ENGLISH PEDAGOGY

STUDENT TEACHING PRACTICE

OBSERVATION STAGE

OBERVATION AND TEAM TEACHING REPORT

Task 1: The School and Learning Environment

Name of student: Angélica del Carmen Olguín Sepúlveda

Name of School: Colegio “Guardiamarina Riquelme”.

Number of students: 433

Date: April 21st, 2010 Class: 6th grade primary school and 1st grade secondary school.

Briefly describe the following aspects:

1. The school:

Describe the general background of the school including the physical location, organisation,
student population, philosophy and educational and behavioural policies.

The school was created by “Almirante Carlos Condell” foundation, in December of

2004. It is a private subsidize school, for 433 students from 1st level of primary school to 4th level
of secondary school with full time class work (JEC). It is a three storey building located in Playa
Ancha, Valparaíso, furnished with 12 classrooms distributed in two floors; an elevator for its
physically handicapped students; two Link rooms (or computer labs) which are equipped with 36
pc’s, all of them connected to internet, and available for the educatiional community; one
Science lab; a Cassino where students, teachers and members of the board can have their
lunch; a CRA which refers to a Learning and Resources Center addressed to all students and
teachers of the school, that consists on a study hall that provides reading comprehension
material, as well as didactic materials for all subjects, and ICT’s (Information Communication
Technology) resources as well as audiovisual resources for teachers use; and a multiworkshop
room used for different educational projects and activities.

The school is directed by an administrative educational team, which is chaired by the

School’s Headmaster, Mr. Patricio Schiavetti, encharged of conducting and leading the
Educational Institutional Project (PEI). The General Inspector responsible for discipline and
coexistence ascpects; the Technical Pedagogy Unit (U.T.P.) responsible for the curricular
process; the Finances Department; the Student Support Department, leaded by the General
Inspector, follow by a Psychologist, an Special Educator, a Counselor, a Chaplain and the
teachers team, besides the educational assistants’ staff; and a security service to protect the
school community as well.

Besides the above mentioned, the establishment counts on a permanently constituted

Parents and Representatives General Center, and a School Council

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 The school is a catholic establishment, but tolerant of other religions and specially
oriented to medium class families, whose philosophy is based on developing in its students the
belief that human beings are provided of spirituality, with a trascedental mision and this is why it
centers its teaching in the values of God, Nation and Family.

Moreover, the school considers in its Educational Project the sea as a source of life and
potential wealth, therefore teaching is also additionally foccussed on promoting a maritime and
ocean consciousness in students for them to valorate the strengths offered by the Chilean sea.

The familiar area is also extremely important in the educational process, since parents
are the first educational agents in children’s lives. Therefore parents must be very receptive and
collaborative with both children and the school in order to help students to achieve an integral
formation for being better citizens and persons.

The school is also concern with providing the highest education and values, promoting
respec and tolerance supported by students’ famlies participation as well as the school staff.

2. The classroom

Describe the atmosphere of the room and the levels of engagement in the room. Make notes
on seating, sight lines, space, air, light, whiteboard, equipment, etc

The classrooms are equipped with a big whiteboard, an eraser, a projector (Data), a
speaker, electrical instalations for notebooks, radios, etc.; curtains, big windows that allow the
entrance of day light. The seats are organized and laid out in three double rows facing the
board.

In general the atmosphere of the classrooms is pretty good, there is good ventilation,
natural light and enough room for students and teacher’s traffic.

3. The activities & resources

a) Make notes on the kind of activities used, the nature of student involvement,
balance of student doing things and teacher doing things

6th grade:
At the beginning of the class the teacher greets students and writes down the date on the
board. The teacher explains the content to students and then they answer worksheets or
work on the English student book.

In this level predominates the grammar translation method. The class is done almost
hundred per cent in Spanish, students are not used to listen to the teacher speaking in
English, and if she does they complain about it, asking her to talk in Spanish.

