knye tpd 2016-journal secondary level
TRANSCRIPT
TALLER DE PRÁCTICA DOCENTE 2016
Trainee’s Name: Knye, María Isabel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 1st year “B”
Date: August 31st, 2016
Observation 1 (80’)
At secondary level students do not line up after the lunch break, when the bell rings they just
go into their classrooms. I waited along with the teacher in charge outside the classroom till
every student was inside. Both of us got into the room and the teacher explained that I was
going to be with them for some time, that in the beginning I was just going to observe the
classes and how they worked and that at a later stage I was going to deliver the lessons
myself.
As they were beginning a new unit: “Your mind”, the teacher started the class with a
breathing activity to put the students in the mood for the topic they were going to deal with,
which was explained to the students once the activity was over. Students had great fun
performing the activity proposed since it included not only breathing, but the need to focus
on different movements as they breathed.
After that, the teacher asked the students to look at a picture for a minute and then give
them another minute to write down as many things as they could remember about the
illustration. Once the time was over, she asked different students to share what they have
written down and later she also asked them what strategies had they used in order to
remember. It was clear that not all of them had applied the same strategies, some of them
just got an idea of the scene and from there onwards they related the situation to their own
experiences; some others used alphabetical order to remember what they saw. It was
obvious that different individuals resort to different ways/strategies to recall information.
To link the previous activity to the following one which was a listening one, the teacher wrote
the following on the board:
“Your brain is a muscle: use it or lose it.”
and allowed students to brainstorm as many ideas about the meaning of this title. After that,
she played the recording and ask the kids to check if any of the things they have mentioned
and that were written on the board were mentioned in the recording. She then went on to a
True or False activity based on the same recording.
Finally, the teacher introduced determiners through a reading text about the brain on the
book and asked students to locate as many as possible and then assigned some homework
from the book.
The most important things that I observed during this first class was that although most of
the group uses the L2 most of the time, there was a small group of boys who were speaking
Spanish at all times and didn’t follow the class, they were just misbehaving and mocking at
others. The other one was that the teacher worked only on the book and that students didn’t
have any notes to resort to if they needed to revise the grammar they had been introduced
to and that there was little practice, just one or two exercises which were in the student’s
book.
I know this won’t be easy because this group of students are just used to work on their
books so they might resist my teaching style; but I’ll quote Seneca:
“Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.”
Trainee’s Name: Knye, María Isabel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 1st year “B”
Date: September 2nd, 2016
Observation 2 (80’)
This second class the teacher started the class by asking questions in which students were
supposed to answer using determiners (which I have always known as indefinite
compounds, such as somebody, no one / nobody, anything, nowhere, etc.). As students
came up with different sentences she wrote them on the board so that they could recall the
when they are used, for instance, affirmative statements, negative statements and
questions.
After having done this, homework was is checked by having students read the answers they
had have given to the activities in their books. What I noticed was that not every student had
done their homework so they just copied what their classmates said out loud or they didn’t
even check what they had written. As I moved around I could see that they ticked the
sentences as if they were OK although they were wrong.
A reflection about this. Why will we give homework to our students if we are not going to
make sure that their work is well done? I understand that the teacher cannot take every
student’s book home in order to check them, but she could have asked them to pass their
answers to a separate sheet of paper.
I keep on thinking about how much emphasis you put on our transition words in order to link
one activity to the next one, but that is something I haven’t seen in this class, specifically.
Once the homework had been checked orally, the teacher went on to introduce other words
related to thinking, such as consider, believe, remember, etc. She did so by saying the
words and asked the students what those verbs meant. She accepted their explanations
and then sent them to the book and asked them to complete a matching activity in which
they were supposed to join the verbs with the correct definition. This was, after some
minutes, checked orally and in my opinion without paying attention to the work done by
those students who don’t usually work, but just copy from their partner’s.
This activity was followed by a listening activity about “Multiple intelligences”. The students
were very interested in the idea of having different kinds of intelligences, but the activity was
just to match what it was said to some pictures depicting the intelligences, such as two
teenagers talking to each other to show interpersonal intelligence, someone working on
his/her own to show intrapersonal intelligence and so on. I thought the topic was of great
interest to the kids and that it could have been exploited further.
