Skill Review Sheet Questioning

Graduate Standards - AITSL

Professional Practice: 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 5.2 Plan and implement effective teaching and
learning
Please complete all forms and include in your ePortfolio

Question Type
Do you feel your
questions were clearly
structured and readily
understood by the
students?

In my opinion as well as per my mentors comment, my questions

were very well structured and direct hence, most children
understood the questions and could answer them. The
engagement was very good. However, sometimes I felt I was using
complex terms but quickly paraphrased the questions if students
seemed to be confused or were too quiet.

Did you use a variety of

question types?

Questions can be either open or closed. I used closed questions to

force a brief answer from students ( E.g: Yes or no questions or
one word questions). As students started getting used or were
more confident, I started using open questions. ( E.g: why do you
think...) These questions actually pushed students to give long
answer/ allow them to give longer response. Hence made them
think more about the topic. This can be a good way to boost their
imagination and creativity.

What balances was there I made sure that I used equal number of close questions and equal
number of open questions.
between the various
questions types?

Consider both why and

when you made use of
the different question
types?

The reason why I made use of different questions types is because

they both test students knowledge in different ways and give them
an idea of what they should know and to what extent. For example,
Open question develops a conversation and find out more about
the knowledge of a students and also his opinion about the topic.
Different questions can also be used when trying to explain a
concept and to make sure that students are focused and are
getting whatever is being explained. For example, I had a lesson
on chromatography and I asked questions while I was doing a
demonstration about the experiment setup.

EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

26

Distributing and Directing Questions

Did you recognise any
pattern in the distribution
of your questions
amongst the students?
Consider reasons for this
pattern?

How have you directed

questions to the group?

Sometimes, only a specific group of children would answer the

questions while others would not answer.
The possible reason for this might be:
1. Maybe not enough time were given to them to think about the
answers as each child has different intellectual capabilities.
2. Maybe students were not confident about the answers
3. Maybe they were shy
4. Some of them even they know the answer to the question, they
would not volunteer to answer.

Sometimes, I would ask Low risk questions that have no

right or wrong answer. Examples include asking for students'
opinions about something, or simply asking what strikes their
minds when you introduce an idea or concept to the class. These
types of questions are most effective in initiating discussion.

Have you used wait

time?

Yes I have. Specially while waiting for response from students.

This will give students more time to reflect, think and be creative.

Did you make eye

contact with the group as
you directed your
questions?

As I directed my questions to a group of students, I have made

sure I maintain Eye contact as this is a crucial part of non verbal
communication as it can improve participation in the class and
also make the students aware that I am talking to them not to the
screen or the wall. Also, eye contact give students the feeling that
you care for them and their learning process. This will eventually
develop trust and a sense of belonging.

Reactions to Students Responses

How do you deal with
correct responses? Do
you qualify any praise
given?

When a student gave the correct response, Ive told them in front
of the class that yes you are right or used words like exactly,
Well-done, spot-on. I would also praise them by saying / keep it
up so that next time, they can be more confident while answering
questions and be motivated to answer questions.

How do you deal with

incorrect responses?
How do you deal with
students who stumble
and grope for an answer?

Being a teacher, it is very important for a teacher to give clear

feedback on student responses. When a student gave the wrong
answer, instead of saying no it is wrong, I probed for more
information for example: can you explain how you go this answer
or said you are partly right and highlighted the part where he
made a mistake.
- If students stumble or grope for an answer, I supported them by

EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

27

trying to help them with the answer and by just giving them
confidence by saying yes, keep going you are on the right track.

EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

28

Do you keep eye contact

with the students until
they have completed an
answer? Do you cut
students off and go onto
the next point before they
have finished
responding?

While students are answering questions, I have made sure that I

maintain eye contact all throughout the answering process. So far
in this practical, I did not cut off students to go onto the next point
before they could finish their response. I rather listen attentively to
their answers. I believe that listening to them attentively will boost
their confidence a they will notice that we are interested in
listening to them.