Students are very talkative and unquiet, however they are very passive regarding class
participation, as they are always expecting the teachers tells them what to do and hopefully
the right answers.

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 1st grade:
Inmediately after the teacher greets students, he starts with a conversation with the
students as an ice breaker. He tryes to create a relaxed, respectful and confidence
atmosphere, with the class. Students appreciate the teacher’s confidence and the
atmosphere becomes confortable. During the development of the class students are
encouraged to participate by the teacher, making and answering questions, and they feel
confident enought to participate in class. Usually the teacher uses the data show in his
classes, with power point presentations, material from the internet and also sometimes he
uses the mimio.

b) Describe the resources used and the materials available within the school. How are the
resources used in the classroom?

The school counts on lots of materials to help in the students’s learning process, such as
big white boards, notebooks, tv’s, radios, mimios, photocopy machine, computers in
teacher’s room, and computers’ lab. Related to this last mentioned, there is a rule of the
school that must be carried out by all teachers, which refers to that primary level’s students
must go to computers lab at least one hour a month, while secondary level’s students must
go at least two hours a month, to do activities related to the class they are studiying at the
moment.

6th grade:
The teacher only uses the board, worksheets and the English students book.

1st grade:
The teacher sometimes uses the mimio; he usually uses the notebook and the data
show; and the board. He never uses de English students’ book.

Task 2: Student´s learning

In this second observation task, you should focus on the things that help to create conditions
for effective learning and on the aspects that play a part in preventing learning.

1. The learners

6th grade:
Here the learning conditions are difficult, since the main problem in this class is the
discipline. Students desconcentrate among them because they are very talkative and very
unquiet, which turns into a noisy class all the time. It is hard for them be quiet and in silence
and this is detrimental to learning. Due to this, the teacher wastes a lot of time trying to
mantain disciipline and silence in the classroom. In order to attrack their attention and create
an effective enviroment the teacher is forced to threaten students with negative notes in their
files in the class book.

1st grade:
Despite there are very talkative and unquiet students, the teacher achieves to mantain
discipline. He uses strategies to catch student’s attention which helps to promote learning.
The use of technology in the development of the class helps to create the conditions for a
more effective learning. However, as the main part of the class is developed through a data
show, students forget to take notes and do not have time to put learnt theory into practice. A

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 factor that instead of promoting an effective learning turns out to be the reverse is the big
amount of information the teacher gives to students in every session in terms of vocabulary,
or other grammatical structures that are not necessarily in direct relationship with that
specific session.

• How motivated are the learners? Why? To what extent are they taking part in
their own learning? To what extent are they expecting the teacher to do the work for
them?

6th grade:
Students do not look too motivated in the English class. They are all the time expecting
for the teacher gives them every direction about what to do next. Some of them seem to
understand and try to use the language, but as a class group they are always waiting for
somebody else to do their job.

1st grade:
A minor part of the class seems to be motivated with the English class, however those
who are clearly not interested in the class remain quiet, passive and without any
participation.

When the teacher tries to encourage the class’s participation only those students who
like the language and always participate in class are active and motivated, the rest of the
class is not interested, despite of the technology used to catch their attention. One problem
is the lack of posibilities to put into practice what they have been taugth.

2. Behaviour during classroom activities

Describe the ways students are encouraged to participate in activities. Are there any
particular strategies for managing issues and motivating students? Are there any
students with special needs?

6th grade:
The strategy used by the teacher do not achieve to encourage students’s participation.
In fact the activities (worksheet, coping from the board or answering exercises from the
book) are not motivating enough to encourage students’s participation.

A negative strategy to get students’ working is the threat that they will get a negative
point of note in the class book.

There is one special case, a “color-blind”. boy who is al the time asking about the colors.
This is a special case and sometimes a little complicated. However the guide teacher,
handles the situation without much complication.

