Observation Sheet Questioning

(Please complete this form for both primary and secondary professional experiences and
place in your ePortfolio)

Graduate Standards - AITSL
Professional Knowledge: 1. Know students and how they learn
Professional Practice: 2. Plan and implement effective teaching and learning

Question Type


Do you feel your
questions were clearly
structured and readily
understood by the
students?
Yes, the students were always able to give me an answer which was
relevant to the question and answered it effectively. Therefore, I
believe my questions were structured clearly enough for students to
understand the meaning.

Did you use a variety
of question types?
Yes, especially to clarify understanding or prompt further response to
a question or idea. I also used a variety of question types when I felt
the discussion was dying down and the students didnt know how to
continue it.

What balances was
there between the
various questions
types?
The questions were balanced to maintain student interests and allow
for a flow of discussion/conversation on a topic. I mostly used open
ended questions where students were able to elaborate on their
answers. If I felt one or more students were the main
contributors/answerers I would direct questions at other students to
include them in the discussion and get them refocused on the activity.

Consider both why and
when you made use of
the different question
types?
I made use of different question types to ensure and check on the
understanding of a particular topic/activity and to generate flow
within a discussion. I tried to use different question types throughout
each lesson and/or interaction with the students.


Distributing and Directing Questions


Did you recognise any
pattern in the distribution
of your questions
amongst the students?
Consider reasons for this
pattern?
Generally my questions were asked of the whole class and group
because I felt it gave every student the opportunity to answer.
Occasionally I would ask a question and direct it at a certain child or
group of children to ensure that they were paying attention and/or to
encourage participation from them.

How have you
directed questions to
the group?
I mainly directed questions openly to give all students the
opportunity to answer/respond. As mentioned above, I occasionally
sought answers from a particular student.

Have you used wait
time?
Yes, I used wait time to allow students to think about their answer
and let them process the question and what is being asked of them.

Did you make eye
contact with the group
as you directed your
questions?
I did. I believe it was effective because it showed the students I was
interested in what they had to say and their answers. I believe it also
showed that I was looking for a response.

Reactions to Students Responses

How do you deal with
correct responses? Do
you qualify any praise
given?
I praised the children e.g. well done, fantastic, yes, thank you etc. to
recognize their contribution and the correct answer or the ideas they
shared with the class or group.
How do you deal with
incorrect responses?
How do you deal with
students who stumble
and grope for an answer?
Depending on why the answer was incorrect e.g. if they were just
being silly on purpose or genuinely made a mistake or didnt know
the answer, I had a different approach to dealing with incorrect
responses. I am patient with students who stumble with answers and
encourage them if necessary or I feel it would be helpful.










Do you keep eye contact
with the students until
they have completed an
answer? Do you cut
students off and go onto
the next point before they
have finished
responding?
I did occasionally keep eye contact with the student to encourage
their response and show interest but I also realized that some
students feel pressured when eye contact is continuous so I then
backed it off a bit to allow them to feel comfortable. At no point did
I cut any students off, that is unless they were being silly on purpose
and they knew they shouldnt have been giving me that answer.
Otherwise I allowed each student to finish what they had to say
before moving on.

What use do you make of
the students responses
to develop the teaching
point? Have you
redirected any questions
in order to add to an
initial response?
Yes, I have redirected questions or given hints to encourage
development on a point or initial response. I acknowledge any
connections made to the teaching point and help the students
recognize if they have touched on a learning outcome.

Are you the only
evaluator of the
students answers?
Yes, throughout both my micro lesson and whole class lesson I was
responsible for evaluating how feasible answers were or were not. I
was pleased the teacher gave me this control as I feel it allowed me
to broaden my skills as a student teacher.


Overall Comments

Initially, I must admit, I was thinking that the questioning aspect of my lessons and overall experience on
my placement was going to be hard and sometimes unachievable, but as I became more confident in
myself and got to know the students better I found it just came naturally throughout a
conversation/discussion. I learnt how to take each students answer, whether right or wrong, and to
restructure my question if it just wasnt making sense to the students and they couldnt understand what I
was asking them.




Observation Sheet Management

(Please complete this form for both primary and secondary professional experiences and
place in your e portfolio)


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?

Were you satisfied with
your timing, particularly
for the end of the
lesson?

Did you feel you were
able to change things if
needed?
Yes, I believe it was effective especially for the short time I spent with
the class- I would say I did implement an effective activity.


Most students seemed engaged and interested in the lessons
provided. There were some students who tried to test the boundaries
because I hadnt taught them before but I tried to set boundaries and
show them it wouldnt be tolerated as quickly and effectively as
possible.
Not really. One of the students in my small group lesson was removed
from my lesson by my mentor teacher because he was being very
disruptive but that was early on and didnt really affect the lesson as it
was to be expected.
Yes, my group lesson activities and my whole class lesson were both
very different which I think the students definitely appreciated.
I found my timing went surprisingly well especially for the whole class
lesson which I was worried about timing.


I didnt need to change anything in any of my lessons but Im sure if
necessary I would have been able to make relevant changes.

Was your organisation
of materials and
resources efficient and
effective?

e.g. Did you and the
students have
everything you
needed?
Yes, all worksheets were photocopied prior to the day of the lesson
and I ensured a sufficient amount was copied. Because of this there
was no stress on the day to worry about getting things ready or not
being able to find the materials.
All students were well prepared for the lessons, as was I.


