TASK 2: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION

As for this task, it requires us to observe an ESL lesson and comment on how the
teacher teaching manages his/her classroom. We also need to report on the application of
the areas that I have learned throughout the course. So, the class that we observed was
interesting, the pupils were obedient to the teacher; when the teacher asked them to pick up
the rubbish, they straight away picked them up without making any noise and most
importantly, favourable atmosphere to teach English. Most of the students had a very
positive attitude towards the lesson and the teacher.
Firstly, this is the analysis of the sketch of the classroom. The pupils were seated in a
group of four and there were four groups of them which make it into 16 pupils. This is called,
clusters. Clusters consist of four or five desks pushed together so every desk is facing one
another. The fifth desk, if needed, would be put at the end of the group of four. Especially
during the activities, it can be very useful, because one of the advantages is that, students
can easily communicate among them. The teacher also can focus his attention on a group in
particular without disturbing others. Motivation from the students is required though.
Disciplinary problems can arise from students (especially young ones) who concentrate on
other things than the exercises. If there are many students in the classroom, it may also be
too noisy to use this arrangement. So, as for this class, it was perfect enough to put them in
clusters because there were just around 16 pupils and it fits them well since the lesson also
required them to involve actively such as went in front to answer the teachers questions.
Next, moving on to the theories used by the teacher. At the very beginning of the
lesson, the teacher applied Canters theory where it urged teacher to take charge in the
classroom. It is teachers right to set the rules and not interrupted by misbehaviours. For
example, before starting the lesson, the teacher asked the students to look underneath their
desks and picked up the rubbish if there were any of them.
Then, while conducting the lesson, he was obviously using Skinners Theory where
he gave constant reinforcement that produces the best results where pupils behaved well.
He put smiley token at their names on the manila card which was being displayed at the
notice board as reinforcement where the names that collected the most smiley tokens would
receive rewards from the teacher.
Other than that, the teacher applied Kounins theory where he kept pupils actively
engaged by presenting lessons that pupils find engaging. He conducted well-planned lesson
with smooth transitions. According to Kounin, the ability to make a smooth transition is under
movement management where the teacher does not have a lesson hanging while tending to

something. He kept an appropriate pace and kept pupils alert by holding their attention.
Every time the teacher asked questions, the pupils were eager to answer and they even
excitedly raise their hands which meant that they really focused when the teacher was
teaching. Thus, he managed to involve all pupils during the teaching and learning process.
Based on our observation also, we noticed the way of the teacher in managing
resources and facilities where the classroom should be organized so that learning may
proceed with minimum physical stress and maximum effectiveness. The organization of the
classroom should promote sensory comfort and high auditory and visual clarity because this
is vital to the success of student learning. Creating a comfortable and functional classroom is
one of the way in which teachers can show that they care for their pupils. As for this lesson,
the teacher asked the students to pick up the rubbish before starting the lesson in order to
create a comfortable classroom environment. It is also to stimulate learning and helps in
building an efficient classroom community. Even the teacher himself would not be
comfortable to teach while having rubbish everywhere. It would be so disruptive to both
teacher and pupils, so that is why the teacher decided to spare a few minutes to clear the
classroom before starting the lesson.
One of the key to create a conducive classroom while achieving the lessons objective is
by building a personal system of discipline. The first thing a teacher should do when entering
a class is to set the rules and regulations and later on, the teacher has to make sure to
follow the rules and regulations consistently. The process of creating rules differs. It can be a
whole decision by the teacher, decided together with the students or giving the whole power
to the students to create the rules. It depends on the teacher himself to choose which
approach the teacher wants to use.
From the observed video, it is clearly can be seen that the teacher uses Skinners
theory of Building the Foundation. He gives the students praises and reinforcement by
adding one sticker to the chart for every good deed the students had done during the
lesson. This may also refer to Jacob Kounins Instructional Management theory. Because
when the teacher praises and adds stickers to those students who had done well, other
students started to give their best too, which apply to Kounins ripple effect approach. The
teacher also seems to apply Kounins withitness approach since he seems to know what is
happening to the class all the time. He always calls for the name of the students who were
not focusing.
At the same time, the teacher is applying Canters discipline hierarchy. When a
student is not giving attention to the lesson, he will start off by calling the students name and
asks the student questions about the lesson. Later, when he found out that the student still