1st grade:
The way the guide teacher talks to his students, with a lot of confidence and in a
respectful but colloquial language encourage students’s motivation and participation.
However I could not talk about activities, because all the classes that I have seen so far have
been very theorical without any specific activity. Although the guide teacher sometimes
practices orally with students what he has been teaching during the class or some last
classes.

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3. Discuss the learning styles and levels of English in the classroom.

Since there are several learning styles, it is not easy to realize of them in students,
especially because of the discpline and noise in the case of the 6th grade, and due to the lack
of activities in the case of the 1st grade.

TEAM TEACHING STAGE

Name of student: Angélica del Carmen Olguín Sepúlveda

Name of School: Colegio “Guardiamarina Riquelme”.

Date: April 21st, 2010

Task Nº1: Collaboration activities

For the following questions describe as accurately as you can how you have collaborated in
school assigned:

1. What kind of activity did you perform the first time you were asked for help? How
long did it take?

The first collaborations asked by the teachers have been very simple, and that have not
taken to much time to do or accomplish. These have been things like going for picking up a
material for the class in the Learning and Resources Center (CRA), like some photocopies or
a notebook; to help to print some worksheets, and to get the tests to be taken in the UTP’s
office.

2. What were the students doing before you started helping out?

6th grade:
When I started to helping out in the class, students remain in their seats just looking at
me very curious about my movements. At the very beginning they were not sure about
considering myself as a teacher, however after a moment and when they realized I was
trying to help them to solve their doubts, answering some of their questions or guidening
them in the development of a worksheet they understood that I also coud help them as
another ot their English teacher as well.

1st grade:
Due to the way the guide teacher has carried out his class, my collaborations has been
minimum. However, from the very beginning students have treated me as another teacher

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 in their class, asking me questions when they have doubts, and even for permission for
getting out of the classroom, going to the restrooms, and so on.

3. How did the students react? Describe the atmosphere of the room and the levels
of engagement in the room.

6th grade:
In the first moments I started to participate more actively in the class, students show
themselves very curious about my movements and speaking, althought they are very
talkative as I mentioned before, they remained very quiet and in silence, and very receptive
to my guide and help, too.

1st grade:
This level has been very receptive with my presence in their class. They continuously ask
me questions about the content of the class or other topics related to the language. They
have made me feel very confortable and it seems to be that they understand my willing to
helping out in their learning process of the language.

4. What other assignments were asked you to do? How often?

As I mentioned before, the tasks asked have been very simple. During every day of
practice, before, during or after the class I have to collaborate with the guide teachers in
different little assignments such as looking for, or picking up some materials for the classes,
helping to carry out some elements for the class, like the notebook, the classbooks, etc. All
of them very simple tasks without any complications.

5. Were you asked to prepare any kind of special audio visual material learning
material for the students? Were they used? How effective were they?

So far I have not been asked to prepare any kind of material for any class.

Task 2: Lesson Planning

Answer the following questions and explain how you planned the learning activities for your
students. Be as precise as you can.

1. How did you get the information for planning the lessons for your students?

In order to plan the lessons for my students I have asked to guide teachers for their unit
plans made by them in the school, their opinions and thougths about it. I have also looked at
and read up on the English books of every level; and I have observed the level and rythm of
learning that students have demonstrated in every class during my observation time.

2. Did your guide teacher give you any suggestions for planning?

First of all I have to point out that I have not worked a lot in planning since I am finishing
my observation and collaboration period. However, I have already done my first plannings
for each level, and in this aspect of my practice in the school, my guide teachers have not

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 been too involved in my planning work. Despite of the fact they have looked at them, their
feedback has been very poor or almost nil.

3. How long did it take to you to prepare learning material for your first lesson?

Eventhough I am not conscious about how long has taken me preparing learning
material, I can point out that was too much time since I had to considered and took notes on
the students previous learning, to look information for the contents considered in the unit
they have to learn, prepare a power point presentation, considering all the necessary
information and pictures as simple and clear as possible for their understanding. I have not
only looked at the English book but also searched for information in Internet.

AOS/
2010