Did you plan how and
when you would
distribute and collect
materials?
Yes, I handed out all worksheets just to ensure the lesson started
smoothly and there was minimal distraction.
Were you aware of
classroom procedures
and school disciplinary
policy? How much did
you know
about your students?
I knew every students name and was aware of which students would
test the boundaries and/or be a distraction. I was familiar with a few
classroom procedures but not all, as the teacher felt I would not need
to enforce any major discipline.


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 learnt each students name as quickly as possible to show that I
cared about them and was interested. I tried to be a positive and
inviting figure whenever speaking or dealing with any students. I
smiled and joked with the students whenever possible and
appropriate and also encouraged them whenever necessary.
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.
I think the interest that I showed the students and my learning of
their names greatly helped me establish and maintain students
interest because they saw that I cared and I also was able to connect
with the students and establish knowledge of their interests. As a
result I planned activities which I felt would be appropriated for the
class and my small group.
Did the students know
what was expected of
them?
Yes, almost all the students were capable and understood what they
needed to complete. Any questions regarding the task or activities
were answered as best as possible.
Were you able to redirect
energies of attention
seeking students? Did
the students have
enough
to do?
Yes, I made my boundaries as clear as possible considering the
circumstances (being a student teacher and being part of the class for
such a short time). I was obviously only there for a short period of
time but I was aware of which students would be attention
seeking/disruptive. Yes, all students were kept busy.





Dealing with Minor Misbehaviour


Were you aware of what
was happening in all
parts of the classroom?
Did you know what each
student was doing?
I used scanning to help keep the class under control by being aware
of what all students are doing. I also walked around the classroom
whenever possible throughout my whole class lesson.

Did you take any
action when you
observed poor
behaviour? Why?
Why not?
When I observed poor behavior I would mention the childs name or
stand close to them to make them aware that I was aware of them
and what they were doing. Sometimes, in fact most of the time,
action was not needed when they realized I was near them.

Did you use non-verbal
cues? e.g. Contact,
pause, gesture,
movement toward
student/s concerned.
I tried to use proximity and eye contact especially during the whole
class lesson but I felt as though I could have used it a bit more, my
nerves seemed to restrict me a little bit though. With practice I know
this skill will become natural so I am not too worried about not using
it as much as I maybe should have during my lesson.




Overall Comments

I really enjoyed teaching my group lesson and after I got over the whole nervous part I really
enjoyed my class lesson as well. I felt a sense of pride being able to answers the students
questions and having them look to me for advice and answers. I definitely learnt a lot about
myself and my abilities through conducting the two lessons. I learnt not to doubt myself and
that like everything, teaching skills and strategies take practice and not everything comes
naturally. It was nice to read that my teacher said I had a caring approach with the children
because I really feel that as a teacher that is important and students should feel cared for and
appreciated in a classroom. I was shocked at how smoothly each lesson ran and how
prepared I actually was because I felt I was sure to have missed a key resource somewhere!




Schools as text looking at the whole school

Describe the school in terms
of its demographics,
appearance and resources
(be general here and do not
name the school).
The school was a public school with approximately 670
students. It was in a lower SES area. The first few years it was
open it was a relatively big school but as more and more
schools have opened in the area the number of students have
decreased. It was a good sized school with a lovely oval and
basketball court. Each classroom had an interactive whiteboard
and there was a good sized computer room available to all
classes.
What were the roles and
responsibilities of the
teaching staff you
observed?
The roles and responsibilities of the teaching staff I observed
include taking lessons, planning lessons, improvising when
needed, rearranging if interrupted, managing the classroom
and the needs of the students, disciplining when required,
collaborating with other teachers, ensuring each child had
enough work/ ensuring they had completed what needed to be
done, attending staff meetings, collaboration meetings, parent
meetings, union meetings and most likely a range of others
that I did not observe while I was on placement.




Students








What did you observe non-
teaching staff doing to
support teaching and
learning in the school?
You will have observed the
diverse nature of your
classes. How was this
diversity supported?
The roles and responsibilities of the non-teaching staff
included supported teaching staff by running errands,
photocopying, organizing resources, organizing morning
tea on a Friday, organizing staff meetings. They mainly
looked after all the behind the scenes stuff that can go
unrecognized e.g. data recording (attendance) etc.
The diversity was supported by having some assistant time
(one or two students). There was one high functioning
Aspergers child in the classroom and she was supported
by extra activities and attending PEAC one morning a week
to extend her learning as was required for her capability.
Another student, a little boy, needed some extra help with
an assistant as he was very much behind the other
students and would need to go through the basic skills the
other students didnt seem to have a problem with.


Function of Schools

Did you observe the
connection of your schools
with the broader community?
How did this happen?
During the short period I attended the school I did not observe
many connections between the school and the broader
community other than the cross country/athletics. The
students participated in a faction cross country while I was at
the school and then began training for their interschool
carnival shortly after.
What do you think the
function of school is?
The function of schools is to provide a safe, fun and supportive
environment in which students are given every opportunity to
thrive to their full potential. It is a place where students should
feel comfortable enough to be whom they really are and not
feel threatened or bullied by other students.