Class Observation UPIS Grade 5 (Reflection)

Supposedly, we were going to observe the higher grades class of UPIS before we were to do our group teaching so as to give us a feel of how the classes go there. But since I was not able to go with my classmates, I had to strike out on my own and it wasn’t until after our group teaching that I was able to do so.

Securing a permit to do an observation was quite an adventure but it is a story to be reserved for another paper maybe. What I want to talk about now, is the experience itself observing the Grade 5 English class of Ms. Abad.

Since I was there on very short notice, I was able to observe the class in a more natural setting. No preparations. No prior words from the teacher for them to behave better or whatsoever. The material used was just their modules and a piece of manila paper wherein the sample sentences were written.

I would like to say that I appreciate it better since it gives me a more authentic classroom feel and not a false notion that students really behave and participate all the time. With this being said, I take back what I wrote on my other reflection paper that I don’t really hate higher grades students anymore. I have to be honest and say that they are a pain to manage compared to younger ones.

It was very apparent that Ms Abad was having a bit of a hard time in managing the class. At first, keeping quiet until they too kept quiet worked. But that same strategy off course wouldn’t work all the time. They stood up and roamed around. They made a lot of unproductive noise and they made comments that I would have to say are “trying” in relation to the teacher’s patience. Nevertheless, Ms. Abad kept her cool and successfully went on with the lesson.

One thing I noticed is that when the class read text and they weren’t synchronized, Ms. Abad asked them to repeat it. It reminded me of what Teacher Maita said. I can make them repeat in case they weren’t reading properly. But sadly, I wasn’t able to apply that in our group teaching. I should make it a point to remember this the next time.

Another thing I took note of was when there was a mistake in the modules, she corrected it and wrote it on the white board so that everyone would know. I think this is an important thing because our materials wouldn’t be perfect all the time. We should be ready to make adjustments and corrections. We must also make sure that when we do make these corrections, all of the students would be aware of such changes so as to avoic confusion.

Aside from this, I also found it nice that they had rules set before. Like for example, when they checked their seatmate’s paper, they all knew what guidelines they should follow and Ms Abad reminded them by asking someone about the guidelines (write your name and date; check using a different color of pen). I think rules and guidelines like this, that were set beforehand makes things in the classroom smoother because the teacher doesn’t always need to tell them what to do anymore. They would all know what the guidelines are and should be reminded only occasionally.

Lastly, one technique that I picked up is that when someone asks the teacher a question, the teacher would always share the question to the rest of the class. I think this is beneficial in two ways. The first one is that when you share the questions to the class, there might be a chance that someone knows the answer and therefore it wouldn’t need to be coming from the teacher. Second is that when the question is about something that concerns everyone and only one student asks about it, the teacher wouldn’t have to answer the question again and again if he or she answers once and for all after sharing the question given. It saves time and effort. Also, it promotes the students voicing their questions or opinions out in the open.

Overall I wouldn’t say that this visit is the best. I certainly liked the kindergarten more. But I think it is more real and therefore I learned more.