EDFN 307 Northeastern Illinois University Online Classes and Learning Institutions Paper

Observational Journal or Paper (Due August 2)

The fulfillment of the observational work in this class may be done in one of two ways. You may choose to observe classrooms on line and then respond to some questions about the manner in which the class was conducted Oryou may choose to follow a theme such as classroom management or instructional method and demonstrate what you have learned about the topic through application to the behaviors you have observed.

PART I-All papers should include the observational component. To fulfill the observational part of this assignment, you will need to access classroom teaching on line. Please view at least five hours of classroom activity. You should then report (part of) the behavior that you viewed. The observational report that you made should avoid emotions, bias, rating people or behaviors, assumptions about why the person does something or expressing your thoughts about the actions that are occurring. The text of this observation should be about two pages and can consist of longer observational sequences or a series of such sequences. The observations can be placed together at the beginning of paper or may be interspersed within your explanations. The observation should be teacher focused.

PART II-OPTION A- Using the observations that you have done and materials from the class, respond to FIVEof the following question prompts

(How) did the teacher demonstrate attention to/accommodate learner differences within the class?

(How) did the teacher use prior knowledge and link it to the subject being taught?

(How) did the teacher build a learning community among the students?

(How) did the teacher manage the organizational requirements of the course (orderliness of the classroom, readiness to teach the lesson, etc.)

(How) did the teacher manage behavioral challenges in the class?

(How) did the teacher use a wide range of instructional strategies and technology during the class?

(How) did the teacher maintain both a group and an individual focus in the learning activity?

(How) did the teaching behavior demonstrate the use of student behavior and research to make instructional decisions?

You should respond to these questions in relation to your own feelings as well as link your response to class materials or example.

PART II OPTION B

Instead of responding to the questions given in Option A, choose an aspect of teacher behavior such as motivating students, proper use of an instructional method, classroom management, assessment, etc. Analyze the teacher behavior you viewed using the principles of teacher behavior related to that aspect of teaching. Connect that analysis to at least one theory or framework that is used to discuss good teacher practice in the area you have chosen to write about.

Observation Rubric