Francisco Javier Rojas López
English Practicum
Maria Isabel Vásquez - Rodrigo González
Evening Class
2009
Index
- Portfolio Introduction
- Reading Articles
- Pedagogical Artifacts and Reflective Writing
- School Information
- Unit Plan
- Lesson Plans
- Learning Materials
- Evaluation Instruments
- Self Evaluation and Peer Evaluation
Introduction
This portfolio has the purpose to show the process of my English practicum through this semester. It contains not only the unit and lesson plans for each class, but also holds descriptions and reflections on different events that are meaningful for our future as English teachers.
In this sense, these experiences give to the practicum process a very important place in our course of studies; it is an opportunity to try new things when we are teaching, but more important, it is the chance to learn from our mistakes in order to become more effective teachers.
The main goal of my teaching practice was to give the students opportunities to put into practice what they know; to tell them that they can learn English and talk about what they think is relevant for them.
Reading Articles
This final step in our course of studies has been a time where we could reflect on the different facets of teaching. To supports these new insights I looked for information in different articles and books; in these readings I could find very good data and experiences that helped me to improve my teaching.
Here you can find some of those interesting readings:
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Student-Centered.html
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/atrisk/at6lk11.htm
Let me recommend you a couple of very interesting books:
ESL/EFL Teaching, Principles for Success
What works in Schools
Pedagogical Artifacts and Reflective Writing
Observation Stage
During my week of observation of my future class I could see that all the activities planned by the teacher were focused on the grammar-translation method. In one opportunity the students were asked to translate lists of words into Spanish disconnected from any context; they were using only rote learning.
This was very important to me because I am very interested in planning activities where the students have to think deeper, to make associations of ideas and support the answers given to a certain topic, and to having students that are used to be taught in the way in which they have to memorize words was very challenging. On the other hand, to see this during the observation stage was very significant because I could make more informed decisions when I had to plan the activities for this particular group.
With this experience I could reaffirm myself that I am not interested in teaching just grammar rules and isolated words; on the contrary, I want to propose activities where the students can practice with more than one skill and where everybody has the opportunity to participate.
I am aware that when we want to change attitudes and behaviors it is necessary to do it slowly and taking in consideration the opinion of everybody, but it is our responsibility as teacher to implement this changes inside of the class and schools.
Team Teaching Stage
On the Team teaching stage I observed one situation that was very illustrative of how evaluation is used as “a classroom management tool”.
I selected this because I think it is a very good example of how teachers use evaluation as punitive tool, and not as an instrument to see the level of achievement the students may have.
We have learned that when we evaluate our students it is necessary that these evaluations have to be significant for the students; they have to know what the objectives are and what the teacher expects from them. It is not a way of “punishment” for something that it has been doing wrong and to control the class.
I could observe this situation before starting my teaching stage which gave me the possibility to make the decision of changing this aspect in my future classes. I made the decision of telling them a week before when the test was going to be; to establish clear objectives for the test and to give them more time to do the task. I considered that the grades did not represent what the students could do and knew; that is why I was concerned about this.
I think that I am going to keep reading and learning about this topic because I think is relevant for our future as teachers. We always have to be checking the progress of our students to see if we are making good decisions or if we have to improve something related to evaluation and assessment.
Teaching stage
An activity that was very successful during my teaching stage was when I asked the class to write a short paragraph about someone or something relevant or important for them.
When I presented this activity I showed the class a short piece of writing created by me; in this paragraph I talked about my cat and it was written only using simple present tense and adverbs of frequency because that was the content for those classes. They had to present their writing in front of the class in the next couple of weeks using a PPP or any visual representation such as, posters or videos.
By giving them the possibility to choose the topic of their writing the students got involved in the process; everybody wanted to go in front of the class and talk about their favorite bands and movies, best friends, pets, family, famous actors and actresses. From my point of view, this decision was critical for the success of this activity; it would have been easy to define the topic for this presentation, but it would have become this experience in another irrelevant task for the students.
In the teaching stage it is necessary to relate the content with the students’ interests in order to make our classes meaningful and student-centered. The students could see how these grammar rules are used to talk and write about our personal interest, daily activities and our life in general; they could see that they can use English too.
