tma 2 observations of an expert and a novice teacher

TMA 2 Observation of a Novice and Expert Teacher

I. My Learning Intent

As a student-teacher, I would like to observe and record on separate accounts my observations of two

teachers: a novice and an expert. For my observation of the new teacher, I want to see how a she will

demonstrate fresh ideas she had learned from her studies and evaluate if it is effective to the students. I

like to know how her underlying philosophy in teaching reflects as she teaches students. It’s also

interesting to witness what are the things a novice teacher does from preparation to implementation

and evaluation of the entire lesson and see her strengths and weaknesses in the process. As a student

myself, I would like to evaluate if it’s indeed effective and relevant to students.

To the Expert teacher, I specifically want to know what had developed in her through the years of

teaching and if it had a good or bad effects on how she handle her students. I would also give some

time to have an interview with her and ask about her experiences as a teacher and how she developed

her skills through years of experiences.

For both teachers, I want to compare how they would draw the student to their subject, to activities and

to themselves as well. I want to ask questions like: What are their strategies and method? Is it effective?

I believe that an interesting subject doesn’t guarantee an interesting learning experience, and an

interesting teacher could make a boring or hard subject easy and interesting.

My analysis is divided into three parts: analysis of the new teacher, analysis of the expert and a

comparison between their teaching philosophy, method and effectiveness. I would like to know how

they administer and implement the following: classroom management, lesson procedure and

assessment. I would also like to see their different styles and strategies in thinking and how they

communicate their lesson to the students.

Joan Hope Elgincolin2011-82314


II. My Observations

The Novice Teacher

Ms. Rona had just started teaching in our

school June this year. She is from Bicol and

she already had a background in teaching

science to high school students. She now

handles the grade 5 and grade 6 science

subjects. Each class has 36 students and

every class runs up to 50 minutes once a

week. She teaches the class in two ways:

classroom lessons and laboratory. She explained to me that all the theories and topics are discussed in

the classroom lessons, while laboratory classes are held after the classroom lessons which serve as

practical lesson or activity. The class that I observed was a classroom lesson since their laboratory will

still be done at the middle or at the end of the semester.

She started the class with greetings and checking of classroom attendance. Without further

introduction, she continued the class by reviewing their lesson last week. She’s picking random students

and asked them about the different kinds of diseases they have learned. Most of the students she picked

were those who were very naughty in the class and didn’t pay attention to her. When they cannot

answer her question, she will tell the class that the reason why these students didn’t know the answer

was because they didn’t listen to her last week and they were probably sleeping during that time. This

kind of random picking lasted to almost 15 minutes.



The whole classroom atmosphere is quite a disaster, students do different things. Some students at the

back are doing other assignments, some are talking to one another, some are fiddling things and others

are just sitting staring at the board or ceiling. Yet, in spite of this situation, I can see that Ms. Rona is

trying her best to catch the students’ attention. When she gets angry, students will be quiet for a little

while and then once their attention is lost, they keep on doing different things again. This happened

over and over again, like a cycle.

As I look at the students, majority is still listening but they are not in sitting properly. Some of them

looked bored and exhausted probably because it’s almost noon and lunch will follow after this class. She

then proceeds to continue on informing the students about the other kinds of diseases and the two

ways they get sick, environment and inherited. She now continued on describing each disease like

different cancers, hepatitis, meningitis etc. She also explains what these diseases make to peoples body.

The students sounded like they are “sickened” on the things that she was explaining. After that she said

that they will continue again next week for more diseases and probably a test. I observe that she was

walking around the classroom while she explains the various diseases. Unfortunately she didn’t have any

pictures or visual aids to support her lesson, but she had written the information n the whiteboard using

very small letters which makes it hard for the students to read and almost without ink on top of that.



