Classroom Observation Report Date Topic Class Duration Number of Pupils : : : : : 30 July 2013 Unit 15: Save the

Sea Creatures 2 Arif 60 Minutes 25

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Abstract Teachers use classroom management theories to support their own philosophy of

education teaching style. However, it is undeniable that each classroom management theory has its merits and weaknesses. Effective classroom management results in a smoothrunning classroom where learning can occur. Teachers manage the classroom by foreseeing and preventing problems, facilitating appropriate behaviours and addressing problem behaviours as necessary. This is in agreement with William Arthur Ward in one of his inspirational quotes, the mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates, the great teacher inspires.

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Introduction According to Gootman (2008), rules give students a concrete direction to ensure that

our expectation becomes a reality. The success of teaching and learning in the classroom is closely linked to its management which is controlled by the teacher. Gootman (2008) further noted that issues of motivation, discipline and respect are also inter-related within the context. Based on these quotes, it is agreeable to say that a good classroom management will not only affect the students behaviour throughout the lesson but also to create the perfect environment that will promote effective teaching and learning outcome. For this report, I was given the consent to observe a fellow English language teacher in my school. He has quite an experience dealing with the lower primary students. The lesson took about 60 minutes which focussing on Language Arts for Unit 15: Save the Sea Creatures. The class was consist of 25 pupils in year 2. The lesson was conducted in the school laboratory due to the needs of having ICT equipment in the lesson. By the end of this

lesson, the students should be able to produce their own power point presentation poster about saving the sea creatures.

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Teachers Role Classroom management: By definition, classroom management is a process that needs a teacher to manage a

classroom in order for an effective teaching and learning activities to take place. Today, teachers play various roles in a typical classroom, but surely one of the most important is that of classroom manager. Based on my observation, the teacher has indeed played his role as a successful classroom manager. Since the lesson is conducted in the school laboratory, the students seating arrangement have been properly arranged even before they entered the room so that he could minimize peer distractions while the lesson is in progress. Other than that, I also noticed some routines that the teacher applied during the interaction such as hand gestures to signal certain rules or procedures and what is to be expected from his students as well as some effective instructional rules that he applied to get his students attention whenever they seemed too excited with their hands on activity. It does help eliciting his objectivity to effectively manage his classroom and thus successfully deliver his instruction. This is in line with Hardin (2008) who stated that the ultimate goal of classroom management should not be on simple obedience, but on having students behave appropriately because they know its the right thing to do and because they can understand how their actions affect other people. In addition, according to Martella, Nelson and Marchand-Martella (2003), rules should be positively stated and should also contain language that is simple and appropriate to the development level of the students and classroom. This statement in line with my observation and I would consider that the application of rules and routines as the strength of this teacher in his classroom management. Personally, I think of it as an interesting approach to promote good discipline and at the same time allowing the teacher to be in full control towards the students behaviours. This is also an indication for me that the teacher is applying a democratic classroom in his approach in the pedagogical aspects.

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Lesson planning: Generally, a daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class instruction.

Regardless of how good the planning is, it is no doubt that the development of interesting lessons takes a great deal of time and effort. Therefore, to ensure a successful lesson, it is utterly important for teachers to be well-equipped and knowledgeable on the topic that is intended for that particular lesson. I found out that the teacher displayed a well prepared lesson with good time management in every phase of this lesson. The objectives of the lesson are clearly stated, measurable and most importantly achievable. The activity carried also helps to promote cooperation and at the same time beneficial for the students to achieve the objectives. The transitions between activities are smoothly done and do not create distractions in what the students are working on. The teacher is also moving around frequently to supervise the students progress.

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Communication skill and questioning techniques: Communication skill is defined as the act or process of transmitting information

about ideas, attitudes, emotions or objective behaviour, Mirriam Webster Dictionary (2010). This definition is further supported by Ginnot (2011) as He strongly emphasized congruent communication, meaning communication that is harmonious with students feelings about situations and themselves. Good communication skill ensures the learners the opportunity to enquire and discover new information during teaching and learning process. Thus, to create such opportunity in the classroom, the teacher needs to be equipped with good communication skills which also allows for undivided attention from the students. Communication is the key which unlocks all the doors to a successful and fulfilling school life experience. From my observation, the teacher had exercised a democratic leadership or teaching by promoting two way communications in the classroom. This helps the sustenance of a good classroom management as it sanctions learners to participate actively in the learning process. According to Cherry (2008), democratic leadership is also known as participative leadership, a type of leadership style in which members of the group take a more participative role in the decision-making process. Researchers have found that this learning style is usually one of the most effective and lead to higher productivity, better contributions from group members, and increased group morale. Besides communication skill, I also observed how the teacher posed his questions in the classroom because I am seeing these two aspects as inter-related and help improving

good comprehension towards a lesson. In fact, asking the right question is at the heart of effective communications and information exchange. By using the right questions in a particular situation, the teacher can improve a whole range of communications skills with his students. I think the questioning techniques can be improved by using shorter sentences with comprehensible words that match the students level. For example, rephrase the questions whenever the teacher finds them too long so that, the students are able to follow the development of the lesson based on the questions posed.

