Observation Task: Focus on the Students

This task enables you to focus on the lesson from the students’ point of view. The following list describes aspects
of student behaviour that we would like to see in our lessons. Assess whether they are true of the majority of
students in the lesson you observe. In the “Comments” column, make notes as to what you think is responsible
for the behaviour. For example, if you think the students are interested in the lesson, it may be because they are
always a highly-motivated class, or because they enjoy a very good rapport with the teacher, or because the
activities and material are interesting and challenging. If they do not interact with each other, it may be because
the teacher does not remove the focus from himself/herself, or because the instructions for an activity were
unclear, or because there is antagonism between students in the class. There are many possible reasons.

The Students Comments

…are interested in the lesson

…are involved and contribute to the lesson

…interact with each other as well as the teacher

…know what they are doing

…appear confident and can learn from their

mistakes

…do a variety of activities and practise

different skills