Recording of Teaching Practice

VIDEO REFLECTION

This video was made with the purpose of applying an effective technique used very often nowadays: Reflective Teaching. This means looking at what you do in the classroom, thinking about why you do it, and if it works. It is a process of self-observation and self-evaluation. By collecting information about what goes on in our classroom, and by analyzing and evaluating this information, we identify and explore our own practices and beliefs. This may then lead to changes and improvements in our teaching.

By analyzing my own video I was able to become more aware of my strengths and weaknesses. Also, the video was fun to watch because I look so different from what I though. Since I prefer to start with positive statements, I would like to focus on what I did right during this lesson first.

The first thing that I really enjoyed, and that it reached its goal was the warm up. I decided to develop a very simple warm up in which students just had to follow my instructions by watching me doing it. I wanted to focus their attention just on me, and in what I had to say. I also wanted them to realize that the main way in which I was going to deliver instructions was going to be by showed to them with examples, and it really worked.

Then, the material I designed was also a good thing. The visual aids and the jars were very appealing to students. They really liked the idea of having its own item, and some of them even exchange their food item for one they prefer with their classmates. This is a very kinesthetic group, so the idea of moving from their sits to complete the task was very engaging. In general, the activity was interactive and quick, so kids were involved in every stage.

Other positive feature of this lesson was the good monitoring of work. I took enough time to do this because it was important for me to know if students really understood my explanation and if they really liked the way the topic was being developed. At the end of the lesson, I realized that everyone not only participated, but also completed the assignment. My mentor teacher was very excited about this because apparently it is rare to have all students from this group to participate; she calls them “one of the difficult ones”. 

Among the areas of improvement I noticed 3 mains aspects; the first one is delivering instructions. I realized that I need to improve the way instructions my instructions are deliver because most of the time they do not understand on the first time. I usually have to translate some words, so they can keep the track. So, one way to enhance this could be to use simple words, visual aids, come up with more examples before translating, and use more body gestures. The second aspect it is classroom management. I watched that I need to have more authority over students, and not to be so soft because students took advantage of my kindness. They usually go and ask permission to the mentor teacher to do something and if she says no, then they come to me and I usually let them. Also, sometimes it is hard for me to make them to be quiet or to stay in their places. So, maybe a possible solution could be to explain them what I expect from them, for example: I could tell them that every time a need them to be quiet I am going to count until three, and if they don`t do it they will have three minutes left of their break. Finally, the third aspect, and one that it is closely related to classroom management, is my tone of voice. My tone of voice is too low so I have to make an effort for them to listen to me. So, a good way to gain their attention could be to play a bell, or make a sound or show a sign that they know that it means to be quiet and pay attention.  

The whole experience was a memorable situation for me, but if I have to recall a specific one that would be some funny moments like when I asked students what the jar look like, and one kid said it is “un muñequito con patas” when it actually was a chocolate bar, but I have to admit that it was a difficult guess compare to the other jar, which was an apple. I just laugh, and I clarify that it was a chocolate bar that represented junk food because if we eat too many chocolates we could get sick. 

Finally, as a summary of the whole experience of teaching I could say that I really enjoyed, and that I was able to perceive what went wrong or right as soon as I finished the class, but watching the recording of my own teaching made me see other aspects or perspectives that I didn´t noticed before.

So, the following is a small piece of the recording of one of my lessons: