my satisfaction
Liz seemed pleased too, and offered a lot of feedback concerning the technical side of drama
But did not offer much in terms of HOW I taught the lesson, which would have been very helpful at this point
Wednesday 1st PUBLIC HOLIDAY
Thursday 2nd May teaching a Maths lesson:
T instructs learners to take out lined paper, and take out their textbooks
In pairs – multiplication with three numbers; mixed numbers, the scrap paper is a “board” teach your partner step by step. Demonstrating and explaining every step of the way
Exchange this with another pair and mark this
I have noticed that when T reads out the answers, but offers no explanation
Learners do not ask any questions
Some mark their work, others don’t do anything at all
“Why are you not underlining your answers?”
No CAPS = very flexible with time
CAPS is too prescriptive
Ask too much of learners
Too little time to structure learning
Teachers are assessing each other for the next week, sitting in on lessons, and revising lesson plans. This is done every term.
Very useful; teachers are critiqued on their teaching style, use of technology, actual lesson plan. Refreshing to see.
Friday 3rd May
Comparing two teachers
Subject : Technology
Subject: Drama
Gender of teacher: Female
Gender of teacher: Female
One period a week for 60 minutes
One period a week for 60 minutes
Teaching style: Authoritative
Teaching style: relaxed
Girls seem to fear her, but despite this “fear”, they do not complete homework assignments
Girls take over this lesson, the teacher struggles to maintain order, and give instructions. The learners control the pace of this lesson and do not listen to her when she disciplines them.
Learners are responsive in class, and get on with their tasks. The teacher offers no feedback, and seems highly critical of them. Awards demits readily.
Learners do not view this as a learning experience, they play around. It seems as if in this space all “normal” school rules fall away. T is not consistent I.T.O punishment, and does not use the school convention of the demit system.
Pros and cons:
Pro – learners respect the teacher while she is addressing them
Con- not certain is this respect is based upon fear
Con- learners do not complete homework tasks
Con/pro undecided: teacher assigns pairs activities, and places one strong learner with a weaker learner. I am sceptical if this works as the stronger learner often ends up doing the bulk of the work and the weaker one receives the same grade.
Peer assessment sheets may remedy this process.
Pros and cons:
Pro- learners seem to enjoy the lessons
Con- they do not view this subject as important, despite the evidence of talented learners
Pro- learners use expressive language
Con- they do not like separating from their cliques, and therefore do not grow as individuals, it seems that they find safety in being with their friends
Con- they are allowed to judge others based on their dramatic expression, this is terrible when groups of friends band together and do not offer and constructive feedback to other groups which are made up of girls who are not in their “cliques”
Monday 6th May
Computers:
Learners work alone
T pops in to class on occasion
Learners all seem to work at steady pace
And seem to get all work done in available time frame
WHY?
Does this have something to do with them working on the P.Cs ?
After chatting to Miss Wizz, the computer teacher, she has given me some feedback on the girls progress, they are lazy, and produce work of a grade 4-5 standard, some other teachers add to this with more negative feedback on the grade 7 class. In all honesty, I have not experienced this from the girls, who consistently impress me with their answers and work ethic, there are a few learners who work at a slower pace, but they are willing to put in the extra effort. Emily has asked me to help her with maths during break times, and I have scheduled this for second break. I feel like branding a certain class as “weak” or “lazy” is terrible, and to be frank there is evidence of lazy teaching which certainly impacts the way in which the girl learn.
Tuesday 7th May
“Portfolio meetings”
I decided that I’d journal about the portfolio meetings which the girls conduct independently within their houses namely; Kingfishers, Robins and Swallows. Learners design many of the extra events the school offers such as;
Movie nights
Charity fund raisers (each class supports a particular charity)
Newsletters
Magazines
House events
Presentations in assembly
Game days
Peer-mediation
Girls communicate, design, debate, develop events for the school. Incredible to see such maturity from 12-13 year olds. They are so confident! They are left alone in the classroom while they conduct their meetings. The noise level remains at an acceptable level, and they remain focused on the task at hand. After discussion, they report back to the other groups, where they debate whether or not they will plan and implement the event.