What use do you make of

the students responses
to develop the teaching
point? Have you
redirected any questions
in order to add to an
initial response?

After questioning students, I have tried to use students response

so as to promote student-teacher interactions in the classroom
and build more confidence in the students. For example, after a
student have answered a particular question, I have tried to use
his response in explaining a particular concept. This has
surprisingly been a positive result as afterwards, more students
seemed to be engaged in answering questions and more
volunteered to answer those questions.
The students we had were actually very good and there was no
need to redirect any questions in order to add an initial response.
However, I did try to give them hints about the answer when they
seemed not too sure if their answers were right or wrong. Also, I
have observed that some students are very keen on answering the
questions but for some reason they were shy or feared that their
answer might be wrong. Hence in this situation, I tried to persuade
them that even if the think their answer is wrong, they should say it
as this is how you learn. After that advise, students were more
willing to answer questions and would not fear of being wrong as
they knew that I will not judge them instead, I will explain to them
where they went wrong.

When I was doing my lessons, I was the only evaluator of the

Are you the only
evaluator of the students students response. Of course, my mentor teacher was there to
guide me but I was solely responsible to evaluate the answers.
answers?

Did you communicate

clearly to the students the
requirements of the
lesson?

I have realized that teaching is all about communication. Being in

this industry, I have realized that we can spend the whole lesson
or day by communicating but communicating in an effective way is
very important. I have taken into consideration the 7Cs of
communication so as to be clear in my explanation and make sure
they understand the requirements of the lesson. I made sure that I
was: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent,complete and
courteous.

Overall Comments
EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

29

EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

30

Skill Review Sheet Management

Graduate Standards AITSL
Professional Practice: 4. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
4.1 and 4.2

Planning for Effective Management

According to my opinion, my lesson plan was successful in
managing the class. Students were very interested in the lesson
and were very engaged as well. Towards the end of the lesson, I
asked questions about the lesson so as to make them think, give
them chances to explore their own creativity and also to make sure
e.g. How did the students
they understood the key objectives of the lesson. Almost all
react to your lesson
students were interested and were eager and willing to answer.
overall and to your
Some of the more brilliant and curious ones would ask me
planned activities?
questions more about the topic.

Was your lesson plan

effective for managing
the class?

Did anything unexpected There was no such unexpected thing that happened.
happen?
Did you provide a variety Yes I did. I provided worksheets and demonstrations. For example,
since I was doing a topic on Vacuum flask, I gave students some
of activities?
vacuum flask to pass around the class and to analyse it. Also, as
per the recommendation of my mentor teacher, I was asked to
prepare a sudoko just to make them relax and release the stress
after the lesson.

Were you satisfied with

The timing of the lesson was well planned and I think with
your timing, particularly
experience, I will be able to manage the time better as for one of
for the end of the lesson? the class, I was a bit too quick while running through the slides. But
I have managed it for the second lesson and it was better.

Did you feel you were

able to change things if
needed?

I could not change things without the consent of my mentor

teacher obviously.

Was your organisation of Yes it was. This is because I had already plan for the resources
materials and resources that I will need one day before. For example, I stayed until late to
do copies of the worksheets and notes that will be given to
efficient and effective?

students for the next lesson. In order to make sure the projector is
connected before students start coming to the class, I would go in
the class early to connect my laptop to the projector prior students
arrival.

e.g. Did you and the

Yes. All students came prepared for almost all the classes except
students have everything for one of the pathway 2 lab class. Students did not bring their
you needed?
safety glasses even though they were told to do so. But as an
EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

31

Did you plan how and

when you would
distribute and collect
materials?
Were you aware of
classroom procedures
and school disciplinary
policy? How much did
you know about your
students?

effective teacher and as per the advise of my mentor Teacher, we

requested the lab staff to provide us with adequate number of
safety glasses for those who forgot.