This was a very good experience because I saw a group of students very motivated and willing to learn and participate. I am convinced that when teachers give opportunities to students to put into practice what they can do and know, and when the activities are based on the students` needs, we have a more meaningful and effective instruction giving students a better quality of learning.
School Information
| School | Liceo Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna |
| Principal | Ricardo Garcia |
| City | Viña de Mar |
| Address | J. J. Latorre #297, Recreo |
| School’s phone number | 032-2 393556 |
| Grade | 3rd grade (medio) |
| Schedule | Wednesday 11:00 am – 12:50 and Thursday 12:00 – 12:50 |
| Guide’s teacher name | Iván Avilés Hurtado |
| Guide’s teacher e-mail address | iavilesh@gmail.com |
Lesson Plans
To read this document properly it is necessary to download it first as a word document.
Lesson Plans
Self Evaluation - Peer Evaluation
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
Number of Blog Entries | X | |||
Technology | X | |||
Organization and Presentation | X | |||
Quality of Reflective Writing | X | |||
Evidence of Growth and Understanding | X | |||
Professionalism | X |
Peer Evaluation
Hi Marian!!
You did a pretty good job. From your reflections I could see that you got really involved with your students and the practicum process. You created very interesting materials for your students, they looked really happy.
Good job.
ESL Printables
This is a website created for English teachers all over the world. You can download worksheets, lesson plans, activities, power point presentation, and online exercises, but to do this you have to share your own matarial first; you have to upload your acivities in order to get points, that allow you to download other people`s work.
This is a very useful website to plan your classes and activities, and it is a good oppertunity to get in contact with teachers from different parts of the world.
Consejo de Curso y Orientación
I. Datos Generales:
1.Nombre del Establecimiento Educacional:
Liceo Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna
2.Curso: 3 medio b
3.Profesor jefe: Mónica Cáceres
4.Profesor en Práctica: Francisco Javier Rojas López
5.Fecha: 18/10/09
6.Hora: 12:10 – 12:55
II.- Desarrollo del consejo de curso
1.Tema de Orientación:
El tema de este consejo de curso fue acerca de los problemas de inasistencia que se han presentado al interior del curso durante el segundo semestre. La profesora apunta a que se esta llegando al final del año, por lo cual, es de suma importancia no descuidar este aspecto; ya que, faltando a clases se pierde la oportunidad de estar presentes cuando el profesor presenta nuevos contenidos y es la mejor oportunidad para aclarar las dudas. La profesora concede la palabra al curso, procurando la intervención de todos y todas, dentro de las opiniones mas relevantes que pude escuchar se encontraban la falta de motivación al ir al liceo y que por la llegada de fin de año todo se hacia mas desordenado ya que todos sentían que las vacaciones estaban muy cerca dejando al liceo en segundo plano. La profesora retoma la palabra y reconoce que los fundamentos entregados por los alumnos son validos de alguna manera, pero recalca la idea de que ellos recién están empezando; sus vidas laborales están a la vuelta de la esquina, por lo tanto, es muy importante que tomen conciencia de que cuando se adquiere un compromiso hay que cumplirlo con la mayor seriedad posible aunque el camino se vea complicado y difícil.
2.OFT cubierto:
Como se pudo observar en el punto anterior la conversación estuvo centrada en la responsabilidad cuando se asume un compromiso; en este caso el compromiso de ir a clases y responder académicamente lo cual crea los cimientos que le ayudarán a los alumnos a ser exitosos en su posterior vida como personas responsables y como futuros trabajadores y profesionales. También se destaca la perseverancia; superar los obstáculos que se presenten para alcanzar un bien mayor.
3.Tabla del Consejo de Curso:
-Lectura acta anterior
-Asistencia a clases
-Nomina de alumnos para asistir al taller de cine
TEAM TEACHING STAGE REPORT
Task Nº1: Collaboration activities
1. When I was asked for help the teacher told me that he needed me for walking around the classroom supporting the students in the activity. He thinks that this kind of assistance is very useful because the assistant teacher can check for understanding and give feedback to those students who have problems with the activity. I was doing this during two classes.
