Student Practice Reflection - Day 5 (Teacher Talk - Student Talk)

     February 7th was the fifth day of my student practice and I'm very happy with how things are going so far. After a couple harsh days, I feel like I found my place in the school. The observations are slowly coming to an end, but I feel like I've learned a lot and I'm excited to start teaching soon.

    Today I challenged myself with growing from my experience on day 4 and being more I active, which I think I achieved. I'm definitely beginning to feel more comfortable coming out of my shell in the classroom. Knowing that it's okay for me to participate has allowed me to experience even more. Doing more hands on work has been not only fun, but also very eye-opening. There is so much more to observe than when you are just sitting in the back of a class. I feel like this will also help me prepare for my microteaching and actual teaching. Being more active also has helped me grow more confident as a teacher. I'm very glad I realized I need to change the way I'm approaching these observations, because it has allowed me to blossom and achieve much more during the time I have at the Trilingual School of Warsaw.

Teacher Talk - Student Talk

    This lesson I observed how the teacher and students communicate in class. First, I observed two different students, who already caught my attention as far as how much or little they talk in class. I'll describe Student A first. They are very active during the lessons and try to answer every question that the teacher asks to the class. They almost never get asked personally, because they are so active that the teacher needs to ask others by name to involve them. This pupil raises their hand most of the time to answer, but they also shout out their answers sometimes without being asked. When the teacher talks to the group, the pupil is usually focused on the topic, but when the teacher focuses on a different singular student, they often start talking to their desk mates. They usually speak to the other students in English (mainly because there's a lot of international students), but the topic varies - sometimes it's about class and sometimes it's off-topic. In general, this student doesn't use Polish a lot, unless they are having serious trouble understanding or expressing something. As far as Student A's body language, they do a lot of different things. There's moments when they pay attention to class, there's moments when they get distracted, sometimes they sit still, sometimes they stand up without explanation. This student is quite unpredictable, but they're also very active in class - sometimes even maybe too much.

    Now I will describe Student B. They're the complete opposite of Student A. They never raise their hand to answer the questions for the class and even when the teacher tries to ask them personally, they often will stay quiet and need encouragement to speak up. This student usually pays attention to class, but they also stare at their notebook a lot. In those moments, I can tell that their mind is drifting off somewhere else. This pupil is usually very quiet even with their colleagues, but when they speak, this person most often uses Polish. I noticed that they don't seem to be very confident in their English skills. They only use English to speak to the teacher and will avoid using it with other students. Their body language is also very reserved. They either look at the teacher or down at their desk. They also sit very still the entire class and only sometimes start swinging back and forth on their chair. I already knew the students pretty well, which is why I chose these contrasting students to show how varied this classroom is. There's students, who are extremely active and also students who try to not participate at all. There's a big discrepancy in the involvement and participation between the pupils.

     I also observed the interaction from the perspective of the teacher. He has all the names of the students memorized and always uses them when addressing the pupils. The teacher's voice changes quite a bit. Most of the time it's quite warm and slightly stern. Sometimes it gets a bit feisty, when the students are acting out, which contributes to how well this teacher controls the pupils. After listening to the student responses, the teacher most often praises them (unless they're completely off) and either corrects them or adds to their thoughts. To get the attention of the students, the teacher mainly just speaks in a louder tone, but if that doesn't work, then he starts counting down from 5 and that usually allows him to regain control. The teacher gives out instructions before every task the students have to do. The explanation doesn't last that long, but it's usually sufficient and the pupils know what they need to do. As far as error correction, the teacher does it quite often, but it also depends on the severity of the mistake. If it's a minor error, he will usually let it go. If it's something bigger or more important, he will usually correct it, which I think is a good choice in a classroom of this level. What I also noticed and enjoyed, is that the teacher takes time to chat to students from time to time. It creates a comfortable and friendly atmosphere, which is why I think there's some many students that like to be active and involved. I think this teacher really mastered how to handle a classroom in a friendly yet professional manner. 

    This observation made me realize how big of an impact the way the teacher speaks and uses body language can affect their students. One of the things I noticed the teacher do with the more shy students, is he would come up very close to them or even lean over them to comfort them. I feel like that helps them open up and not feel so worried about answering. It gives them the illusion that they're only answering to the teacher and they will not be judged by the whole class. In general, I noticed that moving closer to the students makes them feel more confident and comfortable. I will definitely try to use this technique and see if it helps bridge the gap that can sometimes be felt between students and teachers. Another thing I noticed the teacher do is walking around the room when the students are working on something. Instead of sitting at the desk and waiting, he would walk around and look how far along in the work they are. I think students were more inclined to ask questions or report on their progress this way. I think it also helped discourage them from not doing the work or talking to one another. What I thought was important however, is the fact that the teacher would not actually look closely at their work. He wouldn't lean forward and read what they're doing, which could make the students feel stressed. He probably did see how far along they are, but it wasn't very obvious that he was looking at their notes. I think this is a smart way to make the classroom a comfortable, communicative, but still relaxed place. I will definitely use these techniques when I start teaching myself and see how they help me with my relationship with the students.