Observation Sheet Questioning

(Please complete this form for both primary and secondary professional experiences and
place in your ePortfolio)
Graduate Standards - AITSL
Professional Knowledge:
Professional Practice:
learning

1. Know students and how they learn

2. Plan and implement effective teaching and

Question Type

Do you feel your questions

were clearly structured and
readily understood by the
students?

Did you use a variety of

question types?

Yes, I think the students clearly understood my questions. I was

able to observe this by their wiliness to answer. The questions were
structured in order for myself to gauge the prior knowledge of the
students on the topic. It also allowed the students to get an insight
to the topic that I would be covering.

Yes I did, I tried to make sure I used both open and close questions
but also knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis and
synthesis questions.
Where do we see percentages in the world? Knowledge
Why do you think it is important to be able to calculate
percentages Comprehension

What balances was there

between the various
questions types?

I made sure that I took into consideration the answers that the
students gave me in order to shape my next questions so that the
students would be able to have an answer. I liked to ask a lot of
open questions so the discussion could occur within the
classroom/small group environment.

Consider both why and

when you made use of the
different question types?

At the end of the lesson I would use reflective questions in order to

see if the learning objective had been reached. It also helped me to
assess what knowledge students retained from the lesson. At the
beginning of the lesson I used knowledge based questions in order
for me to be able to see were the students were at in that topic area.

Distributing and Directing Questions

Did you recognise any

pattern in the distribution of
your questions amongst the
students? Consider
reasons for this pattern?

How have you directed

questions to the group?

Have you used wait time?

Did you make eye contact

with the group as you
directed your questions?

I began with using a lot of knowledge questions then once I was

able to see where the students were at I would change to
comprehension and then onto application. I would work from low
thinking level slowly to high in order to get the students thinking
about the topic and trying to drive their learning further.

I would stand in front of the classroom and then ask for the
students attention. As the class I had were very well behaved all I
had to do was say Year 6s please look and listen this way there
would be the few students that wouldnt look but after using both
non-verbal and verbal cues they would then stop and listen. I
would then address the class with the question directing it at all
students.
During my teaching at the primary school I utilised wait time
frequently. I would ask the students for silence once and then I
would wait to see how may responded to my instruction. After
this I would then commend those students who listened. I would
then wait again for around 3-4 seconds to let those students, who
were still speaking, know that I was waiting for them.
I would make eye contact with the whole class when asking
questions. I did this to ensure that all students were listening and
so I was on top of my behaviour managing. Making eye contact
was important so that the students were able to feel connected to
the instructions I was giving to them and so that they understood
that I was aware of the class environment.

Reactions to Students Responses

How do you deal with
correct responses? Do you
qualify any praise given?

How do you deal with

incorrect responses? How
do you deal with students

When a student gave a correct response I would give them

positive feedback. This would be in the form of praise and
making sure that the student knew the contribution was
appreciated, I would use a happy tone of voice and positive
facial expressions along with the positive feedback. Praise
was used when a student would provide feedback in the
whole class environment and also in the small group
environment.
If a student had an incorrect response I would take what
they said into consideration. I would either say thats a good
point but not quite what I was after or else very good try

who stumble and grope for

an answer?

What use do you make of

the students responses to
develop the teaching point?
Have you redirected any
questions in order to add to
an initial response?

Are you the only evaluator

of the students answers?

but lets see what someone else might think. This allows the
student to still feel that their opinion is valued and
appreciated but they just werent on the right track. For those
students who struggled to give an answer I would try to
prompt them with a helping question or statement, if this
still didnt work I ask them if they would like to get some
help from a friend or peer. By doing this is allows the
student to learn that its okay to ask for help and also the
pressure is then taken off them.

With every answer that I received I would try and bring it back to
the teaching focus of that lesson. Although sometimes in the chaos
of discussion it was hard but I felt that when I did try and relate it
back to the learning outcome the students were able to understand
the topic better.

No, I would ask the class if they agreed. If there was a dispute
among the class I would then stop the discussion and ask for
students to raise their hands if they had a different answer. As I
had mathematics as my focus area this situation would often
occur. If another student answered I would then address the class
again and ask if everyone agreed.

Overall Comments

I feel that the students felt confident in answering the questions. If I continually had
a student answering them all I would ask if anyone else had an answer. If someone
was brave enough to answer I would make sure that they were praised sufficiently
and thanked for their contribution. Answering in front of your classmates can often
be a nerve-wracking experience but I tried my best to allow the students to feel
comfortable and safe to express their answers.

Observation Sheet Management

(Please complete this form for both primary and secondary professional experiences and
place in your e portfolio)
Graduate Standards AITSL
Professional Practice:
1. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
2. Planning for Effective Management

Was your lesson plan

effective for managing the
class?
e.g. How did the students
react to your lesson overall
and to your planned
activities?
Did anything unexpected
happen?