Why does this work? These girls have been trained from a very young age that they need to work independently.
Wednesday 8th May “BIEBER FEVER”
Literally all the girls are talking about. This concert has consumed them.
They are so excited, discipline is an issue of the day
Concentration levels are LOW, feels like a Friday at 12pm
Can’t imagine what tomorrow will be like, about 80 % of the class is attending the concert
Many of the girls are planning on giving Thursday a complete miss – teachers are aware of this
I had to be consistent with my punishment, due to the poor behaviour today I took away 5 minutes free time I had promised them. They seemed more upset with the learners in the class who had let them down, than with me. Happy to see that they do not take this out on me, but realise that they have caused this, by giving them the power to decide their fate they feel like they hold some control within the classroom. This technique has proved very successful in my discipline methods.
Testing:
The girls are writing a test I prepared for them (as I have taught the entire unit 2 section of geography, Mrs Lee thought it would be fitting that I prepare the assessment for this unit) I have thoroughly enjoyed this process of drawing up an assessment for them. I found it relatively easy to set the test as I had taught this entire section, I had become very familiar with the content and thus could gauge the standard at which I should set the test with ease. The other factor I had to take into account was the fact that the girls were writing the test the day before my final day, so I would have to mark the test and return it to them before the end of the 9th. Thus I set multiple choice, fill in the blanks, with only two longer questions. I feel like the test paper caters to high and low order thinking in a balanced way. I have attached the test to this document.
Thursday 9th May LAST DAY
EMILY: the one child that I thought would cause me endless grief has surprised me and made this experience so rewarding! After marking their unit two test, Emily scored 75% (her first test score – 35%) I could not be more proud of her achievement, I bought her a chocolate and made mention of her achievement in class during my test feedback session. In this session I discussed where they went wrong, which sections they need to revise. One of the learners did very poorly, scoring 16/45, I have printed out a new test, and attached a memorandum to this copy, I have given her instruction to redo this test in her own time. If was the class teacher I would recommend the following:
Ensure all homework is done
To write down all things she is uncertain of then go over this list with me
To make use of multiple study methods
I feel like I did my duty as a teacher, but I also feel like I have failed this learner.
REFLECTION:
Outcome 1:
Identify and interpret student interests, varying learning styles and developmental needs, and use this in understanding planning- I feel like my use of the smart board excited the learners and engaged them in a way that differed from their other lessons. Bar the Xhosa teacher, who used the smart board in an interactive way for one of her lessons, the other teachers rely on a traditional means of using the smart board (i.e. using it as a white board) and conducting lessons. I made use of music, games, interactive white board activities, arts and crafts, and imagination exercises. I feel like during my week of observation I saw learners who needed to be given more “power” within their classroom, to have more say during lessons. I do not favour the style of teaching which requires the teacher to act as the sole resource within a lesson, I feel like the learners should guide the way a lesson is conducted. I tested this theory in a few of my lessons where I opened up with an image or a clip of music, the learners would then engage in an informal discussion with me and the rest of the class, this discussion would then spring board the lesson. I tried to strike a balance between the creative side of the lesson and the “academic content” (i.e. what needed to be covered in terms of curricula needs) by incorporating games, music, videos, group work activities, slide shows and worksheets into my lessons. I became more aware of the developmental needs of each learner as my lessons progressed, I tried the following method to ensure all individuals were receiving a learning style best suited for them. I understand that this is something that can be a achieved within a classroom environment, but due to my time constraints (my visit only being a month long) I still feel like I did not meet the needs of each learner as an individual.
One on one tutoring at break times (I did this with one learner who expressed the desire to meet with me to revise some mathematical concepts)
Calling on learners I knew struggled with either the concepts or to concentrate in class.
Conducting oral spot tests (this they really enjoyed as I would catch them off guard with a question pertaining to something we had studied the previous day)
Use available resources to teach with conviction:
I made use of the smart board, news print, library books, textbooks; I also made use of tennis balls, and physical and mental games. In retrospect, I could have made my lessons more interactive, I found that it is very easy to fall into the habit of preparing a lesson on a slide show, and then teach in a lecture style. Although this style of teaching is effective, it can become rather monotonous. While teaching I felt incredibly happy, and I feel this reflected in my teaching style, and the overall mood of the classroom, however I did wonder if the learners perhaps took advantage of my relaxed nature within the classroom.
