Reflective Critical Report - Essay Example

At the onset, (instructor) proactively set the classroom policies that everyone should follow. (Instructor) outlines the aims of the course and communicated these effectively to the students. (Instructor) also allowed the students to raise their concerns and own goals to ensure that they are reasonably in-line with the course objectives. Introduction Throughout the class discussions and lectures, I learned that teachers need to be flexible and able to balance between keeping up with the schedule and ensuring that students fully understand what is being taught inside the classroom.

Some classes may have students who have previous knowledge in the subject, some may have students who are able to catch-up easily and deal with fast-paced learning. However, this is not always the case. What I learned during the observation is the way (instructor) responded to these circumstances. This is why teachers need to be flexible and quick in solving concerns such as things or schedules not happening as planned. (Instructor) also maximized the opportunity for learning by making effective use of the limited time for lectures.

I learned that it is important to make the most of classroom time while students are fully involved in the learning activities (Eggen & Kauchak 2007, p. 372). . Overall, the feeling it gave the students most probably was eagerness to learn. Questions were always encouraged, and every question was treated like it was the most important question ever asked. This encouraged the students to probe more, thus improving the interactive learning process. However, it must be hard to balance paying attention to every question and staying within the schedule of activities and topics.

I never saw any waning of attention from the students because the class was very lively since (instructor) encouraged class participation. Methods/Approaches/Techniques (Instructor) gave a small test at the start to gauge the knowledge of the students. I observed it was a good strategy and it gave me valuable insight on the importance of an almost particularized approach in teaching. Also, in every lesson, (instructor) provided the logic behind the importance of learning what is about to be taught.

My favourite part of the classroom activity was when (instructor) played a taped and allowed the students to discuss in pairs what they just listened to. It encouraged the students to encourage their partners to analyze more. It also provided an opportunity for the partners to develop teamwork and constructive evaluation of each other’s ideas. In this listening and comprehension activity, (instructor) gave statements or phrases which students needed to arrange in proper order to make the overall thought in line with what they just listened to.

Some students merely guessed, showing that active listening should be improved. I found these group activities very interesting and valuable because they help make students learn through immersion and application of classroom theories.