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Observation Sheet Management

Primary Placement Yr 1

Graduate Standards AITSL
Professional Practice:
1. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
2. Planning for Effective Management


Was your lesson plan
effective for managing the
class?


e.g. How did the students
react to your lesson overall
and to your planned
activities?





















Did anything unexpected
happen?



Did you provide a variety of
activities?
Primary placement Creating Images (Yr 1)

During the lesson I had several transitions from the mat to the
students workstations therefore I had to consider many aspects of
classroom management. In order for the lesson to flow the
children had to move quietly and efficiently from the mat area back
to their desks. The activity involved the aspect of predicting
through listening to sequenced sections of the text and then
producing quick visual images. This happened three times in four
minute bursts. The students were unfamiliar with this teaching
strategy therefore I felt it was important to incorporate those
management strategies already in place. Transition strategies:
Eyes to me waiting for instructions.
Timer with buzzer notifying start and finish (students
already used this method in shared reading).
Sitting with eyes closed on the mat to reflect on the story
and to refocus /concentrate.
Reinforcing transition rules moving in order in a quiet
respectful manner.
Eyes to me back on the mat re-engage students back
onto task.
Praise to acknowledge smooth transitions, creative ideas,
engagement and thoughtful responses to questions.

I had decided as part of my lesson plan to incorporate a
tambourine to signal break in the activity but used the timer
instead as I wanted to encourage familiarity and avoid excitement.
The transitions were successful without interruptions and as a
result the lesson flowed very well.

I covered the book in green paper to hide the cover and title as I
wanted the children to rely on the text only to produce their visual
images. It was fascinating that half the students thought the book
would be about grass or perhaps a green tree.

Activities included:
Listening to a story
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Were you satisfied with
your timing, particularly for
the end of the lesson?



Did you feel you were able
to change things if needed?
Forming creative images
Using fine motor skills to make pictorial representations
Partner discussions
Showcasing finished work and talking about their visual
predictions
Extension A piece of written work

Timing was particularly important and perhaps I was more
sensitive due to the micro activities within the lesson. It was vital
that I allowed enough time to read the end of the book to conclude
the lesson and to evaluate through questioning the students
comprehension.

I found that some students struggled with the concept of redrawing
their initial responses after talking to a partner. I decided to pause
the lesson and rephrase the instruction so that it enabled students
to draw additional ideas. I also decided to spend more time at the
end of the lesson discussing the students responses to the book.
In some respect their answers to the evaluative questions mapped
the direction of the discussion.


Was your organisation of
materials and resources
efficient and effective?

e.g. Did you and the
students have everything
you needed?

To avoid any disruption to the lesson I made sure the students
had all the resources needed prior to the lesson commencing. The
worksheets were clear with simple instructions. I had 30
worksheets (25 students and five spare)




Did you plan how and when
you would distribute and
collect materials?
I read the first section of the book on the mat and immediately chose
two volunteers to distribute the worksheets at the tables.
At the end of the activity I asked each table to assemble the
worksheets into a neat pile in the middle of the desk and I collected
them. I could also move around the desks collecting the piles of
worksheets whilst checking on those students who were perhaps
struggling to finish.

Were you aware of
classroom procedures and
school disciplinary policy?





How much did you know
about your students?
I had an in-depth discussion with my mentor on the first day regarding
classroom management and disciplinary procedures. I felt it was
important to know the guidelines within the classroom and its
relationship to the school as a whole. The teacher implements a one
warning policy, a tick under the unhappy face symbol and then utilizes
the blue spot. A firm but fair policy whereby the child reflects on their
actions.

My mentor explained the various ability levels in the classroom and
the relationship to the table arrangement. She also identified those
children who had additional support. One child had a special needs
educational assistant purely for support as he is profoundly deaf but
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very able. She also explained the diversity amongst the children not
only culturally but also the difference that life experiences bring to
the classroom and the effect this has on their perception of the world.


Maintaining a Positive Attitude in the Classroom

How did you demonstrate to
the students that you valued
them, and enjoyed
learning?

e.g. Tone of voice, facial
expression, sense of
humour, introduction to
students and topic.



I gave praise to acknowledge participation, engagement,
creativity, working quietly, smooth transitions and giving
thoughtful responses to questions.
I modelled enthusiasm and excitement when introducing the
book.
I gave direct eye contact to the students and listened
carefully to their responses.
Used various tone of voice to express the different characters
within the book.
Predicting involving the students, valuing their opinions.
Book introduction to cover the book bought incredibly
creative responses.

Which aspects of your
teaching style do you feel
helped you maintain class
attention?

e.g. Variety of activities,
class or group discussion,
pace of lesson, interest at
class level.

It became apparent during planning that I had to stop at sections
within the book which would grasp and spark the students
imaginations. The pace of the lesson encouraged students to think
independently whilst anticipating the next stage of the book. It was
imperative that I gave very clear instructions from the onset of the
lesson because I wanted the students to have personal creative
images and not to participate in any discussions until the last section
of the story.

Did the students know what
was expected of them?
I gave clear instructions and then reinforced them at every transition.
All the students were engaged quickly within the task except one
child who found it very difficult to think independently.
Were you able to redirect
energies of attention
seeking students? Did the
students have enough
to do?

I used proximity and walked around the class, paused next to
students who were spending more time than required to re-sharpen
pencils and arrange pencils into colour codes. The individual activities
were no longer than 4 minutes long so in that respect all the students
finished together. After reading the book I gave the class an extension
activity which encouraged the students to think about the conclusion





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Dealing with Minor Misbehavior


Were you aware of what
was happening in all parts
of the classroom? Did you
know what each student
was doing?
During the four minute micro tasks I positioned myself at the front of
the class next to the timer and I could scan all four tables. I wanted
the children to visualize images independently therefore I asked for
complete silence. I was very proud of the students engagement and
respect in following instructions. I was very aware of the one child
who was finding the task difficult. I gave him some encouragement
but still positioned myself in order to view the remaining students.

Did you take any action
when you observed poor
behaviour? Why? Why
not?
In the final section of the story during mat time one student became
disengaged and was disrupting those immediately around him. I used
the pause method, I gave eye contact and waited for the student to
acknowledge. I did this in a calm manner as to not interrupt the flow
of the lesson. Unfortunately this happened right at the climax of the
story.

Did you use non-verbal
cues? e.g. Contact, pause,
gesture, movement toward
student/s concerned.
I used two non-verbal cues in this situation. I paused and gave eye
contact and the child acknowledged and the behavior ceased.




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