TESOL Certificate Programs

Observation Notebook

Observation Report Form

Name of Observer Claudia Walukouw Observation # 2

Date Observation Class Skill/Content Level Teacher

Environment*
4/13/18 Face-to- 542 Reading/Writing 500s Arlene Yalcin
face Reading/Writing

*Include the URL if the class was online

WRITE THE OBJECTIVES ACCORDING TO THE OBSERVATION GUIDELINES:

- Students will be able to write five complete sentences using coordinating
conjunctions correctly (for/and/nor/but/or/yet/so)
- Students will be able to create five compound sentences with 100 percent
accurate placement of the comma
- Students will be able to produce three who/what/when/where/why/how
questions based on a reading passage

Notes while observing:

General Notes

Classroom setting
- There is a sign outside of the door that says “Entering an English only zone”
- There is a poster on wall on Bloom’s taxonomy
- Instructor space in the front of the classroom and is decorated w/ personal items
- Window is open; blinds are open
- Main focus is on the TV monitor—but instructor’s computer is arranged so that
students also have a clear view of it
- Instructor has a bell for when phases are finished
- Instructor plays radio in the background during group activities
- At start of class, desks are pre-arranged in “Quiz-Style” – in rows, with every
adjacent desk facing away from one another
- After the quiz (noted below), desks are re-arranged into “Classroom Style” – in a
large circle around the room

Class Context
- Students are mostly ages 20-25
- Students are placed at this level after passing an assessment on reading/writing

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Observation Notebook
- Each week, students are asked to complete written assignments that cover the
subject for that week (12-15 sentences)
- Students are currently studying unit 6 from textbook: “Q: Skills for Success –
Reading and Writing” by Debra Daise and Charl Norloff
- Students are also responsible for weekly unit assignments, which includes
o Summary of readings
o Outline of readings
o A “t-chart” of the original quotations and parahphrasings
§ t-chart: graphic organizer where paper is folded into two columns

Example of weekly homework assignment. (Pictures were taken with explicit permission from instructor)

Pre-class observations

- Homework is placed in a basket in front of the classroom

- Some students are speaking in their native language; instructor reminds them, “in
English please, thank you”
- Instructor is handing back prior assignment; acknowledges each student by name

Phase 1 – QUIZ
9:02 – Instructor is giving an introduction for the quiz: materials they need, what
will be covered on the quiz (different vocabulary words + coordinating
conjunctions)
9:12 – Two students arrive late (past most of the time allotted for the quiz) and instructor
offers if students wants to take the quiz AFTER lunch, rather than only having 3
minutes to finish the quiz
9:16 – Quiz ends

*Instructor tells me that quizzes are graded based on use of subject + verb, proper use of
the comma, and use of coordinating conjunctions; allows me to see quiz answers

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Phase 2 – Group Work

9:17 – Students divided into groups of three
o Instructor arranges a few students into groups herself
- Group discussion:
o Describe your life in high school. What kind of student were you? What
activities did you have? What kinds of things did you love to do?
- Instructor encourages students to introduce themselves to one another; to write
down their group members’ names if they have not met one another, and
emphasizes that students should get the correct spelling for names
- Instructor joins in conversation occasionally
9:47 – Group discussion ends; classroom is brought back into “classroom style” seating

9:48 – BREAK
10:00 – Break ends; instructor gives homework instructions
- Students are allowed to take out phones to take pictures of HW; phones have to be
put away immediately after

Phase 3 – Worksheet
10:07 – SQ3R Chart handout – methods for reading
- Students are to read a passage from textbook and fill out worksheet
o 3 minutes to “survey” the reading passage
o 2 minutes to write SIX ideas that are unfamiliar to them
o (Instructor walks around room for comprehension check)
o 6 minutes to write write who/what/when/where/why questions
- Student asks if he can move on to the next question on the worksheet, instructor
says no and instructs him to wait
o Instructor goes over to review his work so far and repeats for him to wait
o Instructor gives additional idea to consider: passage citations

Phase 4 – Corresponding Exercise/Partner Work

10:32 – Instructor reads off partners that she has pre-selected
- I ask instructor: How are partners chosen?
o Mix cultures, boys/girls, one side of the room w/ the other
- Instructor insists that all students STAND to meet their partners
o Are not allowed to have their books
- Instructor then pauses the pair-work to read off list of second partners
10:41 – Students are instructed to paraphrase reading passage without looking at the book
- Can only pick up book after retelling is finished
- Once finished, can look at homework (pages 68-70) and go home
10:47 – Most students have left the classroom

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Observation Notebook

What did you learn about teaching or learning from this lesson as it relates to the
theory you have studied in your TESOL classes? Include at least one reference (with
an in-text citation) to support your response. (250-500 words)

Observation 2: Reading and Writing 542

For my second observation, I was allowed to sit through a level 500 reading

writing course, led by instructor Arlene Yalcin. The class meets Mondays through

Fridays from 9:00 AM to 10:50 AM, and consists of approximately nineteen students

ages 20-25. Although I will be mentioning several categories of observation, I will

primarily focus on Yalcin’s teaching strategies and classroom management. Since my

previous observation focused on younger learners, I was interested in seeing how

instructors present lessons to higher-level student groups.

What I noticed most about instructor Yalcin’s classroom management is that she

was able to give students freedom while keeping them on-task for most of the class

period. Although the students spent a great deal of time in group- or pair-work, Yalcin set

specific boundaries for what they were supposed to accomplish a given period of time.

For example, in the second phase, students broke off into groups for approximately 30

minutes to discuss certain questions. These groups, as well as the pairings in the last

phase, had been rearranged or entirely pre-selected by Yalcin herself. Upon asking her

how she chose the groups, she stated that they were arranged by similarities in cultures,

by gender, or simply by those whom she believed have not had a chance to interact with

one another. Our textbook suggests that “effective teachers build a sense of community in

their classroom… by encouraging interactions within the class” (Richards & Farrell,

2011, p. 126). I learned that it is important to be aware of how students affect one another

in a particular learning situation; by regularly shuffling these groups, instructors are able

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to promote sharing different points of views between classmates and build a sense of

community.

Another element that I noticed in this class was the instructor’s overall demeanor

when speaking to the class-at-large, as well as the individual relationships that she

cultivated with each student. As she spoke, she always enunciated her words clearly and

often emphasized instructions with hand gestures. She also referred to each student by

name, and built her examples on their personalities. As they worked in groups, she

utilized humor in her feedback—which was also the root of any error correction that

came up during the class. In the same section in our textbook, Richards and Farrell state

that using students’ names is also a method for effective teaching (2011, p. 126). I think

this approach exemplifies a strong learning environment for any EFL/ESL class. By

maintaining a relaxed atmosphere, instructor Yalcin was able to elicit a lot of

participation without much of the pressure. I learned that there are several key aspects in

creating a learner-centered lesson, including: fostering different viewpoints through

group-work, placing personal value on each individual (addressing them by name;

acknowledging their work), and always keeping interactions productive and positive.

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References

Richards, J. C., & Farrell, T. S. (2011). Practice teaching: A reflective approach. New

York: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from www.amazon.com

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