Weekly Tasks - Reading Richards & Farrell, 2013

Week 1 Task

Chapter 1, (p. 12)

3. Review the list of skills in Appendix A. Can you suggest other skills that could be the
focus of microteaching?

Upon reading the microteaching skills in Appendix A, I realised that they were all necessary skills needed in
the classroom to effectively run lessons that are engaging and productive. The first thing we do before
anything else as teachers is establish effective classroom management to prevent rather than constantly
address disruptive behaviour. A microteaching activity could focus on classroom behaviour/management
strategies. Student teachers enter the classroom prepared for all lessons, with their lesson plans and
activities, but the one thing they tend to struggle with is applying effective classroom management
strategies to keep the students on task.

4. Review the vignettes on teaching practice presented throughout the chapter and in
Appendix B. What did these student teachers find most helpful form their microteaching
and practice teaching experiences?

The vignettes on microteaching and practice teaching experiences are very interesting and offer different
perspectives on the delivery of microteaching and practice teaching experiences and their benefits.

Microteaching did lend more disadvantages than practice teaching but they did both have advantages:

Micro teaching afforded student teachers with the opportunity to teach in an environment that is less
stressful, safe and with opportunities to try again based on immediate feedback.

Practice teaching allowed practicing teachers the opportunity to engage in a real life classroom setting, with
a bigger group of students and an experienced mentor. The practicing teacher is given the opportunity to
observe the classroom teacher, ask questions and reflect on his/her own teaching experiences.

I personally prefer practice teaching as having a mentor in a real classroom setting with students will give
the practicing teacher a real opportunity to experience what teaching is really like first hand.

Week 2 Task

Chapters 2 & 3 (p. 27 & 41)

How can the ways the teacher uses language, i.e., his or her “discourse skills,” support classroom
language learning?

Teachers often have the misconception that they need to stand in front of the class and talk to the students
without interruptions for the lesson to be a success. The need to be the dominant figure in the classroom
tends to take the focus of student learning and place the focus squarely on the teachers’ performance
(Richards & Farrell, 2013). As a pre service teacher I remember being overwhelmed with the crowded
curriculum and felt pressured to get through everything on the timetable. I was so concerned about my
performance that I rushed through all activities, monopolised most of the discussions and allowed very little
time for student to enjoy or actually engage in the lesson authentically. It didn’t take long for me to realise I
wasn’t happy nor were my students, and taking my mentor’s feedback onboard focused on the students’
and their learning.
To be an effective teacher in the classroom who facilitates students learning, the teacher would need to use
his/her discourse skills to achieve student interest and engagement in a variety of ways:

When giving instructions, the teacher should use brief and articulate instructions with pauses to allow
students to process and understand what is expected of them.

Using non verbal communication during class discussions such as; hand gestures, facial expressions and
body language is a vital part of communication in the classroom to support student understanding.

Plan lessons appropriate to the level of the students’ ability, challenging but with attainable outcomes, that
involves differentiation in the form of: group/pair work and independent work with teacher acting as
facilitator to allow ALL student participating in engaging lessons. While there is a time for students’ silence
when they are collecting their thoughts, making notes and working during independent time, there is also a
time for student discussions. Students need to be able to work in groups and pairs, think and share their
ideas. When student collaborate with each other their language skills are enhanced, they learn to express
themselves and ask questions. This student centred environment promotes responsibility and autonomy in
learners.

Draw up your own list of questions to ask the school principal and your cooperating
teacher on your preliminary visit to your school placement.

School Principal

Is there a dress code?

Do I have to attend staff and stage meetings?
Do I need to report to the stage supervisor?
Will there be another student teacher in the class with me?
Will I have any morning, recess or lunch duties?
Will I need to go on excursions?
What school rules to I need to adhere to?

Week 3 Task

chapter 4

3. How would you prefer you cooperating teacher to give you feedback on your teaching?
To give me written comments on my lessons
To discuss each lesson I teach
To let me observe his/her class only
To let me teach his/her class with him/her always present
To make only occasional visits to my class
To review my lesson plans before I teach them

To let me take full responsibility for all aspect of the classes I teach including lesson planning, teaching and
evaluating.

I would like my cooperating teacher to observe my lessons and give me feedback at the end of each
lesson, so that I could take on his/her feedback onboard and improve on my next lesson. Even though I am
a classroom teacher, I would still like my cooperating teacher to allow me to observe his/her lessons so that
I can learn how to plan lessons using the language curriculum and ESL scales. Towards the end of my
practice teaching I would like the opportunity to take full responsibility for all aspects of the classes I teach.
4. What do you think you can learn from observing your cooperating teacher’s lessons?

Teacher observations in the classroom are important regardless of experience. When teachers observe
each other in the classroom they are given the opportunity to discuss each others’ teaching techniques and
learn from one another. I personally think that by observing my cooperating teachers’ lessons during my
practice teaching, I will gain an insight into how to effectively manage behaviour, different instructional
strategies and differentiation in an EAL/D classroom using the curriculum materials and ESL scales.

