5th August 2011

Week Two – Observations

This was my first full day at Brookley Primary School*. The school day starts at 8:30am and finishes at 2:30pm. The school has an assembly every week first thing on Friday morning, and this week it was my class performing. They had been working on a jungle song and dance, and when I got there all of the kids were running around trying to get costumes and my supervising teacher was looking stressed. The assembly went off really well, and the kids were quite excitable.

My classroom is trialling a voice projector: the teacher wears a receiver around her neck and as she speaks the sound is picked up and broadcasted through the speakers at the back of the room. It looks like it is really handy, because it’s much easier on the voice, and if the teacher wants to call for attention she can speak straight into the microphone, or make a silly noise which is really effective.

After assembly, the Friday timetable looks a bit like this usually:

8:30 am	Assembly
	Mathematics
	Language
	Library Exchange
10:30 – 10:50 am	RECESS
	Phys. Ed. (Dott)
	Computer
12:50 – 1:30 pm	LUNCH (1st Duty)
	USSR
	Senior Sport

Today, Mrs D.* extended the normal period of Mathematics time and did an amazing lesson. It was the best Mathematics lesson I have seen so far on my pracs. She used the Interactive Whiteboard and a simple circle chart to work on rounding, starting with tens, then moving to hundreds and then finishing with thousands. It was a very interactive lesson, where she acted as a facilitator and voice of authority when needed. The kids were also able to use diagrams and concrete materials to help them with solving the problems. After the introduction to the lesson, Mrs D. pointed out four students who generally had difficulty with Mathematics so I could see what the students were capable of. As I was walking around the room looking at the kids work and helping the four students pointed out to me it was really nice, because those kids really appreciated the assistance and were really eager to have a go. While the school might be a bit rougher than my previous prac schools, I think the kids at Brookley had much more enjoyment of their schooling and treated it as a benefit, rather than a simple chore.

After recess, Mrs D. and I sat down and had a talk about what would be happening in the next few weeks. Because of the structure of Fridays, she was a bit worried I wouldn’t be able to get as much contact with the kids as I might like. Another problem was that the next week, her class were starting swimming lessons, which would take place in the language and Mathematics timeslot. Mrs D. said she would ask around and see if she could find another class I might join for the next two weeks in that period of time.  

Mrs D.’s style of teaching is the most casual and encouraging of student self-efficacy that I have seen so far. She said that she wasn’t really a warm motherly type of teacher, and that she preferred to let the kids try something out and then discuss with them the effects or consequences. I think I’m really lucky to have gotten Brookley Primary.

*Euphemism used for Teacher's name and School name.