Hello!
Welcome back to the teaching practice 2021 series!
Today I would like to tell you a few words about what the teacher says in class and what are students' responses to the teacher talk. This time we are focusing on lessons conducted by my mentor teacher in the 3rd grade.
Firstly, I want to talk about a pupil who - as I noticed - was very active during the class, let's call her pupil A. Student A was always willing to answer a question addressed to her by name. She also responded to some questions asked by the teacher to the whole class, she was raising her hand. When the teacher was talking to the entire group or concentrating on someone else's issues pupil A was patiently waiting. She was talking to the teacher and her peers, answering questions, and expressing her opinions on a given topic. Student A's body language was visible as she kept her camera on all the time. I think that she was paying attention to the teacher's talk and sitting still with little excitement movements.
Let's now focus on pupil B who was a bit less active during the class. Student B had a problem with answering questions addressed to him by name. He was also not very willing to answer open questions to the whole group. He for sure needed the teacher's encouragement to say something. Pupil B preferred to sit quietly and not to be too responsive. I was not able to see him as he always decided to keep his camera off.
When it comes to the teacher, she sometimes addressed the students by name. I understand this because it is a lot easier to conduct a lesson in a remote mode this way. She sounded warm and calm when she spoke to pupils. My mentor praised every answer and encouraged students to talk and do more. If any mistake appeared she was reformulating students' statements and said them once again to make them remember the correct version. To get students' attention she used the "1,2,3.." method and kids were aware of it.
The teacher always kept her camera on which I think was very helpful for students. She used gestures, facial expressions to make her talk more comprehensible. I did not see any errors during these few lessons. My mentor was encouraging kids like pupil B and was positive and energetic for students like pupil A. It is important to remain calm and not to push too hard because this remote learning and teaching was already a challenge. She is a warm and nice person and in my opinion, these characteristics make her a perfect teacher.
Did you notice children like pupils A and B in your classroom?
Zuzanna
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