The best part of the class was the closure activity in which students were asked to perform
different types of tests in order to find out what kind of intelligence was their main one.
For example, in one of the tests that were to be carried out in pairs, each student had to
write 10 numbers on a piece of paper and then show those numbers to their partner for a
minute after which they had to write as many as they could remember. In the second one,
Comentario [1]: Right!
Comentario [2]: Corrected
Comentario [3]: How could this
procedure be improved?
Comentario [4]: Students could
exchange books and check their classmates work although there's still a chance that they tick as right what it is
not if sts. are not really paying attention.
Comentario [5]: One possibility. :)
Comentario [6]: Was all this interconnected and contextualised? Were students really engaged?
Comentario [7]: They were verbs connected to thinking since the whole unit was about the brain and ways in
which we learn, remember things, and intelligences.
Comentario [8]: Yes!!!
students had to choose ten numbers again but this time, instead of showing them to each
other they had to say them out loud and then allow their partner time to write the ones
he/she remembered on a piece of paper. There was a third one but the bell rang and
students couldn’t do it. While doing this activity, students got really engaged and also used
their English at all times.
As a conclusion, I could see that students get engaged in activities in which they have to
work in pairs purposefully; in other words, when they can relate what they are doing to
themselves.
My reflection this time is:
Trainee’s Name: Knye, María Isabel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 1st year “B”
Date: September 7th, 2016
Observation 3 (80’)
As students were quiet and sitting at their desks, both the teacher and myself got into the
classroom and greet the students. There was a little small talk and the teacher started the
lesson. She brought back the theme of multiple intelligences by showing the students a
picture of Leonardo da Vinci and asking them what type(s) of intelligence(s) da Vinci had.
The kids knew a lot about da Vinci’s abilities; for instance, they mentioned his paintings, his
drawings, his logical-mathematical mind which helped him to design incredible machines
that were absolutely advanced for this time. After having talked for some minutes about the
topic, the teacher proceeded to show students a very short excerpt of something written by
Leonardo which clearly showed mirror writing. This fact called students attention a lot, they
couldn’t believe that someone that was so brilliant at other things couldn’t write correctly.
Every student had a comment to share and they did so in English.
Comentario [9]: Great! Good
observation!
Comentario [10]: Interesting! Why
did you choose it?
Comentario [11]: Because I really
think that being a good teacher implies so many things. You need to be knowledgeable, kind, patient,
empathetic, strict, etc. I hope you understand what I mean.
Comentario [12]: I have added the journal corresponding to the third observation.
Then, the teacher reminded the students about the tests they had worked on the previous
class and explained a last test for them to carry out. This time, students had to choose 10
numbers and draw them with their fingers on their partners palm. After that, they had some
time to write down the numbers they had felt being drawn on their hands.
Once students had finished, the teacher posed some questions for them to discuss, such as
in which of the tests they had got better results, if the one in which they had looked at the
numbers, the one in which they had listened to the numbers or the one in which they had felt
the numbers on the palm of their hands and what conclusions they could draw from there.
Students were given some time to discuss the questions in groups of four and at a later
stage they were asked to report back the way each of them learn the best according to what
they had debated.
This first part of the class was of great interest to the students. It was very easy to see they
were really engaged with the topic and I think that it was because they could see that all of
them had different intelligences and thus different ways of learning and that made them feel
good.
At this point, the teacher told the students: “I’m sorry, but we must move on the a different
topic. As you all know, we have to finish some more topics before the end of the year. We
don’t have to complete the whole book, but we need to get as far as possible.” There was
a little fuzz at this moment in which students started speaking Spanish. The teacher took
advantage of the situation to tell the kids: “Remember you mustn’t speak Spanish during
the class.” As it was obvious, the new topic was modal verbs for obligation or strong advice,
prohibition and lack of necessity, but she didn’t mention it; she just used the vocabulary.