2.They were working on grammar content such us, object pronouns and possessive adjectives. They were doing some translation exercises on the whiteboard and on their notebooks.
3.The student reacted to my presence in a very good way. They were willing to hear my voice and suggestions; they felt free to ask me and to clarify their doubts. I saw the students very engaged in the task; I could see them working on their notebooks and paying attention to the teacher.
4. I was not required to do any work apart from the assistant teaching.
5. I was not asked to prepare any kind of material using technology; in despite of the fact that the school has the appropriate facilities for doing this.
Task 2: Lesson Planning
1. Once I knew what the content for the next couple of classes was, I started out by gathering information about that content on books and especially on internet. Then, I created two worksheets; the first one was a content guide where the new structures were presented and explained; the second one was a list of twenty exercises. The student had to work in groups of four in order to figure out the answer. I decided group work for the first class because in my observation stage I did not see this kind of work; I wanted the student to share ideas and knowledge.
2. My guide teacher did not give me any kind of suggestion for planning, but he gave me the possibility to plan the classes under my criteria; he told me that I could do any kind of activity because this is my chance to try new things.
3.I took me around five hours to gather, create and plan the activities and the material for my first lesson.
OBSERVATION STAGE REPORT
Name of student: Francisco Rojas López
Name of School: Liceo Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna
Number of students: 33
Date: September 2nd - 3rd
Class: 3º B
1. The school:
The Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna high school is located in Recreo, Viña del Mar. It is organized like any other public school in our country; it is composed of a group of more than thirty teachers, among these, we can find the principal and his team; the administration stuff, and the administrative assistant stuff. The student population is around 580 students.
This school has a long history training technicians and educating students for their future as workers and professionals in the Chilean society under the values of tolerance, respect and perseverance. The behavioural policies are managed by the school inspectors, and teachers.
2. The classroom
The environment inside the classroom is peaceful, and engaging in some way; the students are not under stress. The classroom is big enough for the class; the students are seating in lines, they have fresh air and the natural light is ok. The room has a whiteboard and a rubbish can; in general the space is quite good for this class; although, it does not have any kind of equipment. There are no posters in English on the wall; in this sense, it is not engaging for learning English because the students are not in contact with any stimulus in the target language.
3. The activities & resources
a) The class is based on the grammar-translation method, and the activities follow this principle. The students are asked to translate short sentences in Spanish into English and vice versa. The students are used to this kind of work; therefore, they do the task immediately. There is a good balance between the teacher’s role and the student’s role; the teacher asks for work and the students do it.
B) The school has appropriate facilities and resources in terms of technology and equipment. The students and teachers have three computer laboratories, and two audiovisual rooms. There are three laptops for the teachers work with inside the classroom, and two data show. These resources were not used in the classroom, at least when I was in the observation stage.
Task 2: Student´s learning
1.The learners
I could not say that all students are not motivated; in fact, there are some students that really like learning English and show some interest, but most of them think that it is difficult and demanding. When the teacher speaks English almost the whole class do not understand any word; for this reason, they do not understand the new content and the directions for doing a task. On the other hand, the activities do not promote the use of the language in a creative fashion. This kind of work does not encourage the students to take control over their learning; they just hope to understand something in the class.
2 Behaviour during classroom activities
I have to say that the guide teacher has an excellent classroom management; they students know what they can do and what they cannot. The rules are known by everyone inside the class, and the behavioural framework is clear.
One of the strategies that the teacher always uses is to give points to the students when they find out the answer of a certain question; these points vary according to the difficulty of the question. This strategy works quite well because the students make an effort in answering. The bad side of this is that only the students with good grade get the points; the teacher does not give the possibility to students who really need those extra points to answer and show what they know.
3. Discuss the learning styles and levels of English in the classroom.
Observations clear & well informed
Not Observed
Demonstrates understanding of social and educational factors
Low
Objective & factual information
Not Observed
Evidence of active search of information
Not Observed
Use of English expression clear
Low
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