Observation Sheet Questioning

(Please complete this form for both primary and secondary professional experiences and place in
your ePortfolio)
Graduate Standards - AITSL
Professional Knowledge:
Professional Practice:

1. Know students and how they learn

2. Plan and implement effective teaching and learning

Question Type

Do you feel your questions

were clearly structured and
readily understood by the
students?

Did you use a variety of

question types?

What balances was there

between the various
questions types?

Consider both why and

when you made use of the
different question types?

Yes I feel my questions were clearly structured and understood by

the students, they were engaged by the questions and eager to
respond. The students answers illustrated they did understand the
questions and the aims of the questions. I was able to judge that the
students comprehended my questions from the variety of answers
that I received, many students raised their hands to answer
questions which reiterated their understanding of the questions.

Yes I used both open and closed questions, and when necessary
expanded on open ended questions to allow a diverse range of
answers. I also used application type questions such as what are the
advantages of using themes and conventions? and recall questions,
asking students what are themes and conventions?
There was a good balance between the questions, however more
open ended questions were used as they allow for more individual
answers. I would use recall questions first, to have a basis of
information to work with and ensure all students knew the basics. I
would then use the application questions to get students to think
more in depth about the topic and apply the basic knowledge that
they had.
I used closed ended questions when I needed a particular answer.
When I needed a wider range of answers or there was no one
correct answer I would use open ended questions. I used recall
questions when I wanted basic information from the students and
the application questions when I wanted the students to apply this
knowledge and give a range of answers.

Distributing and Directing Questions

Did you recognise any

pattern in the distribution of
your questions amongst the
students? Consider
reasons for this pattern?

How have you directed

questions to the group?

The pattern I recognised with my question distribution was that

the open ended questions got better and more diverse responses
and were therefore used more often. I noticed that majority of the
time the recall questions came first as they are the most basic, and
then the application and comprehension questions. This is because
with each question you are getting more in depth into the subject
and getting more diversity with answers.

I directed questions vocally to the group asking individuals to

answer verbally, and sometimes students were required to give
written answers. When addressing the group verbally I would make
sure that all students had eye contact and I was in a position where
all students could hear and see me.

Yes, I allowed for wait time so that the students could think about
Have you used wait time? their responses which gave a better quality of answers. After asking
a question I would allow at least 5 seconds before getting an
answer from a student and depending on the difficulty of the
question I would wait longer.
Did you make eye contact
with the group as you
directed your questions?

Yes I maintained eye contact with the group and with individuals
who were being questioned to keep them engaged and show I was
interested. I would make sure I was directing my eye contact at
everybody and not just individual students so that everyone felt
like they were being addressed and included.

Reactions to Students Responses

How do you deal with
correct responses? Do you
qualify any praise given?

When students responded correctly I gave positive affirmation, and

would praise them which encourages other students to do the same.
I do qualify this positive affirmation as as it shows students you
care and are interested in their responses.

How do you deal with

incorrect responses? How
do you deal with students
who stumble and grope for
an answer?

To deal with incorrect answers I would prompt students in the right

directions and give them encouragement for attempting an answer.
At no time is it acceptable to put a student down for an incorrect
answer and my mentor teacher reiterated this which I appreciated.

I used the students responses to create a mind-map and notes on the

whiteboard to develop the idea that i was teaching to show the
What use do you make of
the students responses to students that their information was useful to the learning
develop the teaching point? objectives. Yes I asked extensions on questions that students
understood straight away, and for those students who did not
Have you redirected any
questions in order to add to comprehend the question straight away I would redirect the
question in a more simple manner but ensure the question was still
an initial response?
directed at the learning objectives.

Are you the only evaluator

of the students answers?

No, I asked for other students opinions as well to encourage an

array of answers. Students were also able to evaluate their own
answers as they were visible on the whiteboard.

Overall Comments
I feel using a variety of question types helped me in my time in the classroom immensely as it encouraged
students to share their opinions on concepts and then go into depth about what they thought that meant.
Using students responses was also a very important part of my secondary placement, putting students
answers up on the board made them feel valued and that their answers were important and this encouraged
other students to answer as well, this is a strategy I will take into my next placement.

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?

Yes the lesson plan engaged the students which is the key factor in
classroom management. When the students are engaged they are
less likely to be distracted and allows classroom management to be
easier.
The students reacted well and were engaged by the questions and
collaborative activities as they enjoyed cooperating. The students
overall reaction was positive as they managed to grasp the
concepts I was teaching.

Did anything unexpected

happen?

Nothing unexpected happened during my lesson, however whilst

observing a lesson a message came over the P/A system and
Did you provide a variety of distracted students more than expected.
activities?
Were you satisfied with
your timing, particularly for
the end of the lesson?

The students all had very similar activities, however they had the
option to write about several different responses which still
allowed for diversity.