She told the students that they were going to read a letter from a problem page, that they
were going to work in pairs to read it and decide what the problem was and once they had
spotted it, they had to discuss what piece of advice they would give to the writer and write
down some notes. She handed out copies of the letter to every student, made sure they had
understood what they were supposed to do and set them to work in pairs. She gave the
students 15 minutes to spot the problem and think what advice they would give “Lisa”. Once
time was over, the students were asked to turn around and compare their suggestions with
other pairs. By the time they had finished discussing, the bell rang and learners were asked
to save their notes for the following class in which they would be able to share their answers
with the rest of the class and dismissed the class.
I thought this quotation would suit the topic dealt with and our ability as teachers as well.
Trainee’s Name: Knye, María Isabel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 1st year “B”
Date: September 9th, 2016
Observation 4 (80’)
As this was my last observation class, the teacher asked me to help her during the class so
that I could have more interaction with the students. After getting into the classroom and
having gone through her usual routine, she projected the problem page on the IWB. She
asked the students to read the different paragraphs and went on to ask the groups that had
worked together the previous class to share what they thought the problem was and what
piece of advice they would give the girl. Every group was eager to participate and share
their ideas. It was clear to me that students could see themselves reflected in the situation
because of their conclusion and the debate which followed between the different groups. It
was also obvious that they had related the problem to multiple intelligences as they started
talking about what subject they enjoyed most and wondered why they should be good at
every one of them. They also said that parents wanted them to be good at everything and
that it wasn’t fair. I could observe that most of the students were speaking in the L2 except
for three or four of them that were speaking to each other in Spanish and not about the topic
being dealt with.
Once the kids had calmed down, because they had got very excited, Miss Marta asked me
what advice I would give Lisa with regard to her dilemma. What I did was to share with the
students what my attitude had been towards this situation with my own son, that I had
always told him that he didn’t have to be the best, but that he had to give his best at
everything he did. Since nobody can excel at all they do, we must try to do our best.
Students made me a lot of questions about my son and what kind of student he was. Kids
love when teachers share personal experiences with them; I think that we become ordinary
human beings to them not only teachers.
Comentario [13]: Great quote,
Marisa! Your detailed account of the lesson is very telling!
After a while, using the IWB, the teacher underlined the sentence “My dad says I must try
harder” and circled the word must. Then she asked the students to find other words in the
text which were used to express what advice Lisa’s parents gave her and what the girl said
about her brother. Different students approached the IWB and underlined other parts of the
text. The teacher kept asking the rest of the class if they agreed on what had been marked
and, if not, who could correct it. When every related word was correctly marked, she went
on to ask students what those words meant and when they used them - she wanted to elicit
students’ previous knowledge. Finally, she asked students what the difference between
mustn’t and don’t have to was taking the context into account.
Students were, then, asked to open their folders and to copy the sentences that were
underlined on the IWB and then complete a rule she copied on the board leaving blanks for
them to complete with must/mustn’t and don’t have to. As soon as the students had
finished, the rule was checked orally and they were assigned some written exercises in the
book to practise the use of the modal verbs they had been working on. Once the exercises
were again checked orally, the teacher asked the students to work in groups of four and
write a short letter to Lisa offering their advice.
After the 15 minutes assigned, different groups read their production and the the teacher
projected two sample answers on the IWB and asked students to improve their production if
they thought it needed to be improved and to hand them in to be checked and marked.
By the time students had finished, the bell rang and before they left for recess, Miss Marta
told them that I was going to be teaching the next 6 classes. They said good bye and
hurriedly left.
I thought this was a great class because the students participated a lot and shared their
ideas and experiences.
Trainee’s Name: Knye, María Isabel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 1st year “B”
Date: September 14th, 2016
Class 1 (80’)
Section 1: Describing the lesson as it unfolds
4. What aspects of the lesson do you consider successful?
On the whole, I consider all of the lesson was successful because the students were really
engaged with the topic. They wanted to participate speaking about their personal
experiences as I shared with them my own regarding the topic being dealt with, which was
“Music”. As we started talking about music and music makers, students were able to relate it
to the previous topic they had been working on, that of multiple intelligences, one of them
being “musical intelligence”.
Section 2: Making sense of the lesson through relevant lived experiences
7. Choose a moment that was important for you during the lesson. Describe it and say why
it was important.