Yes, as my lesson plan (whole class) was only short the activity in
class allowed the student to discuss their opinions while working
on a group brainstorm. As the students were discussing I was able
to move around the classroom and monitor which students where
on task and prompt those who werent.
As my lesson was only short everything went to plan. The students
responded well to the activities. If I had to comment on anything it
would be the ice breaker activity. One student commented that
they had previously done this activity at their high school
induction and so I think their enthusiasm lacked.

Did you provide a variety of In the short space of time I tried to provide different activities. We
activities?
firstly had some reading of the background of the topic and then
moved onto a brainstorm followed by a movie.
Were you satisfied with
your timing, particularly for
As I was doing the introduction and my other partner that I was
the end of the lesson?
on placement with was doing the conclusion, my lesson concluded
with a movie. I was satisfied with the time I gave them but I was
Did you feel you were able
to change things if needed? disappointed that I didnt have more time to teach the students.
Yes, I would have been able to adapt if something had gone wrong,
although in my lesson due the time restrictions it was very hard for
something to occur. I was pleased that it ran smoothly considering
I only had around 15 minutes.

Were you aware of

classroom procedures and
school disciplinary policy?
How much did you know
about your students?
How did your mentor
teacher maintain a safe
learning environment?
What strategies did your
observe your mentor
teacher using to maintain

Yes, during the observation period I was able to observe the steps
taken if a student misbehaved. First a warning was given, then if
the students misbehaved they got either a second and final
warning or they got ask to move to the wet area. The was a
common area with table and chairs that was attached to the
classroom. If they student continued to misbehave, which never
occurred, then they would be told to report to the principal or
deputy. At first the students were very wary of us being in the
classroom and held back. After a few days the students began to
intereact more and feel more comfortable with us being in the
classroom. We began to learn more about the students through
speaking to them and connections began to form.

this?
The mentor teacher had incredible behaviour management within
the classroom. The class respected her and knew the expectations.
In the morning the students would walk into the class in silence sit
down and begin the days work which was on the board. The
teacher constantly scanned the class and praised those students
who were doing the correct activity and were on task. Those
students who werent on task the teacher would speak to them and
make sure they knew she was aware of their behaviour.

Maintaining a Positive Attitude in the Classroom

I think one of the main ways I would demonstrate that I valued
How did you demonstrate to the students is by learning their names. This allowed me to
the students that you valued connect to the students and let them know I wanted them to know
them, and enjoyed
I respected them. I would use a lot of positive reinforcement and
learning?
phrases. Along with the positive reinforcement I would have a
smile on my face at all times in order to let the students know I
e.g. Tone of voice, facial
was calm and not a threat. I also used group work throughout the
expression, sense of
lesson to allow the students to interact and have fun while
humour, introduction to
maintaining a positive learning environment.
students and topic.

Which aspects of your

teaching style do you feel
helped you maintain class
attention?
e.g. Variety of activities,
class or group discussion,
pace of lesson, interest at
class level.

Did the students know what

was expected of them?

I definitely think that through allowing the students to participate

in group work helped them to stay on task. Also by allowing them
to choose who they worked with. This allowed the environment to
be more relaxed. I know that allowing the students to choose who
they worked with wouldnt work in every class but after observing
the behaviour of the students I knew that they would stay on task,
and they did. I also think having a variety of activities. At first the
students took part in the ice breaker they then had to get
organised into groups, then listen to my introduction and then
into their groups for a short activity.

The instructions for the lesson were displayed on the interactive

white board and I also had an example brainstorm for the students
to draw inspiration from. After I had finished my instructions I
asked if there were any questions. After I had answered all the
questions I knew that the expectations were clear. Students also
knew that when I was speaking and giving instructions they were
expected to show respect and listen.

Were you able to redirect

energies of attention
seeking students? Did the
students have enough
to do?

As my whole class lesson was only very short due to my mentor

teacher having a busy schedule there wasnt much room for
students to be off task. For those students who always asked
questions I would answer them until I realised they just wanted
attention. Then I would let them know I would come and see them
once all students had started working. I did this in order to not
disadvantage the students that wanted to begin the task. I felt that
the students continually had enough to do as my lessons didnt
have a very long time limit. Also the students never completed all
the activities I had planned, mainly due to time restrictions.

Dealing with Minor Misbehaviour

Were you aware of what
was happening in all parts
of the classroom? Did you
know what each student
was doing?

Did you take any action

when you observed poor
behaviour? Why? Why
not?

Did you use non-verbal

cues? e.g. Contact, pause,
gesture, movement toward
student/s concerned.

