Things are running quickly and we are already at the beginning of our ‘teaching trip’. It impresses me how perceptions change when we enter into classrooms. I feel it is really important to observe, and I am learning a lot with my tutor, who seems so confident and well-prepared when exposing her lessons.
I have been a bit frustrated according to the distribution of tables and chairs within the whole classroom. I really think that it is important to maintain some visual order in order to let lessons be much more ‘understanding’. At least for me it is much easier to have a clear idea in my mind when my surrounding is also clear and tidy.
Well, to start with, this week has been full of different and new experiences.
On Monday, we had an observation class with 4rth of ESO students (4rth C). It was ‘b hour’ so there were only half of the students in it. Esperança firstly introduced us so that students could know why we were there.
The lesson was divided into three main parts. At the beginning they corrected a listening activity that they had previously done. Students went to the blackboard and answered the questions. It was really interesting because everybody helped each other: there was real cooperation between students and it was useful for the correction of the exercises.
Afterwards, the teacher gave them some photocopies and explained us that this particular group was a bit lost with the level being provided in the book. Therefore, she and another teacher decided to do photocopies apart (from other sources) for two months, in order to review all the concepts and be able to start properly with the student’s book that was theoretically provided for that group. Finally, they did a communicative activity in which the teacher orally provided some situations and they had to guess the feeling or adjective that matched.
To sum up, I think that this was a really respectful group and which cooperated a lot. Nevertheless, there was a problem with one of the students who was speaking all the time and who was finally moved into another table. Apart from that, the organization and climate of the classroom were really positive and successful.
Secondly, we went to OUR class. We knew the students that would be involved with our learning experience: 3rd B ESO students. The truth is that they all were really nice and the first impression was absolutely positive.
This was a really enjoyable and new class. Students watched a video and had to deal with it. The video was related to an expedition; therefore, there was an excursion exposed where some students told their own experiences according to it. It was interesting and they liked it.
Then, after the ten minutes’ video, the teacher asked them to go to the blackboard and copy there some ‘complex’ or ‘curious’ vocabulary words from the video. Afterwards, they translated these words into Catalan and they did some exercises from the student’s book, which were specifically related to the video.
I found great the fact that every activity had a beginning and an ending, and I think that it is really important for students. As Esperança told us, it is really important to finish things, as then activities acquire much more sense.
Moreover, there was a lot of interaction and it was a different kind of class, far apart from the ones we had seen before. Later on, we went to another class, to a 3rd C lesson, in which there were not many students and they had to prepare a dialogue and perform it in front of the other students. It was a pair work activity, so they helped each other. Indeed, if they had any misunderstanding, after having exposed the whole dialogue, they would translate it into Catalan with the teacher’s help.
On Wednesday we had a tutorial session with Esperança, and it was really helpful because we could ask her our doubts or feelings and she exposed us some important things that needed to be reminded. She talked about our didactic units; the importance of timing and she also gave us information about the ‘Equips docents’or ‘guàrdies’. Moreover, we went to ‘Aula d’acollida’ and they explained us its functioning. I was really impressed for many different things. Firstly, they explained us that they did Social Science, Catalan and Natural Science in there, all in Catalan and in order to learn the language. They had different resources such as computers or different materials like communicative activities and so on. The teacher said that there are only students from 1st to 4th of ESO and the one who is in charge of it told us that as students begin to learn the language, they are moved into their ‘real’ classes. I was amazed because she was not a specialist, in the sense that if I finally work in a Secondary School, maybe I have to teach those lessons, and I think that dealing with students with no linguistic approach to Catalan culture and reality, might be really difficult and I really think that there should be a professional dealing with that. Nevertheless, I thought that she was really involved into everything and that she was living that experience as something great.
Finally, on Friday we had our last lesson and we could participate in it! It was great because we didn’t expect it and the final feeling was of real joy. In fact, we were in a 1st of ‘Batxillerat’ lesson, in which students were performing some dialogues in front of the classroom, according to an activity called ‘Getting to know you’. It was an interactive and communicative activity, in which students, who were divided in pairs, asked each other questions and answered them. Finally, me and my CAP mate listened and assessed a group, while the teacher was assessing other groups. And I really enjoyed it because we were much closer to the students and we could figure out the beginning of our teaching lessons!
In the end of the class, all the students sat down and the teacher and both of us sat in front of the students in order to discuss some topics, such as boys and girls’ different behaviour and attitude towards life in general. It was funny and, in spite of being a bit nervous, I enjoyed it a lot.