Yes, as per our mentor teacher advise, for science classes

since most classes were conducted in labs, students should
wait outside until the teacher ask them to come in.
Two weeks was quite a short period of time to know more
about my students. Also, everything about students, such as
their history, attendance was on the tablet that each teacher
had( property of the school) and it was quite confidential and
restricted to the staff only.

Maintaining a Positive Attitude in the Classroom

How did you demonstrate
to the students that you
valued them, and enjoyed
the teaching/learning
process?
e.g. Tone of voice, facial
expression, sense of
humour, introduction to
students and topic.

Which aspects of your

teaching style do you feel
helped you maintain
class attention?

I was quite friendly to the students and made sure that I used
the appropriate tone and would occasionally smile when it
requires. Also, while they were working on some questions, I
would walk around the class, and try to see what they are
doing, guide them through the classwork and would
encourage them by praising their reasoning or work. I have
noticed that having a good sense of humour was a good
thing. So, for some of my slides, for example the topic heat
transfer, I would included anime or one funny photo about
the topic which will make students laugh and enjoy the
learning process.

The fact that I asked questions regularly about the topic actually
made students focus on the topic more as they know that I will ask
questions afterwards, will give them classwork and do class
discussion about a specific question.

e.g. Variety of activities,

class or group
discussion, pace of
lesson, interest at class
level.
Did the students know
what was expected of
them?

Yes. Before the starting the lesson, I told them what the topic
is and why we are doing this lesson. I also mentioned that
after the lesson, or while going through the lesson, we will
provide them with worksheets which they should answer
while I am going through the presentation or they can make

EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

32

notes during the lesson.

Were you able to redirect There was no such situation in my class.

energies of attention
seeking students? Did
the students have
enough to do?

EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

33

Dealing with Minor Misbehaviour

Were you aware of what
was happening in all
parts of the classroom?
Did you know what each
student was doing?

Initially, while I was observing, I could see what is happening in

the classroom. By closely observing, it is very easy to tell what
student is doing what maybe because I was not teaching at that
time. However, when I did my first lesson, I realized that when you
are standing in front of the class as an educator, it is very hard to
figure out what is happening in all parts of the class and what each
student was doing. Hence, my mentor teacher told me that
teaching is all about experience. As you teach, you will learn the
skill about how to monitor what is happening in the classroom and
what student was doing. One way of finding out about this could
be by walking around the classroom while giving lessons and at
the same time, still observe the students expression and activity.
But Fortunately, the school where I was doing my internship,
almost all students ( except a few) would focus on what you are
teaching and will listen to the lesson attentively.

Did you take any action

when you observed poor
behaviour? Why? Why
not?

Yes, this is because If I would not take action, the poor

behavior would escalate and hence this could disrupt other
students from learning and make the learning environment
negative.

Did you use non-verbal

cues? e.g. Contact,
pause, gesture,
movement toward
student/s concerned.

Yes, few times I would use eye contact and would walk towards
the students table.

EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

34

Schools as text looking at the whole

school
Understand the importance of effective communication with students
and colleagues to develop positive relationships.
Graduate Standards AITSL 6.3 and 7.1
Describe the school in
terms of its
demographics,
appearance and
resources (be general
here and do not name
the school).

The school where I was doing my intern is one of the biggest

independent public school in Western Australia. Being one of the
oldest school, the infrastructure is quite old with several ancient
buildings/classrooms but yet in a very good state. However, things
were changing as they are upgrading the school and now, it has a
brand new building and science facilities. The outer area of the school
is massive and students are well spread across the yard of the school
especially during recess time. The school has a very high student
population and has approximately over 200 teaching staff. All the
teaching staff in that school were very nice, friendly, supportive and
helpful. The students are individuals with different histories, interests,
abilities and are from different ethnic groups.The school is committed
to the intellectual, creative and social development of the students by
the provision of stimulation and relevant programs and orderly
teaching and classroom practices. It develops competent, skilled and
socially responsible citizens who respect the needs of others and
have a sense of self-worth and future direction.
One important feature of the school is its emphasis on pastoral care
for all students. The Student services centre are very dedicated
towards the welfare of the students and the highly qualified staff work
in close collaboration with parents so as to make sure that each
student can meet the academic, social and emotional needs.
The School also provide broad range of programs which help students
to decide about their future and be able to know which subjects/ field
to choose for their further studies at University. The school also have
well equipped science laboratory and high tech resources at the
predisposition of students and staff.

