Reflection of my Impressions and Observations Term Paper

The main aim of this work is to summarize results which were received during our work in method classes and during our school practice.

This reflective essay will be consists from my impressions and observations and based on the most important components of school educational system. When I think about the future structure of my work it seems that I should to choose one topic and reveal it, but than I understand that it is not the best idea. All moments what will be discussed are important and they are integral parts of teaching process.

Only complex analysis will show the whole picture of educational process and that’s why we can’t leave without our attention any its aspect.

Let’s begin our talk and at the beginning I want to stop on two main schools documents. They are curriculum and program. I say about program like about single thing, but I think that you understand the way of my thoughts going and that under word program I mean different types of programs for each discipline. First of all we should stop on curriculum. Curriculum include an object, aims and tasks of course, his features, methodical receptions, in-use in teaching of course, and also theoretical knowledge and practical skills, which should be received upon termination of study of course. Every curriculum has its own frameworks and teachers should keep this order. Our observation show that teachers use curriculum in a right way and it was also pleasant to see that instructional material was adapted for the second language learners for their best material understanding and for the improvement of material assimilation. Some subjects were integrate with one another, because they are straight connected and without one subject learning and understanding becomes impossible to talk about next material. Another point which was noted at the paragraph beginning connected with school programs. The school of my observation has two types of program and they are approximately divided into two groups: traditional school programs and special school program. I think that with traditional school programs all is understandable and we should better look on the special programs. Special school programs development was not a deal of one day. We know that it is very important process and all educational process will be depend from this necessary moment. A lot of schools qualified specialists took part in this development and I want also mention that many aspects of this school program were used in practice before such kind of program was created. Experimental using has revealed all positive and negative sides and based on this special program were rewritten. Maybe that’s why all school personnel are proud for their work and always tried to do it more effective. Moreover, I want to put quotation about the program what was available for the second language learners: “California’s Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development Program (CLAD): The statewide certification is designed to prepare classroom teachers of mainstream subjects who have or will have English Language Learners in their classrooms. The CLAD endorsement can be added to a regular teachers license if individuals complete coursework or pass examinations in (a) language structure and first- and second-language development, (b) special methods of instruction for English Language Learners, and (c) cultural diversity.

For prospective teachers, fieldwork must also be carried out in a classroom with a CLAD-certified teacher. Finding appropriate fieldwork placements has been one of the greatest challenges of the relatively new program, as not enough placements with CLAD-certified teachers are available for the growing number of students seeking the endorsement. In addition to the above requirements, a teacher seeking a certification in Bilingual Cross-Cultural Language and Academic Development (B-CLAD) must pass examinations or complete coursework in (a) the target language, (b) the target culture, and (c) methodology for target language instruction.” (www.stanford.edu)

This paragraph will be about the next two important components which also greatly influenced on educational process. As you maybe guessed I have in view teaching and classroom management. Every teacher has its own methods of teaching and I also want to mention that only effective usage of teaching methods and teaching technologies could be the right way to positive results. Saying about teaching reading process such words will be actual:” The art of reading is mainly a matter of concentrating on the import of the written words, and not on the words themselves. Words are merely the medium whereby the massage of the writer is conveyed to the reader.

A pupil is said to have acquired correct reading habits when he can focus his attention on the massage and not on the form; when he treats the text as a familiar form of discourse and not as a task in a deciphering. He is reader in the true sense when he sees through a window to the view outside without consciousness of the glass.

It was difficult to arrive at this stage under the old translation method which concentrated on the single word and made the pupil conscious of its association with the corresponding word in the mother-tongue. Reading by word-concentration is a pernicious method corresponding to typing with one finger; it can by practice lead to a certain proficiency, but not to the required skills.” (Developing reading skills, Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education 2000. Vol.10. No.1)

Also “As reading is a skill for which the pupil must be trained, it is advisable to proceed in series of progressive stages with each serving as preparation for the next. The ultimate aim is free reading by pupil unaided by the teacher but with the occasional aid of the dictionary. The end, however, need not also be the means; the early stages may have objectives of their own differing from that of the ultimate aim.” (Developing reading skills, Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education 2000. Vol.10. No.1)

All moment which were described by words above are used and teachers every time looking for new teaching methods in different topics. I take for example teaching reading process, but such different traditional and new technologies used in all lessons from Math to History.

New methods help not only to receive new knowledge, but also develop critical thinking and other important skills.

Returning to classroom management I want only to say that teaching process will be not effective without classroom management and I see all advantages of it in my practice. As you know classroom management helps to achieve better atmosphere for active communication during lessons through improvement relations between teacher and pupils and also through classroom dynamics improvement. In attitude to our topic I would like to argue that classroom management (especially in the school what was observed) and other aspects of teaching and learning are culturally based and therefore may be different from country to country and culture to culture.

Talking about students we should mention that all teaching process is directed on them and for the best results teachers used personal-oriented methods. Every pupil has its own character and is differ by the way of thinking and understanding material from other. The main aim of teacher is to teach all students, but it doesn’t mean only give information. When I said teach I mean teach every pupil and be sure that material was presented in understandable form and as a result checking homework pupil can answer on all teachers questions.

Teacher should control relationship between pupils and explain the norm of community for them. All children in class should be equal and should have respectable attitude to each other.

Aspects of school organization are written to the school statute and should be executed. My practical observations show me that school rules are really executed and teachers are also in close contact with administration. I heard about cases when teachers were afraid, for example, school director but I really happy that this words are not for the base of practice. All school decisions are taken on school advice and every person of pedagogical collective is responsible for this decision.

Also I saw a good interaction between school and parents. Parents meeting are regularly have a place and parents know about all teaching process and about their children results from teacher. Parent’s community also has an influence on school decisions, because parents can’t be separated from their children life. I think that this education policy have a big future.

At the end of my work I want to say about assessments. You know that knowledge level should be controlled by teacher and assessments are good instrument for this goal in teacher’s hands. For knowledge control used different kind of assessment and among them we see daily assessments, end-of-unit assessments, and summative assessments.There are also used standard assessment and informal methods. Some variant include standard testing, but I like the method which promotes critical thinking and include the creative aspects.

In this last paragraph I want to say that I tried to describe main components of my own experience and I do it in a brief form. I have a wonderful base of practice and had an opportunity to be the part of educational system. I see all system elements alive and in action and of course it is much better than to read about them in special literature.



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