misbehaves, he proceed with removing one sticker from the students chart. With that, the
student will stop misbehaving. Apart from the actions stated above, the teacher also did a
good decision to give a passive student a role when doing a group work. The teacher surely
wants to give each student an equal opportunity to learn. Because sometimes, passive
students do have the will to learn but they are just too timid and shy to be active in class. For
example, during the group activity, when the teacher is walking from group to group to see
their progress, and he identifies a passive student in a group, he will point out the students
name and asks the student to do certain activity with the teachers guidance instead of just
sitting silently in the group. Another example would be during the groups presentation, the
teacher asks a passive student to give elaboration on the presentation to make sure the
student to participate. A teacher should give equal opportunity to learn because that is their
right.
To accommodate and conduct educational activities in the classroom, the resource
should be managed effectively. Teachers must consider all areas when organizing their
classroom to making sure that teaching and learning session are effective. Through the
observation of ESL lesson, it can be seen that the teacher has implement rules and routines
in his classroom to help the pupils to know about his expectation. For example, when he first
entered the class, he asked his pupils to pick any rubbish around them and throw it into the
trash. According to Rosenshine 1980, rules help the teachers and pupils to accomplish
something in a systematic, orderly and time-saving manner. From my observation, teaching
and learning session can be more effective by classified the rules. According to Leinhardt,
Weidman and Hammond 1987, there are three main types to classify the rules which are;
class-running rules, lesson-running rules and interaction rules. The class-running rules are
non-academic which the teacher implemented rules to ensure a smooth running of
classroom session such as the pupils movement in the class and entering and dismissal of
class. Lesson-running rules refer to the academic activities that consist of rules related to
bringing books and materials to the classroom, homework and class test. While the
interaction rules deal with communication during the activities in the classroom. This rules
where

implemented

to

establish

and

monitor

teacher-pupils

and

pupils-pupils

communication. Interaction rules are set the limit and type of communication during different
activities in teaching and learning session. Through implementation of rules, teachers are
able to manage the time, able to complete the teaching and learning session and have less
discipline problems. Therefore, in order to achieve better teaching and learning session,
teachers must assist the rules and routines in their classroom. As Karen 1999 has stated
that Perhaps the most important item under classroom operation is rules. Whether the
teachers refer to them as rules, rights, expectations or responsibilities, these principles

govern classroom operation and become the written and unwritten code that allows a
classroom to work.
The other ways for a better teaching and learning session through my observation is
managing pupils location and grouping. Classroom should be organized to create an
effective teaching and learning session. A classroom should have an organization that
promotes sense of comfort, high auditory and visual clarity; this will lead to success in
teaching and learning process. Setting arrangement is one of the important factors that
enhance a successful classroom session. Teacher can actually arrange the classroom
differently for different activities or teacher can also fix with one classroom arrangement but
use wisely the class for different activities. Arrangement in the classroom shown what the
teacher expect their pupils participation during lesson. For example, when the arrangement
is in rows, pupils cannot make discussion during lesson effectively. U shape is the most
ideal classroom arrangement where the desks on the sides are diagonal, facing the board.
With this arrangement, the teachers can see every pupil, and every pupil can see the board.
The set-up also allows for the pupils putting themselves into groups or partners where they
have plenty of room to move around and do their work with teachers instruction. In any
ways, teacher must remember to create a pleasant and comfortable classroom environment
because according to Maslow and Mintz 1956, environment in the classroom during teaching
and learning process influence behaviour positively and bring about group cohesion.
During teaching and learning session, teachers must know the concept of Classroom
Management and their roles and also the pupils roles in order to achieve an effective
classroom session. Teachers and pupils in some ways are actually learning, teachers will
never stop to learn on becoming an excellent role model, guider and motivator towards their
pupils and pupils will learn towards becoming a good citizens and move forward to become
successor.