In order to introduce the topic of Music Makers, I prepared a PowerPoint presentation to tell
my brother’s story and his love for music. As I started telling the students the way he had
developed as a musician I felt that I had every student’s attention. They were very
interested in knowing what I had to share with them and showed it to me by following me
with their eyes and asking follow-up questions as I added information. I have always thought
that there’s no better way to catch student’s attention than sharing life experiences because
they feel that you are letting them in your own life and in return they are willing to share their
own ones which is the best way to make them speak about themselves. We always need to
bear in mind that communication is the main goal when learning a foreign language.
Trainee’s Name: Knye, María Isabel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 1st year “B”
Date: October 7th, 2016
Class 6 (80’)
Comentario [14]: That's great!
Comentario [15]: ;)
Comentario [16]: If we go beyond,
we can refer to the effects that those exchanges have on our lives. You made communication meaningful by
talking about your brother. =)
Section 1: Describing the lesson as it unfolds
6. What do you find useful of this lesson that will help you plan the next one?
Although I will not plan any other lesson for this group since this was the last one, this class
showed me how useful games are to get students to use the language being worked with so
that they don’t feel they are working with a grammar. Given a purpose the students enjoyed
playing while they were using the L2 but in a meaningful and fun way. In conclusion, I’ll
make sure that I include more games in my classes as a way of wrapping them up.
Section 2: Making sense of the lesson through relevant lived experiences
8. Choose a moment that was important for the students during the lesson. Describe it and
say why it was important.
From what I could observe, the whole lesson was important for the students since they were
able to share the type of music they like to listen to while playing different games in which
they used the Present Perfect Simple and Continuous in order to win. The first game was
played in pair, students were provided with two grids, one in which they had to place their
ships and another one in which they marked what they had hit from their partner’s ships.
The second game was a board game and they discussed among the members of the group
is the answer was right or wrong, in case they did not come to an agreement they would
resort to me. The game was a kind of “snake and ladder”. They had a lot of fun and used
not only the L2, but also the grammar points.
Section 3: Interpreting the lesson in words and images
11. Choose a quotation that represents an insight in this lesson.
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”
And the teacher as well. My Secondary Practicum period has been of great importance to
me. It has enriched my teaching practice and has showed me that I must relax a bit when
I’m in the classroom. Students are like sponges, the thing is to find the correct way to get to
them and get them involved with their learning process, and this could be done through
games and plenty of other activities which are meaningful to them and of their interest. I
have been very lucky with the topic I had to work with because music interests almost
everybody although it can be different types of music.
Let me share with you a final photo with the group of students I worked with.
Section 3: Interpreting the lesson in words and images
11. Include a photo of a moment in the lesson or task students did and describe it.
Comentario [17]: Same thing. This is the last sentence in your journal and I
cannot see any photo below... Don't worry. I will check the rest of the entry asap.
Comentario [18]: Thanks El 23/11/2016 12:09, "Cecilia
Zemborain (Google Drive)" <
At this stage of the lesson, students were working in pairs and discussing the answers to
some questions they had been asked to answer. As it can be seen in the photo, students
were involved in the task while using the L2 and putting into practice the strategies of
scanning, supporting choices, analizing and elaborating which were the aim of the activity
since they had completed other activities and at this point they were quite familiar with the
text.
Trainee’s Name: Knye, María Isabel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 1st year “B”
Date: September 16th, 2016
Class 2 (80’)
Section 1: Describing the lesson as it unfolds
3. How did the students react to the lesson?
This second class, using the same text we had already worked on the previous one, on
which they had done a listening activity and also answered some questions, was focused on
grammar: Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous. However, the approch
was different from the one students were used to. I did not start with explanations, on the
contrary, I wanted the students to find the tenses and explain why they were used in different
parts of the text what I wanted was that they inferred the meaning; of course I guided them
through the different stages and wrote their answers on the board. Once they had come up
with the correct answers and understood the differences in meaning, I made them copy what
they had inferred in their folders. This way I came to learn that they didn’t have a folder for
Use of English, which in first year secondary, when students are still dependant on notes to
refer to in case they need it, they had nothing but the book chart with very little information to
go back to. Students were kind of reluctant to my teaching approach.
