SGDY 5013 CURRICULUM AND PEDAGOGY

SEMESTER OCTOBER/2018

REFLECTION ON CLASS OBSERVATION

NAME: ANIS JAZILAH BINTI AZMIN @ CHE WAN

MATRIC NUMBER: 823392

UUM College of Arts and Sciences

School of Education and Modern Languages

LECTURER’S NAME: PROF. MADYA DR MOHD IZAM GHAZALI

Classroom Observation Reflective Summary

The most challenging moments for me during my time in front of the class were

twofold: 1) getting students to respond to my queries for volunteers and homework problems

they wanted to check, and 2) determining whether all students truly understood what was

discussed and depicted in the class, or not.

Based on my teaching-observation report, I felt as if I had a decent rapport with my

students. I have focused my efforts to date in the class on getting to know students both in the

moments before and after class as well as throughout the time we spend together in class. Most

students are reasonably receptive to questions and instructions when I engage with them one

on one or in small groups. I show patience, compassion, and understanding as much as possible

through my actions in the class and the students respond by trusting my intentions. They also

know I am committed to helping them learn and overcome challenges they might have learning

and succeeding in English class.

Having said that, quite often, it is still challenging to get students to respond to requests

for volunteers when I am in front of the class; I completely relate to this situation since I

occasionally feel similarly when I am a student in someone else’s class, even now. Fortunately,

there are a couple of students in the class who help get the ball rolling by volunteering. As an

example, Carrim and Hakim are two students I know I can call on, meanwhile Amirah often

provides answers and suggestions how to try without the need to call on her.

It is very important for me to find a way to address the challenge of getting the entire

class comfortable volunteering, since my preferred approach to reviewing problems with

students is to call on other students to offer their solutions to share with the class and through

face to face communication. I strongly believe that students’ voices should occupy a significant

part of total talk time especially in practicing to talk English.

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 My reasoning in having students share are to help build student’s confidence; makes

their thinking and learning visible to others, builds a collaborative classroom, increases student

participation, focuses attention on common issues most likely shared by others in the class,

gives students an active role in the classroom and finally ensures students take responsibility

for their learning. While not all students will rise to the occasion immediately, over time I

believe most, if not all, will find it contagious if they sense they are being left out of the

discussion solely due to their holding themselves back and this requires that they are given

multiple attempts to take part over time and are not simply allowed to hide out.

My approach for the most resistant holdouts is to speak with them one on one to let

them know it is fine to come to the front of the class since the class and I will support them

while they are up front, then let them know that they do not have the option of declining any

longer. I will phase this change in overtime ensuring students understand how the ground rules

about responding to volunteer requests have changed as well as giving them ample time to see

how open sharing in the class is safe, supportive and helpful.