That’s all for now!
I have been a bit frustrated according to the distribution of tables and chairs within the whole classroom. I really think that it is important to maintain some visual order in order to let lessons be much more ‘understanding’. At least for me it is much easier to have a clear idea in my mind when my surrounding is also clear and tidy.
Well, to start with, this week has been full of different and new experiences.
On Monday, we had an observation class with 4rth of ESO students (4rth C). It was ‘b hour’ so there were only half of the students in it. Esperança firstly introduced us so that students could know why we were there.
The lesson was divided into three main parts. At the beginning they corrected a listening activity that they had previously done. Students went to the blackboard and answered the questions. It was really interesting because everybody helped each other: there was real cooperation between students and it was useful for the correction of the exercises.
Afterwards, the teacher gave them some photocopies and explained us that this particular group was a bit lost with the level being provided in the book. Therefore, she and another teacher decided to do photocopies apart (from other sources) for two months, in order to review all the concepts and be able to start properly with the student’s book that was theoretically provided for that group. Finally, they did a communicative activity in which the teacher orally provided some situations and they had to guess the feeling or adjective that matched.
To sum up, I think that this was a really respectful group and which cooperated a lot. Nevertheless, there was a problem with one of the students who was speaking all the time and who was finally moved into another table. Apart from that, the organization and climate of the classroom were really positive and successful.
Secondly, we went to OUR class. We knew the students that would be involved with our learning experience: 3rd B ESO students. The truth is that they all were really nice and the first impression was absolutely positive.
This was a really enjoyable and new class. Students watched a video and had to deal with it. The video was related to an expedition; therefore, there was an excursion exposed where some students told their own experiences according to it. It was interesting and they liked it.
Then, after the ten minutes’ video, the teacher asked them to go to the blackboard and copy there some ‘complex’ or ‘curious’ vocabulary words from the video. Afterwards, they translated these words into Catalan and they did some exercises from the student’s book, which were specifically related to the video.
I found great the fact that every activity had a beginning and an ending, and I think that it is really important for students. As Esperança told us, it is really important to finish things, as then activities acquire much more sense.
Moreover, there was a lot of interaction and it was a different kind of class, far apart from the ones we had seen before. Later on, we went to another class, to a 3rd C lesson, in which there were not many students and they had to prepare a dialogue and perform it in front of the other students. It was a pair work activity, so they helped each other. Indeed, if they had any misunderstanding, after having exposed the whole dialogue, they would translate it into Catalan with the teacher’s help.
On Wednesday we had a tutorial session with Esperança, and it was really helpful because we could ask her our doubts or feelings and she exposed us some important things that needed to be reminded. She talked about our didactic units; the importance of timing and she also gave us information about the ‘Equips docents’or ‘guàrdies’. Moreover, we went to ‘Aula d’acollida’ and they explained us its functioning. I was really impressed for many different things. Firstly, they explained us that they did Social Science, Catalan and Natural Science in there, all in Catalan and in order to learn the language. They had different resources such as computers or different materials like communicative activities and so on. The teacher said that there are only students from 1st to 4th of ESO and the one who is in charge of it told us that as students begin to learn the language, they are moved into their ‘real’ classes. I was amazed because she was not a specialist, in the sense that if I finally work in a Secondary School, maybe I have to teach those lessons, and I think that dealing with students with no linguistic approach to Catalan culture and reality, might be really difficult and I really think that there should be a professional dealing with that. Nevertheless, I thought that she was really involved into everything and that she was living that experience as something great.
Finally, on Friday we had our last lesson and we could participate in it! It was great because we didn’t expect it and the final feeling was of real joy. In fact, we were in a 1st of ‘Batxillerat’ lesson, in which students were performing some dialogues in front of the classroom, according to an activity called ‘Getting to know you’. It was an interactive and communicative activity, in which students, who were divided in pairs, asked each other questions and answered them. Finally, me and my CAP mate listened and assessed a group, while the teacher was assessing other groups. And I really enjoyed it because we were much closer to the students and we could figure out the beginning of our teaching lessons!
In the end of the class, all the students sat down and the teacher and both of us sat in front of the students in order to discuss some topics, such as boys and girls’ different behaviour and attitude towards life in general. It was funny and, in spite of being a bit nervous, I enjoyed it a lot.
That’s all for now!
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