I attempted to make sure I knew what was occurring in the

classroom at all times but it is a very hard skill to master. I would
use proximity to monitor the class behaviour. I was constantly
moving around to each individual or group to make sure that they
were on task. If a student asked me a question was would make
sure I could still see the class and every so often glance around the
room. If I saw that a student was misbehaving I would politely tell
the student to wait as I addressed the unacceptable behaviour.

Yes, if a student was not on task I would simply got and confront
them about it, prompting them to continue their work. I would
make sure that unacceptable behaviour was addressed so that the
students knew it wasnt allowed in the classroom. By addressing
all bad behaviour it allowed the class to be an equal playing field.

I would use eye contact to signal to the student that I was aware of
what they were doing and if it was unacceptable I would use a
non-verbal cue of shaking my head. If students were misbehaving
I would begin to walk over to the area they were working in so
that they knew that I was going to be observing what they were
doing. If this didnt stop them from being off task I would then
prompt them to continue their work and remain near them
observing the rest of the class.

Overall Comments

In terms of behaviour there were a few students that were easily distracted and could go off
task but in terms of the class as a whole they were exceptionally behaved and respectful.

This made it very easy to take a lesson with them as they continued to behave respectful
and on task.

Schools as text looking at the whole school

Describe the school in terms of
its demographics, appearance
and resources (be general here
and do not name the school).

The school was in a low to middle socio economic area.

The school was located near the beach, directly opposite
another school and was in a very developed and built up
area. The school had a lot of concrete and the buildings
werent the newest. They had two demountable classrooms
that were no longer used for classes as the year 7s had left
and also the school had decreased in numbers. All
classrooms were bright, colourful and had students work
displayed on the walls. The computer room was equipped
with a interactive white board and also plenty of computer
for the students to use. The music room was creatively
decorated with artists pictures displayed across the room.

What were the roles and

responsibilities of the teaching
staff you observed?

My mentor teacher had many roles. The most important

responsibility was to educate the student in accordance to
the Australian Curriculum. Other responsibilities included
monitoring the students eating habits, this meant the
students would have to spend their first ten minutes of
lunch in the classroom eating where the teacher was able
to supervise and make sure every child had something to
eat. Another role of the teacher was to contribute to being
on duty. Every week the teacher had around 2-3 times in
which they would have to monitor the activity occurring in
one section of the school. My mentor teacher was also
involved with organising numeracy week activities, along
with this both year 6 teachers had to organise the year 6
camp.

After discussion with your

mentor teacher describe how
policies and processes of
government, administration and
schools have an affect on the
work of the teacher?

After discussion with my mentor teacher about the polices

that they have to take into consideration she explained that
while the policies ensure a safe environment it also meant
more work, time and dedication was required of them.

What did you observe non-teaching

staff doing to support teaching and
learning in the school?

In our classroom we had an education assistant that in

particular was there to assist one students with a variety
of disorders and issues. Not only would she help her
student but in her group was also two students with low
academic ability and she would assist them in their daily
work and activities. When leaving school I would see the
cleaners begin to do the rounds of the school in order to
keep the hygiene and cleanliness levels maintained. The
administration staff were also there to support the
teachers with class lists, phone calls, visitors to the
school. The administrative staff play a major role in the
running of the school and the communication between
the staff cohort.

Students
You will have observed the
diverse nature of your classes.
How was this diversity
supported?

In the classroom there where several students that struggled

with different areas. There was an educational assistant that
helped provide support mainly to her male student but also
helped the other students that where situated around her.
In spelling there where different levels of ability ranging from
low, to middle to high. Those students who struggled with
spelling where able to select the spelling words they felt
confident in choosing.
I also observed a diverse range of work. Two students
struggled with literacy and so they would be on task with
different activities compared to the rest of the class.
Another time I say diversity support was in math. Many
students were struggling with a concept and so they had the
chance to meet on the mat to have the concept further
explained.

Function of Schools
Did you observe the connection
of your schools with the broader
community? How did this
happen?

While I was at the school there was also a young girl from
SEDA that was doing work experience at the school. This
showed that they were open to allowing those from the
community gain experience from their school.
While I was also observing the students were preparing for
a carnival that was going to be taken place with different
school. Schools in the nearby community where going to
get together and take part in different sports.

What do you think the function

of school is?

After observing the primary school for a week I think my

idea of the function of a school really broaden. I began to
see that not only is the function to educate the students
through teaching the curriculum but also its there to provide
a safe environment for the students to feel welcomed in.
The school is also there to ensure the health of the
students, this was done by the students having to spend
the first ten minutes of their lunch eating in the classroom
so that the teacher could monitor who had lunch and which
student didnt. Another function of school is also to teach
the students core values to become a good citizen. Some
of these values include respect, honesty and kindness.