Practicum Tips - Vigilance

This tip is aimed at creating an awareness of how important it is to be vigilant when in a classroom setting.

When To Do This

Early on, preferably during the first three weeks of term.

Who Fills This In

A fellow student on teaching practice with you, or a fellow teacher.

What To Do

Select a lesson which will involve something more than just whole class teaching, eg. small group work, individual work, laboratory experiments. Teach the class normally. Ask a fellow student to fill in the analysis section below. Make sure that the student who does this observation is clear about what is involved.

Analysis

Date: _______________________________

Class: _______________________________

Subject: _______________________________

(To the observer: Make brief notes about the lesson in the spaces below. Look through the whole schedule so that you know what must be done during the lesson.)

Eyes

For approximately the first ten minutes of the lesson watch the teacher's eyes. Does he/she look at the class when explaining or questioning? When children are working alone or in groups does the teacher look around the room or only at the nearest group?

Individual Children

Choose two children who do not appear to be applying themselves to their task. Study these two carefully and make notes about their behavior. What do they do? What contacts do they have with the teacher? Do they solicit these or does the teacher? Is there any indication from what you see or hear as to why they are not involved in their work?

Child A Name _____________________________
(if known, if not brief description)

Child B Name _____________________________
(if known, if not brief description)

Follow-up

1. Discuss the analysis with your colleague. How vigilant do you seem to have been. Are you surprised at the reports on the two children in 'Individual Children'? did you see most of what the observer describes?
2. Eye Contact Try to keep as many children as possible in view when doing whole class teaching, explaining, asking questions etc. Imagine, in other lessons when you are on your own, that an observer is present looking for pupils who have lost interest in the lesson.
3. Dividing attention Try quite deliberately to cast an eye occasionally over the rest of the class when you work with an individual or small group. Take immediate action if necessary.
4. Swap roles with your colleague so that you now do this exercise in his lesson, if possible.