Yes I was satisfied with my timing for the most part as it was on
Did you feel you were able
to change things if needed? schedule, however one lesson ran over time which did not go as
planned and I wasn't happy about.
Yes, when the students became distracted or talkative I felt I was
able to refocus their attention to the task, however some students
required much more individual help which reaffirmed all the
information I received about having a flexible lesson and was
extremely useful learning experience.

Were you aware of

classroom procedures and
school disciplinary policy?
How much did you know
about your students?

Yes I was aware of the procedures and policies as we were

informed of all rules and policies upon arrival by the deputy
principal. We were also informed about the disciplinary
consequences for students who didn't follow the rules. I was not
able to learn a lot about my students as I only observed them twice
however I ensured I knew who the students were that needed extra
assistance.

How did your mentor

teacher maintain a safe
learning environment?
What strategies did your
observe your mentor
teacher using to maintain
this?

The mentor teacher maintained a safe learning environment by

circulating the room. Students were told not to swing on their chairs
multiple times, if their were any hazards the teacher would remove
them. The teacher reinforced that students need to keep their hands
to themselves.

Maintaining a Positive Attitude in the Classroom

I would have a joke with the students and address them with a
How did you demonstrate to smile when talking and answering questions. I also tried to learn
the students that you valued as many names as possible to show i valued them.
them, and enjoyed
learning?
e.g. Tone of voice, facial
expression, sense of
humour, introduction to
students and topic.
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.

When addressing the students I would use a polite tone unless a

more assertive tone was needed. I would laugh with the students
and smile to show them I enjoyed learning.
I feel I projected my voice well and used proximity well when
necessary. I utilised group discussion to engage all students and
allow everyone an opinion, creating a safe talking and learning
environment.

Did the students know what

was expected of them?

Were you able to redirect

energies of attention
seeking students? Did the
students have enough
to do?

Yes the students knew what was expected of them, they were
issued clear and concise instructions and informed of the purpose
of the lesson. This allowed them to know what was expected of
them both during and after the lesson. The students also had a
good base knowledge of the concepts being taught which allowed
for a smoother lesson.

Yes if students finished early they would have extra work to go on

with, I also coruscated to room to give individual help to those who
needed it and keep everyone on task.

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?

Did you take any action

when you observed poor
behaviour? Why? Why
not?

Did you use non-verbal

cues? e.g. Contact, pause,
gesture, movement toward
student/s concerned.

Yes, I scanned the room whilst talking and questioning to ensure I

had all the students in my vision. I also asked students questions
to ensure they were on task. When circulating the room or
addressing the whole class I would ensure I was in a position
where I could see every student.

Yes, I observed a student on their phone and asked them to put it

away. They were required to put it away to comply with school
rules and to focus on the lesson.

Yes i used non-verbal cues, pausing while waiting for response

and maintaining eye contact with the class and individuals when
answering questions. Hand gestures were also used throughout
my lessons to prompt and address students.

Overall Comments
One of the most important things I learned from my secondary placement in regards to managing behaviour
and managing a classroom in general is to keep students engaged. When students are engaged they want to
learn and this stops majority of problems from occurring. When speaking to students and issuing instructions
it is very important to be clear and concise to ensure all students know what they are doing because some
students wont ask if they do not understand.

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 is in a low socioeconomic area and is a public

school. There are very limited resources, in particular for
the arts and home economics. Some students have to travel
to other schools to do courses that aren't offered at this
school. The school was also quite run down with majority
of its buildings very old.

What were the roles and

responsibilities of the teaching
staff you observed?

The teacher had to maintain a safe and engaging learning

environment, and always maintain a duty of care of all
students. The teacher was required to teach students new
concepts and reinforce previously learned concepts.
Students also had to be assessed to ensure they were
grasping all the new concepts. It was the teachers
responsibility to discipline students when necessary.

After discussion with your

mentor teacher describe how
policies and processes of
government, administration and
schools have an affect on the
work of the teacher?

The principle can have an effect on the way that teachers

implement their lessons. The curriculum of Western
Australia was said to have the biggest impact as that is what
all students are assessed against and therefore what all
lessons are planned to achieve. AITSL are the teaching
standards that teachers are assessed against and therefore
have a big impact on their method of teaching.

What did you observe non-teaching

staff doing to support teaching and
learning in the school?

The administration staff assisted teacher by printing off

resources. The pastoral care manager dealt with
misbehaving students that had to be withdrawn from the
classroom. Educational assistants had particular students
that they were there to help the teacher with.

Students
You will have observed the
diverse nature of your classes.
How was this diversity
supported?

Students who finished early had extra work to go on with,

students who required extra assistance were given extra
time to complete work and the teacher would also assist
them. Diversity was supported by using generic language
that is easy for everyone to understand. Students with
learning disabilities had educational assistants with them,
and students who struggled were place into lower learning
class, students who excelled were placed into higher
achieving classes.

Function of Schools