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Learners Participation A successful learning is measured by the participation of the students in the lesson.

Teachers should be sensitive towards their students socio-emotional needs which can be varied from one to another. As in the lesson observed, I noticed a very enthusiastic

participation from most of the students as they were too excited using the computer in their lesson. However, I also noticed some students who act as passive passengers as the lesson proceed. In addition to that, there was a student who refused to work with his friends in producing their poster. For me, these are typical circumstances in any language teaching where we will see different levels of participation from the students. However, this must not go on until the end of the lesson. The teacher should have taken reconsideration of his actions and make some improvement in his delivery so that everyone in the class is involved without leaving some of them behind clueless about what the lesson is about. To tackle this problem, I would suggest the application of Assertive Discipline Theory by Lee and Marlene Canter (1976). The underlying goal of assertive discipline is to allow teachers to engage students in the learning process uninterrupted by students misbehaviour. Part of this approach is developing a clear classroom discipline plan that consists of rules which students must follow at all times, positive recognition that students will receive for following the rules, and consequences that result when students choose not to follow the rules. These consequences should escalate when a student breaks the rules more than once in the same lesson. This is supported by Jones Positive Classroom Discipline which emphasises the effectiveness and efficiency of teachers behaviours in getting students to get involved in the learning process. In fact, they are to get students to fully comply with rules without violating the interest of the students (Hardin, 2008; Charles, 2002; Manning and Bucher, 2013) Therefore, besides teaching in a democratic approach, he could also utilize the authoritarian classroom management to be assertive in applying rules for his students in the

future lesson. This manner of teaching which combining both democratic and assertive approach will surely help the students to take more responsibility in their own learning and thus sending a clear message that they are held accountable for their behaviours.

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Conclusion Overall, I would conclude the lesson as successful. The objectives are achievable

and measurable which ultimately helped the teacher in his delivery. Hence, he could teach in a controlled pace and not rushing to meet all the objectives that might jeopardize the success of the lesson. Secondly, the lesson was delivered smoothly with perfect time management and smooth transitions between the activities. This enhances the effectiveness of his pedagogical approach where students are not abruptly distracted from what they are focussing on. Through this way, their attentions were not diverted and they can stay focus till the end of the lesson. However, the teacher needs to be more assertive than democratic in some aspects of his lesson to avoid having some of his students left behind while the high flyers are improving their language mastery. He needs to tackle the backbenchers so that they can also learn at the same pace with the rest of the class. In order for this to happen, some classroom management theories are highly recommended to be regularly exercised within the classroom walls. Besides, there is a saying by Lewis, you are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

Reference Cherry (2008). What is Democratic Leadership? http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/f/democratic-leadership.htm. Assessed on August 5th, 2013

C. S. Lewis in http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/cslewis119176.html. Assessed on August 5th, 2013

Ginot (2011). Congruent Communication. http://www.scoop.it/t/reflect-create-inquire-andteach-for-the-21st-century-learner. Assessed on August 5th, 2013

Gootman (2008). Classroom Management. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classroom_management. Accessed on August 1st, 2013

Hardin (2008) in Classroom Management. http://gonzalezjoseraul.weebly.com/classroommanagement.html. Assessed on August 5th, 2013

Hardin, 2008; Charles, 2002; Manning and Bucher, 2013 in Canters Assertive Discipline. Classroom Management: Approaches, Theories and Models. Managing The Primary ESL Classroom TSL3109. Institut Pendidikan Guru.

Lee and Marlene Canter (1976). Assertive Discipline Theory in Classroom Management: Approaches, Theories and Models. Managing The Primary ESL Classroom TSL3109. Institut Pendidikan Guru.

Martella, Nelson and Marchand-Martella (2003) in Managing Disruptive Behaviours. ThreeTier Models of eading and Behaviour. files.eric.ed.gov fulltext EJ84 0.pdf. Assessed on August 5th, 2013

Mirriam Webster Distionary (2010). Communication Skills. http://www.merriamwebster.com/. Assessed on August 5th, 2013

William Arthur Ward in http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/.html. Accessed on August 1st, 2013