Observe an actual online classroom and infer (about 300 words) the teacher's
practices in teaching basic literacy and integration of the 21st-century literacies. Choose one out of the two classes. See the attached links.
The report focuses on observing a teacher while implementing or teaching a lesson in an Elementary online classroom. Specifically, this observation will focus on the method of teaching, the class activity and teacher-learner interaction, and teachers' practices in teaching basic literacy and integrating 21st-century literacies. The teacher is an educator specializing in a subject related to Science. The teacher was observed handling a class of elementary pupils whose ages ranged from 9 to 10 years old. The recorded video shows that the class comprises less than ten pupils with boys and girls. The lesson discussed in this class was about Safety Precautions in Different Weather Conditions.
The teacher began the lecture with clearly defined instructional goals at the outset of the class discussion. By defining instructional goals, pupils were able to recognize what they were trying to learn and why easily. During the lecture, one point worth highlighting was the teacher's manner of speaking. The teacher communicated at the students' level to be understood. This shows that he understands his learners' physical, social, and intellectual characteristics. After stating the objectives of the day's lesson, the teacher reviewed lessons from the previous meeting. It can be inferred that he employed an interactive approach. This can be seen when the teacher consistently interacts with the learners, their classmates, and the learning material. In addition, the teacher applied introductory activities such as "Fact or Bluff" and "Picture This" to assess his pupils' knowledge of the topic. This was seen when he asked the students to determine whether the statements were factual or false, identify what they had seen in the picture or animated gifs, and later explain its meaning.
During the proper lesson discussion, the teacher asks open-ended questions that require active participation and responses from the pupils. This method of instruction is known as Constructivism which falls under the student-centered approach. Through questioning and discussion, the pupils were constantly able to interact and become engaged in the class. Further, the teacher used real-life situations and examples from his pupils' homes in the discussions. The pupils raised their virtual hands, correct answers were praised in a general way, and if there was a wrong answer, the teacher took only a short time to identify and explain the reasoning behind the error, which was a good application of error analysis. At the end of the discussion proper, pupils were given questions to reflect on the experience and what they learned. Throughout, there was a good rapport between the teacher and the learners.
Concerning the teacher's practices in teaching basic literacy and integrating 21st-century literacies, It can be observed that the teacher employed a strategy to engage students in active and authentic reading and writing activities. He reinforced his discussion by conducting activities that enhanced the students' reading and writing skills. During the formative assessments, learners' reading fluency skills were assessed when they had an activity requiring them to interpret meaning appropriately to the type of text they were reading and their purpose. During the concluding activity, the learners were asked to express what they had learned through writing in the Exit Cards". The collaboration and communication skills, two of the 4 C's of 21st literacy skills, and information literacy skills were utilized throughout the lesson. In the summative assessment, the teacher included an assignment requiring his pupils to make a digital infographic poster regarding the lesson. The teacher gave the necessary criteria for the assignment to answer. He also gave the necessary elements of the poster.
Upon observing this teacher, one could infer that it is essential for educators to use various appropriate learning activities to enhance learners' various literacy skills. This is demonstrated by the situations in which the teacher's activities helped the pupils enhance what they need to learn. Furthermore, engaging the class and facilitating an effective teaching-learning process among the learners requires various methods and strategies. Observing the teacher reinforces the idea that effective educators should not only focus on their teaching strategies and provide more precise feedback to pupils. Rather than commending pupils in a general way, the teacher should also explain what they did and how it benefits the entire class.
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