Comentario [19]: They look engaged!
Section 2: Making sense of the lesson through relevant lived experiences
8. Choose a moment that was imprtant for the students during the lesson. Secribeit and say
why it was important.
Altohugh grammar lessons are not the most exciting ones for students, I think it was
important for them to realize that they could come up with the answers regarding meaning of
tenses. Based on the sentences students extracted from the text and using the context,
learners were able to infer the meaning of both Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect
Continuous despite some difficulties. For what I could observed, students were very pleased
with their answers and to realize that they didn’t need an explanation from the teacher in
order to get the meaning. They got a sense of achievement and noticed that by analysing
the situations everything was clear enough for them to be able to use the correct tenses
according to what they want to express.
Section 3: Interpreting the lesson in words and images
10. Choose a quotation that represents an insight to this lesson.
I’ve chosen this Hellen Keller’s quotation since I truly believe it can be applied not only to the
students, but to myself as a teacher. If students are optimistic and self-confident they are
able to achieve everything they want to. With regard to myself, I have never lose hope or
self-confidence, which in the end will lead to get my degree as a teacher of English for which
I have struggled so much.
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence”. Helen Keller
Trainee’s Name: Knye, María Isabel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 1st year “B”
Date: September 28th, 2016
Class 3 (80’)
Section 1: Describing the lesson as it unfolds
4. What aspects of the lesson do you consider successful?
Once students had figuered out the differences between ongoing and completed actions by
watching a PowerPoint presentation and to close the lesson, they were provided with a
board and a dice so that they could play a game related to both tenses.
In order to win the game, they had to use both of the tenses they had worked with including
for and since. As they were having fun, they did not realize they were practicing grammar
and the was because there was a purpose behind, it was meaningful to them. They all
wanted to win the game,
Section 2: Making sense of the lesson through relevant lived expeirences.
8. Choose a moment that was important for the students during the lesson. Describe it and
say why it was important.
As a warm-up for this lesson I chose an anctivity which consisted on a sentence that I wrote
on the board and which students had to change in order to express their own opinions,
feelings or reality and once they had changed it they read it out loud.
The original sentence was:
“I’ve been teaching this wonderful language for nearly two years now.”
So as to be clear about what they were supposed to do I changed it first so that it fit my own
reality and the sentence became:
“I’ve been teaching this wonderful language for nearly 25 years now.”
By the time all of the students had gone to the board the sentence ended up expressing how
long students had been playing a sport or learning how to play a musical instrument. As
they changed different words they practiced using the structure, but what’s more important
they related it to their own life experiences.
Section 3: Interpreting the lesson in words or images
10. Choose a quotation that represents an insight in this lesson.
“Language is best taught when it is being used to transmit messages, not when it is explicitly taught for conscious learning.” ― Stephen D. Krashen, The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom
I couldn’t have thought of a better quotation than this of Krashen since it summarises what
my feelings were about this lesson in particular.
Trainee’s Name: Knye, María Isabel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 1st year “B”
Date: September 30th, 2016
Class 4 (80’)
Section 1: Describing the lesson as it unfolds
3. How did the students react to your teaching, to the activities and the materials? How did
they react to the lesson?
To reintroduce the topic of music, I took some extracts of music from the Beatles which they
enjoyed a lot. All of them new who the members of the group were although they are very
young as so are their parents. After that they went on to a pair work activity in which they
had to communicate in order to get missing information about Paul McCartney. I’m
including a photo of a moment in which can be seen that they were all working and using the
L2 in order to get what they needed from their partner.
Also, in this lesson they listened to different types of music and had the opportunity to
mention the ones they enjoy listening to. The activities in this class were mainly speaking to
their partners and share their knowledge of the topic. The students really enjoyed the lesson.
Section 2: Making sense of the lesson through relevant lived experiences
7. Choose a moment that was important for you during the lesson. Describe it and say why
it was important.
It is difficult at times to divide the lesson into sections since they are so interrelated. To me,
it was very important to see how engaged the students were with the activities proposed.