Observing my cooperating teachers’ lessons during my practice teaching will allow me the opportunity to
observe how the teacher manages lessons; whether certain lessons require students to work in groups,
pairs or independently. It also will afford me the opportunity to gain insight into new teaching strategies that
I have not previously thought to use.

5. How do you think you should respond when you disagree with the feedback your
cooperating teacher gives you?
Richards & Farrell (2013) state that feedback whether negative or positive is an important part of sharing
and reflecting on teaching experiences. If I disagreed with the feedback I would explain to my cooperating
teacher the reasons I chose to run that lesson in that particular way and ask for his/her help in using
different strategies that would be more effective in my next lesson ensuring my cooperating teacher knows
that his/her help is greatly appreciated and valued. In the EAL/D classroom he/she is the one with the
experience and knowledge I need.

6. Do you think it is sometimes appropriate for the cooperating teacher to adopt a

prescriptive approach to supervision?
I think the prescriptive approach could be useful to a student teacher, if that teacher has little or no
experience in the classroom. In that instance, the practicing teacher would probably appreciate the direct
approach as it would give them something tangible to apply to their next lesson. On the other hand, the
prescriptive approach could also have a downside. The approach could hinder the practicing teacher’s
creativity, confidence and his/her ability to develop his/her own teaching technique in the classroom.

Week 4 Task

Chapter 7, (p. 103)

2. What are some important aspects of teaching that cannot be observed?

Teaching is such a multifaceted practice in a dynamic setting where many things happen simultaneously,
that observing everything that occurs isn’t possible. Students may be responding to the lesson in different
ways. Some may find the lesson engaging and have a clear understanding of the learning intentions and
how to achieve them, while others may find the activities simplistic and therefore pay less attention to the
lesson (Richards & Farrell, 2013 p. 91). During group work, students may be in deep discussion however,
when observing this interaction it would be hard to determine whether this indicates student engagement or
confusion. In addition to this, the classroom teacher may be focusing on classroom management, the
lesson, strategies to use and reflecting mentally on how the lesson is progressing. None of these aspects
of the lesson are directly observable (Richards & Farrell, 2013 p. 91).

4. How can you best prepare for observing another teacher’s class?
The first thing I would do is organise a pre-observation meeting with my cooperating teacher to establish
appropriate observation times, discuss the focus of my observations, student levels and profiles. I will take
notes and reflect on my cooperating teachers suggestions for my observations. I will then decide on one to
two aspects to focus on during my observations and the procedures I will use to record them. I will take
notes, draw diagrams of the seating arrangements and write questions that I think would be relevant after
my observation for my cooperating teacher to clarify in order to improve my teaching practice.

Week 6 Task

Chapter 5

1. What do you think are the features of an effective lesson plan?

Setting the main goal of the lesson and what students are working towards achieving at the end of the
lesson and the relevant outcomes.

Setting activities for students that are achievable through the differentiation of the delivery of the content.

Use of different platforms for student’s to showcase their work; such as laptops, Microsoft word, Google
docs, Power point etc.

Sequencing activities to minimise student confusion as well as warm up and plenary activities.

Deciding on grouping of students based on objectives of the lesson. Some activities may require
independent work and others may require group or pair work.

A resource list should be available outlining the resources easily available for the lesson and others that
may need to obtained from elsewhere.

2.What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a detailed lesson plan?

Detailed lesson plans are useful for a practice or novice teacher who is new to teaching and needs a
detailed lesson plan to run the lesson effectively. It allows the teacher to follow a very structured and
sequenced lesson with time allocated to each aspect that will help the lesson run smoothly and alleviate
confusion.

The disadvantage of a detailed lesson plan is that is too rigid and doesn’t allow for modifications to the
lesson which are often necessary based on students response to the lesson, their level of understanding,
and engagement. This is confirmed by Richards & Farrell, 2013 (p. 62) who state teachers “teach
according to the changing circumstances of the actual teaching situation.” In every classroom the learning
environment is a dynamic environment with different learning abilities and learning styles, and lesson plans
cannot always cater for unplanned changes that may occur in the day to day teaching.
 Week 7ATask

Reading:
Chapter 11 – Richards & Farrell, (2013) page 160. Discussion questions 1, 2 & 4.
Chapter 5 - Gebhard (1999) pages 78-79

1. Review the case by Steven and discuss how he solved his problem with getting his students to
recognise him as a real teacher. What are other ways you could go about helping your students to
see you as a real teacher?