What were the roles and

responsibilities of the
teaching staff you
observed?

The key roles and responsibilities of the teaching staff were to plan,
prepare and teach specific programs to students. To a broader extent,
they were also engaged in critical reflections and inquiry in order to
improve knowledge and skills to effectively engage students and
improve the learning/ teaching experience. All teaching staff were
required to undertake other duties apart from their rostered teaching
duties ( duty of care). Each teacher had a roster for their duty during

EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

35

recess time. During this time, they had to walk around the school yard
to make sure students are not fighting, not hurt while playing, ask
them to pick up their rubbish if it was left on the ground so in general it
was to make sure that they are all ok.
Teachers also had to be involved with the management of the school.
They would have regular meeting which they had to attend so as to
get updates about the performance of students compared to other
schools, to discuss about any new program and also to discuss any
issues that teachers were facing in the school. Some more
experienced teaching staff would actually supervise and manage the
other team of teaching staff so as to make sure that the goals of the
learning programs were being covered/ achieved during their teaching
process.

What did you observe

non-teaching staff doing
to support teaching and
learning in the school?

Non-teaching staff work in close collaboration with teachers to

make sure that the students and the school is doing well. They
are the ones who manage the school resources, budget, manage
the development and effective operation of the computer systems
within a school for teaching staff and students, prepare for
resources and equipment for Laboratory and other teaching
purposes. They are also involved in advising teachers and
students on aspects of information technology and use in the
school. Some will also be involved in training teaching staff how to
use new technologies and how to implement its use in teaching.
These few roles and responsibilities of non teaching staffs will
actually create the ambient milieu where teaching and learning
occurs smoothly.

Students
You will have observed
the diverse nature of your
classes. How was this
diversity supported?

Each class as very different and diverse from each other. Since
there were students from different cultural background, I had to be
culturally competent. I was very aware that everyone has their own
point of view and that English is not their first language. We had a
student who just moved to Australia and his had some Language
barrier,hence, being an effective teacher, I had to communicate
effectively and make sure to use simple words which everyone
including him will understand.
There were students who were Autistic and as per my research on
Autism, I knew that such kids learn better with the help of visuals;
hence in that class, I tried to explain concepts and theories using
visual aids and by drawing on the board.

EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

36

Function of Schools
Did you observe the
connection of your
schools with the broader
community? How did this
happen?

What do you think the

function of school is?

The school did connect to the broader community by doing

parents meeting, the school had a very well developed alumni
group and during my intern, I have the chance to know about the
different outings that teacher can organize to develop the
understanding of students about a particular topic. For example,
we got a chance to attend a biologys teacher class and during
that class, the lesson covered was about the classification of
species. Hence, the teacher together with the management of the
school decided to take the students to the Perth Zoo. The date
they choose was when another school in the local community
planned to go. Hence, the students from the school I was doing
my intern will get the chance to meet other students from another
school. In so doing, they can maximize their learning experience
and opportunity.

School serve a number of functions in our society apart from

developing skills and Knowledge. It is true that the main purpose
of school is to provide education and produce educated leaders of
tomorrow but the word education has a new meaning nowadays.
As part of that education, school teach disciplines which which
turn students into a better individual and teach them to
differentiate between what is right and wrong. Schools also instill
the cultural values that are shared by the society. It makes student
to learn and respect other cultural values. It is also place which
make students discover about their potential and hence they are
able to choose the subjects which better suit them and hence can
choose their career. They are also able to understand how the
world they live in function. They also learn how to socialize and
hence school serves for the development of the children and their
personal growth.

EDN550 Professional Experience Information for Pre-Service Teachers 2016

37