Outcome 2:
Relate to and communicate with sensitively and appropriately
I did not shy away from sensitive issues surrounding gender and religion, in one particular lesson we discussed the life of a woman in the 14th century, and how different life for women was, I feel like this really opened up paths to other platforms of discussion surrounding religion. I did however make it clear to the learners that when discussing such topics as religion we need to be respectful and sensitive to the beliefs of others. I felt that this type of action really helped set the tone of “serious” discussions. Motivate students to want to learn: The most rewarding experience from the entire T.P was when a learner I initially thought would give me endless grief in terms of behavioural issues, did incredibly well on a section of work I taught. She told me she had studied so hard, and her hard work was reflected in her test results. When I informed the class teacher of her success, she congratulated me, which I found bizarre. It felt like this learner had just been categorised as a “weak” learner with “behavioural issues”, but when challenged she produced outstanding results.
Outcome 3: Conduct lesson confidently on the basis of knowledge;
I mostly relied on the “zone of proximity” theory when designing lessons; for example: I started a lesson about natural disasters off in the following way: “imagine a hurricane rips through the school…” I chose this method as prior to this lesson, the grade 7s had not studied natural disasters within the geography curriculum, but they did possess social knowledge of natural disasters. They were able to discuss many of the points I had planned such as; disaster management plans, impact on 1st and 3rd world countries. From this simple activity I branched off and managed to ask many high level questions. During my stay at Micklefield, I taught the following subjects; History, Geography, Drama, Dance, Physical Education, English, Natural Science, Life Skill, Art and Mathematics. While teaching I was very happy to have teachers step in to add opinion and additional information, I made sure that my content was correct by using multiple sources, and then revising my lesson plan with the teacher concerned. If learners challenged me in the classroom regarding the validity of my content, at first I felt inadequate, but thereafter I said; “that’s a fair point, let’s look that up”, the classroom was equipped with a computer and internet, so this made more an easy way for both the class and myself to do some on the spot research.
Outcome 4: “assess own individual growth as teachers”
Teaching practice one has been an incredibly enriching process. I started off being very unsure of myself as a teacher, largely because I thought I knew what it meant to be a teacher. I thought there was a set code of behaviour, personality. I thought there were certain ways to treat a class which made them respect and listen. I soon found out that a class is made up of many individuals, and in learning to teach individual is such a reward.
While teaching I needed to make many on the spot decisions, some of these were while teaching lessons, and some when learners would ask questions. At first I found this nerve-wracking, and intimidating, but after I realised that this is much of a learning experience for them as it is for me, I reminded myself of this. I do realise that this school is a highly resourced one, and that there are very few schools like this in South Africa. My aim is not to teach at a school like this in the future, but the experience has definitely cemented my confidence in teaching as the chosen career for me.
SIDE BAR:
How are lessons introduced?
07/04- “Today we are looking at the apostrophe, now this is an important life lesson…”
09/04- “Take out your social science books, turn to page 48”
11/04- “Last week was an absolute disaster, has everyone completed the homework…”
12/04- “Today Grade 7s, we are going to watch a video on peer mediation…”
15/04- “So Mrs Peter’s is ill so we will continue with Maths…”
16/04- “SIT DOWN GRADE 7S AND TAKE OUT YOUR EMS CARDS…”
19/04- “ ok take out your On track with maths books and turn to page 64”
20/04- “Alright grade 7s who has bothered to bring their projects to school?”
22/04- “MY GOODNESS grade 7s, your behaviour is shocking!, take out your blue work books!”
23/04- “Why are your ‘Love, David” books not out, this is English, is it not?”
27/04- “Last week we discussed the growth of bread mould, what are those spores known as?”
29/04- “who is up to date on this worksheet?”
30/04- “ I am going to go through the work we did yesterday… is everyone up to date?”
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