The Expert Teacher

For the expert teacher, I observe the class of

Ms. Arlene, she has been teaching in our

school for almost 9 years and prior to that she

already spent some years teaching back in the

Philippines. She teaches grade 2 and she is also

their homeroom teacher or advisor. She was

teaching English when I observe here.

I was actually quite surprised when I approached her prior to the observation and I told her that I want

to observe her class and I was a bit shy because I know it always feel awkward for people to observe you

when you are teaching especially your principal or supervisor, but she was so positive and she just said

yes nonchalant, and she said she is not the kind of teacher who is afraid to be observe. She told me she

really doesn’t care and I can go whatever time is comfortable to me and I can observe as long as I can

and as many as I want, that was quite encouraging to me.

So as I enter the classroom she told the class to greet me and also told them they are being observed so

they need to be quite. She then proceeds to give instructions on writing in English. Her lesson is about

writing your name, your favorite day and the reason why you like it. Her class is quite noisy, and a lot of

students ask a lot questions, I assume that this really happens in younger classes. But she patiently

answer the questions of each students, she then announce that they only have 35 minutes to finish the

entire activity. She then continues on walking and roams around the room checking the works and

progress of her students.


Ms Arlene is on the left side


She gives comments and teaches collectively if there’s the same question for most of the students. She

also encourages students to be creative and think for themselves. Unfortunately her students look like

they cannot think to express themselves because of their limited vocabulary in English. I was reminded

by her story last time that she actually can compare the Thai students to her students in the Philippines

and she told me that Filipino students are far better writers and spellers in English.

AT the end of the lesson she announce the end of their activity, the students rushes to her to pass their

work and she checked it one by one to her disappointment that some of the students just copied what

she written on the board without adding anything on their own. She said “Oh no idea. What kind of

work is this?” I think she was quite disappointed about the work of the class and she told the class that

they are going to continue the activity next week.



III. My Analysis

Analysis on the Novice Teacher

General

Ms. Rona is an expert in her field, and Expert is one of her teaching style. Her method is a combination

of an Expert and Authoritarian type. As an expert she shares her expertise through explaining the

complex ideas as easy as possible. I observe that students who cannot understand the terms and the

explanation of the teacher don’t give much attention compare to a teacher who uses simple words and

explanation. Ms. Rona gives examples and relates her lesson to the student’s daily life. She made her

lesson easy to understand so that her student will not be overwhelmed with complex terms.

Teaching Style

Also one of her style is Formal Authority. She’s good in explaining her lesson but she’s not that very

much connected with her students that is the disadvantage of an Authoritative style. Her expectations

and goals for her students are clear at the onset of the class, but this type of style is effective in a well-

managed class, but since her class is quite a problematic class so she needs to be flexible on how to

manage the class.

Classroom Management

Calling the attention of the students who are not listening is a classic method that Ms. Rona is doing in

her class. Though it has been proven to be an effective tool to direct student’s attention to the lesson,

yet it still varies on the student’s behavior and teacher’s disposition. Unfortunately, I can say that her

implementation was not successful. For the whole duration of class, she didn’t vary her style on

classroom management. She just kept on calling their attention and sometime asked them questions.



I think she needs to have a back-up style when it comes to classroom management. If the situation

doesn’t change, she could have asked herself, “What could I do next?’, “Is there better way to manage

my naughty students?”. This skill varies from teacher to teacher and can be developed through years in

teaching.

Resources and Activities

In the area of resources and activities, Ms. Rona didn’t have any. It’s obvious that she’s an expert in her

subject and understands the lesson well, but she didn’t bring any material to support her lesson. There

was no evidence of using visual aids. With her lesson about different diseases, it would be more

appropriate if she had shown some pictures of people with the diseases she was discussing. Another

thing that I think should be improved is her writing. It was very small that the students at the back found

it hard to read it. Last point for improvement is utilizing her resources to create an enjoyable activity to

reinforce the lesson. This does not only reflect and show the students understanding, it also clears

anything that confused them.

