Page 326 - Beyond Methods

314 Monitoring teaching acts
34 T India . . . too many languages . . . the most languages of all countries . . . I don’t know what the number of languages . . . ok . . . Alright.
(Data source: Kumaravadivelu, 1993b)
Project 13.3: Conducting an Observational Study
13.3.0 You may do this project individually or with a partner. If you are part of a teacher education program, select another class- mate to work with. If you are a practicing teacher, try to do the project with a colleague. Your primary objective is to understand classroom events, and how different participants (the teacher, the learner, and the observer) see and interpret the same event in dif- ferent ways, all of which could be equally valid. Your objective is to learn from your observation and not to pass any value judgment about the class(es) or the teacher(s). Here’s what you have to do to complete the project:
13.3.1 Select an L2 class/teacher you wish to observe. Explain your objective to the teacher and seek his/her permission to observe a unit of his/her class. A unit is defined as a series of (two or more) related les- sons with specific learning and teaching objectives. You may record classroom instruction on an audio- or videotape if the teacher and the students give you permission to do so. If permission is not granted, you may have to take extensive notes. It is better to find a teacher who per- mits video-recording because, obviously, videotaped classes are a rich source of information for analysis and interpretation.
13.3.2 For your observation, focus on three perspectives of classroom events: the teacher perspective, the observer perspective (i.e., your per- spective), and the learner perspective. For the teacher perspective, talk to the teacher you have chosen to observe before and after your obser- vation; ask about what he/she planned to do (specific objectives, class- room techniques, etc.) and what he/she actually did in the classroom (as perceived by him or her). For the observer perspective, take detailed notes on your class observation and your opinions about learning and teaching in the classes you observed. For the learner perspective, talk to three or four students (the more the better) in the class, ask them what they thought the specific objectives of the classes were and what they actually learned in those classes. You may also direct your question(s) toward the learners’ participation in class interaction. It is, of course, useful to select those students who have actively participated in the class.