Observations report

Observation Guidelines , also here Links to an external site.

In addition to your own teaching, you are to observe one other class every week (8 observations in total; you are not required to observe in the first and last week of the quarter). 

If your schedule permits, particularly if you have an interest in eventually teaching in any of these contexts, you can observe classes in all these contexts:

1. An English language program, an English conversation session Links to an external site. at UW., or a K-12 ESL at public school, 
2. FL/ World language classes at UW,  
3. ESL classes at community colleges (I can put you in contact with a  couple of colleagues who do excellent work in the CC context) or non-profit organizations like Casa Latina Links to an external site., Literacy Source Links to an external site., El Centro de la Raza Links to an external site., and other nonprofit organizations of your interest. 
4. A class taught by a fellow practicum student.

Be sure to contact Links to an external site./email the instructor of the class you would like to observe by noon of the Thursday before the week of your observation. Please be polite and considerate when making a request. Make sure you arrive at least five minutes before the class starts. Please follow the guidelines for contacting the teacher here. Links to an external site. In the observations folder, Links to an external site.you can find more details about the courses you can observe. 

Take notes while you observe, trying to think about descriptions of activities as separate from evaluative comments. Try to suspend your judgments. Sometimes making hasty judgments of an instructor can color observations. Even if a class is not taught the way you would teach it or seems less than ideal, there is always something to learn from it. There are many pieces you can focus on in your observation. Some examples include:

Beginning of the Quarter

• How does the instructor build community? 
• Do students appear comfortable or nervous? Does the instructor appear comfortable and confident?
• How does the instructor include students? How does the instructor establish expectations or inhabit authority?
• How is the instructor’s identity (racial, gender, linguistic, religious, national, etc.) present in the classroom? 
• Does the instructor know everyone’s name? If not, how does she call on the students? Is she making an effort to remember and pronounce everyone’s name correctly?
• How does the instructor handle unexpected situations (e.g., students showing up for the first time in the second class)?
• What messages about English are transmitted in the first days of the class?
• Do students understand the instructor’s directions clearly?
• In the first few classes of a course, students tend to be tentative and less forthcoming than they will be later. What does the instructor do to encourage students to speak up and participate? 
• How does the instructor assess students’ proficiency levels and capabilities?
• How does the instructor structure the class? Is there a predictable pattern to lesson format?

During the Quarter

• How would you describe the atmosphere of the class? Friendly? Fun? Relaxed? Tense? Hostile? What is the source of your impression?
• Are there any aspects of the instructor’s teaching that you want to emulate?
• What is it that the instructor can do that you cannot yet do as a teacher?
• Are there aspects of the instructor’s style that are incompatible with your own?
• How does the instructor give directions? Are they clear?
• Does the instructor walk around the room or does she tend to stay put in front?
• How does the instructor use body language to accompany verbal input?
• What kinds of group configurations (e.g., whole class, pair work, etc.) does the instructor use? How do these map across identity categories? Are they self-determined or assigned? Are they effective?
• How does the instructor plan lessons? 
• Teacher-student interaction in class is often characterized as IRE (Initiation-Response-Evaluation: i.e., T asking question, S responding, T making an evaluative comment). To what extent does the instructor follow this interaction pattern and how much does she deviate from it? What strategies does she use to break the IRE pattern?
• In general, in a language class, the less the teacher talks and the more chance the students get to practice talking, the better the class. 

-  What is the ratio of teacher talk to student talk in this class?

-  What strategies does the instructor use to maximize student talk?

-  Do students have many opportunities to talk to each other?

• During pair/group work, what does the instructor do?
• How does the instructor deal with error correction? Is she consistent?
• How does the instructor praise students? (“Excellent,” ‘Good job,” etc. or specific praise?)
• Does the instructor use visuals effectively? Is the font size big enough for everyone to be able to read?
• How is homework given? Does the instructor write down assignments as well as explain them verbally? 

• Do the instructor's goals emphasize higher-order learning and critical thinking?
• How is what you know of second language learning theory reflected in the teaching?
• Is the overall organization of the class session logical?
• Is the material appropriately sequenced and paced?
• How are the students reacting to the lesson? (Are they attentive, engaged, prepared, actively involved, confused, angry?) What are the implications of the observed student behaviors for the instructor's approach to teaching?

End of the Quarter

• As the end of the quarter approaches, how does the instructor move towards a sense of closure for the class? Is there any summarizing and review, for example?
• Is there a good feeling in the class as students and teacher move towards completing a shared experience?

After taking some notes, please write a short memo/report ( 1 page max) for each observation where you address the following aspects:

1. Class information (when and where you observed, who facilitated the class, topic of the class, learning objectives covered, class arrangement,, and other relevant details).
2. Major take-aways: What resonated with you the most about the observed class? What did you gain by observing this class? To answer this question, you might want to reflect on a few of the questions listed above. 
3. Implications for your own practice: how did this class influence how you see your own growth as a teacher? 

Deliverables:

One file with the 8 reports, each organized in three sections (class information, major take-aways, and implications). I recommend that you create a Google doc and continue to add the reports as the quarter progresses. 

Due date: the entire file with the 8 reports is due on March 17th at 8 am on Canvas, but I recommend you complete the reports as soon as you are done with the observations so that the information is still fresh.