Relationship with the Students

One very good characteristic a teacher should have is a genuine interest to her students and Ms. Rona

has it. Although she lacks some of the creative skills in classroom management and teaching style, she is

undoubtedly a likeable teacher. She really shows her care for them and is very keen in tracking her

student’s progress. Even during the discussion, she accommodates students who are asking for

clarification. At the end of the lesson, she also guides those students who ask questions about their next

assignment. This especial pastoral care demonstrated outside the classroom is a very good quality a

teacher should nurture within because not only it helps the students to have respect on you, they are

also motivated to learn from the teacher who cares them individually.



Analysis on the Expert Teacher

General

At the onset of the class, Ms. Arlene is very relaxed yet without losing her sense of control. She started

her lesson by giving an example for the students to follow then during the activity time, she used the

questions of the students to be a platform for broadening the scope of her lesson which are actually

equally important and related to her original lesson. Example, she teaches the students the right spelling

and corrects their writing if needed. She also answers her students’ questions although sometimes it’s

tiring because they almost have the same questions, yet she still does it with grace.

Teaching Style

Ms. Arlene’s style in teaching is more of a model and a facilitator. During my interview with her, she said

to me that her teaching style depends on the student’s learning style. Her goal is to meet the needs of

the students, and as a teacher, she is the one who will adjust herself to suit their needs. I think that is

one of the hallmarks of an expert teacher. You should be sensitive to your students and flexible enough

to accommodate their special needs.

Classroom Management

In terms of classroom management, it is given that within the period of transition from a discussion to

doing an activity, students could be noisy. One of the things that I noticed was even though I thought

Ms, Arlene has given the direction clearly most students have still questions. Unfortunately, they ask

almost the same question. There are also “special students” inside the classroom which are quite

domineering in making the class uncontrollable. I think that, even expert teachers can still have



problems with classroom management. They can have the skills and the style, but at the end, it all

depends on the students’ behavior.

Resources and Activities

Ms. Arlene is the homeroom teacher of the G2 class and she teaches all the core subjects. She had put a

lot of informative materials in the room. She decorated the walls with alphabets and phonics as well. In

front of the whiteboard are more colorful pictures of things that I think was related to their lesson last

week. Over-all, the classroom is neat, tidy and beautiful. Since she is teaching them English writing, the

resources that she can use is limited. One good thing that I can compliment her is her good hand writing.

She writes with big letters so that even the students at the back can see it. She had also provided

examples so that students can have some ideas. Her activity on writing is very interesting and student-

centered. The task is not hard since the students will just talk about their favorite day and why they like

it.

Relationship with the Students

Ms. Arlene told me also that one of the things that she learned from teaching is “In teaching, not only

you should know your student; you should also understand your student”. You will teach better if you

know them well. And knowing your student is not limited about know their level in knowledge, skills and

learning style, moreover, it is also about knowing their family background. From time to time, she would

pick one of her students during break time and talk to them. She would ask about their dreams when

they grow up and also about their family. She would also ask them to tell her about their interests like

computer games, after school lessons, weekend activities and other things.



IV. My Reflections

Through my observations with Ms. Rona and Ms. Arlene, I have witnessed how hard it is to teach. Yes,

teaching is indeed a laborious work. The skills and knowledge you need to continuously develop, the

countless hours devoted on preparing for every single lesson, to implement and to materialize what you

had planned, to monitor the student’s development and on top of that do and report assessment. Those

are the core responsibilities of the teacher as a teacher. As a colleague, you also need to participate on

meetings and school activities. Although it’s true that as time pass and as you gain experience,

preparation in teaching will be relatively easy but again, the execution of your lessons and monitoring,

those are the activities that always requires focus and energy.

I’m glad to see old teachers become expert teachers, the skills and knowledge, their methods and

technique along with their philosophy in teaching grow as they keep on teaching. Someone said, “A

novice artist needs an inspiration before he can create, but an expert artist only needs the materials.”