I believe that what Steven did was too expensive and unnecessary. He appeared to buy his students
respect and that is something that as a mother and teacher I tell my children to never do. Respect needs to
be earned not bought and I am surprised that Steven’s strategy worked. He did demonstrate that he is the
adult and was able to make decisions, however Steven could have proven that at the beginning of his
teaching by using other strategies. At the beginning of the teaching term the teacher should not be too
friendly. The teacher should be firm and fair but not too friendly. There is something that student teachers
are taught during their undergraduate teaching course “never smile at your students in the first term”. A
teacher has to set rules at the beginning of the term with consequences and always follow through. This
shows the student’s that the teacher is serious about teaching and the students will respect that.

2. Discuss the items you think it would be useful to include in a teaching portfolio and what each
item would reveal about you as a teacher.

I believe that a teaching portfolio should provide a record of the teachers experience, through explicit unit
plans with resources a personal teaching philosophy, goals that need to be achieved and areas of
expertise. It also should have the teacher’s reflections on the implementation of the lessons and some
student work sample. Student feedback on the lessons is important to include in the portfolio because it
allows the teacher to reflect on the lesson and improve on areas if needed.

4. If you plan to set up a student teacher support group, discuss how you could go about it, what
the focus of the group would be, and how it would function.

If I set up a student teacher support group it would be for student teachers to share ideas and resources. It
would allow more confident teachers to mentor less confident teachers. We can have a hub where lessons
can be implemented so that we can provide each other with constructive feedback on each other’s lessons
and teaching strategies. This teaching group will allow teachers to meet regularly and discuss goals,
concerns and problems as they arise to minimise anxiety and worry. In addition, the student teacher
support group would be an ideal place for teachers to plan lesson materials collaboratively. This would
allow the teachers to exchange and evaluate each other’s lesson plans before the lesson. In essence, the
student teacher support group’s focus would be to alleviate some pressure as the student teachers know
they have each other to depend on.
 Week 7B Task

Reading:
Chapter 8 – Richards & Farrell, (2013) page 118. Discussion questions 1, 2, 6 & 7.
Follow up Activity 1.

1.What are some ways in which you can establish a positive rapport with students in your
practice-teaching class?

Establishing a positive rapport with students can be achieved through the following:

 Take an interest in the student’s cultural background, communicate acceptance, respect and caring for
all students.
 Allow students to have a sense of belonging and control by establishing classroom rules and routines
as together.
 Create a sense of community by speaking and listening to the students and promoting an environment
where all students help each other.
 Be nice but firm so that the students feel comfortable.

2. What are some circumstances in which whole-class teaching is likely to be more

effective than other classroom arrangements?

Whole class teaching is very useful when I am introducing a new concept to all the students in the class.
This approach encourages all the students to contribute to the lesson and allows me to observe their
contributions and understanding. As a teacher I enjoy implementing whole class teaching as it maximises
student learning through guided activities that allow me to scaffold the learning experiences and meet
lesson objectives.

6. Have you observed any discipline or behaviour problems in your cooperating

teacher’s class? How did he or she deal with them?

There have been no discipline problems in my cooperating teachers class, all the student’s respect her and
seem to be happy in the classroom. However when observing my cooperating teacher with her
kindergarten EAL/D students on one occasion, I noticed a few minor behaviour problems during the lesson,
particularly when my cooperating teacher was explaining a concept to the students or having a class
discussion. Two boys would start to fidget and lose focus. She dealt with this by snapping her fingers or
calling out the child’s name in a stern voice accompanied by direct eye contact, which prompted the
fidgeting to stop.

7. What are some issues that might arise in a culturally diverse classroom? How can
you respond to them?

 Students offending each other

 Miscommunication due to language barrier
 Not understanding different cultural backgrounds and their learning styles
 Teaching techniques, teaching style and class grouping

The teacher can use several strategies to minimise issues that might arise in the classroom due to cultural
differences. The teacher can set up a friendship network within the classroom to ensure students are
learning in a positive environment. Encourage respect and understanding for the cultural diversity in the
classroom by providing culturally rich learning tasks that include movies, books, recipes and artwork.
Follow up Activity 1. Interview an experienced teacher and find out what kinds of classroom
management problems the teacher sometimes encounters. How does he or she deal with
them?

Maria Niahos Stage 3, Year 6 teacher

Speaking out at inappropriate times/calling out

Arguing with each other

Leaving their desk without permission

Talking during lesson to each other

Distracting/disturbing each other

These classroom management problems are sometimes encountered and are dealt with using the
classroom rules poster, which is placed as a visual on the back wall. Each disruption has a consequence,
which includes time out, staying in at recess to complete work or joining the teacher on playground duty
and missing out on some play time. The teacher also uses a reward system which consists of a reward
chart for acceptable behaviour, the students receive a tick next to their name and once they have achieved
5 ticks they receive a blue card.

In addition to this, there are table points which consist of marble points. When the students remain on task
and complete pair and group work satisfactorily they receive two marbles and at the end of the term, the
table with the most table points receive a prize.