They were eager to participate and the noise made by all of the students speaking to each
other was music to my ears. It is amazing to notice that humanizing the book a bit in order
to fit the students interests can make a world of a difference.
Section 3: Interpreting the lesson in words and images
“I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.” Billy Joel http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_music.html
I chose this quotation since I think that the reason why students enjoyed the lesson so much
is because everyone is touched by music in one way or another, so speaking about it makes
us express our feelings and emotions.
Trainee’s Name: Knye, María Isabel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 1st year “B”
Date: October 5th, 2016
Class 5 (80’)
Section 1: Describing the lesson as it unfolds
2. What strategies did you use? Which ones were effective?
During the video activity to reinforce the use of the Present Perfect Simple and the Present
Perfect Continuous, mainly, I explained what I wanted them to pay attention to and what they
were going to revise. Then I told them what they needed to be able to do and finally I used
elicitation to make sure they had understood what they were supposed to do. And of course,
they were paired up so that they helped each other with the proposed activity which was
different from anything they had previously done. Because of the questions that follow I
should say that it was not clear for them what they were supposed to do, so I guess I must
improve my ability to make sure that students hav understood the task they are about to do.
On the other hand, the possibility of working in pair to consult with each other made them
feel confident and that was an effective strategy.
Section 2: Making sense of the lesson through relevant lived experiences
7. Choose a moment that was important for you during the lesson. Describe it and say why
it was important.
As students started working in the video activity, they found it interesting because it was
differrent. However, they had some trouble completing the tasks they were asked to do.
What I considered important of this situation is that they did not hesitate to ask for my help
and I think I was supportive and provided them with hints so that they could complete the
task. At the beginning students were working individually instead of in pairs and that is
because they were not used to being allowed to work that way. Their work with the teacher
in charge was mainly individual except for the moment to check their productions.
Section 3: Interpreting the lesson in words and images
As students realized it was easier to work in pairs, they were able to complete the taks with
less difficulty. And as for me, I also learned that making myself available for my students I
gained their trust and helped them become more self-confident.
Trainee’s Name: Knye, María Isabel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 1st year “B”
Date: October 7th, 2016
Class 6 (80’)
Section 1: Describing the lesson as it unfolds
6. What do you find useful of this lesson that will help you plan the next one?
Although I will not plan any other lesson for this group since this was the last one, this class
showed me how useful games are to get students to use the language being worked with so
that they don’t feel they are working with a grammar. Given a purpose the students enjoyed
playing while they were using the L2 but in a meaningful and fun way. In conclusion, I’ll
make sure that I include more games in my classes as a way of wrapping them up.
Section 2: Making sense of the lesson through relevant lived experiences
8. Choose a moment that was important for the students during the lesson. Describe it and
say why it was important.
From what I could observe, the whole lesson was important for the students since they were
able to share the type of music they like to listen to while playing different games in which
they used the Present Perfect Simple and Continuous in order to win. The first game was
played in pair, students were provided with two grids, one in which they had to place their
ships and another one in which they marked what they had hit from their partner’s ships.
The second game was a board game and they discussed among the memebers of the group
is the answer was right or wrong, in case they did not come to an agreement theywould
resort to me. The game was a kind of “snake and ladder”. They had a lot of fun and used
not only the L2, but also the grammar points.
Section 3: Interpreting the lesson in words and images
11. Choose a quotation that represents an insight in this lesson.
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”
And the teacher as well. My Secondary Practicum period has been of great importance to
me. It has enriched my teaching practice and has showed me that I must relax a bit when
I’m in the classroom. Students are like sponges, the thing is to find the correct way to get to
them and get them involved with their learning process, and this could be done through
games and plenty of other activities which are meaningful to them and of their interest. I
have been very lucky with the topic I had to work with because music interests almost
everybody although it can be different types of music.
Let me share with you a final photo with the group of students I worked with.
Comentario [20]: Dear Marisa
You have worked really hard to achieve your goals! It has been a pleasure to read your journals, to observe the
photos you have shared which are very telling. =) You may now upload this journal to the
campus and to your blog. Best Cecilia
Comentario [21]: Thanks Cecilia