The idea when applied to teachers is this, most young teachers are idealistic as they start their career,

some of them already give up easily, but for those who had endured the labor of teaching, these people

become an expert in their own field. They have not only survived and endured; they have become an

expert because they just do what they need to do. You don’t teach for yourself, you teach for the

children. I still honestly believe that teaching is for everyone. You don’t need to study education before

you can teach, but of course if you want to teach in a formal school, you really need an education. But

the thing is everyone should not lose the passion to teach, especially teachers. Emotions and

depressions in teachings come and go through the years, but let’s not make these things affect the



quality of our teaching. Instead of focusing on our ideals and how things are not going on our way, let’s

keep on making things happen rather than complain. There are old teachers who at the end of their

career can say they had a great time, and there some who regret their chosen path.

In my observation and based on my experience as a teacher I can say that the heart of teaching lies in

the desire for your student to learn. You want them to learn, so you plan, prepare and teach so that they

will learn. Generally, new teachers have this kind of passion in their hearts as they start their teaching

career, the struggle comes when you encounter a difficult student, handle a problematic class and your

working environment is terribly uncomfortable. Even expert teachers are overwhelmed with big size

classes and poor building infrastructure, no supplies from the department and you even need to buy it

for yourself. Deep in your heart you want to meet your students learning style individually but you are

overwhelmed by the class size and terrible surroundings. It is indeed a laborious and a noble profession.

Quality education in my opinion is the summation of many things like: quality teacher, environment and

infrastructure, other facilities and technology equipments and smaller classes. Realistically speaking,

most schools in the Philippines don’t have good facilities and we have overpopulated classes. How can

we still ensure quality education inspired of this negative factors? The key of a quality education is a

quality teacher; it is the teacher who maximizes the resources she has and uses it effectively in her class.

We can survive of we have teachers who are committed, dedicated and innovative in their own field.

Through my observation, I can have come to understand that the effectiveness of any teaching method

depends on the following factors: particular situation, teacher’s personality, student’s learning style and

behavior. Each class has its own class behavior in general, and your method in one class may not be

effective in another class. Each student is different. They differ in almost every aspect. They have

different interests, different learning styles and different needs. Most of the time, their interest, learning



styles and needs are influenced by their family background, peers and personality. But though they are

uniquely different, they are all equally children.

But I think one of the challenges a teacher always face is how to meet the needs of the individual

learner. Yes, it is indeed a challenge. Why? Because learning is personal, it’s not the class who learns but

the students. And through my classroom observations and personal experiences I have written a

reflection on about the things that hinder students’ learning and practical advice that helped me in my

personal teaching.

What hinders students to learn?

1. No interest to the subject.2. Forced by their parents.3. They don’t like the teacher.4. They don’t understand the subject.

Principles I observed that works well on each kids.

1. They like to do things where they excel.

2. They get excited when given a challenge. (Of course, this should not be overwhelming; otherwise, the kids are discouraged.)

3. They like to learn with other kids, but sometimes they also want to learn individually.

4. They can be easily persuades by their peers.

5. They like competitions.

6. The aura of the teacher affects the behavior of the kids. If you cannot connect with your students, meaning you cannot understand them. Also, you cannot communicate yourself effectively. You need to evaluate things, cause if you don’t care, it would affect three things:

a. Immediate result: you are teaching ineffectively (you’re not going to enjoy your job)

b. Future result: you can get used with your bad teaching habits. You’ll be known as a boring, bad teacher.



c. Your students will suffer.

7. Kids are manipulative (you should have know that this time). So teachers should be careful in dealing with these kids. Some of them are irrational in reasoning. So better to be fair in all you do. No one likes favoritism, be fair in all you do, and be consistent. (This could be awkward or hurtful on most situations but once the students known you for who you are, they are going to be careful next time)


tma 2 observations of an expert and a novice teacher

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